Chapter 17

There are two kinds of people without beards. Boys and women. I am neither.

-Jase, Duck Dynasty

Nikolai

To say that I was out of control was an understatement.

Anything and everything that I was ever taught was thrown out the window when I realized my mate was gone.

So, as Perdita flew me over the cabin on my second flyby, I made an instinctive decision.

“Get me onto the roof,” I said, noticing the large chimney.

How do you know this is the right place? Perdita chimed into my chaotic thoughts.

It’s like a buzz under my skin. I just know. As we flew, the buzz became stronger and stronger until I felt her, I explained to her telepathically as she hovered over the roof.

Before I could reply, the screaming started.

I practically flew down the chimney, coming to a thudding stop in the black dust filled bottom, coughing slightly as I tried to look around.

The fucking fireplace was huge, and I could stand up all the way and still see everything that was going on and more.

“Brooklyn!” I bellowed, not seeing her anywhere.

I did, however, see a man on the floor, screaming for his life. Merrick.

Choosing to prioritize rather than freak out, I bolted for Brooklyn, scooping her up in my arms and burying my face into her neck.

She pushed off of me, though, and went to Merrick, pressing her two fingers to his neck and checking his pulse.

She looked at me grimly.

“He’s not good,” she whispered.

She took a wad of paper towels off of the counter that was a few feet away from her hand and pressed them to Merrick’s side.

“Don’t hurt him!” the woman pleaded. “Don’t hurt him!”

Brooklyn blinked, her brows furrowing.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Keifer roared from the doorway.

Nobody moved.

The ones on the tables couldn’t.

This whole thing was so fucked up.

Where was everyone?

Nobody in the vicinity but the ones in the cabin, Perdita relayed.

“You,” Keifer said, pointing at the woman. “Speak. What’s going on here?”

The room went silent.

“It’s my brother. Please,” she cried. “He didn’t have a choice.”

“What are you talking about?” Keifer said through gritted teeth. “Who are you talking about?”

The woman gestured.

“Him. Merrick. He’s my brother. Please,” the woman had tears pouring from her eyes.

She looked terror stricken.

“What’s your name?” Jean Luc asked, shaking him slightly.

“Desi,” she said, voice breaking.

Desi shook her head.

“He forbade me to do anything,” Desi whispered hollowly. “I couldn’t have helped even if I tried. He’s my brother. He gave me an order, and his word is law, no matter how much I wanted to disobey it.”

I looked over at Merrick, seeing his breathing uneven and coming in pants that were getting slower and slower.

“We need to get him home to Skylar,” I muttered, hurrying over to the bed.

“Don’t move him,” Brooklyn whispered. “I think…I think we just need to get him to his dragon. He can fly him to the heart. I think…I think that’s the way to do it.”

I blinked.

“What?” I asked.

Brooklyn started talking even as she urged me to help her move Merrick.

I took the hint and grabbed the end of the sheet while Desi’s boyfriend—the other dragon rider—Tony, picked up the last corner.

“I heard my brother talking,” Desi whispered. “Charles was hurting Tony.” She looked guiltily at the man beside her. “As he was working him over, he kept talking about stealing ‘hearts’ and how he was going to become a rich man with the ability to heal anyone he wanted to. I didn’t understand, not at first, but this is my best guess. If what he says is true…I think that’s the only way we can save him.”

“The closest heart is about an hour’s ride from here. It’s the one just off of our property,” I said.

“You’re not bringing that man back onto our property,” Keifer growled. “He’s tried to kill you twice now.”

“He didn’t have a choice,” Brooklyn said, pointing at Keifer. “Back the fuck away.”

Keifer didn’t budge, and Brooklyn let the sheet drop and charged up to Keifer.

“If you don’t get out of my way,” she hissed. “I’ll shove that stupid fucking cane up your ass. Wide end first.”

I looked down at the cane in Keifer’s hand, then back at my mate who rarely had a bad thing to say about anyone.

Then raised my eyebrows at Keifer.

“She has a point,” I said. “That tattoo is gone. Something happened here that he didn’t want. Look at him.”

Brooklyn bared her teeth at Keifer, who didn’t back down from her angry stare.

“I’m thinking of not just you, but my whole sanctuary. We can’t bring them into Dragon Rider territory. We can’t vouch for any of them.”

“Then we’ll stay here. You take him. We will keep,” Desi pleaded, her voice filled with desperation.

Keifer gritted his teeth, his mind working a hundred miles an hour.

I knew his dilemma. He had more than just us to think about.

He had a mate at home that was pregnant. A threat that he knew nothing about. And four unknowns that could possibly kill all that he loved.

He was just being protective.

And I didn’t know who to side with.

Turns out, though, that Brooklyn could take care of herself, which she proved in the next instant.

One second Merrick and Brooklyn were there, and the next second, they weren’t.

My vision blurred, and then I was privy to the same thing that Brooklyn was. She’d weaved her own illusion to help get Merrick help.

Good girl.

“Help me,” she whispered. “Help me now.”

I looked into her eyes, studied her face, and then nodded.

This was the time.

I would either choose her or Keifer.

I picked Merrick up, cradling him like an over large newborn, and walked out the door.