“Amaya you have to wake up. We’re supposed to be making a family. I shifted, and I can’t do this without you. I can’t do anything without you,” from the saltiness in the air, Fox was crying or had just stopped crying, “Please wake up. I need you. I can’t live without you,” his voice broke as another sob slipped out and his body shook. I walked into the room and wrapped him in my arms, causing him to cry harder. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.” He pulled back slightly, “what am I going to do without her if she doesn’t wake up?”
“Did Amaya tell you what happened when I lost Ingrid?” He wiped his eyes, but nodded. “Amaya is still here. She’s alive. You aren’t going to have to find out what it is to live without your mate. She will wake up. You have to have faith.”
“What if she doesn’t though? I wasted so much time denying how I felt about her because of who she is, that I never took the time to really look at what I had in front of me. I’ve loved her since the first time our eyes met and our hands touched, yet I fought that off because of what and who she is,” he looked up at me with desperation in his eyes.
“What if has rarely interested Amaya. She understood, understands, your hang ups about mating and knowing supernatural creatures. You are here. She will wake up in time,” he started to shake his head, “Yes. She will wake up. You just have to give her time. Her body has been through a lot the last few weeks. You have to take care of yourself in the meantime though. You have to eat everyday, get enough sleep, and shower more than once every couple of weeks.”
“I can’t. I’m not hungry. I don’t feel like sleeping.”
“Just do it for Amaya’s sake. If she were to wake up today, she would be so angry and Niamh would go insane over your current state. I understand that feeling, but you have to force yourself to eat and sleep because it’s something you have to do. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for Amaya.”
He nodded, “I’ll try.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” I said with a pat to his shoulder.
He pulled me in for another hug, and we didn’t let go until his body relaxed. “Thanks Daniel.”
“Anytime, kiddo,” I said with a slap to his back before leaving the room.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn’t have to look at it to know it was Mark. I sighed and declined the call. He had been calling every day, trying to get information out of me as to why Fox needed off for an undetermined amount of time. He immediately called back, so this time I answered. “Mark-”
“Cut the shit, Daniel. Tell me what’s going on with Amaya. She’s just as much my daughter as she is yours. Jace won’t tell me anything, when he takes my calls.”
I sighed again, “Look. I can’t get into it.”
Mathias came up to me, “One of the border guards saw an unidentified car enter the territory, and they’re pulling up the drive now.”
“Fuck,” I cursed low, knowing Mark probably got his hands on my location somehow.
I was proven right when Mark burst into Mathias and Rosalie’s house with Linda not far behind him. As soon as his eyes landed on me, I found myself against the wall with his arm across my chest. “Tell me what the fuck is going on with Amaya. Right now.”
I threw him off of me, “I can’t-”
“That’s fucking bullshit Wardwell, and you know it. We know you guys aren’t exactly normal, so tell us the truth. Is Amaya okay?”
I hung my head, “I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“We don’t know.”
“Can we see her?” Linda asked quietly.
Before I could answer, Jace came limping down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed Mark and Linda, “Aunt Linda. Uncle Mark. What are you guys doing here?”
“Why are you limping?” Mark demanded, turning to me, “Why is he limping?”
I rubbed my brow, “Look Mark, it’s a long story.”
He crossed his arms, “I’ve got time.” I sighed before leading them to the living room. Linda, Jace, Finley, and I sat, and when I gestured for Mark to sit, his face hardened, “I’ll stand.”
“You know we aren’t exactly normal,” I let out a breath, not looking up at them, “Okay, well everything you think you know about the supernatural world, like it not existing, isn’t true. There are different kinds of shifters. We’re all dragon shifters. My brother is the reason I asked you guys to raise Jace and Amaya. He murdered our parents, Ingrid, and his mate, Jace’s mom. A mate is essentially a soulmate. Fox is Amaya’s, Ingrid was mine, and Finley is Jace’s.” I cleared my throat, “Joseph has been trying to kill Amaya since her dragon emerged. Several weeks ago, he abducted her and we couldn’t find her. Once we did find her, Joseph had amassed an army that we fought through to get her.”
