Chapter Four
A baby's cry woke up Arabella. Blinking her eyes open, she tugged at Finn's arm around her waist, and he released her.
She quickly reached the crib, but stopped breathing at what she saw. Freya was awake, but her pupils were slitted.
Which meant her inner dragon was either in charge or talking with Freya.
Her dragon spoke up. That shouldn't happen yet.
Keeping her voice low and as free of panic as she should, she said, "Finn, wake up."
He grumbled, and Arabella debated whether to pick up her daughter or not. If Freya's dragon had somehow managed to take control, she didn't want to push the beast too far and possibly cause it to go rogue.
Which meant she might lose her daughter forever.
"What is it?" Finn asked on a yawn.
Arabella pointed at Freya and Finn leaned forward, clearly alert. "What the…?"
She kept her tone low and light, so as to not upset Freya. "What do we do, Finn? That's not normal. She's only a few months old. Her dragon shouldn't speak to her until five years at the earliest."
"I don't know. But maybe Layla or Logan might. Let me see."
After quickly squeezing her shoulder, Finn raced out of the room.
The second her father was out of sight, Freya began crying. The sight of her pink-faced baby with tears rolling down her cheeks tugged at Arabella's heart. No doubt, she was scared and confused. "Sssh, Freya, love. Daddy's getting us some help. We'll have this sorted soon enough."
Freya didn't exactly settle, but at least she merely sniffled instead of bawled.
Arabella glanced at the twins. Declan slept through anything, but Grayson stirred a little and would soon join his sister's cries.
It was Arabella's job to protect her babies, and yet, all she could do was stand and watch or risk making things worse.
She said to her dragon, I hate not knowing what to do.
There has to be a reason for why this happened to Freya now. Young dragons must be provoked into coming out of their hiding spots inside their minds this early.
Layla raced into the room, with Finn close on her heels. The doctor stopped at the crib and studied Freya's eyes. After a few beats, Layla spoke in her stern, yet gentle doctor voice filled with dominance. "Now, now, I know your dragon must be impatient to come out to play, but she really should be sleeping somewhere safe in your mind."
Freya's soft cries turned into what Arabella could only describe as roars.
Grayson started wailing, but thankfully, his pupils were round. Finn swiftly picked up their son and carried him to the other side of the room to calm him.
Arabella glanced at the doctor. "What do we do, Layla? Have you seen it before?"
Layla kept her voice gentle. "Only in textbooks. But Sid and Gregor just arrived, and if anyone can help with unusual inner dragon-related problems, it's them."
Dr. Sid had lost her dragon for twenty years, until Gregor had brought out her beast during the mate-claim frenzy. Ever since then, Gregor had dedicated his free time to learning as much as possible about inner dragons and how they worked. While not a guaranteed solution, Arabella had faith that Sid and Gregor could help or find a way to do so.
Arabella reached for Freya, but quickly clenched her fingers into a fist. She still didn't know if picking her daughter up would make things worse. "It's all right, Freya. Mummy's old friend, Dr. Sid, will be coming soon. She and her mate might be able to help you."
Layla went to the door and shouted something to a nurse about bringing the Stonefire doctors to the nursery. She then dashed back inside. "Is there anything that could've caused this? Finn didn't think so, but I wanted to double-check with you, too."
Arabella ran through the day and shook her head. "No, the only difference in the routine today was that Meg watched the triplets for a bit."
Finn grunted. "I'm going to ask Meg what she did with them."
Noticing the blame in Finn's voice, she said, "Finn, don't shout at her. For all we know, she didn't do anything wrong, and Freya's dragon did this on her own."
Layla nodded. "Ara's right. Meg will be in Room 3 with her new grandson. Try not to ruin the happy moment for them all."
Finn grunted, his voice a little less accusatory. "Aye, I'll try not to. Although if she begins one of her guilt trips about Aunt Lorna, I can't make any promises. This is too important."
Finn disappeared with Grayson still in his arms and Arabella turned back to Freya. She searched for her daughter's favorite fox toy but didn't spot it in the crib. Spotting it on the floor, she risked giving the toy to Freya. The second the fox was next to her, Freya stopped crying and her pupils returned to round again.
