Chapter 17: Chapter 17

You have got to be kidding me. I seriously don’t have time for this. This was just supposed to be a simple stop. I just wanted to see if Maximus was getting a reign on his dragon, and I get this. He has already caused me so much trouble and potential paperwork.

Stop whining and pick the woman up. She no longer needs to be blindfolded if she is unconscious.

“Right” I say as I pick her up. As I gather her up from the ground I sniff the air scenting for blood from her fall. Satisfied when I smell none I quickly walk over to the bed of the truck and contemplate how to place her. I don’t just want to throw her on top of him but seeing as how he is freaking invisible; this is a high possibility. Easing her legs in first I still can’t see his form. I quickly place her all the way in. When her arm flops to the side he finally comes into view.

Good being able to see both of them will be helpful when I have to get them out. I quickly start up the truck and make my way to the clinic. Hopefully, she will stay unconscious for the half hour drive. We don’t need a reporter seeing everything about our people. The repercussions of that would be astronomical. All I need at the moment is her help getting him to the clinic. After that I can get her off this land.

Making her leave will not be as easy as you think.

“What does that mean?” I ask my dragon. It took me years to learn not to get angry at him for his vast amount of information. His knack for only sharing things with me when he feels I need them is always annoying, however.

You will see in time. When we arrive alert Magma. She should be there to help heal him.

“You really want to deal with her hormones. She almost chewed our head off the last time we asked how she was feeling” I remind him.

You were being insensitive. You never comment on the size of a female carrying young.

“Yeah, yeah I know that now” I say with a wry shake of the head.

Driving in silence for a while I navigate to the main part of town. When he awakens he is going to have a lot of questions to answer. What the hell was he thinking inviting a human to stay with him. Let alone a reporter. I find myself silently hoping that he didn’t give her any information to use against us. My technical analyst already works around the clock to keep us out of the spotlight. The last thing I would need is a reporter getting firsthand accounts from one of our own.

She will not betray us.

“How the hell do you know that” I yell at him. I peek back into the truck bed to make sure they haven’t moved. Seeing that they sit still I turn my eyes back to the dirt path before me and lower my voice. “She is human, a reporter, and we have no idea what she already knows. I may be a little dense sometimes but even I know that spells disaster” I say.

She is a human. But one who faints at the sign of a blindfold. She is a reporter. But the only questions she asked were to see if she could trust us to help him. She is a woman. But what is she to him is the bigger question.

I start to think about what he said looking for some kind of link. As I drive I pay close attention to not hit the trees as I pull into town. I quickly park in front of the clinic and start to walk towards the doors when I find myself pausing.

“She can see him when no one else can. She can touch him when no one else can. She’s his mate, isn’t she” I ask my dragon.

His only response is to chuckle and turn away from me. It looks like I have my answer. I can’t help the pang of jealously that rings in my chest. It’s good to know that what Magma said is true. If someone as bad as Maximus was able to find a mate I know that I am easily deserving of one. It just sucks that he has found his before I have found mine.

Have patience. Our time will come.

With a heavy sigh I walk to the first desk I see in the clinic and dial Magma’s number. When she answers I waste no time on formalities. “Get to the clinic, we have an emergency.” She promises to be here shortly, and I job back to the truck. I jog faster when I see that the human is sitting up in the truck bed and has begun looking around.

Be easy on her. She may still be frightened.

“Emily” I call trying to warn her of my presence. She quickly turns in my direction, and I see her eyes widen. Raising my hands in the air I try to calm her. I need her to get him into the clinic. Knowing what she is to him I know she is the key to getting him back. “We are at the clinic. Once Magma gets here we can take him inside to get looked at. I need you to stay calm” I say without my usual base.

“What happened? Why am I back here in the truck?” she ask looking around.

“You uh….fainted when I was going to blindfold you” I remind her. As if she remembers she scrambles away from me. Maximus fades from view as she disconnects, and I sigh.

“Easy, look I’m not going to hurt you. I promise I am not going to blind fold you” I say with my hands up in surrender.

“Why the hell should I trust you. You mean nothing to me. I shouldn’t have allowed you to bring us here” she says. She throws a leg over the side of the truck, and I know soon she may sprint.

Remind her that she is his mate. If she leaves we may never be able to help him.

“I know what you are to him. How much you mean to him. If you leave now no one will be able to help him. He could stay frozen like this forever” I say as I watch her freeze and meet my gaze. Knowing that I have no choice I swallow my pride. “I need him to be okay. We …..we need our brother to be okay” I practically beg.

