Two days with Nikki after the frenzy, without duties or requirements, wasn't nearly enough time. He wanted a few more days alone with her. Maybe then, she'd take his claiming to heart and start thinking of how to fight for them.
He'd figure out how to convince her later. For the moment, he deepened the kiss. He wasn't ashamed to call Nikki his dragonwoman and he'd make sure the whole bloody room knew it, too.
Sliding his hand down her waist to her arse, he was about to lightly slap her when Bram's voice cut in. "You're aware Murray escaped the pen, right?"
Breaking the kiss, he looked to Bram, who was holding Murray in his arms. A glance behind, and sure enough, part of the pen was detached and lying on the floor. Releasing Nikki, Rafe scooped up the remaining child as Nikki spoke to Bram. "How do we know you didn't do that yourself to make a point?"
The corner of Bram's mouth ticked up. "If you know my son at all, then you know he strikes when no one is looking. His mother and I are convinced his good nature is hiding a devious mind." He jostled Murray. "Isn't it, lad?"
Murray pointed to the food table. "Cake."
"Of course you'd want cake," Bram muttered. "You have Evie's sweet tooth."
Even though Murray was adopted and shared no blood relation with Evie, Rafe couldn't help but smile at Bram's statement. "There's lots of cake, Murray. And biscuits, too."
"'Scuit!" Murray shouted and wiggled in Bram's arms.
Bram shot him a glare, but Rafe shrugged a shoulder. He wasn't above using a child to get Bram off his back.
Just as Bram headed toward the table, Devon, the little boy in Rafe's arms, shouted, "Kit."
Rafe laughed as his plan backfired on him. "We'll have to ask your mum about having biscuits, Dev. I think it's time we find her."
Looking over his shoulder, he caught Nikki smiling at him. Before he could say anything, Devon chanted, "Kit, kit, kit."
Scanning the room, he spotted Ella, Devon's mother, and answered, "You're still going to have to ask your mum. Come on."
Once Rafe had managed to hand Devon back to his mother, he looked for Nikki. But she was nowhere to be found in the great hall. Spotting Aaron near the front stuffing his face with sweets, Rafe frowned and approached him. "Where did Nikki go?"
Aaron popped a biscuit into his mouth and swallowed before answering, "I sent her to do a patrol by the dragonwing. She'll be back when she's finished."
It was on the tip of Rafe's tongue to remind Aaron that Nikki was pregnant, but he held back. If he didn't allow her to do her job, she'd never be willing to start a family with him. This would be his first real test.
Nikki was a competent soldier; he trusted her to stay alive and not do anything daft.
Studying him, Aaron finally added, "Good human."
"I'm not a dog, Caruso," he bit out.
"I never said you were. You have quite the imagination, Hartley."
Clenching his fingers, Rafe forced his tone to be neutral. "Just tell me if I have any other duties, or am I free to go?"
"I have one more task for you today, and then you can spend the next few days reaching out to your contacts for information and spending it with your female."
Rafe relaxed a fraction at Aaron referring to Nikki as Rafe's female. "Care to tell me or do I have to pass some ridiculous test first?"
Aaron grinned. "Adding tests would make things more interesting. Unfortunately, I doubt Kai would approve, so you're in luck." Rafe raised his brows in question and Aaron pointed behind Rafe. "Mel and Evie need some help running the games for the children. Arabella was supposed to do it, but she's not feeling well."
Rafe spotted Arabella to one side, sitting in Finn's lap. At her pale face, all of Rafe's protests died. He had a weakness for women who needed help.
"Surely the one-year-olds can't cause too much trouble in the way of games, though," Rafe stated.
"Of course not. But one-year celebrations are celebrated with all the children of the clan. Dragon-shifters only survive because they work together. Having our young interact from an early age helps foster relationships that will last a lifetime."
Gone was the grin and teasing. Rafe asked, "I'm half-expecting a punchline."
Aaron shook his head. "Not this time. Children are our treasures. They must be protected and raised well at all costs." He paused and then added, "I suspect you'll find that out yourself."
Rafe wasn't one to air his private life with a near-stranger, so he merely motioned his head toward Evie and Melanie on the other side of the hall. "I'll just go help them, then."
Not giving Aaron a chance to answer, Rafe strode toward the two women. But Aaron's words kept repeating inside his head: I suspect you'll find that out yourself.
He was counting on it. But first, he hoped to finish wooing Nikki Gray.
As Nikki soared high above Clan Stonefire, she reveled in the wind against her hide and the solitude of the skies.
Her dragon spoke up. What about me?
She mentally sighed. I know you're there. Do you really have to break my peace and quiet?
