Page 108 of Dragon Unhinged

Chapter

Forty-Five

BRIANNA

It takes some convincing, but Donna finally agrees to come back to Miami with us, under the promise that Henrik will find her sister and bring her down as soon as he can.

Getting to the private airport seems to take more time than it should, as Declan constantly reaches over to touch me, to take my hand, grip my knee, even just to brush his fingers against my jawline, like he’s trying to cling to the fact that I’m here.

I don’t blame him. I feel like I’ve aged a year in the last week, and most of what I did was just try not to go stir crazy.

I can tell Declan’s trying to keep his thoughts under wraps, but it’s like with this claiming mark, his mind’s more open to me than it ever has been before. His dragon’s struggling, fighting to try to regain control, demanding to fly me away to somewhere no one, least of all Grey, would ever be able to find me.

That doesn’t sound bad at all, but there are too many things that we need to deal with, too many things that are left unsettled. My father’s still out there. There are still shifters being held, forced to fight.

I don’t even know if Declan has a house, if we have somewhere to live once we’re away from my father, from Grey,from all of this. There’s so much I don’t know, so much I’m unprepared for.

And then there’s Malcolm.

I don’t think Declan saw Ash pick up the bloody, broken body of their brother. I don’t think Declan saw much of anything after I woke up except for me and our daughter.

“What do we do now, Declan?” I ask softly, not wanting to draw the attention of anyone else in the car.

“What do you mean, mate?” He leans over, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

I frown, wishing I could be just as wrapped up in him as he seems to be in me right now. But I can’t just think about myself. Everything has changed. Everything feels like so much higher stakes.

Instead of verbally answering, I close my eyes, trying to project out all the concerns, all the questions I have tumbling around in my brain.

We have a daughter now, a tiny, helpless baby who’s going to need our protection, our love, our support, and I don’t have the faintest idea how I’m going to do anything right. I thought I’d have a few months to learn how to be a mom and how to take care of a tiny person.

“Breathe, my love. We have time to figure things out. And we have a lot of family who will help. You don’t have to figure it out all on your own, and we don’t have to have all the answers today.” He squeezes my hand reassuringly. “We have centuries together, and we’re just getting started.”

“You say that like any of this is supposed to feel normal for me.” I sigh, leaning into him. “All of this is new and kind of strange for me. I just gave birth. If it hadn’t been for Donna, I’d be dead now. And you…” I bite my lip, looking up at him. “I only saw the aftermath, but are you really okay now?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t even remember making it to Montreal, or why my dragon knew to come here.” He pauses a moment, and I see his eyes unfocus, like he’s looking at something else. “Oh, by the gods, I didn’t know. I didn’t see Malcolm when I was on that street. I was back in the damn fights…I—I….” He shakes his head and tears well in his eyes. “I never would have….” He trails off and squeezes his eyes shut trying to block out the memory of killing his own brother.

“I know, my love,” I say gently. “Ash and Syrena know too. Malcolm wouldn’t blame you either. It wasn’t your fault.”

He snorts, sounding more like a beast than a man. “I still have his blood on my hands, Brianna. I can’t just wash it off. There’s so much blood I’ll never be able to wash it away.” The tears go up in steam as the rage threatens to take over again.

“Hey, Declan, look at me.” I take his face in both my hands and force his gaze to me, and stare deep into his eyes. Into the eyes of my mate. “What happened isn’t your fault. If anything, it’s mine. My family’s. We’re going to shut down that ring, and we need to make sure that none of them can ever hurt shifters again.”

“I can’t. I don’t think I can let my dragon into another fight. I don’t even know if I should be letting him out at all.”

Declan’s eyes hold so much sadness, so much hurt, that it’s making my own eyes fill with tears.

“You have to. If this bite of yours does what you promised, and I’m going to turn into a dragon, you’re the only one I trust to teach me how to fly. You’re the only one I want by my side.” I kiss him softly. “We’re going to have to teach our kids to fly too.”

“You really want to be mated to a dragon who lost so much control? Who could kill his own family? You really want to bring more babies into the world with a monster who could do that?”

“You’re not a monster, Declan. You--You have to give yourself grace. You hadn’t healed from all the damage my fathercaused and you went right back into battle broken and out of your mind. This isn’t your fault.” I swallow around the lump in my throat, wanting to let out all the emotion that’s been building from the moment I get tricked into Grey’s kidnapping. All the pain, all the grief of believing I might never see my mate again. All the fear that I had just found happiness and freedom, just to have it ripped right out of my grasp again. “You are everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner, everything I never dared to even think I could have. You fought so hard to be here with me, for us to be together, so you better not give up on that fight now. I need you. As a partner, as a friend, as my mate. If you can’t physically fight anymore, then I’ll fight for us both. As long as I know you’re fighting for us too.”

Declan gives me a watery-eyed smile and nods softly. “With my every breath, mate.”

The SUV pulls to a stop outside a small, luxury plane, and I take a deep breath, hoping that wherever we’re heading, whatever home we’re going to, there’s no way for Grey to find us again.

I can only assume that a dragon-born witch could be even more valuable to him than a baby dragon would be. But no matter how many people he sends, no matter how hard he tries, I know that more than anything, I need to hold my family together.

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