Page 81 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons
‘Who’s that?’ I ask.
‘The blond from the fucking tape!’ He sits down heavily. ‘He pretended he was on my side, but that sonofabitch has been poisoning me. This is Aziel. Fuck!’
‘What tape?’ Del asks.
Drey stands up again and paces the room angrily, waving at the computer. ‘See for yourself. They tried to take Mari this morning from my private rooms. Luckily, she was able to hide from them. But I couldn’t smell them in there, Del. Scent masking is a rare gift. I thought I alone had that ability in the faction.’
‘As far as I know, that’s right,’ she assures me, taking his hand and squeezing.
‘But dragonsbane can also mess with your dragon’s senses,’ Del says as she stares at the screen, her eyes widening and then narrowing when her name is mentioned.
‘Those motherfuckers,’ she snarls. ‘Chain me up and fuck me? Ha! Those weak cunts wouldn’t know what to do with me even if they did get me there.’ Her eyes change, irises morphing into golden slits. ‘I am going to tear them apart for this.’ She looks up at us. ‘But first I’m taking a copy and I’m showing every female in Stormriders. If they think they’re going to lock us up and try to breed us, they are sorely mistaken!’
‘Show everyone you need to,’ Drey says. ‘How long before I’m myself again?’
‘On the pills and making sure you’re not absorbing anymore of the stuff? Three to five days at least.’
Drey nods. ‘We can’t stay here, Del. Aziel wants Mari, and I might just be too weak to stop him. We need a plan.’
Del nods and then pulls out her phone. She frowns as she reads and then her eyes fly to mine. ‘Mari?’
Something in her tone has me standing up, needing to be on more equal footing with the dragon female.
She steps closer. ‘You didn’t sleep with any humans before you came here,’ she says quietly.
I shake my head.
‘No,’ I whisper.
‘Holy shit,’ Del breathes in awe.
Drey looks from her to me and back to her again. ‘Pretend for a second that I’ve been poisoned by dragonsbane and my mind is sluggish. What’s going on?’
‘Mari hasn’t been with anyone besides Tor and Brax.’
He snorts. ‘Don’t fuck with me right now. That’s impossible. She’s?—’
‘Pregnant. Yes.’ Del turns back to me, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she smiles. ‘And the blood tests came back with markers for enzymes only found in dragon embryos, Drey.’
I stagger back, sitting down on the couch hard, wondering what Drey is going to say. ‘Tor and Brax told me it wouldn’t happen. They said we weren’t compatible. They…didn’t lie to me?’
Del shakes her head. ‘They didn’t lie to you, Mari. I’ve never seen this before. It shouldn’t be possible. But one of them is the father without a shadow of a doubt. Which means it’s growing more quickly than I realized.’
She looks down at my belly that’s only just protruding. ‘I need to do an ultrasound, but I can already tell that the gestation won’t be a human one. For dragons, four weeks is like twelve. You’ll probably be giving birth in about two months.’
‘I’m having a baby in two months?’ My heart is beginning to pound. ‘A dragon baby?’
I swallow hard, my ears roaring. ‘This can’t be happening.’
‘Mari,’ I hear Drey say, but his voice sounds a million miles away. ‘Mari, Del is a doctor. She’ll make sure you’re okay.’
‘It’s not enough,’ I wheeze. ‘The town medic couldn’t save my mom or my baby sister. She just bled out all over the bed and then he just left.’
Tears flood my eyes.
‘Listen to me.’ Drey takes my shoulder gently. ‘Look at me.’
I try to do as he says, blinking at the fuzzy shape in front of me rapidly to clear my eyes.
