Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Iwoke up again, and I realized I had slept for almost twenty-four hours.
There were noises downstairs in the kitchen, but I couldn’t make them out.
Throwing off the blankets, I slowly eased myself up.
Moving my legs off the edge of the bed, I could feel them shake.
All I had on were boxers and a plethora of bandages starting from my legs all the way up.
Pushing up, I swayed, but stayed standing.
I used the furniture in the room to make my way into the bathroom.
Looking in the mirror, I frowned. There was a bright-red, recently healed, and stitched-together slash across my chest. Plus more than a handful of smaller marks.
Pressing them, I winced. It seemed like there was even bruising under my scales in certain spots.
I’d hit something hard enough to bruise me internally.
There was an even larger scratch that had torn through my scales on my back.
Rolling my shoulder, I hissed as the pain shot through me.
“Do you need any help?”
Seeing Peter in my doorway surprised me. He looked worried, and I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him look at me like that. Smiling, I shook my head.
“No, just doing damage assessment.”
He let out a sigh. “If you want, I can shave your face.”
Looking back in the mirror, I rubbed my full beard. “Does it look that bad?”
“I mean, it looks bad on Keith, so…”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Don’t be mean.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying the two of you look terrible in beards. Neither of you can pull it off like Dad does. I don’t know why you try.”
“Alright, smartass. Shave my face.”
His smile brightened his face, and he stepped in, going through the drawers until he pulled out the shaving kit I had. Pulling the chair from the corner, I set it in front of the sink and sat, leaning my head back.
Ebony had said she preferred me with a full beard.
She said my face carried it well, and I looked more mature with it.
I’d grown it out despite hating it myself.
I adapted to it, but every time I saw my reflection, Keith came to mind.
Of the time before when I looked just like him. A time that I tried to forget.
Peter let the water run until it felt comfortably warm before starting. He was careful around the parts that were bruised, but he was thorough. Mom called up for us, but Peter said we would be down in a few minutes. He continued until he finally rinsed off the knife and then my face.
Sitting up, I turned around, hissing after forgetting my ribs were in no shape to be turning. Looking at myself in the mirror, I rubbed my skin.
“Wow, you did a significantly better job than I thought you would.”
He chuckled. “Thanks, bro.”
I smiled up at him. “Seriously, I appreciate it. I feel a little more normal now.”
“Good. It would be nice to have some normalcy back in the house again.”
Peter helped me stand and then get down the stairs. My right leg was definitely worse than my left, and it seemed like my whole right side had suffered the most damage. We walked into the kitchen, and Mom turned, gasping.
“My god, the beast is gone.”
I barked out a laugh. “It was not that bad.”
“It was like a dead rodent on your face.” Beau walked in, high-fiving Peter before coming over to me. “You and Keith both. Your love for decorating your face with dead, smelly fur is beyond me.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m glad you’re okay. I didn’t know if we were going to make it.”
“Beau was the one who caught you mid-air.” Peter pointed to our sister. “Frankly, I didn’t even know she could maneuver like that. It was incredible.”
She raised her shirt, showing off a huge tear on her side. “I didn’t get away clean; otherwise, I might actually accept the praise.”
“Wait, I fell out of the sky? As a dragon?”
Beau shook her head. “You were flying, but you shifted into a human and you fell. I raced forward to catch you before you hit the ground. The trees hit us both, but I grabbed you before you hit the ground.”
My mouth hung open. “Thank you, Beau. I don’t remember, but thank you.”
“I know. Trust me. I know and I’m pissed about it.” Beau slammed the refrigerator shut. “I could murder something. Or someone.”
“Hush. Dinner first. Maybe murdering after dessert if you aren’t full enough.”
Beau groaned. “I wish I could stay, Ma, but Lauren wants me home. We are going out somewhere fancy, apparently.”
Mom kissed her and then pushed her out. “Then what are you doing here? Go! Shoo! Enjoy your time!”
“I wasn’t here for any of you nerds.”
They looked at her and rolled their eyes. Shaking their heads, I leaned down when she came over and kissed my cheek.
“I’m glad you’re awake, Mar. We were really worried. Take some time and relax. Don’t push yourself.”
“I will. Go enjoy your date.”
Beau cackled. “You know what? I will!”
She headed out and slammed the door behind her. I chuckled as Peter sat next to me, and then Mom as Dad plated up everyone’s food. It was a loaded potato soup, and I ate three bowls until I felt like I was going to burst. Dad also had three, whereas Mom and Peter stopped after two.
“You had nothing on you, so I don’t have any of your phone, clothes, or computer.” I stood next to Dad as we rinsed the bowls from dinner. “I asked the she-panther, but she refused to give anything without us handing you over.”
My lips thinned, trying not to let everything I ate come back up. “I don’t need anything. I can get everything replaced, and I don’t want to talk to her or see her.”
