The Dragon's Dilemma (Lochguard Highland Dragons 1)

Holly blinked back tears. Hopefully she hadn’t hurt him too badly.

At least she would have plenty of time to talk with him later once she returned to Lochguard and apologized.

That is, if they would accept her back at Lochguard. She’d started bleeding and there was a chance that she’d lost the baby.

Placing her hand over her abdomen, Holly fought back her tears. It was bloody ridiculous since she was only days pregnant. Yet the thought of losing her baby still made her heart ache.

And not just because of possibly losing the baby itself. There was also the possibility Lochguard would turn her away. After all, her contract allowed a dragon clan to send a sacrifice away if she miscarried.

She should be ecstatic to have a loophole to leave so she could take care of her father as well as return back to her job and friends. Yet she wasn’t as happy as she would’ve been even two weeks ago.

The only good news was that even though her father’s condition was still serious, a note had arrived earlier saying he was safe and under protective custody. No one would be able to kidnap him and use him against Holly or Lochguard. As it was, she still didn’t know if her father had been an additional target earlier, when she’d been chased.

Picking up the letter next to her bed, Holly opened it and traced the single “F” at the bottom. While it could be from Finn, Fergus, Faye, or Fraser, she wanted to believe it was Fraser who had sent it. That way, it would show that he didn’t hate her.

There was a knock on the door and Holly laid the letter down. Wiping her damp eyes with her forearm, she took a deep breath and said, “Enter.”

The door opened to reveal a short, curvy woman with brown hair and green eyes. While Holly had never met the woman personally, she recognized her face from the news reports. “You’re Melanie Hall-MacLeod.”

Smiling, the woman entered and shut the door behind her. Her short, clipped American accent filled the room. “That I am. And call me Mel.”

Holly frowned. “Why don’t you first tell me why you’re here?”

Mel pulled over a chair and sat down. “Arabella MacLeod is my sister-in-law. She asked me to come, and since she rarely asks anyone for favors, I agreed.”

“That still doesn’t really tell me why you’re here.”

Mel grinned. “I can see why Arabella likes you.” Holly opened her mouth, but Melanie cut her off. “She sent me because she’s worried about Fraser, but she can’t come herself without being targeted. Finn is also concerned about the phone lines being monitored by the DDA or even the ones who went after you back in Aberdeen. Since I’m human, so I can come and go as I please. Well, mostly. Half a dozen, um, people are watching me at the moment. It was the only way my mate allowed me to come.” Mel leaned forward and whispered, “I’m sure you understand a little about dragon males and their overprotective behavior by this point.”

Despite Melanie trying to lighten the mood, Holly couldn’t move past the bit about Fraser. Her heart beat double-time as she asked, “What happened? Did Fraser not make it back to Lochguard?”

Melanie studied her a second before answering, “Oh, he did. But after the way you dismissed him, I’m not sure why you care.”

Holly turned a little more toward Melanie. “I hate to be rude as we’ve only just met, but you shouldn’t make assumptions without all the facts.”

Gesturing with her hand, Mel leaned back in her chair. “Then enlighten me. Because even dragonmen have feelings and you’ve stung his.”

Holly clenched her fingers at Mel’s words. “I didn’t have a choice. He was already breaking the law by shifting inside Aberdeen. I couldn’t risk the DDA or police arresting him for arriving at a hospital with an injured human. Dragon-shifters are always presumed guilty

until proven innocent. I didn’t want him to go to jail.” Melanie shook her head, which only made Holly clench her fingers tighter. “If you don’t believe me, then you should just leave.”

Mel raised an eyebrow. “I never said I didn’t believe you.”

“Then why were you shaking your head?”

Mel grinned again. “Because your way of thinking is more akin to a dragon-shifter’s than you may realize. Especially when it comes to mates and love.”

Holly ignored Mel’s remark about love. “Fraser risked his life to protect mine. I would do anything to protect him, too.”

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Holly blinked. She hadn’t thought much about it before, but it was true. Despite Fraser not being a soldier or a Protector, he’d battled a dragon for her. If it came to it, she’d try to do the same for him.

Mel’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Good, you’ve passed my test. So if we can put aside the defending and questioning, I can fill you in on what’s happening.”

Learning about the future was far more important than shouting at Melanie for her stupid test. “Right then, I’m listening. What do you know?”

“The dragons who attacked you were former Lochguard clan members. Unfortunately, the first one died crashing into the ground and the other, a dragonman named Gordon, got away. There’s more to it, but it’s up to Finn to fill you in on the rest.”

Holly could keep the full truth from Melanie, but that wasn’t the best way for the woman to trust her. Without a smidgen of trust, Mel wouldn’t tell her any more details. And cut off from Fraser and Lochguard, Holly was desperate for details. “I’m not sure if they’ll welcome me back.” Holly took a deep breath and spat out, “I might’ve lost the baby. And dragon-shifters usually turn away humans who miscarry.”