Page 17 of The Exiled Dragon

It all made more sense; the was growling in his chest when he left me alone, the enormous roar from outside. Goodness, he probably thought I was completely out of my mind when I said I was afraid of the Vampires hunting him down. He would kill them in an instant.

"I'm sorry," I spat. Creed's hands came up to grip mine again. "I thought you would be in danger from the Vampires, but I guess I was mistaken." Creed kissed my hands again, and I was unsure how to act. I mean, I was in a completely different land. The cultures might be different. This could be a friendly gesture, right? My heart turned over in my chest. What if I wanted it to be more than just a social tradition? Creed laid my hands gently back on my lap as if I would break.

He was the friendliest Dragon I had ever met, and I'm pretty sure I will end up crushing on him. What happens when my ankle gets better? I bit my lip. He won't need to take care of me anymore.

Fluffy came back into the cave carrying a sizeable furry animal, maybe the size of a Labrador retriever, squirming, trying to get away. Little shrills came from the white-coated animal. For being outdoors and not a pet, its fur was ridiculously white with a hint of blue hue. The face was small and pointed, the tail big and feathery, reminding me of a fox or raccoon. Fluffy brought it to Creed, his tail wagging like a dog instead of its saunter-wagging like a cat.

The animal caught my eye; it was so precious looking yet terrified of the two hunters that had it lying on the table. Creed began to pet its face while holding it down by its neck. The animal calmed, its body going limp.

Excitement tickled my stomach; maybe he got a new pet?

"Aww! It is so cute-" I was cut off by the large knife coming down harshly, slicing off the animal's head.

Chapter Twelve

Odessa

Iscreamed.

I shouted rather loudly, causing Fluffy and Creed to look at me with uneasiness. Creed ran over to me, covered in blood spatter from the cute animal. I should have seen it coming; I mean, he clicked his tongue, and Fluffy went and caught dinner.

My breathing was ragged, but I waved my hand in the air. "I'm fine. Really, I wasn't expecting it." Part of me wasn’t okay, but I let it go. Creed looked back over to the animal; the head was lying in a bucket while the blood drained.

I've seen a lot of blood in this land, but not so much as this. It flowed heavily into the bucket while I looked away. Fluffy was utterly troubled; he hopped up on the bed, despite Creed growling at him, putting his head in my lap. Covering my mouth and concentrating on Fluffy, Creed sighed and continued to empty the remnants of the animal.

"It had such pretty fur. I thought you were going to keep it as a pet." His lip curled, starting to strip the animal of its beautiful coat. His hands worked quickly, pulling off the skin like it was nothing. It came off in one swift piece and held it up in the air. Pride beamed from his chest; he almost stood a foot taller.

The bits of blood stained the neck area, but he brought it to me, holding it out for me to touch. My fingers gripped the fur, which was the softest material I have ever felt. Creed's hands pushed it closer to me, laying it on my skin and stretching it across my leg.

"Clothes? I can make clothes with this?" Creed nodded his head excitedly. As cute as the little animal was, the weather outside was getting colder, and the thought of this fuzzy fur on my skin sounded perfect. I didn't have the luxury of sweatshirts, sweatpants, or jeans. I was stuck with this thin tunic that was barely doing enough to keep me warm.

Creed's eyes widened; he was expecting me to say something. What should I say?"Thanks for killing that animal that I thought was so cute?"I bit my lip, trying to hold back the funny thought, and finally squeezed his hand. "I love it, thank you." Creed's chest rumbled; his eyes flashed from his normal dark eyes back to the red several times before he stretched it across a sizeable easel-like stretcher stretching out the fur tight. Moving it close to the fire, he sat it there as a prize.

I giggled at him. Creed went back to carving the meat, probably for our large meal of the day.

***

Creed spent most of the day making sure I was fed and rested. He fed me every two hours like a newborn baby, even waking me from my nap to shove more of his stew into my mouth. Finally, I had to swat his hand away and tell him I couldn't possibly eat any more. The Dragon growled underneath his clothes and continued to point at the food.

Creed wouldn't let me leave the cave to go to the ladies' rest area like the day before; he had compiled a 'restroom' like area behind a cloth that led to the back of the cave. There was running water, a hot spring I couldn't wait to jump into once my ankle healed. The steam kept it warm, so going to the bathroom outside was but a distant memory. I was back to going in a bucket again, but it didn't bother me or degrade me this time. I was allowed my privacy and well thankful for it.

The night was approaching; you couldn't see the light at the end of the cave any longer. Fluffy came prancing in with his own food and gnawed on the leg of some other animal. Creed wrapped my ankle again, putting on the stinky salve causing me to gag. His pointing and rubbing on the cuts left no room for argument.

All day, Creed watched me when he thought I wasn't looking. I could feel his stares, but they did not bother me like those with the Vampires. He was checking if I was still here, still safe and sound. I had worried him a lot when I left; I knew how he was caring for me. It was almost too much that he put in so much effort to make me happy. He had no reason to; he just did.

Where did this kind of Dragon come from, and what was his story? Why did he not have a family of his own?

I really wished he could talk, but I couldn’t ask him to use that harsh voice that gave him pain. I wanted to know what he was thinking, what he thought of me staying in his cave, his bed? Why did he even have the heart to take me into his cave when he could have left me for the Vampires?

What if he could get his voice fixed? There was magic here, surely some healing spell? I'm sure he would have thought of it; he would want his voice, wouldn't he? Then again, if he was alone, why have it fixed?

"Hey, Creed?" Creed looked up from the fire; he sharpened his blade he kept at his side most of the time. "Can someone heal your voice? Like a Witch or something? This place seems so magical, and my mother was a Witch. I suppose, could they use their magic?" Creed sighed, his head tilted backward, his eyes closed. I felt guilty about asking. I just wanted to hear his voice, how smooth or rough it would be when he said my name with his vocal cords.

Creed stood up, walking to the bag on the table. Shoveling around, the clinking noise made my ears perk up in interest. He held out two gold coins. "Money," I spoke. "It costs a lot of money?" He nodded again, pushing the coins back in. Where did he get those? Could he make more? Could I make money?

I laid back in the bed. My eyes fixed on the same cave walls he was looking at before. "I'll earn you some coins," I spoke adamantly. "You helped me; I'm going to help you." The stool made a harsh sound against the floor; Creed was by my side in an instant, shaking his head.

"Why not? You have helped me. I want nothing more to make you happy and to hear you say my name on your own." The sexy curl of his lip had now reached his cheek. "Come on, Prince Charming, when I get better, I want to help." My heart raced, feeling the heat of his body next to mine. He was still a good few feet away, but I sensed it. His body stood over mine, kissing my cold forehead. It was intimate; he stood there while I smelled the smoke of the fire and the hint of lavender radiating off his tanned skin.

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