Page 38 of Protector Dragon's Shattered Mate

Sofia

Had she just lost her mate because she was worried about Daisy the sheep?

“Please help him,” Sofia begged. She pressed her hand to her chest. The spot where he’d been stabbed burned in her own body. She could feel the fiery pain of the dagger, as if it had sliced through her skin as well.

“Did it hit his heart?” What happened when one of the magical daggers hit a dragon shifter’s heart? Sofia’s lesson had not covered that part. She hadn’t been around long enough to know. Nora had warned her about the blades.

The Irish brothers had used enchanted swords to help fight a horde of demons up in Oregon, and Nora had come up with the spells to make a regular blade pierce a demon’s skin. But they were not the only ones with that knowledge. All over the world, supernatural beings had come up with ways to defend themselves, as well as hurt each other. And the human hunters had their own methods too. Sofia could no longer assume a knife wouldn’t kill her.

Nora didn’t answer but continued to work.

“Sofia,” Nora said. “Put your hand on his forehead. A mate’s touch is a healing balm, no matter what spells are said.”

She didn’t argue about the use of the word mate. She would do anything to save him.

She did as Nora said, not trying to use her magic, but pouring all of her love, admiration, and respect into an intangible wave, and pushing it directly into Levi’s body. She didn’t try to stop the flow of tears, wanting only to focus on Levi.

The thing she’d been most afraid of had happened. Levi almost died because of her. And with a dagger to the chest, from an enchanted blade, he wasn’t out of the woods yet. It could be hours, or even days until they knew the outcome.

Nora remained in the same position, kneeling over Levi, with her hands on his chest. Slowly, the flow of blood went from gushing to a trickle. The wound had closed up, but a deep gouge remained on his chest even as the skin knit back together.

Nora leaned back. Her hands were covered in Levi’s blood. “I’ve done all that I can. The edge of the blade did nick his aorta. It would have killed a human instantly. But he will live, and he will most likely fully heal, but it will take time.” She looked up at Kellan, who’d come to stand nearby. “Make him stay with you, and don’t let him over do it.”

Kellan nodded. “We can handle that.”

Sofia bowed her head. Nora had not given her the instruction. His own mate had been left out of taking care of him, because she was too shallow to commit. She inhaled. She would not show that the comment had bothered her and make all of this about her. It was about Levi, and the focus should remain on him.

“Let’s get him inside,” Nora said.

Kellan moved closer and picked him up, carrying him to one of the downstairs bedrooms that had its own bathroom. Once he was in bed, Sofia hovered in the doorway.

Would they kick her out now that she’d rejected him? Would they want her to leave and never come back? Fallon came through the door with a bowl and a washcloth.

“Should I go?” Sofia asked.

Fallon considered her. “Do you want to go?”

“No. I want to be here with him.”

Fallon cracked a smile. “Then these are for you,” she said, pushing the bowl and cloth into Sofia’s hand.

“I can stay?” She held out her hands and gratefully accepted the bowl and cloth.

“The general consensus is that proximity to your mate when injured is the best medicine any of us have to offer,” Fallon said. She lowered her voice. “Look. You and I haven’t spent a lot of time together. But I’ve heard that you and Levi are mates, that you weren’t ready to commit, and that you were still considering going to live with the motorcycle club.” She waved her hand. “No one in this house is going to hold that against you.” Fallon put her hands on her hips. “Levi isn’t going to hold that against you.”

Relief burst through her veins like water breaking through a dam. She put the bowl down and hugged Fallon. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure of my welcome here now.”

Fallon’s eyes narrowed. “Did someone say something?”

“No! No. Everyone’s been so nice. I just…” Her throat closed up.

“Hey.” Fallon’s arms came up around her again. “Some of the shifters in this house have a fairy tale love story. They’d be happy to tell you all about it, but some of us don’t. There are a lot of false starts, rejections, and breakups, and that’s just among the guys who live on this land.”

“Really?” Sofia asked. Everyone on the ranch seemed perfect. Yes, they’d had their share of problems, but most of those had been caused by evil forces from the outside. Right?

When she mentioned that to Fallon, Fallon threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, Lord. Do I have some stories for you!” She laughed again. “Oh yeah, a few of us have stories worthy of a reality show.” She sat down on one of the chairs next to Levi’s bedside. “Sit down next to him, and I’ll tell you the story of how Brennan and I got together.”

Sofia sat.

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