Dad put his hand on my good shoulder. “We’ll get you taken care of. Don’t worry.”
I nodded.
“Now, did you want some of that dessert your Mom promised, or do you want to rest some more? You look like you’re wavering.”
Nodding, I let out a breath. “I think I need to take some painkillers and lie down.”
“Need help up the stairs?”
Again, I nodded. I hated that I did, but when my leg gave out halfway up the stairs, I was glad to have him. Dad helped me into bed before handing me a water bottle and some pills Mom had put on the desk for me. Lying down, Dad turned off my light and said goodnight, shutting my door.
It wasn’t long before I fell asleep, dropping myself into a nightmare.
I felt trapped. I couldn’t move. My body felt heavy, and I was caged in it. I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t. A hand grabbed my hair and pulled my head up. Looking ahead, I saw someone. Their face and body blurred, but I knew them. I knew them. I was supposed to protect them.
“Poor, poor, pitiful Marcus. Can’t even save the one person he loves.”
My eyes widened, and I looked up at the voice. Ebony was snarling, a smirk on her face. She was holding the back of my neck, her claws digging into my skin. Why did I feel human? Why wasn’t my dragon stepping forward? Why wasn’t I able to move?
“Gods, look how sad he looks. Can you see it? Can you see how he is accepting his loss? He won’t put that thing at risk. What a good little boy he is.”
My eyes looked back at the person on the deck. He was crying. Fuck. He was crying, but he was holding his ground. Worse, I saw Mason clinging to his leg. Mason, I could see, as the other person protected him. Something I couldn’t even do.
They went inside, leaving me and Ebony out in the snowy cold. I was actually cold. Was I human? Why couldn’t I move?
“Miss Ebony, what now?”
“Now we follow him. Make sure you put a tag on him and however he tries to run. It doesn’t matter how you do it. We need to report back to Dylan. That’s who he belongs to now.”
The person bowed before motioning a couple more guys to walk around the house. Ebony huffed, patting my head.
“It’s fine. We will break your mark. You won’t be stuck with that pup anymore. Then you and I will be together. Finally. It took too long, considering how much you fought it, but I get it. Kind of. I just won the war.” She leaned down and kissed my lips.
Still, I could move my mouth. I bit down on her lip, and she howled in pain. A few panthers came forward, but she waved them off.
“It’s fine. It’s going to take some time. I knew we were going to have to work on your attitude. Make sure you are correctly broken for me.”
I felt a stab in my shoulder before I roared, the sharp object going through my scales. Next I felt was an utter desolate cold. A cold that turned everything back. All I could hear was crying as I fell into the darkness. Reaching out, I tried to stop myself from falling, but I kept falling.
The dream shifted, my consciousness slamming into another moment in time. Another memory.
I opened my eyes and found myself chained inside a cell. I tried to fight the chains that pulled my arms back. It was painful. Ahead of me, Ebony stood next to someone who looked familiar.
“Macy said she needed him to be fully broken before she could help. Her magic isn’t strong enough. There needs to be a blank surface to work with.”
The male voice hummed for a moment. “Dylan is continuing to work on the bond breaker. He will stop at nothing to get his hands on Colton. The fact that you slipped up…”
“I didn’t slip up! It’s Dylan’s fault the poison isn’t working like it’s supposed to! He killed six of our pack members! We could only get him down by stabbing him three times!”
“Yeah, well, you’re lucky Dylan didn’t just kill him. It would be much easier than going through all of this.”
Ebony clicked her tongue. “No, it wouldn’t. The only reason that little shit is still within Dylan’s grasp is because his mate is still alive. If Marcus were gone, Dylan wouldn’t even catch a whiff of him. If he even stayed alive. I wouldn’t put it past that pup to just off himself.”
She stepped forward and squatted down, her eyes able to look into mine. “Don’t worry. You will be mine. You’ll love me. Find solace in me. Then you will be my mate. Forever. You’ll forget everything but me. I’ll be your only salvation.”
Sickness rolled through me. I couldn’t speak, though. The weakness pulling me down and making everything that much more painful.
“When you get him to the breaking point, I’ll come back. We’ll introduce me into his world as the soft touch. I don’t want him to associate me with everything that will go on between them.”
“I’ll contact Dylan and tell him we are shifting gears. We will reach out to you when he’s ready.”
Their footsteps retreated and the cell door shut, the lock echoing in the room. “As soon as I assess what is happening, I’ll have Macy come in as well.”
“Whatever you want.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
Their footsteps led up the stairs. “Estimate? A couple of months at least. He’s a dragon, so don’t think it will be easy. Plus, his bond with my brother is strong. Stronger than we realized.”
Ebony growled. “Fine. Just get it done. I can wait.”
The door slammed shut, and the dream ended as abruptly as it had started.