Their Runaway Mate (10 page)

"You left him?"

"I needed to get Jasmine to safety." Dillon's voice betrayed his guilt.

"Put me down, Dillon." Jasmine wiggled in his arms. "Then go."

"No." He shook his head. "I would never—"

Jasmine placed her hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes. "I'm safe. Go. Find Kylan and bring him home."

***

Jasmine was so cold. So very cold. But at least the spasms in her arms and legs had subsided. She huddled closer to the blazing fire and pulled the wool blanket tighter around her shoulders.

Dillon had left ages ago.

Someone cleared his throat. "Miss?"

Jasmine jerked around to find the old man who'd answered the door standing a few feet away. His gray eyes were soft with concern.

"Some hot chocolate?" Steam rose from the large mug centered on the tray he was carrying.

"Yes. Thank you." She smiled. "I can't seem to get warm."

Her hand shook when she lifted the mug. Hot liquid sloshed over the rim.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized quickly as she reached forward with her other hand to balance the mug.

"I'm afraid I filled it too full." The man dismissed her worry with a shake of his head and retrieved a small table to set at her side.

But that wasn't the reason. It seemed her body was still weak and in shock from her near death experience. She needed to get a grip. Fast.

"Will you sit with me?" she asked.

He inclined his head slightly and sat opposite her. He leaned back against the overstuffed sofa and studied her quietly as she sipped her cocoa.

"My name is Jasmine, by the way."

"Yes, my dear, you are quite famous in your own way." He grinned.

"And you are?"

"I am Laughlin, Kylan's sire."

At the mention of the missing dragon, Jasmine's stomach knotted again. Shouldn't they be back by now?

"Wait, I thought his parents…"

"Died?" Laughlin sighed. "Yes. My partners Pia and August recently flew to the heavens. I stayed behind to ease Kylan's transition to chief."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"You don't need to apologize, my dear. We are dragons."

Jasmine wasn't sure what he meant by that, but didn't feel that she could ask for an explanation, after which she would likely feel the urge to apologize again.

"I like to cook. I always have." Laughlin smiled. "So I've adopted the role of house chief."

Jasmine sipped her hot cocoa. She learned that Laughlin's title was something he had developed himself. The way he described it, his role sounded a lot like a butler and cook rolled into one. That didn't seem like something a former primary of the clan would usually do. Still, as he talked, he sounded happy, so maybe that was just another quirk of their dragon culture.

When the conversation grew quiet between them, he leaned forward.

"You have not mated," the older man said. He narrowed his eyes and watched her closely. "And yet Dillon left his partner in order to protect you."

"I…Um…" She cleared her throat. They had talked about her giving them a chance and considering mating, but then Xander and Kolz arrived before she agreed. Heat shot through her at the memory of Kylan and Dillon's kisses and caresses. But she wasn't about to tell that to Kylan's father. "Kylan and the others are investigating a few things. He and Dillon agreed to protect me from the other clans until things were resolved."

One of Laughlin's eyebrows lifted. He opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped and tilted his head. He stood quickly. "They have returned."

Jasmine set her hot chocolate on the table and scrambled up to follow Laughlin to the door. It was swinging open as they arrived. Dillon was covered with blood. Kylan didn't join them. Where was he? She hugged her arms over her stomach. Dillon's gaze skimmed over Laughlin and landed on Jasmine. His eyes flashed and his lips were clenched in a tight line. He beckoned her forward.

A dragon lay stretched across the tan paving stones in the plaza. Blood seeped from oozing burns and bites along his belly and back. Several men stood at his side, working on his injuries. Tears filled Jasmine's eyes.

"Kylan…"

She ran on weak legs to the giant.

He couldn't be dead. Not because of her. He couldn't—

Chapter 11

W
hen Jasmine ran toward Kylan in dragon form, Dillon let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He hated the panicked fear in her voice, but with her at Kylan's side there was at least a chance that he would survive.

If he didn't need to tend to Kylan he'd go and avenge the damage those other dragons had done. He'd—

Her sob cut through his anger.

First, he had to care for them. Both of them. Then there would be time for righting the wrong.

