Dragon 2 Chapter 33 (Patreon)

I woke up groggily to the beeps of hospital equipment. “Where—?” My words stopped as I devolved into a coughing fit before I could finish the sentence.

“Zach.” Jadelyn’s lovely face appeared at my bedside in an instant, leaning in and crushing me with a hug. Scarlett lingered over her shoulder with a big smile, her eyes strained from worry. I looked her over quickly. She had bandages wrapped around her head, but otherwise, she looked okay.

“Where am I?” I managed the second time. It didn’t look like any hospital I’d seen before.

“Our house.” Scarlett answered quickly. “Hospitals don’t exactly work well for paranormals. But thankfully, you took to transfusions like anyone else.”

“Transfusions?” I frowned. The last thing I remembered was Morgana sucking down on my blood. I played through what I could remember, panic hitting me as I remembered Morgana’s crumpled form.

I tried to sit up, but Scarlett pushed Jadelyn aside, pinning me back to the bed and giving me a glare. “Stay put”, she nearly growled.

I looked around. “Where’s Morgana?” After what had happened, we needed to talk.

Scarlett and Jadelyn exchanged looks, seeming hesitant.

My stomach sank. No, she had to be okay. I gave her my blood. She’d moved more. She had to have healed.

When they still didn’t say anything, I was barely able to squeeze out a command over my breaking heart. “Tell me.”

Jadelyn was the first to speak. “Nobody has seen her since she dropped you off. She came out of the barrier once it fell. She was carrying you and Scarlett. When someone looked at you and they realized that you were near septic... Well, several people, including my father, weren’t happy. Zach, she nearly bled you dry. What happened in there?”

Grumbling, I realized they had it all wrong. And those accusations would have about broken Morgana. I knew she’d already be completely wracked with guilt over not having better control. “Is my phone here?” I looked around.

“It was gone, but you can use mine.” Jadelyn produced a phone and unlocked it.

I found Morgana’s number and shot her a text, but it came up as one of those green bubbles that meant her phone was offline. Frowning, I called Bumps in the Night.

“Hello, Bumps in the Night. What can I help you with?” One of Morgana’s workers answered.

“Hey. This is Zach. I need to speak to Morgana.” I said quickly.

There was a pause on the other end of the line for a moment, and I heard the rustle of fabric as she called to someone on the other end.

“Hello?” A voice that was certainly not Morgana came over the phone.

“Who’s this? I wanted to speak to Morgana.” I was getting frustrated.

The woman on the other side of the phone paused. “This is Vivian. Morgana just promoted me to manager before she left.”

“Left?” I nearly shouted into the phone. “Where’d she go?”

“Don’t know. She came back yesterday morning, grabbed a few things, promoted me, and then walked out the door. I heard her calling for a cab to the airport, and she’s been gone since. No word from her.” Vivian sounded genuine.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “You said this happened yesterday?”

“Yeah. Early. She’s never gone MIA like this.” Her voice fell. “Anything I can help you with?”

It was all I could manage not to shout at her, but it wasn’t her fault. My frustration was with Morgana for disappearing and myself for not being able to console her. “No. Thank you.” I hung up before I took my anger out on her.

“What day is it?” I asked the girls.

“Wednesday.” Scarlett provided, stepping forward and grabbing my hand for support. “You were out for thirty hours.”

“She’s gone?” Jadelyn asked, only hearing my side of the conversation.

“She might think so, but she’s not getting away from me.” I growled. “Help me get this shit off me.”

Scarlett put a hand on my chest. “Let a doctor come and check you out first.”

“I’m fine.” I tore the IV out of the back of my hand and started tearing off the sticky pads stuck to my chest. The hospital equipment started beeping loudly, as if in complaint.

Apparently, that was enough to bring the doctor to the door. “Hold on. We need to check you.” He tried pushing me back down on the bed like Scarlett had, but I wasn’t interested. I grabbed him by his lapel and hoisted him into the air and off of me. “Feeling just fine, Doc.”

His eyes bulged as he squirmed in my grip.

“Put him down.” Jadelyn grabbed my arm, and I let her tug him back to his feet. “Zach. Let the doctor look at you. Please.”

Growling at my mate for the delay, I fixed the doctor with an angry glare. “Do it quickly.”

He had his stethoscope out in a whirl, looping a blood pressure cuff over my arm as he took my vitals. “I was only able to provide an intravenous solution to keep your blood pressure up while giving you as many nutrients as we could via your IV. Your natural healing took care of the majority of it. Though if you would be willing to disclose what you are, we could do more in the future.”

The doctor gave Jadelyn a stink eye, no doubt for holding back that information from him earlier.

