Page 11 of The Dragon's Warlock

Lucy eyed her for a second. “Men.” She wiped alcohol across Diem’s arm before sticking the needle in. “Your symptoms are signs that he’s your mate.”

“Can you explain this, please?” Diem asked.

Lucy sighed. “This should come from Gideon, but he’s having issues with what happened to him. If I had to guess, I’d say he doesn’t think he’s good enough for you. A mate is the one person in the world your dragon is made for. There is nobody else for you, only him, and when you both stop fighting the pull, your dragon will settle down.”

“And if he fights the pull forever?”

“I’m not sure what happens to warlocks who fight the pull, but dragons can get sick,” she said, not looking Diem in the eye.

“Nothing good has come from getting turned into a dragon.”

“This is a speed bump in your long story. Give it time.” Lucy took the needle out of Diem’s arm, walked over to the computer, and placed her blood in a machine.

“How long before you have anything?”

“I should have something by morning. You and Gideon should stay the night and hit the road first thing in the morning.”

Her dragon wanted to get on the road and head out right away. “I don’t want to put you guys out.”

“It will give me time to finish the tests,” Lucy said, looking down at the computer. “I’m running these to hopefully have answers for you.”

“Any answers would help.” Diem took a deep breath. “Is there a way to go back to normal?”

“There might be a way, but I’m not looking into it. If someone ever got their hands on that type of drug, it could be deadly.”

“That makes sense. It’s just…”

Lucy walked over and grabbed her hand. “This world takes some time to get used to, and you haven’t seen the good side yet.”

The machine beeped, and Lucy walked back over. “That was fast.” She printed out a few pieces of paper. “Did you ever know your parents?”

Diem bristled. “No. Kayda and I were in foster care from a young age.”

“According to this, you might’ve had dormant shifter DNA,” she said excitedly.

“That would explain the shift,” Gideon said from the doorway.

Diem wanted to walk across the room and wrap her arms around him. Instead, she sat in place. “Why wouldn’t I have shifted before?”

“Some shifters can only be male. Gators are one shifter that is only born male. The girls just heal faster and don’t get sick.” Lucy typed a few things into the computer. “Did you get sick growing up?”

“Neither Kayda nor I ever got sick.”

Gideon walked across the room and stood next to her. “I wonder how they figured out you had shifter DNA. Did you give blood lately?”

Her face turned bright red. “Yes.” She could never find a man she wanted to settle down with, but she wanted a kid. A few days before she went to the bar, she’d visited a fertility bank for assistance with getting pregnant.

“Where did you go?” Lucy asked.

“I went to Cross Roads Fertility.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Gideon growled.

Diem rolled her eyes. “Stop being so growly. I would think you’re a wolf shifter. You don’t need a man to get pregnant, and I wanted to be a mom.”

“You’re not having someone else’s kids,” he said.

Lucy giggled from across the room.

“I’m not sure you have a say in who I have kids with,” Diem said.

“You’re my mate. If you want kids, they’ll be ours.”

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