Pulling at the magic, Noah found a weak spot and broke the spell away.
Kara drew in a sharp breath but didn’t wake.
Noah nuzzled her hair, comforting her for a moment before getting back to work.
Byrd fidgeted in worry. They both could feel the damage the spell had done to Kara. They may have saved her life, but it was going to take a real miracle to save her dragon.
Warmth surrounded Kara as she regained consciousness. The urge to snuggle down into it hit her, and she shifted to get closer. Pain ripped through her, driving out a gasp. She tensed as the world came into sharp focus and all she found was pain. “Aaah,” she moaned, trying to make the hurting stop. Her head pounded and her back ached, but that was nothing compared to the burning sensation racing along her limbs. A grimace twisted her face as she turned into the warmth holding her.
“Shh.”
Freezing, she cracked an eye to find she was buried into a familiar chest. Again. Noah’s voice washed over her as he whispered a line of random sounds. The pain racing through her eased, leaving her limp in his arms.
“Kara?” he called to her softly.
Kara opened her eyes and tilted her head back to look up at him. “Hi,” she said as a soft smile turned the corner of her mouth. “We really need to stop meeting like this.”
Noah chucked at the teasing. “You know, under other circumstances, I wouldn’t mind meeting you like this more often.” He squeezed her lightly.
Her heart skipped as a blush bloomed on her cheeks.
“But seriously.” The humor drained from Noah’s voice. “How do you feel?”
How do I feel? Many things raced through Kara’s mind. She ached, but she wasn’t really hurting anymore. Her emotions were stirred by the man holding her, but she didn’t think that was what he wanted to know about. There was something that was bothering her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. “I feel… off.” She looked for a good way to explain what she felt. “Hollow.”
“Quiet and alone?” Noah asked.
“Yes,” Kara answered. That was exactly what she felt. Something inside her was still when it should be active. Fear crawled at her. “What happened?”
Noah’s hand rubbed down her back, calming her. “We were captured,” he explained calmly. “I’m sorry. Byrd and I couldn’t stop them at the house.”
The fear in Kara spread and she twisted around to see where they were. A barn. Her mind started to race.
“Shh…” Noah hushed her again, drawing her attention back to him. “We’re safe for now,” he reassured her. “Byrd and I got out shortly after waking up, but…” he trailed off.
“But what?” The fact that he had stopped scared the hell out of her. What did they do?
Noah sighed deeply. “They had already started to remove your dragon by the time we got to you.”
Terror ripped through Kara. That was the still spot in her. Her dragon was gone! She gasped as the panic started to set in.
“Shh…” Noah said again, holding her tighter. “Calm down. We got you before they could get it out.”
Kara’s breath came fast and hard as she held on to him. “But it’s not there.”
“It’s there,” Noah reassured her as he ran his hand over her hair. “Byrd can feel it. It’s just separated.”
Tears bloomed in Kara’s eyes. The idea of losing her dragon was crippling. The band of Noah’s arms around her got tighter.
“Mine. We fix.”
The way those words rumbled up from Noah’s chest broke through Kara’s fear. The cadence and tone were wrong. She pulled back and looked up into his eyes. They were dark and slitted, like a dragon’s. Byrd. Then the color and shape shifted back to the lovely brown that was Noah.
“But how?” Noah asked. His eyes lost their focus as he talked with his dragon.
Kara held her breath as she watched his inner conversation play on his face. The color of his eyes flashed back and forth from nearly black to brown as his two halves worked things out.
“Will that work?” Noah asked and paused. He shook his head. “Could it go back on its own?” Another pause as his eyes changed again. “I see, but…” His eyes came into focus, and he looked down at her. “That would be up to her.” His eyes darkened again. “No, Byrd. It’s up to her.”
“What?” Kara asked, interrupting their conversation. It was infuriating to only get one half of the argument.
Noah let out a sigh. “We’ve got a couple of options.” He paused as his eyes flashed dark again. “No, Byrd, it’s her choice.” Letting out another sigh, he refocused his eyes on Kara again. “Sorry about that.”
“Go on,” Kara encouraged him.
“As I said, you have options,” Noah started again. “Your dragon is still there, but it’s been pulled loose.” He flinched as if something in his head hurt but went on with closed eyes and a pained voice. “If you wait, there’s a chance that things will settle down and you’ll reconnect with your dragon.” Noah opened his eyes and continued. “This option could take time and leave space between you and your dragon. Byrd doesn’t like that.”
“I can tell,” Kara said as she raised her hand and rested it on his chest.
Noah gave her a halfhearted grin and went on. “The second option is to let Byrd help you reconnect with your dragon.”
Kara stared at him in shock. “He can do that?”
“He thinks he can.”
“How?” Her mind reeled at the possibilities.
“Well,” Noah looked past her. His face showed how uncomfortable he was to share this. “It’s going to require a bond.”
That shocked Kara. She stared at him in disbelief until his eyes came back to meet hers.
“Byrd thinks he can lead your dragon back to where it belongs, but he needs a connection to it, and… well, it’s likely that connection would be permanent.”
Kara stared at the apologetic look on Noah’s face as she wrapped her mind around that. The only bond she knew of that would connect two dragons was a mating bond. “Are you asking me to be your mate?”
Noah blushed and looked away. “Well… um, that is…” His mouth opened and closed. “I know we don’t know each other…”
A smile worked its way onto Kara’s face. Noah was adorable when he was flustered. Raising her hand up, she turned his head back to look at her. “Is this what Byrd wants?”
His eyes flashed dark again as his arms tightened around her. “Mine!”
The sudden embrace squeezed a laugh out of Kara as it warmed her heart. In the short time she’d known him, she had come to care greatly about the dragon. “All right, Byrd,” she said. “I’ll be your mate.”
A purr of pleasure rumbled through him.
“On one condition.”
The sound stopped as Byrd perked up to listen.
“You have to let Noah be in charge most of the time.” It was a little dirty, forcing the dragon to relent to Noah, but mated dragons tended to be very instinctual—especially during the first few months of their bonding. This would give Noah some chance of holding his own against his dragon.
Byrd gave out an irritated rumble before it dropped to a soft purr. “Mine,” he said softly as he rubbed his chin on the top of her head.
Kara giggled and turned her face up to rub into his chin. “Mine,” she echoed, claiming him. Even though she couldn’t reach her dragon, she knew this was what her instinctual side wanted. After a moment of cuddling, she pulled back. “Now, give me back Noah.”