Page 64 of Dragon Unhinged

It’s me. I’m not alone. I’ve got a damaged wolf with me.I pause for a second.And my mate.

It doesn’t take long for the former garnet dragon prince to come out, followed closely by his mate, Pru, and my brother, Malcolm.

The joy hits me hard and tears sting my eyes. My brother. My family. He’s one of the younger of my siblings and somehow, he looks older, matured. This war is aging us all prematurely.

Malcolm leans down on the open window so we’re eye to eye. “Dec, where the hell have you been?” My brother looks at me warily before his eyes shift over to the passenger seat.

“It’s a long story,” I mutter.

“Is Krystana with you?” Malcolm glances in the backseat.

“Krystana? No. Why?” Dread sinks deep into my gut. “Why do you think she’s with me?” My voice cracks.

“She disappeared at the same time you did. We’ve gotten some messages from her, but they’re all vague. She won’t tell us anything. We thought you guys were together. We didn’t know what else to think.”

Disappeared? Fucking great. Ash must be going out of his mind.

I run my hand down over my face, stress and tension tightening my already sore body. I’ve managed to heal, butthere’s left over exhaustion and soreness. I imagine it will take some time for my body to get used to the weight lifted off me since the spells were broken and the cuffs were removed. “She wasn’t with me. I didn’t see her,” I murmur, meeting Malcolm’s gaze. At least if she’s been able to text, it means she’s not stuck in a fighting pit somewhere.

Malcolm sighs and his eyes drop to the ground dejectedly. “What happened to you, man? Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for months.”

“It would be better discussed inside.”

Malcolm shakes his head. “You can’t come in here. Not yet.”

“Can you at least take Ewan? He needs help. He’s in bad condition and he’s separated from his wolf, I think, but that could dramatically change any moment too.”

Both the male dragons look in the back seat, and then come back to the front. “Is his sleep natural or unnatural?”

“Natural, but trauma-induced. He was rented out last night by a bunch of humans from the smell of it.”

Pru is a doctor, and I know that stoic expression on her face. I’ve seen it too many times since this war started. She was a doctor before she met Gavin, when she was human. We all knew he left his father’s side to be with a human mate, what we didn’t know was that she had turned into an Obsidian dragon, not until my brother’s mate did the same thing.

Pru walks around the car and pulls her long, black hair into a ponytail and opens the passenger door. “You’re Declan’s mate?”

Brianna nods softly, her hand clutching mine like she’s not sure if she can trust these people. “He hasn’t claimed me yet, but…”

“She’s pregnant?” Malcolm’s eyes grow wide as he stares at Brianna. “How?”

“That’s why I need to see Syrena and Ash. Any idea where they are?”

“Not until you take a salty swim, brother. Not after everything we’ve been through. Both of you need to make sure there’s no thrall on you.”

“We haven’t been around any bloodsuckers. Unless Grey’s taught humans how to enthrall others, we’re not any risk.”

Gavin shakes his head at me. “We’re not chancing it. You want to interact with anyone, you’re taking a bath.”

I frown, but I get it. “Okay. We’ll do whatever is necessary to see Syrena. We need to know what this all means.”

“I’ll call her, and Ash. But you need to take the wolf to a safehouse. We’re not letting any more of this disrupt the safety and sanctuary of the Sea Glass.” Gavin pulls a slip of paper out of his pocket, and hands it to me along with a cell phone. “We’ll let you know when we’ve talked with Ash.”

Pru pulls out three vials and hands them to Brianna. “Add one of these to a bathtub filled with water as hot as you can stand, and an entire box of Epsom salts. Each of you must bathe separately.” She looks across the car at me. “Since I’m assuming you’re not going to let your mate bathe the wolf, you’re going to need to get him in there tonight, even if he’s asleep while he soaks.”

I nod at her. “We’ll do it right away.”

Brianna looks more wary as she accepts the vials, and I can tell we’re going to have even more to talk about before I introduce her to the rest of my family.

“Bring your girl around once you’ve been given the all-clear.” Malcolm winks at Brianna, and for the first time in a long time, I want to pummel him into the ground. He’s always been flirtatious, and it’s never really bothered me before, but now that I have a mate, and an unclaimed one at that, I don’t want him anywhere near her.

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