I wake up, having slept better than I have since, well, since the last time I slept with Everett. I reach out and feel that the bed is warm but empty, just before the sounds of the shower reach my ears.I know that as soon as we walk out of this room, all of Everett’s walls will go back up. I know that he will push me away and try to keep his distance. But I also know that every time he breaks and spends the night with me, there is less time before the next time.The first time we were together, I thought he had finally given in, finally agreed to be my mate. I was so hurt when he went back to acting normal the next day. I know he loves me, he’s told me, but only when he thought I was dead, when I was paralyzed during an attack on the scientist’s lab. He has never said the words to me in the throes of passion or just because he wants me to know how he feels.After the second time we were together, I realized that he can’t resist me. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t push me away f
As soon as Amne shifts, I scoop her off the ground.“I’ve got you, Amne. It’s me, Doc Everett. I’m going to take care of you,” I tell her, not sure if she can hear me or not.Her body seems to have lost all muscle control and she’s flopping around in my arms until I get her settled so her head is against my chest, and I have her securely in my arms.One thing I realized very quickly is that dragons may look like humans, but their bones continue to be very dense, even in their human form. So they weigh nearly double what you’d expect them to weigh just by looking at them. Amne, like the other dragon females, is tall and lean, looking modelesque in her stature but weighing somewhere around 250 pounds.A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to lift Amne and hold her like I am, but when you spend lots of time with shifters, it makes you stronger, faster. They don’t realize how fast they are, how strong they are, or how you, as a human, aren’t as capable of carrying heavy objects. So, while
I watch amazed, as I always am when there’s a crisis and my mate takes charge, facing off against Ancalagon or anyone who gets in the way of him helping those who are injured, directing others to get him the information he needs, and continuing to look after his patient while keeping up with everything that’s going on around him. As usual, I’m utterly in awe of this man.To watch him, to listen to him, you’d never know that he was worried sick about losing his patient. But then, he’ll reach out to me, need to touch me to help keep him grounded. I know that’s the reason because I need it to. He may not recognize the mate bond the way I do, but he definitely feels the impact of our mate bond.“How long before we know for sure if Amne is going to be okay?” I ask him.“I need to run more tests and I’ll need to stay with her today to make sure she stays stable,” he says.I look at the clock. “You have class today, Everett. I’ll stay with her. Take her blood and get the tests started. If an
I love teaching. It’s the best thing that I do next to helping these hybrids and dragons. If you had asked me a few years ago what my life was going to be like in the next five years, I never would have imagined that it would be this. I’ve always been enamored with dragons and to find out that they are real and that I could become a permanent part of their life, was incredible. Getting to know them, work with them, save them, and now teach them, has been a dream that I never thought would become a reality, but here I am.That doesn’t mean there aren’t pitfalls. I’m in love with a dragon, the most beautiful dragon of all of them if you ask me, but I wasn’t born to claim a dragon. Every time I take Cedric’s sword-wielding class, I’m reminded of how utterly weak I am compared to these shifters. I walk out of that class, my entire body feeling like I’ve been beaten up. And while the others may walk out that way too, by dinner they are all healed, while I am still sore at the next class.M
We’re not supposed to leave the school grounds, but sometimes, I just need to get away. In a school of freaks, I’m the freakiest. I’m the only one who can shift into two different types of shifters, which might be really cool if they were normal, but they’re not. My DNA got so screwed up by the scientists that no matter what form I take, I’m a freak of nature, a scaly Lycan or a furry dragon.That may change if Eric ever wakes up. I may not be the only one that can shift into two animals. I heard that Doc Everett had to give him a fourth DNA, elf DNA, to try to get the others to merge. We’re still waiting to see if Eric wakes up. He has Komodo dragon, polar bear, water dragon and now elf. If he’s like me, he’ll shift into something like a furry lizard or a scaly elf. Neither of those options is positive. Sometimes, I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better if they had left me to die.As I walk through the woods surrounding the school, I catch a strange scent, a scent I’ve caught severa
I was on my way to check on Everett, Amne, and Eric, when Ancalagon bugled that intruders had crossed the borders of the school.I race outside leaping into the air.“Where, Ancalagon?”“Near Zephyr and Ishir’s place.”“Stay here, guard the school,” I say, hovering as the other dragons head my way.“All of you, guard the school,” I say.“Do as she says,” Ancalagon orders them as I fly toward where I’ve caught the scent of strange hybrids. Strange but familiar, one with fire dragon and Lycan DNA, and the other has Lycan and earth dragon DNA.A moment later, Zephyr bugles that it’s okay, we’re not under attack, but I continue making my way toward where I also now smell Tesha’s familiar mixture of Lycan, polar bear, and fire dragon.I fly in, lifting up so my back feet are closer to the ground and I begin to shift as I land, tucking my wings into my back as my feet touch the ground.“Whoa,” one of the boys says, staring at me. “How did you do that?” he asks, staring at my naked body.Ish
Amne had a pretty good night overall. She tossed and turned for a long time until Ancalagon suggested that I flip her onto her stomach. It took me awhile to figure out what he was saying. My understanding of dragon speak is getting better, but it’s not perfect.When I carefully helped her flip onto her stomach, she was able to fall asleep and I realized that her entire life, she’s only slept this way.Every few hours, I’d wake up and take blood from her IV, testing it to make sure that her shift continued to go well. By morning, I’m feeling pretty confident that I can get her outside today, even if it’s just to lay in the sun with the other dragons for a few hours. Her eyes are mostly stabilized in the human version, with only the occasional flickermto her dragon's eyes.I was just about to ask her what she wanted to try and eat for breakfast when Ancalagon bellowed his warning. I heard Kaylani run outside and shift, then tell Ancalagon and the other dragons to guard the school. I’d h
I take the nasty smelling food that Everett gave me and I walk into Amne’s room.“Amne, how are you feeling this morning?” I ask her. Because she’s on her stomach, she has to lift herself up and turn her head to look at me.“Hi Kaylani. I’m doing okay,” she says, her voice raspy but better.“You can talk! Yay! Everett sent me in with some food for you,” I say, moving over to her. Her lip curls like mine did.“What is it?” she asks.“Eggs and some more of the pureed soup.”“That tasted gross, but I’m not sure I could swallow anything else right now,” she says.“Let’s get you turned over and try to get some food in you. Everett thinks that you can go outside today. I don’t think he wants you to try and shift quite yet, but he wants you to be outside in the sun, letting it heal you,” I tell her as I help her roll over.“He’s really good, isn’t he?”“Yeah, he is. Now remember, hold your breath when you swallow,” I tell her and hold the cup to her lips. She does much better today than she