I put a hand on his shoulder and rooted him to the floor. “If you look at my mate like that again, I will eat you. What I am is big enough to follow through on that promise and still have room for the rest of your practice. Do I make myself clear?”

There was a good chance I was still in a bad mood and looking for places to blow off some steam. Maybe.

The doctor tore the blood pressure cuff off me. “Well then. Your vitals seem to be alright, but given the loss and recovery of blood that you’ve experienced, I recommend you don’t exert yourself too much.” He swallowed. “Try not to, um, eat too many people. Get plenty of food though.”

Scarlett pushed her way between the doctor and me, turning him around and hurrying him out of my way. “He’s normally quite nice. We’ll make sure you are set up with payment for your help.”

I finished pulling off all the monitoring devices and got out of bed, feeling the breeze of the hospital gown down my backside. “Clothes?” I asked Jadelyn.

She produced a neat pile of clothes that I’d never seen before, but they fit perfectly.

By the time I was dressed, Scarlett was back and Ruby, her mother, was with her.

“Zach, I’m so glad you are okay.” Ruby wrapped me in a soft, motherly embrace. Her hug smothered me in a way that made me feel small, despite being larger than her. “We were so worried.”

I grunted, not sure how to answer at first before words came to me. “Nat’alet was more trouble than we expected, but in the end, I killed him and ate him to be sure.” My eyes wandered to Scarlett’s bandaged head, her fox ear poking out of the wrapping. She looked particularly pathetic and adorable.

“You ate him?” A voice sounded from the doorway.

“Well, the first time I shot him in the forehead and failed to make sure he was fully dead. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.” I sighed as Claire came in, knowing they were going to get the full story out of me before I could go anywhere. “Let me explain what happened with the Winter Queen. That’s where it all started, and what took some of the odds out of our favor for the battle.”

They reacted appropriately to my story, gasping at the details of the Winter Queen’s agreement, and then gave appreciative sounds as I described the battle.

When I got to the part where Nat’alet reappeared after I shot him in the head, they winced. Ruby pulled her daughter close as if to confirm she was still alright. I left out the part where I shot fake Morgana because she told me she loved me.

I muddied the details as we got to Morgana’s transformation, wanting to keep her secret safe. And I backed off on details of my surge in strength. I still wasn’t entirely sure what that had been.

Finally, I ended with how I held Morgana and tried to revive her with my blood.

They looked guilty after I finished. “We didn’t know what had happened. As you can imagine, we were quite angry when all we could see was that she’d fed on you nearly to your death.”

I grimaced, knowing the damage was done. “I’ll let her know when I find her. If you’ll excuse me, I have to track her down.”

“Of course.” Claire patted me on the thigh. “Good luck.”

Relieved of the motherly duo, I pulled Jadelyn with me. “Where is your entrance to the atrium?”

“This way.” My lovely blonde siren led the way, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander over her shapely rear and long legs. There was still a hunger that our wedding night had stirred in me.

She looked over her shoulder, catching my appreciation. “We can take a detour if you need.”

It was certainly tempting, but the longer I waited, the better Morgana could hide.

“No, but soon.” I rumbled, leaning over her and tilting her head back for a kiss. I slowed down, also grabbing Scarlett for a kiss, careful of where her head was wrapped. “Both of you.”

“Consider it a promise.” Jadelyn patted me on the chest. “Come on, before we distract you too much.”

Scarlett bit her lip and let her tails fan out behind her. They pulsed slowly, and I ran my fingers into those fluffy tails, eliciting a gasp from her as we walked.

I played with them as we moved through the hallways.

Eventually, Jadelyn slowed down, nearing an otherwise unremarkable door and opening it.

As we entered, I found myself in the Atrium.

I took note of where the Scalewright manor door was and led them both down to Morgana’s personal wing, opening the ominous stone door and stepping through quickly to my room.

Opening it, the first thing I noticed was that my bathroom had changed. Instead of a large but normal bathroom, it extended much further, looking more like the inside of a spa.

“Shit. This isn’t the best time, but that was my father’s gift to you. He had Morgana do it on our wedding day.” Jadelyn explained before moving into the living area of my apartment.

My eyes scanned the kitchen table, and then I ducked into my bedroom.

Nothing.

I’d been hoping that Morgana left something for me, a note of where she’d gone or what she was doing.

In my bedroom, I pulled up my mattress and stuck my head through the spatial vault she’d made there. Inside was my horde, completely intact. There was a pile of gold and jewels with the dagger Chad had used in a little stand to the side, and Jared's sword leaning against the wall next to it.

There was no sign of a note from Morgana there, either.

I growled in frustration.

“Not finding what you are looking for?” Scarlett asked.

“Morgana should have left me a note if she was leaving.” I paced the room again, but I still found nothing.