Yes. You shouldn't have run away from Rafe.
I didn't run away from him. Sebastian mentioned needing a hand with the patrols, so I volunteered.
Sebastian Randall was a fellow Protector and only a few months younger than Nikki.
Her beast huffed. Stop lying. As soon as you started imagining Rafe holding our child instead of Ella's, you panicked.
Nikki paused but gave up trying to hide anything from her dragon. Maybe.
Give it time. We have many months to sort out your fears.
They're not fears- Yes, they are, her dragon interjected. But if we succeed in Ireland, then everyone will remember. We will become more than the first child of a sacrifice. You won't have that excuse to use anymore.
Just as Nikki was about to reply, a blast of light just missed her wing. Diving to the side, she searched the area for an attacker. Another laser-like blast shot toward her, but she dropped just in time for it to whizz over her head. She also spotted where the attack was coming from-the side of one of the hills ringed around Stonefire.
Roaring a warning signal to the clan, Nikki debated what to do. Even a year ago, she would've tried taking the threat on by herself. In the present, she knew it wouldn't help anyone if she were killed. Especially Rafe.
Rafe. Not wanting to make him mourn the loss of yet another person he cared for, Nikki folded her wings and dove down. A few more blasts rang off from the hill. She wove back and forth, dodging them all. At least, until she was nearly to the ground and one caught the edge of her wing.
Pain burned through her left side, but Nikki clenched her jaw to keep from screaming. She wouldn't give the bastards the satisfaction.
Her descent was awkward, as she favored her right wing. But somehow she managed to slow herself down enough to crash gently into the ground, banging her right leg and good wing in the process.
As she blinked and took inventory of her pain and injuries, several other dragons launched into the air. Knowing Kai as she did, the flying dragons were a distraction so that another team could take out the enemy in their human forms. It was far easier to sneak up on someone when you were only six feet tall instead of fifteen.
Sad she couldn't join them but satisfied that she'd warned them in time to investigate, Nikki slowly stood up. Her left wing throbbed and her right leg was bruised, but otherwise, she was fine. She itched to shift back but resisted. Until Sid gave the all clear, she wouldn't risk it. Shifting back when injured could lead to permanent damage.
Speaking of Sid, she rushed toward Nikki with her medical bag in hand. A few nurses weren't far behind her.
Laying on the ground, she lowered her head and met Sid's gaze. Sid gave her a light pat on the snout and went to her injured left wing.
Daring a look, Nikki saw the burn on the thin skin between the second and third wing bones. While the blast hadn't seared all the way through, the charred, blackish flesh would take several weeks to heal. She probably wouldn't be able to shift for at least a week, either.
All in all, it meant she wouldn't be going to Ireland.
Her heart squeezed at the thought of missing the chance of a lifetime. But if it were only her not going to visiting Clan Glenlough, she would be fine. No, her injury was going to cause more trouble. Namely, with Rafe.
If there was ever a way to test his word about allowing her to do her job, this would be it.
Sid's voice interrupted her thoughts. "This is going to sting."
Before Nikki could do more than blink, Sid dabbed a disinfectant on her wound. Nikki snarled and dug her talons in the dirt. Despite having gone through this process many times before, the sting only seemed to intensify with age.
Her beast finally spoke up. Maybe you're getting old.
Watch it, dragon. I'm not in the mood to argue.
Why argue? Getting older isn't a burden. On the contrary, it brings wisdom. Without it, we'd probably be dead because of a rash action.
Her dragon was correct, of course.
Luckily, Sid's commanding tone interrupted her thoughts. "This injury is bad, Nikki. You're just lucky it didn't sear all the way through." Sid dabbed some more disinfectant on the wound before applying a cool gel that eased the sting. "I don't want you to shift for a week. I can reassess the damage after that."
A week spent in her dragon form. Before Rafe, it wouldn't have been a problem. But if he went all alpha on her and yelled, she wouldn't be able to reason back.
Sometimes, she wished she had telepathic abilities.
Her beast chimed in. I think it's a brilliant development. Rafe will care for us, and you'll finally stop being so stubborn.
Nikki had her doubts. The next week should prove the ultimate test of what her human could accept. He might be fine with a shift for a few hours, but a week of not being able to really communicate, let alone anything that resembled kissing or sex, might be too much.
After bobbing her head to Sid in acknowledgment, Nikki scanned the area. Speaking of her human, where the hell was Rafe?
Chapter Fifteen.
Rafe followed Aaron's lead through the forest, watching his step to make as little noise as possible.
While Aaron hadn't wanted Rafe to join his team originally, laying out Rafe's experience had swayed the dragonman's case.
