Donald
I fucking marked her.
I didn’t even ask her, but I marked her.
She is our mate.
My inner-dragon has a lot to say when it comes to Natalie. He’s quite the fan of the little human, as am I, but I still should have asked first. What if she didn’t want to be marked? What if she thinks I’m moving too fast? But when I open my eyes and look at her, the only thing I see is peace and acceptance.
“Donald,” she whispers. Then her hands flutter up and her fingers run over the place where I bit her. I licked her already, so the wound has closed, but she’ll have a scar. It’s a pretty one, too.
I’m silent as I wait for her to speak. The silence is deafening as I hold my breath. My heart beats harder than it ever has before, but then she licks her lips, and she whispers to me.
“You’re my mate, Donald. That’s what this means, isn’t it? I thought it was true, but…I didn’t want you to think I was moving too fast or being clingy or weird or-”
I silence her with a kiss.
I silence her as I touch her, hold her.
“We should have talked about it before,” I tell her. “I should have proposed and gotten down on one knee and made it special.”
“We both knew,” she says. “You didn’t have to ask because we both knew. You’re the one, Donald. You’re the one who’s going to save Fablestone, but more than that, you’re the one who’s going to save me.”
I kiss her then, over and over, and then I hold Natalie in the darkness of the night.
I’ve found what I didn’t even know I was searching for, what I didn’t even know I needed until now.
I’ve found my mate, and I’m never going to let her go.
*
After a few hours of sleep, we leave for Fablestone. I’m loaded up with the prettiest girl in the world and our giant bag-o’-plants. After a cup of coffee, I’m ready, and I fly as fast as I fucking can to Fablestone.
Dragons aren’t really supposed to be flying around in the daylight. None of us likes that. We slept only a couple of hours before Natalie and I felt refreshed enough to continue our journey home. We’ll have to do a little bit of flying in the light, which I don’t like, but I’m familiar enough with the route that I know how to stay away from cities, towns, and main roads.
A random farmer plowing a field isn’t likely to pay much attention to a dragon, believe it or not. Someone in the mood to make some fast cash is. The last thing I need is someone spotting us and sending Lucky our coordinates. No, right now the only thing we need to do is get home.
And fast.
Somehow, we manage to make the journey in just over half of the time it usually takes. My wings hurt when I land and my body is sore from pushing myself so hard and so long, but we make it. We land near the veterinarian’s office and then I shift quickly.
“Are you ready?” She asks me, taking my hand.
Natalie has quickly become my sun and my moon, my rock and my stars. She has become everything to me. If someone had told me weeks ago that I’d be the one to come prepare a cure for the illness that has rocked Fablestone, I would have thought they were crazy.
Now, though, it feels right.
It feels good.
And I am right where I’m supposed to be.
“I’m ready,” I tell her, and we go inside. Henrietta is busy rushing around and there are several patients in beds who are coughing and groaning in pain. The lobby area of the office has been completely filled with beds and patients, but I hurry through the room to the back of the clinic, where I know there’s a small laboratory I can use to get the first batch of medication ready.
Henrietta spots us just as we’re nearing the lab.
“Donald?” She asks, whipping her head around. “Donald?”
This is where I expect her to yell at me for abandoning my responsibilities and leaving the clan without a reliable doctor, but she doesn’t. Instead, she hurries over to me and wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.
“Thank dragons you’re here,” is all she says, and then she follows us into the lab. Henrietta is silent as I get to work. Occasionally, she leaves to check on a patient, but she keeps coming back to see my progress as I prepare the medication that’s going to save my people.
I’m filled with a protective instinct that’s also rather wonderful.
This, I remember, this feeling is why I became a doctor.
Saving people.
Taking care of them.
Giving them hope.
Natalie helps as we prepare the plants, boil the ingredients, and cool everything. We measure each item exactly and precisely. There is no room for mistakes.
“That’s it,” I finally say, reaching for an empty bottle. “It’s done.”
I pour some of the medication from what’s basically a cauldron, and cap the top of the bottle.
“That’s it?” She whispers.
“Here,” I thrust the bottle to Natalie. “The first one goes to your father.”
“You’re sure?” She whispers, looking up at me.
“I couldn’t save your brother, love, but I’m going to save your dad.”
Without another word, she kisses me, and then she runs off. I know she’s heading straight for her parents and as much as I’d love to see her parents’ faces when they get the medication, I know I’m needed here right now.
Henrietta chooses that moment to walk back into the room, and when she sees the cauldron and the empty bottles on the counter, her eyes go big.
“Is it ready?” She asks.
“It’s ready,” I tell her.
I pour another bottle and I hand it to her.
“Here,” I whisper. “Let’s save Fablestone.”