Page 12 of His Dragon Princess

“Fuck.” I looked away, her pink nipples pebbled as if aching for my touch. “You know why, Veronica. Please. Help me.”

She stared at me for a moment, then she stood up and screamed. “Anselm! Theo! Hurry! We need to get this boulder off his leg so he can shift and heal.”

More wings disappeared and my big brother ran down the broken stairs and into the cellar. “Iain. Oh... man, it’s good to see you.”

My dragon settled a little, but it hovered just beneath the surface. “Help. Brother. Get this thing off me.”

Anselm studied the rock as Theo appeared.

“Man, he’s gonna bleed out if we lift this off him.”

“He’s going to die if we leave him here,” Veronica snapped, all fire and brimstone. “Just do it, guys. Lift that fucking stone, I’ll pull him out and he can shift before he bleeds too much.”

Anselm looked at me. “Are you sure you can do it? You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

I clenched my jaw tight and nodded. “I can. But I’ve only got a minute or two before I pass out. Lift the rock and run, guys. Please.”

More help appeared as loud wings flapped, then my father appeared.

“Son!”

Stupid tears clogged my throat. “Dad.”

King Stavrok, a beast of a man, and my father, the king, dropped to his knees beside me. “Oh son, I thought we’d lost you forever.”

He cupped my face in the most affectionate touch I’d received in years.

I couldn’t speak, but Veronica was there, taking charge. She put a hand on Dad’s shoulder and tugged him back.

“Uncle, we need to hurry. Help Anselm get this rock off him. His dragon’s ready to shift, and if we don’t do it now, we’ll lose him.”

Dad stood up. “He can’t shift, not like this.”

Veronica growled, her shifter as close to the surface as mine was. “He’s not dying down here. You got that? Lift the rock, and get clear. I’ll get him out and he’ll shift.”

Dad’s growl was louder and more menacing and yet Veronica didn’t budge.

My shifter couldn’t help but be proud of the strength of my mate.

“He’ll kill you when he shifts, Veronica, and that’s if he can. I’m not letting you do this.”

She put her hands on her hips and faced my father. “Uncle! You have to trust me. I found him. He’s still alive because of me. Just listen and do as I say. One more time.”

I could see my father hesitating. He believed in magic and premonitions, and although I had no idea what Veronica had done or said to get them here, obviously she believed she had the right to throw her weight around.

I added fuel to the fire. “Dad. Please. Just do what she says.”

I could tell he wanted to ask why, but he didn’t. He just turned toward the wreckage that had fallen on my leg.

“Okay boys. On three, we lift. Once he’s clear, we run and shift, get to the sky.”

Anselm and Theo nodded and grabbed sections of the boulder that lay pressed on my leg.

Dad called out. “One. Two. Three. Lift!”

Veronica grabbed under my arms and the moment the rock shifted, she pulled, hard, using her dragon strength to move me.

I half-blacked out. The pain! Oh my God, the pain! A throbbing, sharp, let-me-die-please type of pain coursed through my body.

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