In all honesty. Every single word I spoke was the truth. She may have only known him for a few days. But I have known him for years. I have counted on him for years. Until these past few days without him I never realized how much he did for the clan. Even with no complaints he did everything I asked. I truly do see why me beast would accept no other as out beta. As I stare into the eyes of this human, I need her to trust me so we can save him.

This isn’t working. We need to call for a female. Let a female deal with female problems.

“uh….what’s going on here?” Magma says as she walks up. Thank heavens. I was so distracted with pleading to the human that I didn’t hear her approach. I look at her and wish for the moment that I could communicate with her silently to help me. The human still hasn’t said anything even though she has halted her movements to exit the bed of the truck.

“We need her to save Maximus, but she is frightened by me” I explain to Magma. I watch as she sniffs the air while slowly approaching the human. Igneous who I just noticed is behind her and follows after. When he feels she gets too close he grabs her arm to stop her.

“It’s okay Igneous. She’s human, she can’t hurt me.” she assures him.

“Wait, you’re human?” he turns questioning her. Emily nods at him as she sizes him up. “Well, hell. They won’t hurt you. I’ve been with them for over a month and have never come to harm. Are you a mate too?” he ask her.

“You know about that? Wow, so he wasn’t lying” she says aloud. I watch her gaze flicker toward the truck bed and know that she is looking at Maximus who the others can’t see. “Well, I would apologize for the theatrics but that big guy over there is terrifying” she says as she eyes me warily.

A beat of silence passes before Magma and Igneous crack up laughing as if it’s the funniest thing they have ever heard. A smile crack through my lips and I look at the ground sheepishly.

You let them tease you too much. Perhaps a show of power is needed. I could command them.

“A display of power is what made her afraid in the first place” I tell him. “I am still alpha you know. I can always add clinic duty to your rosters” I threaten them. This only brings on another round of laughter. I shake my head at them and fold my arms as I wait for them to finish.

“Sorry, just the thought of Xander being scary is hilarious. He hardly ever loses his temper. His dragon is a beast though. They wouldn’t be our alpha if they weren’t. I am curious though; did you ask him what his gift was” Magma questions.

“No, between him charging after me naked and threatening to blindfold me, we haven’t had the chance to get acquainted” she tosses out jokingly. Shit. I watch as Magma’s body freezes and I start to take a few steps away. I really hate her hormones these past few weeks.

“He did what! She is a woman. Why wouldn’t you control yourself?” she says as she marched toward me. I quickly look to Igneous for help, but he just raises his hands in the air not wanting to have her anger directed at him. “She knows nothing about us, and you treat her like you are some barbarian. What gives you the right!” she screams. I feel as my dragon rises forward not liking to be questioned.

“Magma, settle. Your anger is not good for the young” he commands as she freezes. I notice that his command is lighter than usual as he speaks to her barely letting her feel it. “She was an unknown human on our territory. When questioned she admitted to being a reporter and was found in the head guards cabin. We have only just noticed she was his mate” he confesses before giving me back control.

I watch as the change quickly comes over her. “You are a dragon mate. So, this means that there is one for all of us. Wait, where is Maximus if his mate is here?” she questions looking back and forth between me and Emily.

“You guys really can’t see him?” Emily ask as she hops down from the bed of the truck. We all look at each other before shaking our heads no. “That is so cool” she says as she places a hand on him which reveals him to our gaze. Magma gasps when she sees him. AS she approaches him her hand cradles her protruding stomach protectively. I hate the worry on her face. Choosing to take action I head to the truck bed to pick him up.

“We have to get him inside. You know what to do?” I tell Emily as I pass her. She keeps a hand on him as I carry him in and lay him in the first empty room I see. As soon as we walked through the door Magma ran off to gather Dr. Snow. Igneous has stayed with us but has remained quiet for the most part. I can see all the questions swirling in his gaze as he watches the human. As the first to be a dragon mate I would imagine he would have many questions since he has found another.

We all need answers. The more we have, the easier it will be for our own mate. Aren’t you curious

“You already know that I am. I just don’t want to push the girl. Seeing as how my mate will also be female, I think it would be best if I heard her answers too.”

We can stay in the room while they talk. Be subtle thought. We are the leader and have many responsibilities. If others were to know how much this interest us, then it could be seen as a weakness.

“We do not know how long this will take. Why don’t you ask your questions while we wait. I’m sure it would be a good distraction for the human” I offer as I pace the room. I grab the hospitals cell in the room and start texting instructions to my assistant. I might as well find a way to keep busy.