Aiding the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 7)

“He’s been given the antidote, but it’ll be at least eighteen hours before he wakes up. And I doubt Ms. MacKenzie will leave his side to come to you,” Dr. O’Brien replied.

Aaron ran a hand through his hair. “I hate sitting here, not being able to do anything. Just let Orla and Brenna know I’m awake.” He chanced wiggling his toes. The sheet above them moved, although each motion sent pins and needles racing up his legs. “And at least draw aside the bloody curtain. I want to see Teagan for myself.”

Without a word, Emily walked to the curtain and drew it aside to reveal Teagan lying on a bed.

While her face was a little paler than normal and he could make out circles under her eyes, her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Then his gaze moved to the bandage around her neck.

Aaron’s female had gone down fighting and won to live another day. Pride mixed with love surged through his body.

His dragon swished his tail as if in agreement, but didn’t move from the back of his mind or make any sounds.

Dr. O’Brien’s voice filled the room. “She’s stable and should make a full recovery.”

He itched to take her hand and bring it to his cheek. Seeing her and hearing she would be okay wasn’t quite the same as feeling her warm skin against his and listening to her heart beat.

After drinking in the sight of her face for another second, he looked back to the trio of doctors. “And what about the bastards who betrayed us? You didn’t tell me the specifics of Teagan’s brawl with the three males.”

“Orin and Padraig are dead. Hugh is in custody. The DDA should be arriving at any minute to collect him and question the clan about Teagan’s actions.”

He frowned. “Who is doing that?”

“It was supposed to be Teagan,

but Orla forbid it. She’ll handle it instead.”

Holy fuck. “No, let me up and take me to Orla. Even if it’s in a bloody wheelchair, someone needs to be there to do damage control. Orla may have been a great leader once, but she’s prone to voicing her opinions in her old age. That may not end well.”

O’Brien raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see if I mention your words to Orla or not.” Aaron opened his mouth, but the doctor beat him to it. “Regardless, Brenna is there. The pair of them can handle it. I sense Orla is grooming the Stonefire lass to be her protégé to one day become a clan leader, but of where, I have no idea.”

Aaron might remember who he was, but it was starting to feel as if he’d landed in the middle of a different clan. “Since when is Brenna in charge of anything on Glenlough? You should’ve mentioned that earlier.”

O’Brien replied, “Since everyone else with a higher rank was taken out of commission and none of her compatriots stepped up.”

Just as he tried to think of another way to convince them to let him out of bed, Teagan’s weak voice garnered his attention. “Do you always have to be so loud, Aaron? I’m trying to sleep.”

~~~

At first, Teagan had thought she’d been dreaming as she listened to Aaron’s voice. But when all the doctors joined in and talked about things she’d never think about on her own, she started to wonder if the voices were real.

It took longer than she wanted to force her eyes open since the fever had sapped most of her energy, but the instant she saw Aaron’s scowling face, all she wanted to do was jump out of bed and run into his arms.

Her dragon spoke up. He is alive and himself. That is all that matters. Be patient.

Did the fever addle your brains? You’re usually impatient when it comes to Aaron.

There is a lot going on. We must take care of the clan first.

She mentally sighed. I know. But I want to at least feel Aaron’s hand in mine before tackling the mountain of shite at our doorstep. No one would think less of us for wanting to touch our mate for a minute.

Not waiting for her dragon to respond, she spoke, her voice weaker than she’d like. “Do you always have to be so loud, Aaron? I’m trying to sleep.”

Aaron’s brown eyes instantly met her. Relief and then loved filled his gaze. “Teagan. You’re awake.”

She tried her best to smile. “They can knock me down, but I’ll just get right back up.”

He never looked away from her as he growled, “Let me out of this bed.”

Ronan O’Brien turned toward her. “We should wait another few minutes, Teagan, to ensure his muscles are relaxed and that there’re no ill effects from the sped-up antidote process.”