Scarlett’s tails drooped. “I hate to tell you this, but maybe she didn’t want you to follow after her.”

Bullshit. She…

It would be just like her to run away after what we shared.

I stormed out of my room and opened Morgana’s, stepping inside for the first time since I’d lived there.

Insider her room, I froze. It was different from what I expected.

The room was warm, covered in mosses and lichen, like a little underground cave. It was a vision of nature.

The room spoke of an underground oasis. I’d always thought of elves that lived in trees, but this was the haven for an elf who lived under roots.

Trying to look past the decorations, I tried to find something that could point me in the right direction, but nothing stuck out.

I did, however, notice the plush gold dragon laying on her bed.

“Did you get Morgana one of those stuffed dragons too?” I asked Jadelyn.

“Yeah.” She smirked. “Kind of a joke, but between us girls in your life.”

I rolled my eyes, but the way it was carefully placed next to her pillow spoke of her treating it like a prized possession. I cursed internally. Why the hell did she have to run?

“There’s one last place I’d like to look. Catch me up on what happened while I was out while we walk?” I headed back out of Morgana’s wing and took the Atrium to Bumps in the Night.

“Uh, let me think. Well, the magi were pulled out of the collapsed mall. They had stayed safe down in the pit and thankfully, with Nat’alet dead, magi were able to help them shift back to humans. The council rounded up the remaining trolls and pushed them along on their way to Florida. Hopefully, we are done with the migration for the year.” Jadelyn supplied a quick summary.

“How is the tension between the two groups?” The last thing we needed was magi being out for blood after everything.

“Not great, but everyone stood down thanks to your new friend Sir Benifolt.”

I raised a brow. “My new friend?”

“He sang your praises. Since you had been badly injured, he used you as an example of just how far the paranormal community has gone to right everything. Jared showed up and tried to stir up shit, but I think he’s out of the Order of the Magi. His connection to The Church and their reluctance to help has soured more than a few connections.”

I was a bit surprised that Sir Benifolt had stood up for me. We’d fought side by side, but it wasn’t like we’d built some sort of deep bond. I wondered if it had to do anything with his apprentice. “What about Sabrina?”

“You mean the succubus?” Jadelyn’s manicured eyebrow arched as she gave me a judgemental look.

“I meant my friend, the wizard. But yes, she happens to be a succubus. Which is odd. I guess I’d always pictured a succubus as dressing a bit more like Morgana.” Sabrina’s plain illusion and that brown robe she wore were about the least tempting thing I’d ever seen.

“She’s fine. She’s still hanging around Sir Benifolt and asked after you. We talked, but I’m hesitant to pull a succubus into our relationship.” She looked to Scarlett for support, but I spoke up.

“It’s fine. I’m not chasing her down. Right now, I need to find Morgana and have a pleasant talk with her.” I growled, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “Scarlett, while you were unconscious, we chatted...”

“Don’t tell me. She told you she loved you and also got a bullet to the head?” Scarlett giggled. “I still can’t believe you did that.” Jadelyn looked between us, trying to catch up. Apparently, Scarlett hadn’t shared that part of the story with her while I was out.

I told her about how I knew which Morgana was real and which was fake.

Jadelyn doubled over laughing as I plucked a set of keys at random in Morgana’s garage and pushed the fob as I found which car it went to.

The silver Porsche would have to do.

I slid in with the girls and pulled out before I got the conversation back on track. “Morgana came about as close as she probably ever will to telling me she loved me. And she showed it too, sharing a secret as she protected me from death.” I explained what had transpired with her transformation, filling in the gaps I had left out when talking to their mothers.

“Angel wings.” Scarlett murmured. “Hell if I know what that means. Jade?”

“Not a clue. But we do know she and The Church have a sordid history and a standing truce.”

I nodded. “I’ll bet my entire horde it has something to do with the wings. And she said something about the champaigned blood she always drinks. I think it helps slow any ill effect the wings had on her. It sounded like she got it through means she wasn’t proud of, but how I don’t exactly know.”

“At least it’s all over.” Jadelyn said, running her hand along my arm, seeming to want to reassure her I was safe.

“For now.” I cringed. Nat’alet had used his last words to indicate there were others working to the same ends he had been. And I had yet to solve the mystery of the skinwalker. While some worked with Nat’alet, I wondered if there were more. “There might be more bad news.” I shared what I was thinking.

Both of the girls settled into a comfortable silence as we mulled it over.

But the silence was broken when I pulled into the nursing home parking lot and surprised them.

“Where’s this?” Jadelyn asked, looking out the window, confused.

“We are going to see one of Morgana’s oldest friends. If anyone in Philly has an idea where she went, it’s T.” I got out and checked in with the nurse who led me to his room.

