Mated to the Dragon King

Chapter 3

Fae

I had no idea how long I had been asleep, but the pain in my body had subsided. The low beeping of a machine slowly pulled me from my deepened unconscious state. From the amount of light that bled through my eyelids I could tell wherever I was, it was dark enough for me to open my eyes.

Sparks tingled around my hand and trailed up my arm. It was a soothing feeling that I didn't quite understand but it felt so right. I opened my eyes just enough to check out my surroundings and found myself in what looked like a hospital room. I turned my head to see a sleeping male figure beside me. My heart began to race. Was this Lou? The man from before?

The beeping on the machine quickened, causing Lou to stir and my breathing to unlevel as fear pushed its way through me.

"Darling? What's the matter?" The man beside me asked in a very alluring yet sleepy tone.

"W-who a-a-are y-you?" I stammered, pulling the sheet up to my chest.

He slowly sat up and rubbed his face before his glowing blue eyes locked on mine. "It's me… Lou…"

"The m-man from th-the boat?" I asked.

He nodded and gave me a small smile. I tried to reciprocate his actions but couldn't. My lips and throat were so dry, that it hurt to even speak.

I motioned for a cup of some sort and watched as Lou jumped out of his seat and rushed across the room to the small tray that sat on the counter. He quickly poured a glass of some sort of light green liquid and brought it back over to me.

Raising my brow in question, I glanced at the cup and then back to him. I pointed to it. "W-what is th-this?"

"It's an herbal green tea. It was your favorite. Hopefully it still is…" he replied.

I tried to push myself to sit up but a sharp knife-like pain shot across my abdomen, causing me to cry out.

Lou set the cup down beside the bed and slid one arm behind my back. "Hold on a sec, don't move too fast okay. You're still recovering." He soothed me and helped me sit up.

"Th…thank you." I managed to croak out before reaching for the glass.

He didn't know what to do since both hands were assisting me to sit up. Instead, Lou climbed into the bed behind me and gently positioned me between his legs with my back against his chest. My tense shoulders released at his simple touch.

I froze with the glass in hand. How was I supposed to respond to this? The sparks that tingled down my back felt so comforting. But my emotions were on high alert. Slowly, I brought the glass to my lips and drank the tea down as fast as my throat could swallow.

The tea definitely tasted familiar and helped soothe the achy dryness of my throat. "Thank you…" I whispered and set the glass down on the nearby windowsill.

"Anytime, sugar."

"Sugar? I'm sorry… this is… all so…" I stopped myself for a moment. I didn't want to anger Lou, but I still had no idea what was going on or where I was.

"That's what I called you before you were taken from me. You are mine. You must have a hundred questions for me by now."

I glanced up at him and nodded. His features reminded me of male models. A strong jawline, a small ridge in his nose that indicated it'd been broken before but didn't heal correctly, an old scar that ran from the top of his eyebrow down to the middle of his cheek. His dark eyebrows accentuated his blue eyes and his cheekbones added the perfect touch to his well-structured face.

He raised his brow at me as if to carry on.

"I don't remember any of this. Who exactly are you and where are we?" I asked timidly.

He gave me a smile and wrapped his arms around me. My body shook. "We are back in the Kharo territory of the dragon shifters. A world tucked away on earth."

Dragon shifters? "Oh… I've always thought… this place only existed in fairy tales." I replied.

He shook his head and chuckled. "No, Fae, this is a real world. Your world."

"What does that mean? Am I some sort of shifter too?" I asked.

"No, you're a fairy. But because you've been gravely injured, your wings are retracted and your body hasn't healed quite yet."

The smoothness of his voice helped calm my nerves. It was definitely familiar yet… still foreign to me.

"Tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"

I looked down at my hands, they were still covered in dried blood and grime. My thoughts were absent, as was most of my memory. "I-I don't really know. Besides the pain. That man was screaming at me for answers I couldn't give him."

Tears pooled in the corner of my eyes and fell onto the blanket. I didn't realize I had started crying. My body remembered everything that had happened, but why couldn't I?

