As he listened to her baby’s heartbeat, he wondered how much of the little one’s dragon personality had developed. Trahern was in the minority that believed dragon halves were present and sentient far sooner than most believed. He had a theory about dragon-shifter hormones, but had never had the chance to test it out despite the fact Trahern’s dragon was much quieter than most dragon-shifters he’d met.
Even now, he poked but his beast yawned and went back to sleep.
He’d just have to be careful that the Stonefire dragons didn’t learn of his secret or they may see him as less of a dragon-shifter, which was dangerous for a doctor dealing with dragons in various states of temperament.
Standing up, Trahern moved his hands here and there around Nikki’s belly. “Everything sounds and feels normal. I’ll make sure to stress that.”
Nikki smiled. “Brilliant. Maybe I can get out of this bed sooner. Stick to the facts and you’ll win over the females of the clan in no time.”
He nodded and jotted down some notes. Before he could finish, someone knocked. “Nikki?”
It was the voice of the Scottish doctor from earlier.
Nikki shouted, “Come in.”
Gregor Innes opened the door and looked to Trahern. “We need to talk.”
“Not until I’m finished with my notes.”
Gregor growled. “Forget the bloody notes. This is more important.”
As the tall, blond dragonman glared down at him, Trahern knew that if he gave in now, the Scottish doctor would forever see him as weaker. And since Trahern was determined to make a new start on Stonefire, he couldn’t have that.
Trahern shrugged. “In a minute. I’m not about to neglect my patient.”
Gregor took a step closer. “Nikki is fine.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Then I can release her?”
Gregor waved a hand. “She can go as soon as her mate comes to collect her. I don’t want Hartley challenging me to a fight if she breaks a toenail on the way home.”
Nikki jumped in. “Hello, I’m right here.”
Trahern flipped his papers until he reached the page of the release form. “Sign this and I’ll go with.”
Swiping the pen and clipboard, Gregor signed. “Done, on provision Rafe collects her.”
Nikki clapped her hands. “Oh, Dr. Lewis, you’re going to do well here.”
He smiled at the enthusiastic dragonwoman. “I hope so.”
Gregor grunted. “Now, let’s go.”
As Trahern followed, he handed off the clipboard on the way to the nurse named Ginny. “Nikki Gray’s release.”
However, before the older female could reply, Gregor dragged him down the hall into his office. The second the door clicked closed, Gregor rounded on him. “I admire you standing up for your patient and doing your job, but you need to know something. Dr. Jackson is my true mate and we both need your help.”
He tilted his head. “With what?”
“You’re supposed to be a whiz with biochemistry. I need you to identify the compounds in a particular chemical and determine if there’s a way to neutralize it.”
“Show me what you have.”
Gregor blinked. “I was expecting a fight.”
“If there’s one thing you need to know about me, besides my dedication to my patients, is that I love nothing more than to spend hours in a laboratory to solve a puzzle.”
“Aye, well, let’s put that love to use because the sooner you can find a way to neutralize the chemical, the better.”