The Dragon's Need (Tahoe Dragon Mates 2)

Gaby nearly argued that positive thinking wasn't enough sometimes, but held back. Her mother was only trying to help. And the fact her mom so wholeheartedly endorsed Ryan meant a lot to her.

She nodded. "Oh, believe me, when he wakes up, I'm not letting him out of my sight any time soon."

Her mother raised her brows. "For a short while, yes. But don't let the traitors win in the long run. If you fear living your life going forward, they will have won, no matter if they're locked up somewhere or not."

Gaby frowned. "That's easy for you to say—Dad is a dragon-shifter and can more easily overcome threats from within the clan. However, Ryan can't change his form and it's simply a fact that he's weaker. I can't just disregard that bit and pretend everything will work out."

Her mother raised her brows. "Your human did a pretty good job after such a short period of training. I'm sure Cris and Wes will arm him further, and train him harder, once this is done. Even if Wes is pretty sure he's cleaned out the last of the clan who want to harm your mate and Jose's—thanks to confessions—he's not going to take any chances."

She opened her mouth to argue, but Dr. Carter entered the room still wearing his scrubs. Both she and her mother turned toward him and he spoke before they could ask anything. "Ryan is alive. I repaired the internal damage and he should heal fully from that, but a few spinal fractures showed up on the X-ray. I won't know for sure the extent of the damage until he's awake and we can test if he's paralyzed from the waist down, or at all."

Her mother gripped her hand and Gaby squeezed back, taking comfort. Gaby blurted, "When can I see him?"

Dr. Carter replied, "He won't be awake for a while, but if you want to sit next to his bed and hold his hand, you can follow me now. However, you have to promise not to jostle him or do more than hold his hand or maybe gently touch his face at this point. Since he's human, the fractures will take a lot longer to heal even with dragon's blood injections and I don't want to risk any more damage."

With a dragon-shifter, they'd probably be up and about within a few days after a similar injury.

It was yet another disadvantage her human possessed.

At least dragon's blood sped up the healing process in humans a little. Gaby would give as much as she needed to get him healthy ASAP. "I promise to follow any order you have, but just let me see my male."

Dr. Carter motioned with a hand. "Then follow me."

Gaby barely paid attention as she followed the head doctor down the corridor. She somehow went through the motions of washing her hands, too, before finally reaching the room. Dr. Carter said quietly, "Just remember he looks worse than he is, Gaby. The bruises will heal within a day or two thanks to the injection of dragon's blood you gave us."

The doctor's words made her heart pound harder. She had been able to at least do that. Gaby bobbed her head. "Just let me see him."

He finally allowed Gaby into the room and she drew in a breath.

Ryan was paler than normal, his face and arms a mottle of bruises, not to mention a bandage around one of his upper arms poking from under his hospital gown. A brace was around his neck, and he had various machines hooked up to him.

It took everything Gaby had not to start crying again. She needed to be strong for her male.

Dr. Carter whispered, "He's breathing on his own, which is good. The rest of the machines are just keeping track of his vitals." He gently pushed her toward the bed. "Go. Your mate will sense you're near and it'll help him."

Swallowing, Gaby moved to the bedside and gently took Ryan's hand. It was cooler than she liked, but the steady rise and fall of his chest helped ease the worst of her fears.

Her dragon spoke up. Talk to him. Corny as it sounds, our voice could help his healing process. Let him know we're here and won't walk away from him.

Why would you even suggest we'd leave him?

Because some people wouldn't be able to handle this so soon a

fter meeting.

Ryan is our mate, even if we haven't had our official ceremony yet. I won't abandon him because of a few injuries.

Her dragon grunted in approval and fell silent.

Once the doctor left her, Gaby gently touched his cheek and said, "I'm here, Ryan. You were brave to try and fight them, and I couldn't be prouder. But do you know what will make me even prouder to be your mate? If you wake up and heal as quickly as possible. Wes has most of the threats under control and we might even be able to finally have our own place. That should be a strong enough motivation for you, I think, to not have to try and sneak around in my parents' house."

Silence, except for the whirring of the machines and Ryan's breathing.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Gaby quickly wiped them away. She'd done enough crying over the last few hours. Ryan needed her to be strong, and she would be.

So she sat down and kept talking, telling him stories about her, her family, and even some of the dragon-shifter legends she'd learned as a child.

While she had no proof that it helped, she believed that it did. She'd do a hell of a lot more to get her male to wake up again.