There was no way Rafe was going to sit back and watch Stonefire capture the bastards who'd injured his woman without him.
While Rafe had remained inside the great hall helping Melanie and Evie, everyone had heard the unique roar signaling an attack. He'd barely made it to a window to see Nikki's dragon form dive toward the ground. Watching her dodge the blasts spoke of skill, but eventually, one hit its mark. The time between Nikki being hit and her safely making it to the ground had been some of the most intense seconds of his life.
His fear had turned into something else-anger. The hunters needed to be dealt with quickly. He trusted Dr. Sid to take care of Nikki and the rest of the clan to care for her until he returned. He had no doubt Nikki would understand his choice to capture the enemy first and check on her later.
Rafe itched for his missing gun but had conceded to leave his weapons with Stonefire's Protectors when he first arrived. Aaron hadn't allowed him to retrieve them, citing how the dragon-shifters didn't use firearms in their attacks. Maybe with training later, it could work. But in the present, it was too risky.
No worries. Rafe could do with stretching some of his hand-to-hand combat skills. The trick would be in not killing the bastards; they would provide far more information alive than dead.
Aaron raised a fist, signaling for them to halt. Rafe scanned the shadows for any movement. But beyond the wind through the trees and the occasional bird's cry, he saw and heard nothing unusual.
Of course, dragon-shifters had super sensitive hearing, and Aaron had probably noticed something. Before meeting and caring for Nikki, Rafe would've grumbled and resented the fact the dragons had a better ability than him to defend Nikki's honor. In the present, he was grateful for any skill that could capture their prey.
Aaron pointed to Rafe and then himself. Then he divided the remaining four members into two more teams. With a nod, Rafe followed Aaron as they headed northwest.
The next time Aaron stopped, he motioned with his finger for Rafe to come closer. When he complied, Aaron's voice was barely a whisper. "I hear at least four intruders. Humans by their smell. We'll stay ten feet apart and attack them from the sides. If possible, I want them alive. I'll give an eagle cry when it's time to move in closer and another when it's time to attack."
With another nod, Rafe moved into position. Keeping his breathing even and crouching as still as possible, he finally heard a branch break under someone's foot. He now at least had a general idea of where his targets were.
Rafe waited patiently for Aaron's signal. Successful operations almost always came down to timing.
At the sound of a screeching eagle's cry, Rafe kept low as he moved quickly through the trees. Within sixty seconds, he spotted two men and one woman gathered around an item on wheels. Suspecting it was the laser gun used on Nikki, or at least one of them, Rafe assessed his options.
The branch and small brush on the ground would create noise when he charged. Scanning above, the trees were still bare-limbed since it was late February. A few of the larger branches stretched toward the small group. Attacking from above would also give him the element of surprise.
Jumping up, he pulled himself into the tree above. Inching his way along the sturdy branch, he edged as far as he could without straining the limb. The three below were so engrossed with their task, they never looked up. Rafe looked to the right and made out a few armed soldier-like figures further down. However, their clothes were civilian and the members of the group were aged from late teens to late fifties.
A second eagle's cry interrupted his assessment and Rafe jumped from the branch to the two men who had their backs to him. His momentum tumbled them all to the ground.
Ignoring the cries in the distance, Rafe focused on the two men struggling beneath him. One was overweight and the other was extremely thin, but neither had much in the way of muscle and did nothing but squirm and yell. Good. It would make things easy.
Lifting their heads by their ears, he gripped the side of their skulls and banged them together. Both men went down like stones and didn't move.
Just as Rafe turned toward the woman, his face ended up less than a foot from the strange weapon's barrel. His hand itched to go to where he usually holstered his weapon, but he stopped when he remembered it wasn't there. His gun would have come in fucking handy right this moment.
The woman's voice shook as she ordered, "Move any closer and I'll shoot."
From the corner of his eye, he could see the woman's arms trembling. Shit. That didn't bode well for him.
His best chance was to reason with her. "Look, if you're here because you hate the dragons, then know I'm human and with the British Army."
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Rafe noted the lack of yelling to the side. Aaron might be near. He needed to stall. "Your weaponry is illegal. Did you think we didn't know you were going to use it? We've just been waiting for the right time." Pausing a second, he listened for any sign of Aaron, but didn't hear it. He continued, "Surrender yourself now and cooperate and you might avoid a lifetime in prison."
The woman's countenance slipped, but then hatred flashed in her eyes. "It will be worth it. The dragons let my son die when they could've saved him. But no amount of pleading swayed their case."
Get her to open up to you and she'll be less likely to kill you. "What did your son die of?"