"I don't understand," Arabella stated. "Her dragon wanted the toy? Why go to all that trouble?"
Layla shook her head. "I have no idea. But if Freya's dragon is active at this young of an age, we're all going to have to tread carefully. We can't exactly teach a bairn how to control an inner beast."
Sid and Gregor rushed through the door. Gregor asked, "What's wrong, Layla? They simply said to hurry here."
Layla turned toward her former mentor with a frown. "I'm not sure. Freya's pupils were slitted and I swear she roared."
Gregor moved to the crib. "She looks content and back to normal now."
Arabella filled him in on the details and added, "Once she had her favorite toy again, her pupils returned to normal. Is there anything you can tell us, Gregor? Please?"
Sid appeared on Arabella's other side and she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let us take a look first, Ara. And then we'll go from there."
Arabella nodded and stepped back. She never tore her gaze from her daughter as Layla said, "I need to check on Holly. Will you be fine with Sid and Gregor here?"
Arabella murmured her assurance.
"Aye, then I'll be back as soon as I can."
Clasping her hands, Arabella tried her best to stay calm.
Her beast spoke up. I think Freya will be fine. Her dragon must be anxious to come out and play.
But at that age, the dragon could easily overpower her, and we'll lose our baby girl. Few children under the age of five whose dragons take control resist going rogue. And even fewer ever return to their former selves.
Any children born to us and Finn are guaranteed to be stubborn. I believe in Freya. She'll find a way.
Finn returned and instantly moved to her side. Once he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him and placed a hand on Grayson's back. The combined warmth of the two males helped her to relax a fraction. "Did you learn anything from Meg?"
"The only thing out of the ordinary is that the twins drank all of your breast milk and she had to give Freya some of the formula Graham's mate uses for his son. But Graham's son has never had flashing dragon eyes, so I'm not sure it's related."
Gregor joined them. "It could be. If Freya's allergic to something in the formula, it's possible it brought out her dragon. Whilst allergies are rare for dragon-shifters, an allergic reaction could've affected her inner dragon to such an extent it left the hibernation area of the mind."
Arabella forced her voice to remain calm for her son's sake. "What can we do?"
"I'll run a series of tests to see if I can determine the cause," Gregor answered. "The allergy must be minor, as I didn't see any physical manifestations related to it, such as swelling or rashes. However, I'm not sure if the effect will be long-term or not. It depends on genetics and the individual dragon-shifter. Has anyone in either of your families had allergic reactions before?"
Arabella nodded. "My father did, although I'm not sure what it was. Finn? What about yours?"
He shook his head. "No, my parents didn't have allergies, nor do any of my extended family."
She leaned more against Finn. "I think we need to call Tristan. He's older and always spent more time with Dad than Mum before he disappeared. He might know the specifics of our father's allergies."
Sid jumped in. "I'll call Trahern first to check our records and then talk with Tristan. Right now, the best thing you can do is cuddle your daughter. Gregor will stay here, in case anything happens."
Without missing a beat, Arabella rushed to scoop up her daughter, careful to keep the little stuffed fox with her.
Hugging her close, she breathed in her baby's scent and murmured, "We'll sort this out, Freya." She kissed the top of her head. "Mummy and Daddy will do whatever we can to help."
Although even that might not be enough.
Her beast growled. Stop it. Freya needs our support.
I've never been a full-blown optimist, dragon. You know that.
Then try it. Otherwise, you're all but giving up.
Arabella was about to refute her dragon's claims, but Gregor's voice filled the room. "That lad can sleep. I hope my bairn is like that."
Finn never stopped rubbing Grayson's back in soothing motions as he turned his gaze toward Declan. "Aye, unless his brother picks on him in his sleep, then he wakes up."
Arabella forced a smile, but as Finn and Gregor joked about Declan sleeping through an atomic bomb, Arabella merely sat in the glider and rocked her daughter until she fell asleep.
She hoped that Dr. Sid could find the answers they needed concerning Arabella's father because the thought of losing her only daughter forever to a rogue inner dragon was unthinkable.
