Sacrificed to the Dragon (12 page)

“I didn’t ask for your pity.”

“It’s not pity. I’m being sincere, as I couldn’t imagine what that would be like.” She put a hand on his chest and the touch soothed his anger a fraction. “But believe me, I’m not an undercover dragon hunter. I’m going to be the mother of your child. Doesn’t that count for something?”

He stared at her for a second and decided he needed to ask her something before he brought her anywhere near his sister.

He resisted a frown. Why was he thinking of introducing her to his sister? Meeting with a human was the last thing Arabella needed.

But the curiosity that had been bouncing around inside his head was strong enough to make him ask his question anyway. “Did you mean what you said earlier to the students, about wanting to write a book to help stop the nasty rumors about us?”

Mel nodded. “Yes. At first, I just wanted to find something unique for my doctoral thesis, but after three days of teaching the children of this clan, I want to help build a better future for them. The bias and discrimination will never completely disappear, but it’d be nice if humans and dragon-shifters could interact without living in perpetual fear of trying to kill each other.”

There was no trace of deceit or fear in her scent. That told him the human believed in her words.

Had Bram been right to say he was letting his prejudice get in the way? Even if it was true, and he wasn’t entirely convinced it was, he still had his sister to think about. Arabella was his only family, and if she couldn’t get past Melanie being human, there was no way he could have both Melanie and his sister in his life if Melanie decided to stay after their child was born.

As if sensing his doubts, Melanie added, “Believe me, I know what it’s like to want to protect your family.” She gave a faint smile. “After all, I came here to save my brother’s life.”

She stared down at her hand on his chest. As she started to stroke him, some of the tension eased out of his body. Her voice was soft when she continued, “I swear on my brother Oliver’s life that I’m not trying to deceive you or do anything to intentionally hurt your sister.” She looked back into his eyes. “And if that’s not enough, I’ll swear it on the life of our unborn child. Please, Tristan, let me meet your sister and see if I can help her get past her fear of humans.”

“Why do you seem so intent on helping everyone? First Cait, now offering for my sister. What’s in it for you?”

“I could ask the same thing, about you teaching the young dragon-shifters. It’s just something I do without thinking. I can’t stand to see people hurting who have a chance at happiness.”

Believe her
, his dragon crooned.

A small part of him hidden deep, deep inside agreed with the beast. But the human-half asked, “Is that what I am to you? A fix-it project?”

She frowned. “I just want to get to know the father of my baby. Is that too much to ask?”

He was suspicious of Melanie’s ulterior motives. But with his dragon urging him to agree and the deeply buried part of him which remembered being interested in humans as a boy coming back to the forefront of his mind, Tristan decided to give Melanie a chance. Just one. If she betrayed it, he’d find a way to stay away from her, even if it meant leaving the clan for a few months.

Decision made, he said, “Wait here for a second. I’ll be right back.”

She blinked at his order, but nodded. He reluctantly released his grip on her arms and went to the dragonwoman currently handing out student lunches. Each step he took away from the human made his inner beast try to crawl out and take control. Tristan said,
Let me take care of the young and then I will go back to her.

I don’t believe you.

I’m telling the truth, so let me do what needs to be done. Otherwise, she will leave without us. Is that what you want?

His inner beast growled.
No. Hurry up.

Once his dragon retreated, Tristan approached the dragonwoman handing out lunches. As soon as he was close enough, he said, “Can you watch the children and take them to their next class? I need to take care of the mother of my child.”

The dragonwoman darted a glance toward Melanie, but instead of the disdain he’d expected, the older woman had sympathy in her eyes. The dragonwoman nodded. “I remember what it’s like to get morning sickness, and it’s ten times worse for humans carrying one of our children. Take her home and pamper her, Tristan. Humans are so fragile, and who knows if these next nine months will be her last.”

No, she will NOT die,
his dragon screamed inside his head.

He pushed the beast back and said to the female, “So you don’t care that she’s an outsider on our land?”

The woman, Lia, if he remembered right, shook her head. “Why would I? She’s helping our clan’s future by coming here and being willing to bear one of our children, despite the risks to her life and her reputation if she leaves here after the child is born.”

“You’re in the minority, then.”

Lia shrugged. “Maybe. But all that matters is that you take care of her, Tristan. I’ve heard the rumors about you not even checking in on her this past week, and it’s disappointing. I knew your mum, and no matter what race the mother of her grandchild was, she would’ve expected you to take care of your future family.”

He made a noncommittal noise. He wasn’t about to discuss his mother with who knew how many students listening to his conversation. What Lia had already said was bad enough. He turned and said, “I’m going now.”

Without looking back, he walked over to Melanie. As he approached her, he caught the human’s scent and his dragon growled. Only when he put a hand on Melanie’s lower back did the beast fall quiet again. No doubt, it was semi-behaving because Melanie had just been sick.

Funny, that. His dragon stopped thinking about fucking her whenever she threw up. Morning sickness might work to his advantage.

He pushed against her back. “Come with me.”

Melanie looked up at him. “Where are we going?”

Without thinking, his hand started to rub her lower back. “You’re going to get cleaned up and then we’re going to pay a visit to my sister, Arabella.”

*~*~*~*

End Part Two

*~*~*~*

PART THREE

Chapter One

As Tristan led Melanie toward Samira and Liam’s cottage to freshen up before visiting his sister, Lia’s words from back at the clearing kept ringing inside his head:
I knew your mum, and no matter what race the mother of her grandchild was, she would’ve expected you to take care of your future family.

