Someone pounded on the door.
Kai pressed a dry towel against her wound and she cried out. He murmured apologies as he quickly tied another piece of material around it.
The pounding intensified. Kai lightly traced her cheek before murmuring, “Stay with me a little longer, Janey.”
She wanted to say she would, but it was becoming harder to keep her eyes open.
With a curse, Kai shouted, “Who is it?”
“Rhydian Griffiths. Open this bloody door, Kai Sutherland. That’s an order.”
As Kai moved to the door, Jane tried to reach a hand out to ask him to stay. However, she could do little more than watch Kai’s back before the world went dark.
~~~
Leaving Jane to open the door was the hardest thing Kai had done in years. But if there was anyone who could help him and his mate, it was Snowridge’s clan leader.
Kai moved his temporary barricade and threw open the door. The instant it was open, he raced back to Jane’s side.
She was unconscious.
Fuck. He glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t see any of the doctors or nurses he knew. “Jane needs medical attention straight away. I slowed down the bleeding, but she might need surgery.”
“All of the on-duty medical staff are unconscious. I need to know what happened in there, Kai.”
He cupped Jane’s cheek and slowly moved his fingers to her carotid artery. Her heart beat was steady but slower than he liked. He finally answered, “I know you have at least one retired doctor here. Fetch him and I’ll talk.”
Rhydian signaled to one of his Protectors, who took out a mobile and went into the hallway. “Dr. Hughes will be along shortly. Now, start talking.”
Kai never took his gaze from Jane as he answered, “I woke up to Maggie Jones kissing me and all hell broke loose.” Kai rehashed the events before asking, “How did this happen, Rhydian? I trusted you, and now my mate could die.”
“Not everyone welcomes humans as you do, Kai. I’ve learned to tolerate them out of necessity, but there are no human sacrifices here, nor have there been for quite a while. I suspect the children being kidnapped and everyone blaming the human dragon hunters was the final straw for the extremist few.” He paused and his voice was quiet when he said, “In truth, I’ve had a hard enough time filling the ranks with new Protectors after what happened with Gwendolen Price.”
During her time with the British Army, Gwendolen Price had fallen in love with a human soldier, become pregnant, and when injured during a mission, her human lover had sacrificed himself to save her. Shortly after, she had been discharged and had spent her time on Snowridge, raising her half-human daughter.
Rhydian added, “Lowering standards ultimately resulted in corruption, such as with Maggie’s cousin. With my most trusted Protectors out looking for your sister and the missing children, the less reliable were left here. I accept full responsibility for the chaos.”
Kai watched the rise and fall of Jane’s chest. There was a lot he wanted to ask, but his mate’s health was the most important thing to him at the moment. “Once Jane is out of danger, we’re going to have a much longer conversation, Rhydian. Until then, I suggest you clean up the ranks of your Protectors.”
“It’s already being done. Rest assured that Maggie Jones will face trial for her transgressions.”
At the mention of Maggie, his dragon roared and began thrashing once more. Kai couldn’t risk his beast taking control, so he slowly reinforced the mental cage. By the time he finished, Dr. Arwel Hughes—the retired doctor who had helped Stonefire with finding a cure for the dragon madness drug—burst into the room with a bag in hand.
Despite his gray hair and slightly stooped shoulders, he pushed Kai aside and began removing the makeshift bandage.
“If there’s anything I can do, Doctor, please tell me,” Kai said.
Dr. Hughes didn’t deviate from his task. “Just stay out of my way. If I need something from my bag, I’ll ask and you can give it to me.”
Kai gave the doctor room to do his work. He didn’t know if Dr. Hughes had any experience with humans since his training days decades ago. But he was still better than no doctor at all.
Rather than worry about something he couldn’t change, Kai focused on Jane’s face. Even though she was unconscious, he would use every bit of stubbornness he possessed to will her to live.
Because a life without Jane would be worse than hell. He’d gone through it once when Maggie had rejected him and he’d survived. But Kai wasn’t sure he could survive it again without Jane at his side.
Chapter Eight
Five hours later, Kai sat next to Jane’s bed in the surgery, his mother at his side.