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Chapter 29: Chapter 29

As I drop us into the cell of Igneous’ father I quickly fade into the background. Igneous should already know that I am still here because I want the information too. If his bastard of a father can’t see me then he might say more than he means.

“Well are you going to greet your father or stand there and do nothing like you have always done. Don’t worry son I am used to you disappointing me” he spits. As the old man stares at his son he doesn’t ever throw his wife a glance. Her eyes have started to water, and I am hoping that she is not going to cry. I seriously hate it when females cry.

“You are not my father. That ended the day you decided you would let me die in some experiment instead of sending me to my mate who could help me. Just tell me why the hell I am here” Igneous says. If I didn’t know better I would say that the human has a dragon of his own with the way his baritone deepens as he talks.

“Now where would the fun in that be. You are the one that needs something from me and yet here you are trying to demand me. You have forgotten your place boy” he says as he rises to stand. Igneous’ chuckle fills the air as he shakes his head looking at the ground.

“I haven’t forgotten my place Michael. I’ve finally found it. You should remember that you are the one that requested that I be here. That means that there is something that you want from me. So, yes I can demand answers because without them you won’t get a damn thing from me that you are trying to accomplish” Igneous states.

I watch with a smirk as his stance relaxes. He guides his mother over to a chair in the corner and helps her take a seat. She says nothing as she sits quietly staring at her husband. I would even say that she appears to be in shock as she stares at him.

“Aww, look at you taking care of your mommy. Looks like I taught you something right after all. We have to nurture those we want to control otherwise they forget their place. I would be careful if I were you though, she hides more than you think” he says as he goads Igneous.

“I don’t have time for your lies or your manipulations. What do you want?” Igneous shouts as he lays an arm around his mother.

“Oh really. Are you not curious to how I was able to make it into this camp? How I knew where Jefferson would be or how I took him? How do you think I have so much information?” he says with an evil smile. My gaze flicks to Igneous’ mom as her heart rate starts to skyrocket. What the hell did she tell him.

“Lies” Igneous yells. He takes a menacing step toward his father with his fist balled up.

“I may be many things boy but a liar I am not. You will know what I mean soon. After all two apples never fall far from a tree” he states. I stand straighter as I hear him talk about Magma’s children. However, anyone in the clan could have mentioned that. It is the most talked about news. “You still feel like you will be a better father than me. Tell me how is your dragon? It been about a month now, right? I hope she is keeping those two eggs hot, if not I’m afraid you might lose them” he taunts.

Igneous jumps across the room as he attacks the old man as his mother screams. I step forward in case I need to step in to stop him from killing him. We still need our questions answered. “I didn’t know son. I only talked to him because I missed him. I didn’t know that he was using the information I gave him to take someone from here. He acted so much like he cared” Igneous mother shouts with tears rolling down her face. He pulls away from pummeling his father to hold his mother as she sobs. The old man pulls himself up from the floor slowly with a groan as he spits the blood out of his mouth. He hold his jaw as he glares at his son.

“Pull yourself together Ivette. No one likes a weak woman” he spits out. Igneous moves to attack him once more but his mother only holds him tighter. As he rubs her back he settles for comforting her as he glares at his father. The man really is a piece of work. “Now that we have the formalities out of the way. Let’s see why you are here?” he says almost as if he is talking to himself.

“Goading my son into acting stupid. Check. Putting my betraying wife in her place. Check. Ah, there we are step three. You will get me a vile of blood from one of the dragons here then I will give you the answers that you seek” He states as if he has just won the lottery. I frown through the ether at the old man. He couldn’t possible know about the properties of our blood.

Wait, but if he has been experimenting with the same group that wanted Igneous then he could. Just how much damage has been done to our kind. If they know about our blood then they have found a way to injure us. They know exactly how we are vulnerable. Fuck this is worse than we thought.

“I need some kind of reassurance before I give you anything” Igneous states as he looks at his father. The man regards his son with an expression of irritation. They stare at each other for so long one would think that they are talking to each other without speaking. Just as I really start to get irritated he speaks.

“For those of you with interspecies DNA a facility was made for those unwanted. There is a distinct group who sponsors all the research there. They know you blood can cure any human disease depending upon the dosage. They know that when a female of your kind gives birth a type of transformation happens to the father while the female dragon starts to wither away. I know how to stop her from dying. I also know which facility they took Jefferson to” he states calmy.