No. Arabella had lost so much already—her mother, father, and even a decade of her life after the dragon hunters had tortured her, when she'd avoided everyone and shut in on herself.
There was no way she was going to lose any of her children. If Dr. Sid and Tristan couldn't help with determining her dad's allergies, then Arabella would do something she swore she'd never do again—go looking in the darkest corners of the internet for information related to her father.
~~~
Finn tried his best to lighten the mood by joking with Gregor. But watching Arabella as she held and rocked their daughter as if it could be the last time she'd ever do so sat heavy in his heart. After everything his mate had been through with the fucking dragon hunters, she deserved a happy life, free of more grief.
His dragon spoke up. She is happy most of the time.
But not now. And there's not a bloody thing I can do about it.
Dr. Sid is a good doctor. She and Gregor will sort it out.
He wanted to be optimistic, but as clan leader, his brain didn't always work like that. He preferred searching for concrete evidence and solutions.
Gregor's voice garnered his attention. "If Cassidy can't find what she needs, then I'll start asking all the doctors involved in my information project."
Gregor was the only one who called Dr. Sid by her full name, Cassidy.
The doctor couple had decided that they didn't like how dragon-shifters lacked any central medical association or authority to store and share information. So in recent months, Gregor had started working to form his own, with Sid helping when possible. Finn has also given Layla permission to contribute when she could.
Finn nodded. "Aye, I know you will do everything within your power to help us, Gregor." He glanced again at Arabella in the glider chair, holding Freya close as she sang her a lullaby. "I've been putting off finding another doctor to help out Layla, but once my daughter is safe again, then I'll move it to the top of my list. That way, Lochguard can contribute more to your project and hopefully we can help other children in need. I'm sure Freya isn't the only case."
"Even from what little I've been able to accomplish, I've heard of other bairns waking up with slitted pupils. In those cases, it was a result of trauma or having one or both of their parents die. That's not the case here, but as soon as I learn anything relevant, I'll tell you straight away, Finn."
"Thanks, Gregor."
The doctor wandered to the other side of the room and pulled out his mobile phone, no doubt to get to work and give Finn and Arabella some privacy.
Glancing down at his sleeping son, Finn decided to lay him in the crib next to his still sleeping brother. Just as he was about to go to Arabella's side, Sid came back into the room. He asked, "Well?"
She shook her head. "The doctor before me did a poor job at preserving records and half of them were unreadable due to a broken water pipe a decade ago. Tristan didn't know of anything either, but says he might be able to find out."
He frowned. "How? George MacLeod disappeared without a trace years ago."
Sid shrugged. "He said he'll call me as soon as he can. For now, I'd suggest keeping Freya here in case her dragon reappears. That way, Gregor or I can observe and formulate ideas to help."
He wanted to scream that an idea wasn't good enough, but Finn restrained himself.
Arabella spoke up from the corner. "What about Holly? How is she?"
Despite everything, his mate still cared about his family. He couldn't imagine a better female to call his own.
Sid inserted her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. "She's still in labor, but nothing out of the ordinary. While it's still too early to tell definitively, the dragon's blood seems to be helping her."
Gregor looked up from his phone. "And just remember that I'm no longer your clan member to scold, aye? But I asked Tyler to call Aunt Lorna."
Arabella spoke up from the corner. "Good. She should be here." She met Finn's gaze. "Not because I don't think you're capable, because you're a brilliant clan leader. But she is family and deserves to be here with us, to celebrate Holly."
And enjoy Freya while she still can was left unsaid.
Although if Finn had anything to do with it, his daughter would live a long life, complete with a mentally stable inner dragon.
His beast spoke up. Saying it doesn't make it true.
Aye, but I've barely begun. If I have to call in every favor I have with the dragon-shifters in the UK and Ireland, I will.
Moving to Arabella's side, he stared at Freya's sleeping face. "I hate to admit you're right, but you are, Ara. Aunt Lorna keeps us all grounded."
He placed his hand on Arabella's shoulder and she covered it with her own. This latest development was a test. But he and Arabella were strong and would win this battle. Finn was sure of it.