Dragon's Claim

Chapter 6-2

HIS HEART STOPPED.

Not because Marc was in any way hurt. The dragon looked a bit rough, his clothing torn in places and a map of bruises crawling across his skin that were slowly fading from his dragon fast healing, but he was on his feet and coherent and that was all that mattered.

No, Drake’s attention was swallowed by his mate kneeling in the dirt with a small child wrapped in her arms. He felt his heart beat once, a huge thud that pushed all the air from his lungs. It was a vision he didn’t deserve. It was something he’d never imagined.

Layla twisted and looked up at him. There was a war in her eyes. Shadows tried to push back the maternal instinct she felt with the child clinging to her, but she didn’t let go. She gave the little girl a place to find sanctuary.

And, yet, neither were his. Layla may be his mate, the lifetime partner the universe promised him, but she still hid behind her walls. He had no claim to the woman, nor the child she held in her arms. It was still out of his reach, still a thing he wasn’t sure if he deserved.

After a long moment, he was able to tear his gaze away from his mate and looked to the two dragons standing off to the side. He had an idea of what happened, from the storm to the bruises on Marc’s skin, but beyond that he was confused. How did the child factor in? Where had she come from?

Marc shrugged in response to his unasked questions, reading his leader’s expressions.

“I think we should all be getting home,” Drake suggested. “I think everyone here needs a lot of food and a good night’s rest.”

Layla turned to whisper to the form in her arms. He couldn’t hear what passed between the two of them, but saw the barely perceptible nod that made Layla rise to her feet. She carried the small girl in her arms as she moved toward them, her fingers smoothing the girl’s stringy hair.

How had Marc and Layla found a child in the forest of his Territory? Where had the girl come from? Layla fell in step beside him and he felt his heart warm. He wanted to snake his arm around her lower back and pull her in, walk as a family, even if it was a fallacy.

Layla didn’t even like him and the child was clearly not their own. She would have a family of her own looking for her. The most probable solution was that the girl got separated from her family while camping. It happened from time to time. Silly people thought it would be smart to spend nights on the edges of the dragon territory and tell the story for the rest of their lives.

He never once dreamed anyone would bring their children. Of course, his family was not dangerous. They were not the threats the humans should have been wary of, so, perhaps, they found it to be a relatively harmless experience. But, they should have been scared. There were more dragons in the country other than his family.

It took them the better part of an hour to return to the center of the territory, the place where a few homes had cropped up around his. Some of his dragons had spread themselves out over the territory, preferring peace and quiet. Others, liked the safety in numbers and chose to roost a little closer than Drake would have preferred, but he didn’t turn them away.

Beside his simple cabin home, there was a stack of modular homes made from old shipping containers, with broad glass windows and sliding, metal doors. Marc and Luc broke away and veered toward the modular home where Isaac watched from a window upon high. Drake could see the guilt carving lines into his dragon’s face. The three of them would work this out. It wasn’t truly Isaac’s fault that storms liked to chase him.

Drake had other things to worry about in that moment.

The heavy, wooden door closed behind Layla and the child, wrapping them in as much privacy as they could get here. Without direction, Layla found the living room and sank into the plush couch, neither of them caring about the dirt clinging to their bodies. He wanted to go over and curl up beside them, but he diverted his feet toward the kitchen. He’d been away for a while and his kitchen was sorely lacking in stock.

The best he could find were a bag of unopened chips and a box of cheese crackers. It brought to mind Rhys’s awful joke while Raphael held Layla’s life in his hands. Drake’s fingers tightened on the box, crushing its contents. He could have helped her, if the red dragon hadn’t stopped him. Maybe then, she would appreciate him more. Maybe then, she would see his kind of strength and reevaluate her own.

Something touched his back and he spun. His breathing was fast, the box of crackers forgotten. He nearly struck out, but saw Layla’s face and froze. The child was no longer clinging to her, but there was dirt smudged down her cheek and down the stomach of her clothes. She didn’t seem to care, not in the least. She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

Marc was safe and alive. Layla was safe and standing here, in his own home, with him. He had to let go of what happened and move forward. The past was gone, but the future was wide open.

His hand reached out, hovering over her waist, but she dipped before he could touch her. His heart sank. She grabbed the forgotten box of crackers from the floor, studying the crunched exterior before meeting his gaze. He wanted nothing more than to spin her around and pin her to the counter while he devoured her mouth. He wanted to claim her here in his sanctuary, where no one would bother them.

Where his life was his own.

But a cry split the air and they both broke from the moment. Layla spun and raced from the room. Drake followed hot on her heels. The small girl had backed herself into a corner of the living room, crouched to become the smallest possible target. It seemed, that during the walk here she must have fallen asleep. When Layla laid the sleeping child down and left, she must have awoken alone and terrified.

