Dragon Scorned

19. River

My head was throbbing in pain, and the world was spinning even though I was clearly lying down. What the fuck happened? The last thing I remembered was talking to Jax, then nothing.

Did that asshole do something to me? I swear to all the gods I’ll fucking kill him. I shot up, flinging my eyes open and groaning at the assault of the bright light.

That was a huge mistake. The world spun around me, and I grabbed my head like that would settle the whole room spinning. I felt like I drank my weight in alcohol, and my stomach swirled as nausea swept through me.

“Easy, killer. You”re safe.”

I turned my head and squinted, trying to see who the person was through the blinding light. It sounded like Tate. My head pounded as I tried to remember what happened. The only thing I could recall was Jax handing me a folder, then nothing. Why can’t I remember?

“Water,” I croaked. My throat was hoarse and dry as I tried to swallow. It was like the Sahara desert in my mouth.

My eyes finally focused, and I could see the cup Tate held out in front of my face. He held onto the straw, guiding it to my lips. The cool water was a welcome relief, and I drained the entire glass.

“What happened?” I asked, barely above a whisper. My throat screamed in protest, wanting more water and less talking.

Tate must have read my mind because he hopped off my bed and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a full glass of water and two little white pills.

“Take these; it’ll help,” he told me, placing the pills in my hand.

I popped them in my mouth and swallowed them down with the new glass of water he was holding up for me. I winced as they made their way down my sore throat.

Once I drained the glass, Tate seemed satisfied and placed the empty cup on my nightstand. He crawled behind me on the bed, placing me between his legs. He pulled me back against him and placed a kiss on the top of my head. The act was so sweet, something I was not used to. My heart started pounding in my chest at the simple act.

I felt safe in his arms, for once I felt like I could drop my guard and let someone else do the protecting. I’ve always protected myself, constantly had to watch over my back. Then Natalia came into my life and I protected both of us. It was a comforting feeling, knowing I could lean on someone to protect me for once.

I couldn’t remember why I thought it was a bad idea to have mates. Being here, surrounded by this man, it felt right. I didn’t know how much of those feelings were seeping into me from my dragon. I couldn’t find it in myself to care anymore.

“A hunter breached campus. Knox is trying to figure out how they found the school. It”s very well hidden against them by witches, so there”s no way he was able to get onto campus without assistance,” Tate told me as he placed kisses on top of my head.

“So it wasn’t Jax,” I said on an exhale. Relief flooded my system.

It wasn’t a question, but Tate answered anyway. “No, Jax had nothing to do with it. He”s actually helping Ryder get rid of the body.”

“Ryder?” I turned to look at him. His cousin was a part of this, too?

“Yeah, he saw the guy carrying your unconscious body and intercepted. When Ryder approached the guy, and tried to ask him questions, he crushed a cyanide capsule between his teeth before Ryder could get any answers out of him.”

“I don’t remember anything after talking to Jax,” I told him, turning to settle back in his lap. Tate began running his fingers through my hair, and I relaxed against him.

“The hunter injected you with some kind of drug to knock you out. Nikolai took the needle to get it tested and see what it was but I’m assuming it was propofol,” he told me, slowly stroking my long, blond hair.

“That explains the headache,” I told him, reaching up to rub my temples. The painkillers he gave me were not working fast enough for this pounding in my head. It felt like a band was using my brain as their drums.

“Ryder found the injection site. You never even saw it coming, and it worked fast…too fast. Nikolai felt it immediately when you lost consciousness and called me. A few minutes later, I got the message from Ryder, but I was already on my way. Nikolai is furious, just as a heads up,” Tate told me, dancing his fingers lightly over the tender spot on my neck.

“My head’s too foggy. I can’t feel the connection to Nikolai,” I said, leaning up out of his hold and turning around to look at him. My eyes were wide with panic at the loss of my newly formed connection to my mate. I searched my mind, looking for my grounding spot, only to slam into a wall of black. My panic increased the more I tried, and failed, to push through to reach Kai.

“Relax, minx. It’s probably a side effect of the sedative they gave you. I’m sure that asshole will be back in your head soon enough.” He cupped my cheek and brushed his lips against my forehead.

It was just barely a kiss, but it instantly calmed me. He was right, and I knew Kai would find a way back in, eventually. There’s no way he would put up with being blocked out of my mind for long. Kai would force his way back in whether I wanted him to or not.

“Jax gave me a folder; I put it in my bookbag. Have you seen it?” The panic came back in full force. Shit, leave it to me to lose the only fucking lead I had.

Those hunters are going to pay. I couldn’t let my guard down anymore. I thought I would be safe on campus, but as soon as I relaxed, I was drugged and almost kidnapped.

“Nat picked it up, she’s on her way now. I messaged her before I left to bring you home. She found it on her way out of class and grabbed it.” Tate told me, pulling me back against his chest again.

Shit, Natalia was going to be a mess. Just thinking about my best friend had my stomach turning. She would definitely blame herself for leaving me alone with Jax, even though it wasn’t his fault either.

This was a mess, and my head started killing me. My eyes got heavy just thinking about it all. Tate must have sensed the shift in my body because he pulled the blankets up over us.

“Sleep, you’ve been through a lot today. They can wait until you wake up to talk to you. Get some rest, little minx. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” Tate whispered in my ear, placing kisses on the top of my head.

I fell asleep fast to the feeling of Tate gliding his fingers through my hair. Safety and comfort surrounded me, chasing away any nightmares hiding in the distance.