"It's Finn."
She whispered to Yasmin. "I'd trust Finn with my life. Don't be afraid of him, aye? He'll help you."
Once Yasmin nodded, Layla went to the door and opened it. Layla used her sternest doctor's voice as she stated, "You can have a few minutes, but she should rest after that."
If Finn noticed her red eyes—which of course he would, the male noticed everything—he didn't mention it. Instead, he bobbed his head. "That's about as long as I can focus anyway. My mate is using our daughter to try and heal an unstable dragonwoman. A few minutes away is about all I can manage before I need to check on wee Freya."
So Arabella was using her daughter with Aimee King. She felt a whisper of guilt at not being there for it, but then she remembered how Sid had had a silent dragon for more than twenty years. If any doctor could better understand Aimee and try to help her, it would be Sid Jackson.
Stepping aside, she allowed Finn into the room and shut the door. She walked back to her sister's bed, noting that Phillip was awake and standing protectively over his mate.
Layla motioned toward Lochguard's clan leader. "This is Lochguard's clan leader, Finn Stewart. Finn, I don't know if you remember them, but this is my sister Yasmin and her mate, Phillip Lamont."
Finn nodded at them. "Aye, I remember vaguely. They shared some classes with my cousins if I remember right." He looked at each of them before continuing, "But enough with formalities. I know some of your story, but not all. Tell me everything and then we'll think of what to do next."
Yasmin frowned. "That seems too easy."
Finn shrugged. "You lot have been away a while. If we can overcome dragon hunters, Dragon Knights, and exiled dragon-shifters hell-bent on revenge, negotiating a wee bit of diplomacy with the Iranian clan should be a piece of cake."
As Yasmin and Phillip told their story, Layla began to think things would be okay in the end. If there was a way to make things work, Finn would find it.
Chase stood in his white dragon form, watching a wee golden dragon baby frolic from one bush to the other, and decided this was indeed a good way to distract him while Layla visited with her sister.
His inner beast spoke up. Just remember that wee dragon is the clan leader's daughter.
As if I didn't already know that.
Still, as he watched little Freya run as best as a tiny dragon could, he put aside everything that could go wrong and focused on the good. He was helping several people—Dr. Sid, Arabella, and Aimee King—but it was yet another way he could help Layla, too. Aimee was her patient, after all. And if she healed even a wee bit from this event, it would make everyone sigh with a touch of relief.
Arabella MacLeod walked up to him in her human form, the rare bit of winter sunshine highlighting the scar on her face and the healed burns on her neck. The sight reminded him of how important this was to the dragonwoman. She'd had a long recovery herself from torture and a silent beast.
She patted his side and said, "Holly and Sid will bring Aimee to the window in a few minutes. It's best if you stand on the side of the house, mostly out of sight, and only rush out if Freya tries to run away."
He could only nod. According to Arabella, Freya responded best to male dragon-shifters in their dragon forms, which was the reason he was here.
After giving a playful flick of his tail to Freya's back, telling her to be good, Chase went into position. He could just barely make out the window in question and tried his best not to hold his breath as Aimee came into view.
She was a year older than him, but the fear and panic she always carried, combined with the deep worry lines around her eyes and mouth, made her appear older. He had originally agreed to help for Layla's sake, but as he saw the female dart her eyes around frantically, as if looking for a threat, he vowed to do whatever he could to help her himself, too.
He could tell the second she noticed Freya hopping after some kind of insect. Her face relaxed and she moved closer to the window.
Soon, Aimee looked to be talking to the females with her. And for a second, Chase wondered if Freya's presence was truly the key to the dragonwoman's recovery.
However, in the next minute, a few dragons flew overhead and roared. Glancing up, Chase tried but failed to recognize them. Add in the fact no one would dare hover over the clan leader's house and make such noise—Finn and Ara had three bairns—it told him they were strangers.
He instantly ran to Freya and scooped her up with his front paw. The instant Arabella stopped in front of him, he handed over the wee dragon.
As the sky continued to fill with unfamiliar dragons, each roaring with his or her arrival, a sense of dread filled his belly. He had no idea how word had traveled so quickly, but he suspected they were from Clan One in Iran.
Once Arabella was inside the house, Chase quickly shifted back to his human form and ran for the main security building. He needed to tell his brother what he'd seen and provide all the details he could remember.
&nbs
p; Only then could he find Layla and watch over her. No, he couldn't do any sort of medical procedure, but he suspected Layla and her sister would both need all the support they could muster in the coming days. There was no bloody way he was going to allow Layla to face all of this on her own.
And so he ran faster, wanting to finish his duty to his brother as soon as possible so he could take care of his female.
Chapter Fourteen