Igneous voices my thoughts as I make myself known. “What do you mean which facility?” he demands to know.

“ah, ah, ah. I gave you something and now you must give me something. Run along and ask your Alpha, I will be waiting” he says as he proceeds to lay down and turn away from us. I appear quickly and grasp them where I can causing us to fly through the ether. When we land in Xander’s office I let them go and release a deafening roar in pure anger. How the fuck have we not known. He spoke as if there are other children in these facilities. How can I even know if he is telling the truth.

“Would someone like to start talking? Or did you just interrupt my lunch to come scream in my office?” Xander says. With a heavy sigh I turn to face him and almost laugh. There he sits with a bib underneath is neck as he eats ribs. When I see the fork and knife in his hands I can no longer hold it in. “I see that your distractions are working. Tell me Max you ready to bring her back yet?” he sneers.

My laughter dies immediately, and the moment of joy is gone. I see him flinch and I know that the pain I hide is plain on my face. I give them my back as I try to get myself together. My eyes pinch and I blink to clear my vision. This cannot happen. No one can see how weak this has made me. A hand on my shoulder jerks me out of my thoughts and I turn to see Xander.

“That was uncalled for. I apologize” he says.

“Our prisoner has decided to call the shots. He does have information however since he gave us a little tidbit. On top of a way to save Magma as she gives birth, he has heard of more than one facility for our kind” I start off trying to distract myself.

With a heavy sigh Xander ask “Well what does he want”?

“To stop his self from dying. I would say that if he doesn’t get out cure, he only has about a week left. Even with the cure it would only buy him about a year with regular transfusions, but I don’t think he knows that” I tell Xander.

A gasp filling the air reminds me that we aren’t the only ones in his office, and I feel like crap for my delivery. I purse my lips while I look at Igneous who glares as he holds his mom as tears run down her face.

“Asshole” he mutters.

“You watch your language. I have raised you better than that. Just because I seem to be having an off day with needing you for comfort doesn’t mean that I still can’t think of punishments” she states as she turns to face him with hand on her hips.

The way her voice changed is enough to make a chill go down my spine. I have no idea why but hearing it is like a reminder of Xander’s alpha command. The no nonsense and just do what I say is completely instilled. I know I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of receiving it.

“Is there another way for you to get your answers” Igneous asks as he holds his mother.

“We can’t give him what he wants. We don’t know what it will do.” Xander answers in reply.

“What is this miracle cure. Why are you all acting like it is some big secret?” Ivette ask. Her head swivels between the three of us s as she waits for an answer.

I look to Xander knowing that he has to be the one to give the answer. It is our view and as our Alpha he would know what’s best.

A gasp filling the air reminds me that we aren’t the only ones in this office, and I feel like crap for my delivery. I purse my lips while I look at Igneous who glares as he hold his mother who now has more tears running down her face.

“Asshole” he mutters.

The way her voice changed is enough to send a chill down my spine. I have no idea why but hearing her like this is a reminder of Xander’s Alpha command but only for humans. The no nonsense and just do what I say completely is instilled in the tone. I know I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of receiving it.

“Is there another way for you to get your answers” Igneous ask as he holds a handout to his mother.

“We can’t give him what he wants. We don’t know what it will do” Xander answers in reply.

“What is this miracle cure? Why are you acting like it is some big secret?” Ivette ask. Her head swivels between the three of us as she waits for an answer.

I look to Xander knowing that he has to be the one to give her the answer. It is our view and as our Alpha he would know what’s best.

With a heavy sigh Xander walks around his desk and sits in his chair heavily. He eyes Ivette as his dragon eyes flash rapidly. He is probably using his dragon to figure out if he can’t trust the frail human woman. Suddenly he leans forward in his seat and meets her gaze. The scent in the air changes and her fear is easily smelled. She has every right to fear what is coming.

“if I were to tell you the answers that you want to know we have to ensure that you are unable to tell anyone else. By doing it, you would never be able to leave our lands. You would be stuck here until a time that the government decides that we are once more able to leave this area. Are you willing?” He waits patiently and after a few seconds that seem like hours she answers.

“I have no more ties to my husband if that’s what you are trying to check. I am here for my son and for the beautiful grandbabies he is giving me. I have already uprooted my whole life and moved here. I haven’t left these lands since I came here. I don’t plan to leave these lands as long as my family is here. Whatever you are asking of me I will do” she states calmly.

