Secrets of the Dragon’s Heart (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #6)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

***CAMERON***

C ameron thought that the worst of the pain was over, but as soon as Dr. Hernandez began poking around, his shoulder began to feel like it was on fire. “It will be just a few more minutes. We have to make sure this is nice and clean. We don’t want any nasty scars now do we?” she asked, making him growl. “I know, it hurts, that’s just your body healing. The worst will be over soon.”

Kennedy was sitting next to him, his good hand gripped tightly in hers, tears rolling down her cheeks, her face white with worry. He wanted to reassure her but kept his jaws tightly closed, afraid he would scream from the pain if he opened his mouth. He felt something soft and warm covering the wound, then the doctor carefully rolled him onto his back. The pain began to ease and he could breathe normally again. Sucking air slowly into his lungs, his shoulder still throbbing, he lay with his eyes closed, exhaustion settling over him like a warm blanket.

“He’ll need to sleep now,” he heard Dr. Hernandez say, but he couldn’t make his eyes open. Then everything went dark as he finally let himself sink into the oblivion of sleep .

When he woke several hours later, Kennedy was curled up in the chair next to him, her hand limp in his. He shifted in bed just enough so that he could study her as she slept. Her eyes popped open a second later, and she sat up so fast she nearly tumbled to the floor, but he grabbed her at the last second and pulled her into the bed with him.

“Cameron, you’re hurt. You shouldn’t be moving around so much,” she said, slightly breathless. “You’re going to tear it open again.”

“I’m perfectly fine. Take the bandages off and see for yourself,” he said, then grinned at her. “And then I’ll show you how fine I am.”

Kennedy gasped when she felt his erection through the thin sheet. “Cameron, you’re in the hospital, I can’t believe you want to…”

Before she could finish, his mother burst through the door, his father right behind her, and he froze, cursing himself for forgetting they were on the island. When his mother saw them, she stumbled to a stop, her mouth hanging open, but his father pushed her aside, nearly knocking her over. He stood staring at the two of them long enough for his mother to recover. She stomped over to the bed, reached out, and tried to grab Kennedy’s arm.

“What are you doing in that bed? Get out at once; someone could have seen you,” his mother screeched. “What is going on in here? Why is the nurse in bed with you? Have you lost your mind?”

“Back off, Mother, she’s not the nurse; she’s my wife,” he said, batting her hands away. “We were married earlier today, so if I want to have her in my bed, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

His mother gasped, then stumbled back a couple of steps. “Oh no, no, no, no,” she chanted, then collapsed into a chair. “ This can’t be happening. I have it all arranged. It was going to be the wedding of the season.”

His father’s face had turned a shade of red he’d rarely seen. His jaw was clenched so tightly that he could see the muscles trembling. He unconsciously pushed Kennedy behind him and braced himself for the explosion. It took longer than he thought, giving him enough time to calm down, but when his father opened his mouth and began to yell, he was sure it could be heard through the entire building.

He let his father go off for a while, his arm securely wrapped around Kennedy, then decided it was time to interrupt him. “We’re bonded, we’re married,” he said, his voice completely calm. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Bonded,” his father snorted, “that’s just a bunch of crap, there’s no such thing. The clan will never stand for this. You’ve broken one of our most sacred rules; regular humans are forbidden.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “Because I have it on good authority that’s not true.”

“My authority is the only one that counts,” his father shouted. “Or have you forgotten who rules this clan? I make the rules and decisions for this clan, and I say that regular humans are forbidden. Get rid of her, I don’t care how you do it, but no one is to know about this insanity of yours. You’re going marry within the clan, just like you’re supposed to.”

“And if I refuse?” he asked, making his mother gasp. “If I tell you that I plan to stay married to Kennedy and spend the rest of my life with her, what will you do?”

“Don’t push me, boy,” his father growled. “I’ll get rid of her myself if I have to.”

“You touch one hair on Kennedy’s head, and it will be the last thing you ever do,” he growled. “She’s my mate and I will protect her, even if it means killing you.”

His mother gasped again, then staggered to her feet as his father slowly raised his hand and pointed at him. “You are no son of mine. I renounce you,” he screamed. “I banish you from the clan. You’re dead to all of us now.”

Just then, his brother slipped into the room. “What’s all this shouting?” he asked. “What’s going on in here?”

“Oh, hey, Zach,” he said, flashing his brother a smile. “Dad was just disowning me and banishing me from the clan. He doesn’t seem to agree with some of the decisions I’ve made lately.”

“Well, now, that is a problem, isn’t it?” Zach asked. “Guess we’re going to have to call for an emergency meeting of the council.”

“We don’t need the council. I make the decisions for this clan, and I will not have my son humiliate me,” his father barked. “He’s finished, and that’s final.”

