You won’t be. I’ll make sure of it.
Liar!
The dragon went back to ignoring her and weaving through the trees of the forest. Just as Sid searched her brain for an idea, her beast caught the scent of a familiar human male: Rafe Hartley.
Sid wondered if her beast would have access to Sid’s memories, but as her dragon roared, He won’t catch me, she had her answer.
Sitting down in her mental cell, Sid closed her eyes and tried to remember what her teachers had taught her as a child about working with and containing her dragon-half. There had to be something she could do to stop her.
Because once her dragon shifted and relearned the basics of flying, that would sign Sid’s death warrant.
~~~
Back in the surgery, Gregor finished checking the last person injured by Sid’s dragon’s dash and slipped into the hallway. However, not two seconds later, Bram’s voice filled the corridor. “Come with me.”
“Is Cassidy okay? Did you find her?” he asked.
“Not here. Come.”
Gregor shook his head. “I can’t leave my patients. Nikki, in particular, needs to be watched closely.”
Bram motioned with his head. “We’re staying in the building, but just a few doors down. Ginny can keep watch and let us know instantly if anything is wrong.”
Gregor looked at the door to Nikki’s room. “Nikki is one of your Protectors. No matter what it is, she should be privy to it.”
“Look, Innes, I don’t want to argue. But the last thing we need to do is cause Nikki any stress. For once, just trust me.”
Searching Bram’s eyes, Gregor’s dragon chimed in. Nikki is fine. Everything checked out normal. You’re just worrying more than necessary because she’s pregnant. I want to trust Stonefire’s leader.
Gregor’s dragon rarely trusted so quickly, which spoke volumes about his beast’s opinions of Bram.
With a sigh, Gregor took a step toward Bram. “Then let’s hurry up.”
He followed Bram’s lead to a room a few doors down. As soon as Gregor shut the door behind him, Bram spoke again. “We’re still trying to locate Sid. Thank fuck she hasn’t shifted yet, or we might be having a grimmer conversation.”
“Just tell me why you called me in here. Neither one of us has time to beat around the bush.”
Approval flashed in Bram’s eyes. “Aye, you’re right. What I need for you to do is think of how to coax Sid back from the edge.”
“I would love nothing more, but usually the dragon-shifter teachers have a better grasp on how to do it.”
Bram nodded. “Tristan MacLeod is going to help, but so are you. From what I heard from Ginny, Sid wants you for the mate-claim frenzy. That could work to our advantage.”
Gregor clenched his fingers. “I won’t impregnate Sid without knowing she’ll be fine afterward. A pregnant, out-of-control dragon would do too much damage. I also won’t take the choice of whether or not to have a child away from her.”
Bram studied him a second before replying, “You’re a much better male than I originally thought.”
“Bloody hell, Bram, don’t you understand how serious this situation is? Stop wasting time thinking about me and think about Cassidy.”
“I am,” Bram growled. “Snapping at me won’t help Sid. Instead, work with me. You don’t have to complete the mate-claim frenzy, but if you can entice Sid into your arms, we can sedate her and have Tristan and the other teachers work with her.”
The thought of kissing Cassidy so she could be shot full of the drugs she hated so much made his stomach churn.
Gregor cleared his throat. “If we do this, we do it my way. The teachers may have the greatest chance of bringing Cassidy back from the brink, but I can help, too. Promise me I can stay as long as I want and keep me in the loop about anything to do with Cassidy Jackson, and I’ll help.”
He half expected Bram to argue or throw back his words about the seriousness of the situation. To Gregor’s surprise, Bram put out a hand. “I promise.”
Gregor took the other male’s hand and shook. A second later, Bram dropped his hand. “Kai has a plan, but it means leaving Nikki’s side for a short while. Were you serious about needing to watch her or were you just being a good doctor?”