Page 41 of Seducing the Dragon
Since Bram had remained silent, she changed the subject and lightened the mood again. “Before half the clan needs you and while I have you here to myself, tell me something I don’t know about you, maybe even something no one else knows.”
As he poured their drinks, he said, “I enjoy the human sci-fi showDoctor Who.”
Evie blinked. “The children’s program about a time-traveling alien? Really?”
Bram chuckled. “He’s a bit different from everyone else and sometimes feels isolated. As a dragon-shifter clan leader, I can empathize with his situation. Or, I used to.” He glanced at Evie. “Now, I have you.”
She stopped breathing at the hunger and longing in his eyes.
Her dragonman caressed her arm and she shivered as he said, “Maybe once things settle down and the threats are taken care of, we could watch it together.”
She would agree to watch anything if it meant she could curl up against Bram’s side. While she’d never really thought about it before, she yearned to do all the small couple things regularpeople did. Since she wasn’t with the DDA anymore, she might just have the time to manage it.
She was about to tease her dragonman about his revelation when he frowned and reached into the sporran settled over his crotch. As he pulled out his mobile phone, she bit back a smile; the phone was on vibrate and must’ve given his cock a surprise.
Bram answered the phone and his expression went hard. Her amusement faded as she listened to him say, “Slow down, Vivian. Tell me, is Quinn okay? What about Murray?”
Her gut told her that whomever Bram was talking to, it was related to either the dragon hunters or Neil Westhaven.
Clenchinghis fist to channel his anger at the news of the attack on his clan, Bram listened to the female clan member’s reply. “Oh, Bram, Murray is gone. They took him.”
He growled, “Was it Murray’s father? Did Neil Westhaven attack your mate?”
“No, it wasn’t Neil. The two kidnappers were human. S-she did something to Quinn. He won’t wake up.”
Hearing the pain of one of his clan members helped to switch to clan-leader-mode. “Vivian, you already told me you called Sid. If there’s a way to help him, she’ll try it. For now, just keep an eye out for any other intruders. I’m coming over. Call me the instant anything seems suspicious, understand?”
While the worry was still in Vivian’s voice, the dominance in his voice kicked in her dragon instincts and helped her to focus. “I can do that. And Bram, I’m sorry about Murray. I know you trusted us to protect him, and we failed.”
“No, Vivian, it’s my fault. I’ll explain later, but there’s no way I’ll allow you to take responsibility for my fuck-ups. Once youhang up with me, call Kai and catch him up so he can send help while I warn the clan. I’ll be there soon.”
He clicked off the phone and resisted the urge to smash it into a million pieces.
His dragon snarled.No time for sadness. We will find them and punish them. We must protect our clan and retrieve the young.
A hand touched his arm, and he looked over to see worry etched into Evie’s face. “Tell me what happened and how I can help.”
“I need you to go with Liam, Mel, and Samira to Mel and Tristan’s house while I go to investigate another attack.”
“I will, but first, tell me very quickly what’s going on. If it’s related to the dragon hunters, I might be able to help.”
His dragon urged him.Tell her.
Needing the anchor of her body, he put an arm around her. Some of his anger faded at the touch, which helped to clear his mind.
He leaned into her ear and whispered, “A human female broke into Quinn and Vivian’s cottage and stole wee Murray. Vivian assumes the human was a dragon hunter. If that turns out to be the case, do you know of anything that will knock out a dragon-shifter to the point they are in a coma? Most human-made drugs are useless against our metabolism.”
“Murray’s gone?”
Thinking about the little spirited baby boy in the hands of his enemies only increased his blood pressure and fueled his anger. He should’ve increased security around the lad earlier. Apparently, one experienced and well-trained Protector wasn’t enough anymore.
With herculean effort, he pushed his fury aside. He’d channel it later and use it on the hunter arseholes. “Yes, they took him. I will do whatever it takes to get him back, but for right now, Ineed you to concentrate, Evie. Do you know of anything I could use to help Quinn? In a minute, I’m going to have to make an announcement to the clan about the attack. If there’s any sort of good news or hope I can pass on, I’ll use it.”
Evie bit her thumbnail for a second and then widened her eyes. “I don’t know if it’s what you’re looking for, but I’ve heard rumors about some of the latest weapons developed by the dragon hunters. Believe it or not, one rumor talks about using one of the oldest methods to incapacitate a dragon-shifter. The concoction had been lost for centuries, but a historian recently discovered it and made it public.”
Fucking fantastic.“Spit it out, lass.”
“A delicate mixture of ground periwinkle flower and mandrake root will knock out a dragon-shifter in seconds. Not only that, it prevents them from shifting for days. Something to do with a hormone imbalance. Historians and scientists decided the mixture was probably responsible for so many English knights slaying your kind in the past.”