My tummy grumbled unexpectedly, causing my tears to abruptly stop. "Oh…" I bit my lip and glanced up at Lou, whose eyes were clouded over for a moment before he looked down at me.

"Something wrong?" He asked, c*****g his head to the side.

I stared blankly at him and shook my head. "What did your eyes do just now?" I pointed up at him.

"I uh, just telepathically asked my mother to bring food. She remembers what you like."

I pursed my lips in thought and tried to think of who she was. I couldn't remember for the life of me. "I… sorry, I don't remember her either."

Lou gently grabbed my hands and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "It's okay. I'll help you remember. But before she gets here, let's get you cleaned up, okay?" He offered before lifting me into his arms and walked into the nearby bathroom.

I squeaked when he set me down on the counter and reached behind me to untie the hospital gown. My nerves were on edge. I gripped his hand and glanced up at him with teary eyes. He instantly stopped and raised his hands in a non-threatning manner.

"I'm just gonna help you get undressed and in the shower. I promise I will not do anything to you." He stated.

I bit my lower lip and nodded. "Could you make the water warm?" I asked shyly as I pulled the sleeves down on the hospital gown.

Lou shot me a grin and nodded before he reached into the stall and turned on the water.

I fidgeted with the gown when I bunched it up in my lap and waited for him to let me down off the counter. He turned and smiled at me before scanning over my bare shoulders and upper chest. His blue eyes flashed a bright yellow before he shook his head and growled.

I flinched and lowered my head, expecting some sort of blow to my face, but when nothing came, I peeked one eye open at him and stared at him for a moment.

Lou exhaled a long breath before running his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, Sugar. Tan... my dragon is not happy that you had been some fuckwit's punching bag for the last two months." He explained and turned to leave.

Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed his shirt. "Wait... don't go... Please..." I whimpered. "I don't think I can stand without help and... you seem to be the only person here that isn't out to hurt me."

Lou, gave me a saddened smile before he lifted me off of the counter and set me down on the floor gently. "I'll stay as long as you like. Did you want to sit in my lap or on the bench?" He asked as he slipped out of his shirt.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks rise. "I-... uh. Well, your lap? If that's okay with you, of course. That tingly feeling I get helps calm my nerves."

He chuckled at me and removed his shirt. "It's our mate bond, little love. It's always going to help soothe you, just as it does for me. I get the same feeling when I hold you, touch you or when I'm near you. That's actually how I found you."

"Oh. Um- after all of this, could you explain all of that to me? I just want to remember everything as quickly as possible so I can stop being so... scared."

"Of course. I was hoping you would want to know all of this stuff again since... our wedding date is three months from now."

I froze, "Wedding date. I do remember you saying I was your fiance... So you weren't lying?"

"Oh my goddess, Fae. I could never lie about something like that, especially to you." He replied and slid out of his gray sweat pants, leaving him in a pair of shorts.

My eyes widened and I turned around to hide my intense blush from him. I forgot that I was standing there naked, but my hair was my saving grace since it fell to my knees. "I- uh. Oh dear." my thoughts were scrambled as I inched toward the shower while holding onto the counter and any other stable object in front of me.

Warmth enveloped me from behind and the tingling sensation from before traveled down my backside. I purred at the sensation because it just felt so right.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's get you cleaned up and fed so we can catch you up on the turn of events and see if we can unlock some more memories of yours." Lou chuckled, guided me into the stall, put the bench down and then pulled on my hips to get me to sit down.

I stood for a moment while the warm water ran down my skin. "That feels amazing. I feel like I haven't showered or bathed in ages."

"Well, those hunters--"

"--I don't remember much about that whole thing besides you setting me free. But my body remembers what happened..."

Lou let out a heavy sigh and I felt something soft scrub against my lower back, butt and legs. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as he scrubbed me clean, then turned me around to clean my front. I covered my breasts and my lady bits.

He gently grabbed my hands and uncovered my body. "Dont hide from me. I already told you I wasn't going to do anything to you and I meant it. Please just trust me, Fae."