She was wringing her hands, standing a few feet away from Kylan, when Dillon joined her. He put his hand on her back and rubbed it softly. He couldn't offer platitudes, because Kylan was in real danger. Pain twisted through Dillon's guts at the sight of his partner's lifeless body.

"You." Korwyn, one of the medics tending to Kylan, had stopped his work to point at Jasmine. "Come here."

Jasmine glanced at Dillon and he nodded. He trailed behind her, keeping his hand on her back as they neared Kylan. Touching her helped calm him, and he could only hope it was the same for her.

Korwyn motioned toward Kylan's head. "Talk to him. Touch him."

She approached slowly, then knelt at his side. Her hand trembled as it hovered over Kylan's cheek. A tear leaked from his eye and rolled down the contours of his iridescent skin.

"Oh," Jasmine murmured. Then she wiped the moisture away.

She drew her fingers over his jaw, following the line where skin transitioned to the harder hide of his chest.

Kylan's eyes fluttered open. Jasmine reached for Dillon with her free hand.

"We're here, Kylan. Me and Dillon."

He groaned and Jasmine leaned forward to press her face to his as she squeezed Dillon's fingers.

"You're safe with your clan." Her voice broke with emotion. "We're all safe."

Dillon sat helplessly and watched their mate comfort his partner. If Kylan lived, it would be because of Jasmine. He swallowed down the tidal wave of his emotions.

"Okay," Korwyn said. "It's time."

Dillon cleared his throat. "Jasmine?"

She lifted her head and met his eyes. "You need my blood, don't you?"

"For Kylan," he said. "Will you do that?"

She nodded, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, prodding her to explain what was scaring her. "What aren't you asking me?"

"Will this bind us?" Her brow wrinkled. "Not that your answer will change my mind, but…"

"No." He shook his head. "There is more to it than that."

He expected her to be relieved. She looked down and pressed her lips together. Was she disappointed? Had she wanted this to bind them?

She turned to Korwyn. "What do I do?"

Korwyn snapped on a fresh pair of plastic gloves. "This is so dragon blood doesn't mix with yours," he explained. "It'll be just like giving blood at the doctor's office." He retrieved a needle and vial from the case at his feet. "Now, hold out your arm."

Jasmine extended her arm. The blue lines of her veins ran beneath the pale vulnerable skin of her exposed inner elbow. Korwyn held her elbow in his hand and raised the needle. Dillon fought the urge to jerk her away—save her from the pain, no matter how slight—but this was for Kylan. A low rumble vibrated along the back of his throat, a warning to Korwyn to be gentle.

"Keep him calm," Korwyn said to Jasmine.

Jasmine glanced in surprise at Dillon. "I'll be okay. I donate blood regularly."

Dillon rubbed circles on Jasmine's back, though he didn't sense any fear from her.

"Do it," Dillon said.

Jasmine's gaze never left his as Korwyn pierced the perfection of her skin. A moment later, it was done. Korwyn turned immediately to Kylan and injected her blood into him.

"Wait. If you can withdraw blood for use, why don't you ask for donors instead of mates?"

"It only works if the blood is collected within a few minutes of use. We've been researching alternatives, but so far nothing has worked." Dillon glanced at her arm. A small bubble of blood was seeping from the injection site. "You're bleeding."

She wiped the blood away with her thumb. "It's nothing. It'll stop in a minute."

The desire to lift her hand to his mouth and suck away the evidence of her bleeding was overwhelming. He could kiss the red smear on her arm too. Kiss away any lingering pain. But he wasn't sure if he could do that and stay in control.

As it was, he wanted to cradle her close. Confirm that she was really safe. The whole time he'd been looking for Kylan he'd been plagued with worry. What if the others attacked the village? What if she tried to run again? What if—

"He needs to transition now, so we can take him inside." Korwyn snapped the lid closed on his medic kit. "He'll mend faster if he is in human form."

"Come on, buddy," Dillon said. "You can do it."

Kylan lifted his head, then dropped it back to the ground. It was the most he'd moved since they'd found him. Jasmine's blood was already working to heal him.

