Chapter 32
Jericho
Pain registers first. Not sharp. Not acute. Just a dull, pervasive ache that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously.
I try to process where I am. Can’t. My thoughts are sluggish. Disconnected. Like trying to think through deep water.
My body feels wrong. Heavy. Parts of me I should be able to move won’t respond. My dragon stirs weakly deep inside. Injured. Healing, but slowly.
Sounds filter through the fog. Beeping. Steady. Rhythmic. Medical equipment of some kind.
I try to open my eyes. The command doesn’t reach my eyelids. Too much effort. Too much distance between intention and action.
Something warm presses against my hand. Pressure. Gentle. Human contact.
I focus on that warmth. Anchor myself to it. Try to squeeze back. My fingers might move. Might not. Can’t tell.
A scent reaches me. Wolf. Female. Familiar in ways I can’t articulate through the haze.
Safe. That scent means safe.
Then I’m sinking again. Not pain. Not fear. Just absence. The world fading to black.
***
The next time awareness surfaces, it comes with more clarity. Still fragmented but less distant.
Voices. Movement nearby. Someone touching me. Adjusting something that pulls at my arm.
My dragon stirs. Sluggish but present. Sensing threat.
A growl. Low. Dangerous. Wolf energy flooding the space.
“Don’t! Don’t touch my mate!” Female voice. Sharp with warning. Protective. Possessive.
“I’m just checking his IV line—” Another voice. Uncertain. Afraid.
The growl deepens. Not human anymore. Pure wolf warning.
“Get out!”
Footsteps retreat quickly. Door opening. Closing.
The wolf energy settles slightly but doesn’t fade. Still present. Still guarding.
A word floats through my consciousness. Spoken softly. Almost to herself.
Mate.
Did I hear that? Or is it wishful thinking filtering through delirium?
I try to hold onto awareness. Try to surface fully. But exhaustion drags me down. My body needs more time. More healing.
The warmth returns to my hand. The wolf scent surrounds me. Familiar. Comforting.
I let go. Sink back into healing darkness.
***
The third time I wake, awareness comes more completely.
Pain is still there, but manageable. Specific now rather than pervasive. My back. My side. My ribs. Individual injuries I can identify.
My dragon is stronger. Not healed but actively working. Knitting tissue. Mending bone. The slow, steady process of draconic healing.
I force my eyes open. Light floods in. Too bright. I blink against it. Once. Twice. Vision clearing.
White ceiling. Sterile walls. Medical equipment surrounding my bed. Monitors beeping steadily. IV lines running into my arms.
Aurora medical facility. Has to be. I can’t imagine they’d take me anywhere else.
I turn my head. The movement costs effort, but I manage it.
Nadia is there. Sitting in a chair pulled close to the bed. Her hand wrapped around mine. She’s staring at me with eyes that are red-rimmed and exhausted.
When she sees me looking at her, tears spill over.
“Jericho.” My name breaks on her lips.
“Hey.” My voice is rough. Barely recognizable as mine. “You’re crying.”
She laughs. The sound is half sob. “You were dying. You’ve been unconscious for two days. I thought—” She stops. Can’t finish.
Two days. That explains the heaviness in my limbs. The disconnection. My body has been fighting to stay alive while I was absent.
I try to sit up. Pain flares hot across my back. She’s on her feet immediately.
“Don’t move. You need to stay still. Your injuries are extensive.” She’s leaning over me now. One hand on my shoulder. Gentle pressure keeping me down. “You almost died. Multiple times.”
“But I didn’t.” I squeeze her hand. Proving I’m here. Present. Alive.
“You did. On the transport.” Her voice catches. “Viktor’s medics had to resuscitate you. Your heart stopped. You were gone for—” She stops. Breathes. “But they got you back.”
I process this. Died. Came back. That explains the strange distance I felt.
Her presence fills my awareness now that I’m more conscious. Wolf and woman… my woman. My wolf.
My dragon stirs with recognition. Satisfaction despite the pain. She’s here. She’s safe.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
She stares at me. “Am I—? You just almost died, and you’re asking if I’m alright?”
“Yes.”
“I’m fine. Not injured. The pack is fine. Viktor’s team got everyone out.” She’s still staring like I’ve said something incomprehensible.
The tension in my chest eases. She’s safe. Her pack survived. That matters more than my injuries.
“The others?” I ask. “The hybrids we rescued?”
“All alive. Viktor got them to Aurora medical immediately. They’re receiving treatment. Most are stable now.”