The scent of her fear has left the air and anyone can see that she truly means what she says. However a part of me is worried that she doesn’t understand the extent of what Xander is asking for. I feel that he is going to ask her for a vow. Once she gives it there is no worry that she won’t be able to leave the lands because she physically won’t be able to do it without him knowing. His blood has formed the barrier and he will feel all who are vowed to him if they cross it.

As I have the thought a knowing look lands on Igneous’ face. He made a similar vow after he and Magma mated. He knows what we are talking about. Instead of him speaking up however he rubs his hand on his mother’s arm in reassurance. He almost looks uncomfortable as he does it. Well, looks like the son is okay with this test to his mother.

“Very well then. Step forward” She steps in front of the desk and throws a look of caution to her son. He nods his head in encouragement and she turns back to face Xander. He keeps his gaze on her as he pulls a cup from his desk. With his inhuman movement he sinks his teeth into his hand and allows his blood to trickle into the cup. “Drink it” he states plainly.

My eyebrows furrow as I wonder what the hell he is up to. His blood isn’t needed for the vow. She reaches for the cup, and I watch as her hands shake. With a harsh grimace she brings the cup up to her mouth a gives it a sniff. I wrinkle my nose as I catch a whiff of the scent of it in the air. I try to be subtle as I eye Xander to see his motives, but he refuses to look my way. The human slugs the cup back in a rush. She gags a little and you hear the audible gulp of her swallow.

She sets the cup down on the desk and eyes Xander with triumph. Suddenly the barrier in my mind drops and my dragon speaks for the first time in hours.

Grab her.

I rush forward and grab her just as she is about to fall. Igneous rushes forward and prepares to take her from me as he shouts at Xander. “What the hell was that. Your blood isn’t needed for a vow. What did you do to my mother?” he screams.

“I did you a favor. She will come around in just a moment” he says as he sits in his seat looking like he just had a relaxing bath. The confusion has to be palpable on my face because he rolls his eyes as I stare at him in anger. Ivette wiggles in her sons arms as she gives a groan. She looks around the room in confusion as Igneous checks her over.

“What happened?” she ask as she rises to stand. Looking at her I start to look at her closer. Her voice sounds different than it did a few minutes ago. Even Igneous has noticed as he starts to look at his mother more closely.

“I gave you life is what happened. That energy you feel it’s what others would kill for. Its why your husband is in those cells trying to manipulate us. Tell me how long you have known about your heart” Xander ask her.

Her face pales as she looks back at Igneous. She turns back to Xander “How did you know? No one knows” she says.

“Knows what” Igneous says as he looks at his mother worried.

“I got a bad diagnosis a few months ago. They said that they have to run more tests, but it was conclusive. My heart is failing me” she states sadly as she looks at her son.

“What” Igneous yells.

“There will no longer be a need for more tests. The cure I just gave has healed your problem. If you don’t believe me, take a deep breath” Xander tells her. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath slowly almost as if she is afraid of the reaction. Her pop open and there are tears there. “Now you know. This is why we fight to stay hidden. Why our kind cannot leave this clan. This is why there are humans who want to take and kill our kind. Your kind would eradicate us completely if they found out” he states simply.

I chuckle unable to stop myself. He really is a sick son of a bitch sometimes. This time however I have to give it to him for the theatrics. With a slow clap I go ahead and applaud his efforts. “Damn, man. You could have simply just told her. That was a waste of time but seriously fucking priceless. You scared the shit out of both of them” I say through my laughter.

“My life is not a waste young man. Even I know he could have gone about things differently, but now I understand more. I will help you to protect this secret” she states. She walks back over to the desk and holds a handout to Xander. He grabs her hand and holds it in his as he looks into her eyes.

“Vow it to me with your full name. This will seal the deal that we have made” he says calmly.

“I Ivette Marie Grecian vow to keep the secret entrusted to me here” She states.

“I Alpha Xander of the Scarlet Light clan of dragons hereby accept your vow” He states. She gasp against the bond, and he slowly release her hand.

“Now that everyone is on bored, it’s time to come up with a plan for our prisoner. Any ideas?”

I look around the room and draw a blank. There are a lot of variables here at play. We need the information, but we don’t want to give him what he wants. Martell rises in my mind and comes forward slowly. I frown wondering why he is moving like that. However, before I can answer, he speaks. As a plan comes from him I make no moves to hide the wicked chuckle as everyone in the room eyes me. This is going to be fun.

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