Jasmine knelt beside Kylan's face again. She brushed a kiss to his forehead, then leaned forward. Her lips skimmed his ear.

"Change, Kylan. Come back to me."

The dragon moaned.

"We have unfinished business. You, me and Dillon."

She may have whispered, but Dillon heard every word. Hope curled over him.

Kylan groaned in pain as his body rippled slowly. The transition shimmered over him, until he was in human form again. He grabbed Jasmine by the back of the neck and pulled her mouth to his. When the kiss ended, Kylan's arm fell limply to his side again.

"Thank you," Kylan said. He stared into her eyes and Dillon scented all of the other emotions stirring through the air. Love, worry, hope.

Jasmine drew in a shaky breath. "You are welcome. Now, let's get you inside."

The medics lifted Kylan onto a stretcher and carried him to the house. Jasmine grabbed Dillon's hand as they followed. Her soft warm fingers pressed against his flesh and he savored the way her heat fused with his. They had a lot to talk about, but they climbed the wide oak staircase in silence.

At some point on the walk to the room, Kylan had fallen asleep. He didn't stir as they settled him on the large bed. The three of them would share this bed if they mated.

Korwyn checked his patient one last time. He left only after promising to return the next day. Then they were alone.

Jasmine crawled up beside Kylan, then she looked at Dillon. She patted the mattress beside where she lay. This wasn't how Dillon had thought they would be in this room together.

"Come here," she said. "We could all use some rest."

He nodded and climbed on the bed beside them. She faced Kylan and snuggled close to his partner, then she reached around and pulled Dillon tight to her back, sandwiching herself between them.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and inhaled deeply. It was all so natural. She belonged with them, just like this, for the rest of their lives.

Her body relaxed under his hold and soon she was sleeping like Kylan.

They were his to protect. As much as the clan would always be at their backs, he was ultimately responsible for his own family. But no family, especially the chief's family, was isolated. Even cloistered in their bedroom, Dillon could feel the relief and hope from the other clansmen. It was in the lighter, hopeful tones in their conversations that drifted up from the street below. It was in the honey-like aromas of their emotions. Laughlin's relief, in particular, had been palpable when they'd returned to the house with his son. Their clan chief had been saved and they now had an untainted woman in their midst.

The weight of their hope hung over Dillon like a shroud, obliterating his own. They weren't saved yet. She was so fragile and vulnerable. Until Jasmine was bonded to him and Kylan, anything could happen.

***

Jasmine stroked Kylan's dark hair and listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing. She needed to do something, but all she could do for the moment was wait for the doctor to return. She'd awoken hours earlier, shortly before Dillon had gone with a patrol group to pick up their belongings from the cabin. Since then, the sunlight spilling into the bedroom had moved halfway around the room. The longer she sat with Kylan in this room the more comfortable she felt here, and she wasn't sure that was a good thing.

A soft scratch at the door broke through her musings.

"Come in," she said.

Korwyn stepped inside the door with a smile. "How is our patient today?"

"He hasn't regained consciousness." Worry dripped from her words.

"Well, let's take a look, shall we?"

Jasmine shifted and moved to climb off the bed. "I should—"

"No." Korwyn put his hand up to stop her. "Stay where you are."

"Um, okay."

He pulled back the covers and inspected Kylan's injuries. They looked like they had healed even more since that morning, when Jasmine had first done her own examination. The gaping, swollen wounds from yesterday were merely pink lines on his skin now. Korwyn hummed as he worked and Jasmine wanted to smack him. How could he be so relaxed? His ward was in a coma.

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" Jasmine pressed.

"Hmm?" Korwyn looked up. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her scowl. "He's healing the way he should. He'll wake up when he is fully healed. It is lucky you were here. He would have died otherwise."

She'd suspected as much, but hearing the doctor say it made the precarious reality of their situation clear. Kylan would have died because humans didn't live close enough. These dragons put their lives in danger every day to protect their own clans and satisfy their defense agreements with the humans without the guarantee that human blood would be available to help save them if they were injured.

"How does it work?" Jasmine asked. "How does my blood help?"