“Kaylin?”
“Critical but stable. The medics said she wouldn’t have survived another day in that facility.” Her expression softens. “You saved her life. Saved all their lives.”
I frown for a moment. “I couldn’t find them. The others… I couldn’t find more cells, and—” I pull in a breath.
“Shhhh…” She strokes my cheek. “The Aurora team scoured the building and found a separate wing where they were keeping more victims. Everyone is accounted for, Jericho.”
Everyone.
Twenty-three people. All alive. All safe. The mission succeeded despite the chaos.
I exhale a deep sigh.
Nadia leans closer. Her free hand comes up to cup my face. Careful. Like she’s afraid I’ll shatter.
“I want to kiss you,” she whispers. “Want to touch you properly. But I’m terrified I’ll hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
She leans in slowly. Her lips brush mine. Feather-light. Careful. The kiss is gentle, but I feel it everywhere, warmth spreading through me. The connection between us pulses stronger. More solid than before.
When she pulls back, silver gleams through the green of her eyes. Wolf close to the surface. My dragon responds. Contentment humming through me.
“Am I in custody?” The question I’ve been avoiding. “For Samien’s murder. For treason. Am I under arrest?”
“No.” Firm. Certain. “You’re not.”
I don’t understand. “Viktor detained me. You said there was compelling evidence. Video footage showing me near the scene. How—”
“I’ve been talking to Viktor since we got back. Presenting my case. Arguing.” She’s still holding my hand. Her thumb traces small circles on my skin. “I told him about the video. About how you were framed. About the traitor inside Aurora who killed Samien and planted evidence to blame you.”
“He believed you?”
“Not immediately. But what you did—going back into that facility for those hybrids, risking your life—it made him reconsider everything. He put his best investigators on the case. Told them to examine every piece of evidence from scratch.”
“And?”
“The video was doctored. Professionally done but fabricated. They found digital artifacts when they analyzed it frame by frame. Timestamp manipulation. It wasn’t real footage of you.”
The information takes a moment to process. “They proved it was fake.”
“Yes. And the physical evidence—the scales, the claw marks, the fire damage at the scene—it was all manufactured. Someone with knowledge of dragon physiology planted them.”
“A dragon,” I say. “Has to be a dragon to know how to—”
“Not necessarily.” She cuts me off gently.
“Anyone with access to dragon biology research could manufacture that evidence. The scales could have been collected from shed material. The claw marks and scorch patterns created with specialized tools. The Syndicate would know exactly how to do that. It doesn’t have to be a dragon who did this. ”
She’s right. Someone with the right knowledge and resources could frame a dragon without being one themselves.
“So Viktor believes I’m innocent.”
“He does. And now he knows Aurora has an infiltrator. Someone dangerous enough to kill one of his closest advisors and smart enough to frame you perfectly.” She pauses. “He wants to talk to you when you’re recovered. About what you remember. About who might have had access and motive.”
The knowledge that I’m exonerated washes through me. Not a murderer. Not facing execution. The truth came out because she fought for it.
But exhaustion is pulling at me again. The conversation is draining what little energy I have.
My dragon is happy despite the pain. Our mate is here. She fought for us. She’s safe.
The bond between us pulses steadily. Stronger than before. More solid. Something has changed while I was unconscious. The thread that was forming has solidified into something undeniable.
I wonder if she feels it the same way I do. If she knows what this means. What we’re becoming to each other.
“There’s something we need to talk about,” I start. Try to find the words. “Something between us. A connection—”
“We’ll talk,” she says gently. Stops me before I can continue. “When you’re healed. When you’re stronger. We have all the time in the world.”
All the time in the world.
The words settle something in my chest. Not avoidance. Not dismissal. Reassurance. She feels it too. She knows. And we have time to discuss what it means.
I don’t need to push for confirmation right now. Don’t need to extend the conversation when I can barely stay conscious.
“Okay,” I say quietly.
She leans down. Presses a kiss to my forehead. “Sleep now. Heal. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Her scent surrounds me. Wolf and woman and mate. Mate. The word sits in my mind without fear or doubt. Just certainty.
My dragon settles. Content. Safe. Our mate guarding us while we heal.
I let my eyes close. Let exhaustion take me. But this isn’t the dangerous unconsciousness from before. This is natural sleep. Healing sleep.
With her hand in mine. Anchoring me. The bond between us pulsing warm and steady.
We have all the time in the world.
The thought follows me into sleep.
Safe.