“Sorry, Pops, that’s not the way it works,” Zach said, shaking his head. “Only the council can make that decision.”

“Then call them, make them come all this way. I guess you don’t care if this family is humiliated,” his father screamed. “They’ll side with me. They know who holds all the power in this clan.”

His father stormed out of the room, his mother right on his heels. “Well, that was fun,” he said, then looked down at Kennedy. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I think so,” she said. “He was really mad. What if this doesn’t work? What if you really do get banished?”

“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen, we have history on our side,” he said, pulling her a little closer. “We’ll get through this, Kennedy, I promise, you just have to trust me. ”

“I do, I trust you more than anyone,” she said, then took a deep breath. “Okay, what’s next?”

***Kennedy***

Kennedy held on tightly to Cameron’s hand as they walked up to the gazebo, more nervous than she’d ever been in her life, the feeling that her entire future rested on the next few minutes washing over her. “It’s going to be fine,” Cameron said. “Just try to relax. I promise it won’t be as bad as what you’re imagining. These aren’t horrible people, even if my parents did make it seem that way.”

“What do you think the test will be?” she asked. “I hate not knowing what they’re going to expect.”

Cameron smiled at her. “I know, sweetheart, that inquisitive mind is one of the things about you that makes you irresistible to me,” he said. “But you’re just going to have to rein it in for now. The council won’t make it anything too difficult.”

The gazebo looked nothing like it had only a few days before. Instead of the arch of flowers, there was a long table with eight chairs, an older man seated in each, Cameron’s father in the middle. The rows of chairs weren’t decorated with bows and ribbons. Instead, a somber crowd filled them, whispering when they saw them walking up the steps. Trying not to let anyone see how nervous she was and taking deep breaths to keep herself moving, she let Cameron guide her to a chair in the front row.

A hush fell over the crowd as soon as they were seated, then a man on the far end of the table got to his feet. “The council has agreed that since this matter directly affects our leader, I will guide the proceedings today in his place,” he said. “Let’s begin at once. We have all traveled a great distance. ”

“That’s Sampson Meyers. He’s always been very fair,” Cameron leaned over and whispered. “He’ll be on our side when he hears our evidence.”

“Would the accused please stand,” Sampson said, gesturing to Cameron. “Cameron Sullivan, you have been charged with crimes against the clan. Your father claims that you have broken clan tradition by marrying a regular human and refusing to take on your rightful role as the clan's new leader. He further claims that you have turned your back on the clan, bringing disgrace to us all, and has urged us to banish you for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to answer to these charges?”

“Yes sir, I am,” Cameron said, his voice strong and sure. “I have done nothing more than what thousands of our ancestors have done over the last few centuries. I have bonded with a regular human and would ask that the council grant her membership in the clan as my mate.”

There were mutters of surprise behind them. A couple of the council members leaned over and whispered to each other, then Cameron’s father jumped to his feet. “It is forbidden and against our traditions. We must keep our blood clean and pure,” he thundered. It is written in our history. We must not turn our backs on what has gotten us through centuries of living with the constant threat of exposure.”

“For once I agree with my father,” Cameron said, then looked over at Zach, hovering a few rows back. “But it appears that he and I are talking about two very different histories, his recent, my ancient.”

Zach brought the ancient books to the front of the room, then reverently set them on the table before nodding to Cameron. “I’ll take over for now if you’ll permit me,” he said, then waited until Sampson nodded at him. “Contained in these books is our ancient history, the very foundation of what binds our clan together. I believe we can all agree on that.”

He paused for effect, then continued. “Some may look at some of the stories in this book as simply entertaining love stories, but what they would have missed is that some of the most important unions in our history were between a shifter and a regular human,” he said. “Our ancestors believed that the bond between mates was more important than bloodlines; they knew that it was important to bring new blood into the clan, and they were stronger for it. What my brother has done is only what our ancestors would have done. He’s found his perfect mate and bonded with her, and that bond is going to make him a great and powerful leader of the clan.”

“They’re lying, they’re making this up, it doesn’t say that in those books,” Cameron’s father screamed, jumping to his feet again. “There’s no such thing as a bond, that’s just…”

“Silence, that is enough,” Sampson cut him off. “I would like to see those books, young man.”

Zach carefully gathered up the books and carried them over to Sampson. “I’ve marked the pages that you’ll want,” he said, then slowly backed away.

“The council will consider the matter and return with an answer,” Sampson said, rising to his feet and gathering up the books. “No one is to leave while we’re gone.”

When they were gone, Cameron sat back down next to her, took her hand, and pulled it into his lap, then looked up at his father, who was glaring at them. He stared at him, his face completely blank until his father jumped out of his chair and began to pace back and forth behind the table. The council was back only a few minutes later, all with smiles on their faces, and she let out a sigh of relief. It was going to be okay, she could feel it deep inside.