He didn’t want to admit it, but Lia was right. Due to the brutal, tragic nature of his mother’s death, he rarely remembered what she’d been like when she had been alive. Part of the reason he’d been interested in humans as a boy had been because of his mother. Jocelyn MacLeod had believed much as Bram did today, in that she’d envisioned a future where dragon-shifters and humans would work together.

From what little information he’d extracted from his sister, their mum had believed that up until the end.

After Melanie’s interactions with the children, and Bram’s support, he was pretty confident that Melanie wasn’t working with the dragon hunters. But the real test would be if she could win over his sister or not. Arabella had gone through things that would make a lesser person give up on life. While she mostly kept to herself because of her lack of trust in others, she had found a way to help the clan by studying computer programming.

However, his sister was quite antisocial, to the point she may not open the door to let Melanie inside her home. He’d just have to make sure his sister could scent that Melanie was carrying his child. The faint trace of his scent in the human’s skin might be enough to convince Arabella to give her a chance, instead of slamming the door in their faces and retreating back to in front of her computer.

And for reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted Arabella to open the door and give Melanie a chance.

As they passed one of the Stonefire’s eateries, the smell of steak and kidney pie filled his nose, making his stomach rumble. No doubt, after losing her breakfast, Melanie would be hungry too.

He was about to ask her if she wanted something to eat when she buried her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stopped walking and said, “What’s wrong?”

Her voice was muffled. “That smell...it makes me want to vomit again.”

“So you’re burying your face against me to cover me in sick and get revenge on me for impregnating you?”

She shook her head against his chest. “For some reason, your scent calms my stomach.”

His inner dragon hummed.
Our scent helps her. She will want us always by her side.

Tristan brushed the remark aside, determined to remain unaffected. “Let’s keep going. We’re nearly there.”

“If I move my head away before we clear that smell, I’ll be sick. And this time, I’ll make sure to aim for you.”

He nearly smiled. Even when facing a humiliating situation, like being sick in public, Melanie Hall didn’t back down.

Since she was suffering in part because of him, he looped an arm around her waist and said, “I can carry you or guide you until the smell clears. Which method do you prefer?”

She hesitated a second and then said, “Guide me, but make sure to walk slowly.”

His dragon let out a soft snarl inside his head.
Carry her. I want to feel her soft body pressed against ours.

Not now. She doesn’t feel well. Comfort her first and maybe we’ll feel her body against ours later.
At the promise of feeling the human female’s curves against his skin, the dragon retreated. Tristan tried not to think too hard on how cooperative his beast was being, because that would mean thinking about how attached his dragon was becoming to the human.

He tightened his grip on Melanie’s waist and started walking, careful to time his steps to her sideways walk. He nearly ordered her to walk faster, but then he remembered Lia’s words about taking care of Melanie. If his mother were alive today and saw him barking at a pregnant woman, carrying his baby no less, she would’ve frowned and give him a cool, even look. His mother had never been one to raise her voice, yet Tristan and his sister had known better than to disobey her.

Thinking about his mother squeezed his heart. He’d pretty much locked away his memories of her for both his and Arabella’s sakes, but he was starting to wonder if it was time to address both the pain and the memories of his mum. He had a feeling that during their visit with Arabella, he wouldn’t have a choice.

Samira and Liam’s cottage came into view and he caught traces of Liam’s scent in the air. His dragon snarled and tried to take control.
A male lives inside that house. He will take our human many times until he erases our scent. We must take her away and protect her from all other males.

I will protect her. Now, stop being daft. Liam has his own mate.

But ours is better.

Ignoring the remark about mates, Tristan said,
Stop it or I will shut you out completely.

His dragon grumbled and allowed Tristan’s human-half to remain in control. At least, for the time being.

He tightened his grip on the human to further soothe his dragon. The feel of her soft curves warm against his hand, arm, and chest calmed the beast. He hoped Liam was out, or his dragon would try everything he could to break free, resulting in a rather spectacular display of protectiveness and possibly a fight.

They reached the front door of Samira’s cottage. Tristan gave his dragon one last warning to behave before he said, “We’re here.”

~~~

Melanie had mixed feelings about morning sickness. On the one hand, ordinary smells made her want to vomit on a second’s notice. On the other hand, it made Tristan be nice to her.

It was strange having her face pressed against his chest as he guided her toward Samira’s cottage, but she hadn’t lied about his scent calming her stomach. She didn’t know if it had to do with the half-dragon baby in her uterus or not, but whatever the reason, it beat throwing up again.

Yet as they slowly moved toward Liam and Samira’s cottage, she couldn’t help but notice the heat of his hand on her waist or how safe she felt pressed up against him. If he continued being nice to her, she probably would jump into bed with him again at the first opportunity. And if that happened, she had no idea what Tristan’s inner dragon would do. She wasn’t quite sure what it meant for one to “grow attached” as he’d put it. For all she knew, it might curb her freedom on Stonefire’s land rather than expand it.

Not that she’d allow him the opportunity to try to contain her. She’d worked hard for what freedoms she’d gained thus far, and she’d fight for them all over again if she had to.

Still, despite all of that, she couldn’t help but wonder if an attached dragon looked something like how Liam and Samira acted with one another. Strong-willed Samira melted whenever Liam caressed her cheek or gave her a gentle kiss. While staying with the pair, she’d never seen Liam try to hide his affection.