Page 74 of Dragon Unhinged

I’m stuck.

Without Declan.

Alone.

I don’t even remember how I got home, let alone how I managed to get locked in my room. What happened to Declan? He wouldn’t just abandon me.

I hear a key rattling in the door’s lock, and I look around for anything I could arm myself with, anything I could use to get out of here. I grab a letter opener from the desk and conceal it in my back pocket, beneath the hem of my shirt. The cool metal grazesmy back as I also grasp the chair, ready to use it as a weapon if I need it.

The most logical thing I consider is my father’s locked me away because he found out I helped his shifters escape.

I keep my eyes on the door while I try and think back to what happened. I was in the hospital room with Declan and Pru… and then nothing. Why don’t I remember anything?

All I’ve had to eat or drink since that bath with the potion to wipe away spells was the tea Syrena made, and the vitamins that nurse gave me. Syrena certainly would have the magic, the ability to drug me, but what purpose would that solve? If the intention was to imprison me, wouldn’t it have been easier to just lock me in the basement with Declan? Why let us escape? Why let us think we were free?

God, is Declan back too?

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The nurse from the hospital smiles at me, looking sinister and bored at the same time. “Grey was worried you would have your mate’s tourmaline on you somewhere, but he let me try the dragon’s fire. So glad it worked. Put the chair down, have a seat, so we can talk.”

I drop the chair down to the floor and stare at her, confused as to why I would follow her orders so easily. I will myself to stay standing even though my body is demanding I sit down. I fight it hard.

“Where’s Declan?” I ask through clenched teeth.

“Sit.”

It’s like I don’t have any control over my own body. Like I’m a fucking puppet.

This is so much worse than just being followed and always monitored by my father.

“You are an asset, Brianna. I imagine we’ll be able to give you some concessions, once you’ve proved your worth.” She tugs my chair around so that I’m facing the bed before she takes a seat atthe foot of the mattress. “Do let me know if you need anything specific to feel comfortable. I think we’ve done an excellent job of recreating your room at home, but if you need anything else, I’ll determine if it’s something we can get you. Of course, we’ve removed anything sharp, and made sure you wouldn’t be able to hurt yourself by breaking any of the glass. You and your baby are far too important to the cause.”

My baby? Fucking fuck. That’s why I’m here? That’s what he wants? I’m going to be held here for months? Maybe more, if they need me to raise it. I can’t be gone from Declan for months!

“Grey will expect you to join him for dinner tonight. I’ll choose a dress for you, and you’ll be ready by seven.” She gets up, walks to the closet, and comes out a moment later with a dress so similar to the one I picked out the first night my father made me meet the Lees, it feels like a dark omen.

“Peter liked you in this one, and since he’ll be the one raising your little dragon spawn, I think we should make him happy, don’t you?” She grins. “Wouldn’t want the adoptive father to get hungry one night.”

No, no, no. This can’t be happening. I need to get back to Declan. What if Declan thinks I betrayed him? I close my eyes and try to send my thoughts out to him, but before I even remotely get a message out, I stop myself from contacting him.

It's the same feeling I had when she made me sit. Like there’s something worming its way into my autonomy and keeping me from doing what I need to do to get to safety.

I’ve never felt so alone and trapped, and that’s after two decades with my father.

The nurse stands up and pulls the comforter on the bed down like she’s preparing it for me. “Now, lay down and rest until you need to get ready. You’re going to need a lot of it while your baby grows.”

Without a word, without even the ability to complain, I stand up and move to the place where she’s peeled back the covers and crawl onto the bed and lay down, closing my eyes like a nap is my idea, not some thought this monster is putting into my head.

Tears stream down my temples even as I drift off to sleep.

I wake with a start,as if an alarm is going off inside of me. It’s time to get ready for dinner with Peter. Declan was right. There was a vampire in my house.

I get up and walk to the bathroom, intent on taking a shower, on getting ready for dinner, before I fully register what I’m doing. I’m a marionette now while the puppet master controls me. I have no power.

Stripping out of my clothes feels jerky, unnatural, and I’m having a harder time moving around. My body is stiff. My hips and back ache like I’ve done a hard work out or something. Clothes drop haphazardly to the ground. I bend down to take off my socks, but I can’t seem to bend over enough. I stand erect and catch sight of myself in the mirror.

I gasp loudly, the sound echoing against the sterile while bathroom tiles.

I haven’t spent a lot of time around pregnant women or reading up on what to expect, so I don’t exactly know the major milestones and how they’re supposed to happen or look, but I’m pretty sure going from a mostly flat belly before a nap to having a fairly pronounced bump is far from normal.

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