“What is wrong with her?” Linda asked quietly.
“I don’t know. She slipped into a coma after Joseph was killed.” I rubbed the back of my neck, “Our best guess is she took on too much magic and that caused her to slip into a coma.”
“She needs to be in the hospital,” Mark said, finally sitting down next to Linda.
I shook my head, “She can’t.” He started to argue, “No. Mark. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. She can’t go to the hospital. They can’t help her.”
“Because it’s something supernatural?” He asked quietly.
Rosalie came into the living room with a tray of coffee and tea. I quietly thanked her. She gave me a squeeze on my shoulder before leaving the room, “Because it’s something supernatural.” I took a drink from my cup, “She’s going to be okay. I don’t know when she’s going to wake up or why she hasn’t woken up, but she’s going to be okay. She has to be.”
Mark looked over at Jace, “So what happened to you, little shit?”
Jace laughed, “Fucking wyverns. Cearul, my dragon, is huge, but if you throw three or four of those little fuckers at me, there’s not much I can do.”
“But you’re okay?” Linda asked.
He slung an arm around her shoulder, “Yeah I’ll be fully healed in about a week.”
Linda looked around Jace at Finley, “Finley it’s so nice to finally put a face to the name. Jace has told us a lot about you.”
Finley smiled sadly, “She can’t speak. At least not yet.”
Mark’s brow furrowed, “What happened?”
“The same thing that happened to Amaya a couple of years ago,” Fox said as he walked into the room, “Hunters.”
“Hunters?”
“Humans that have killed supers for centuries. It’s part of the reason my family ended up here in the first place,” I explained. “They were trying to get away from the hunters in England.”
“How is she doing?” Mark asked.
Fox just shrugged, “No change.”
“Wait. Are you a dragon too?”
Fox shook his head, “Just half. Mom married Dad, Fletcher, after her mate was killed, and he adopted Viola and me.”
I gently kicked Mark, “How did you find us?”
Mark gave me a wiry smile, “I knew I couldn’t track any phones from Storm Industries, but Fox’s was a different story.”
“That’s misuse of government funds and equipment,” I said with a smirk.
He shrugged, “Worth it.” Both he and Linda stood, once they were done hugging everyone, Mark turned to Fox, “Where is she?”
“Upstairs. I’ll show you,” Fox said, gesturing for them to follow.
They weren’t out of the room for long before Mathias and Rosalie walked into the room. “So that’s?”
“Mark and Linda. They raised Jace and Amaya after Joseph attacked,” I answered.
“About that, you know you could’ve given them both to us right?” Mathias asked, looking at the floor as he did.
“I couldn’t risk Joseph attacking all of you to get to the two of them.” I shook my head, “I wouldn’t wish what happened that night on my worst enemies, and I couldn’t risk my best friend, who had already lost a family member, going through the same thing.”
Mathias looked up and gave me a sad smile, “We still would’ve taken them in, happily.”
I returned his sad smile, “I know. That’s why I didn’t ask.”
It wasn’t long before I heard Mark come down the stairs, “Can we stay for a couple of days? I understand if that’s too much to ask for, but I can’t stand the thought of leaving her.”
Mathias walked over to him and stuck his hand out for Mark to shake, “You can stay as long as you like. We’ll make up one of the guest rooms for you.”
“Thank you,” Mark gave Mathias a firm handshake, “It means a lot to both of us that you would open your home not just to us but also to Amaya.”
“Of course. We would do anything for our queen.”
Mark’s brow furrowed, “Queen?”
I rubbed my neck again, “Yeah. She’s the queen of all dragons. It’s one of the biggest reasons she had such a target on her back with Joseph. She’s one of the most powerful dragons I’ve ever seen. Even Ingrid didn’t have as much power as Amaya does.”
“So when Amaya has kids, the first born will be king or queen of all dragons?”
“No. It’s not something that’s passed down through a family. It just so happens Ingrid was queen before Amaya,” I explained.
“How is it passed down then? How do you know who is next in line?”
I shared a glance with Mathias, “That’s not something I can speak about. You’ll have to talk to Amaya when she wakes up.”
Author: Kailan Counahan 