This time, it was Drake’s turn to crouch before her. He pulled the box of cheese crackers from Layla’s hands and slowly moved toward the little girl. She looked at him with hesitation. He sat down on the floor, legs crossed, and reached into the box for a handful of crackers. He popped a few into his mouth while Layla sank into the couch once more. He didn’t care about the dirt. It could be cleaned.

This moment felt like something out of a dream. Although, the dream involved a clean child that was their own, not afraid, but smiling and full of joy. This would do, he thought. This was better than fine.

But the child was not his own, he had to remind himself. They had to find her parents and get her to her real home. Drake had to remember this. He didn’t deserve this kind of happiness. It would serve him right if his mate hated him for the rest of his life. He wished he could, at least, make her happy while she was here, but it didn’t even seem like that was in the cards. His karma had screwed up even her life.

The child scooched forward, inch by inch, until her tiny fingers could steal a few crackers from his open palm. She sat back on her haunches and crammed them into her mouth. He pulled back. Too many too fast and she would find herself sick. He doled them out to her, one by one while Layla watched from the couch.

When he glanced back, he was surprised to find a smile on her face. His mate’s eyes were still at war, but she had found some kind of happiness.

“She has magic,” Layla informed him.

The small girl looked between him and Layla, taking in their words. He studied her. It looked like she’d been in the wilds for a while. There were layers of dirt beneath her nails and her skin nearly cling to her bones. How long had she been missing?

“She held my fire in her hands without getting burned. I can’t say if she’s a dragonling or a witchling, or whatever else is out in this world, but I know she’s something special.”

“What I don’t get is how someone lost her? Who can be so irresponsible with their child?”

The sound of crunching crackers slowed. Layla’s gaze flicked to the girl and she leaned forward, her lips parted.

Drake turned to find the girl mirroring his position, her legs crossed as she sat inches away from him. The girl swallowed her mouthful of cracker before meeting Drake’s eyes.

“I was lost,” the small voice said. “I had to find the big dragon. The leader.”

His heart nearly stopped again.

“What?” it was all he could manage. Someone told this girl to find him? But, why?

She leaned forward and pulled the box of crackers from his grip before he could stop her. She was quick, becoming comfortable quickly.

“This place. It smells of him. You,” the girl said as she pressed a finger into Drake’s knee. “You smell of him, too.”

“That’s enough of the crackers for now,” Layla said. She shoved herself up from the couch and came closer. “How about we get you clean and into some comfy clothes? What do you say to that?”

The small child looked at the box of crackers longingly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let the big dragon eat them all. He listens to me.” Layla held her hand out to the small child. He watched as the small child hesitated and then, in a moment of trust, planted her hand neatly in his mate’s.

He watched as the two of them navigated the house like they’d always lived there. He followed after them, his hand tracing over the small of Layla’s back when he passed her, and pointed them toward the master bathroom. They could make a great big mess of it for all he cared.

Once he supplied them with all the soaps and shampoos he could find, he retreated. There was too much reeling through his mind. It left him dizzy and his feet found him outside again. He wasn’t surprised to find the three goons sitting on his porch. Marc and Luc shared the swinging bench as though Luc could not stand to be away from his twin yet. Isaac sat in the Adirondack chair with his feet planted on the rough, wood table.

Drake pushed Isaac’s feet off the table before falling opposite him. There was no cushion in the chair, and he spared a moment to wonder if he should invest in some. For Layla. For the small child.

He cursed. Layla had no clue she was even his mate. She was not his wife, or even his girlfriend. She was simply a work associate at this point. The girl they’d found was certainly not his child. He didn’t have to go out and invest in child-proof locks for all his doors and cabinets.

Neither were his.

The beast roared inside of him. It was so loud that his ears rang and when he looked up, he could see Isaac’s lips moving, but couldn’t hear the words that were pouring out. He shuddered and shut his eyes. The beast would have to wait.

They just had to wait.

Once the beast was curled into a corner of his mind, hissing and snarling in defiance, but far enough away that Drake could focus again, he turned his attention back to the men before him.

“You alright boss?” Luc asked.

“Right as rain,” he muttered.

“I was asking you if we should call the human authorities,” Isaac repeated himself. His eyes moved to the door every now and then in case Layla appeared.

Drake shook his head. There was a story attached to the child, one that he found he was afraid of. It brought up memories that he’d rather not recall. Ones that haunted his dreams some nights and had him awake, sitting beside his mate because she chased it all away.

“The girl isn’t human,” he began. “At least, that’s what Layla believes. The girl spoke, said something about being told to find the big dragon.”

Marc snorted. “I’d say she found him. You’re not only the leader of the largest group of dragons in the US, but you’re also the biggest damned dragon I’ve ever seen.”

It made Drake wonder if Marc had seen Gareth’s dragon. The size of that beast gave Drake a run for his money. They were easily the same size. But, here in the US, big dragon definitely meant Drake. Why was the girl told to find him? Who told her to find him? He hoped Layla was getting answers from the girl.

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