Aiding the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 7)

With Killian’s predicament, her male had bloody well wake up. She needed him more than ever.

Chapter Twenty-One

Electricity raced through Aaron’s body. His eyes popped open and he sat up with a gasp. “What the fuck?”

Everything was blurry for a second, but as his heart rate calmed down and the room came into focus, he met the brown, bespectacled eyes of Dr. Trahern Lewis, the Welsh dragon-shifter who had recently moved to Stonefire.

Trahern adjusted his glasses. “Who are you and where was your last location?”

Aaron slowly looked around the room. A curtain created a concealed space that included his bed, Trahern, Dr. Emily Davies, and Dr. Ronan O’Brien.

One very important person was missing. “Where’s Teagan?” he demanded.

Dr. O’Brien looked to the other doctors. “He at least remembers her.”

Aaron growled. “I’m right here. Where the fuck is Teagan?” He tried to move his feet, but they were restrained. “And why the bloody hell am I tied to a bed?”

Trahern’s calm voice answered, “Because we were afraid of you going rogue. You were shot with a compound similar to what your mother received.”

Aaron finally noted his silent dragon. His beast was curled up asleep in the back of his mind. No amount of mental poking would move him. “My dragon is still asleep.”

“Yes,” Emily answered. “Given what’s happened recently, we wanted to ensure you remembered who you are before allowing him to wake up.” The human female leaned forward. “Speaking of which, you still haven’t told us your name.”

He growled. “I’m Aaron Caruso, and the last thing I remember is trying to warn Teagan and then jumping to protect her.” He threaded every bit of dominance in his voice he could muster. “So I ask again: Where is she?”

Dr. O’Brien motioned toward the curtain. “She’s on the other side, asleep.”

Aaron tossed off his blanket and leaned toward the restraint. However, since his dragon was asleep, he couldn’t extend a talon. He also wasn’t flexible enough to bend over and reach the latches. He looked directly at Dr. O’Brien. “Take off these fucking things right now and let me see her.”

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Swearing and yelling aren’t going to make us move any faster, Aaron. You just received a healthy electrical shock. Your muscles need a minute to recover. I doubt you’d be able to walk just yet.”

He clenched the sheets in his fingers. “Okay, then bring me up to speed on everything else. I’ve proved that my ears are working. Maybe start with why the hell you had to shock me?”

Trahern replied, “Because the latest antidote needed a healthy jolt to speed up delivery and its effectiveness.”

Aaron frowned, but Emily spoke before he could respond. “What Trahern is trying to say is that waking you was made a priority. The shock gets the antidote into your system and spreading almost a day quicker than without.”

“And Teagan?” Aaron asked. “Was she also hit?”

Emily shook her head. “She wasn’t hit with the darts, but she had a neck injury that became infected. Her fever broke an hour ago, so she’s out of danger. Still, combined with her leg wound, she needs the rest so she can heal.”

Images of Teagan with a slit throat rushed into his mind. But then he remembered Emily saying Teagan was out of danger, so he took a deep breath and focused on the other problems he might be able to help with. He asked, “And what about Killian? I remember he was missing.”

All three doctors glanced at each other.

Something was wrong. “Just bloody tell me. I’m awake and remember everything. With Teagan out of commission, I might be able to help.”

Dr. O’Brien cleared his throat. “In this case, probably not.” He paused a beat and added, “Killian has lost his memories of ever being a dragon-shifter or a Glenlough clan member.”

Aaron wished his dragon was awake as he felt like roaring himself. “How about you start at the beginning?” O’Brien filled in the general details surrounding Teagan’s attack and Killian. Once the doctor was finished, Aaron asked, “Then get me Brenna or Orla. As soon as my muscles work again properly, I want to check on Teagan and dive in to helping the clan.”

Emily spoke up. “You’ll be physically weak for a few days and will be kept under observation, which means you won’t be able to ‘dive in,’ as you put it, with full force. But we’ll let them know you’re awake. It’ll be up to Orla and Brenna as to whether they come or not.”

He grunted. In most areas of his life, Aaron wasn’t a patient dragonman. “And how about getting me a bloody phone? I want to talk with Bram.”

Dr. O’Brien jumped in. “The Stonefire leader is aware of the situation, as is the Scottish one.”

At the mention of the Scottish dragon-shifter, Aaron remembered something else. “And what about Grant McFarland? He was hit. Is he awake?”