T had played a major role in helping reverse the effects of a new drug introduced into the paranormal and human worlds, ultimately leading to Chad’s death. Since then, I’d met him a few times when he supplied Morgana with magical ingredients.

T was an outcast from the elves, just like Morgana, and he seemed to have known her since she was a child. They’d shared a few stories of her antics back then.

I knocked on his door, opening it before he could respond.

The old elf lingered in the corner of his room. He was tall, even a few inches taller than me, but his hands and face were thin. The rest of him was hidden under a voluminous robe. “Zach. In my old years I’ve thought about becoming a personal hair stylist.” He greeted me, plucking a pair of scissors and a comb from a shelf. “Give me a person to practice on?”

“I don’t have time for this.” I rolled my eyes at his attempts to get more pieces of me. The first time I had met him, he wanted my nail clippings. Apparently, pieces of me would help power spells. Those nail clippings had gone into a jar labeled dragon claws and then into his secret ingredient cabinet he kept in the nursing home’s kitchen.

“Oh, come on. Your hair looks much too long, and those nails! Don’t get me started. You must let me trim them.”

“T, Morgana is gone.” I cut through his act.

His bushy eyebrows rose up, and the old man routine he kept up melted away, replaced by a focused elf.

“She’s gone?”

“Well, fled is more like it. She nearly died, finally opened up, and then she ghosted me. Please tell me you know where she is. I’ll let you take a lock of my hair if you can tell me where she is.”

T grumbled for a moment. He turned to his bookshelf, plucking off a letter and holding it close. “She very likely went back home.”

“Where’s that T? I need to find her.”

“The city in the shade.” He sighed.

I glanced at the girls to see if they could translate for me.

“It’s a paranormal city, hidden in the alps.” Jadelyn supplied for me.

“Correct.” T confirmed. “Sentarshaden, Switzerland.”

“A whole city? T, you need to give me more than that.”

With that, he held out the letter. “If you deliver a letter to my daughter, then she might be able to help. My daughter is in Sentarshaden. If Morgana went back there, she would have gotten in touch with her oldest friend.”

I froze, knowing that T was trusting me with one of his deepest secrets. His daughter had remained hidden for her safety for years, keeping them cut off. To my knowledge, T and Morgana had been the only ones who knew where she was until he’d just told us.

“How do I get in contact with her?” I asked.

T smiled and pulled out a blank piece of paper, starting to jot down detailed instructions on how to communicate with his daughter. Apparently, she hid in the masses of the city and they had developed secret drop methods for communication.

With a new goal in hand, I turned back to the girls.

“You know, I think we should go on a honeymoon.” Jadelyn tapped her lips. “Where do you think we should go?” She asked Scarlett.

“I hear Switzerland is beautiful in the winter.” Scarlett played along. “I’ll bet your new hubby, the lost one, would absolutely love to see the hidden paranormal city there.”

“That’s such a great idea.” Both of them smiled wide at me.

“Thank you both.” I paused, my throating feeling tight. They were too good for me. “I have to go after her.” I hoped they’d be able to understand.

There was no way in hell I was going to let Morgana slip through my fingertips. I couldn’t believe she’d run, and we’d be talking about that when I got her back. But first, I had to find her.

The beast simmered my chest, agreeing that she was going to be pounced on and pinned for making us chase after her. Although I had to admit, a part of the beast in me liked the chase.

“Best of luck.” T swiftly cut off a chunk of hair from the back of my head and carefully, coveting the hair, he sealed it in a baggie.

I rubbed the back of my head. A deal was a deal, but it probably looked terrible. “Alright, let’s go girls. I think we should see if we can’t take our finals early so we can get started on this honeymoon.”

“Great idea.” Jadelyn chirped. “I’ll see if I can’t pull any strings with the administration.”

I kissed her on the cheek and pulled both of them lovingly out of the nursing home. I couldn’t believe I’d found two beautiful women that supported me so much. Neither had hesitated in going after Morgana with me.

Even if we hadn’t cemented that, Morgana was mine. She knew it, too. Her denial and flight wouldn’t save her from my clutches.

I wasn’t going to let her feel guilty about what I’d done willingly, although she might not even know that.

There had been regret in her tone for what she did to temper the effects of the wings. She’d once told me that we were the bad guys, that we were the monsters. I had a feeling she felt that way about herself, only reinforced by waking up with me nearly dead.

She had a darker past than I’d realized, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t wait to rid her of the idea that she was a monster, or at least make her realize that she had a home with me, even if she was one.

“Zach, you’re growling.” Scarlett whispered as we passed through the lobby.

“So. I am what I am.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “Growling is part of what I do.”

The girls laughed as we walked back out to the car. Jadelyn was on the phone, already working to coordinate our honeymoon.

Morgana would be mine next time I met her.