Part 9 (2/2)

Tammy busied herself with getting the fire going properly. It was good to see Thunder back on his feet. Another day, two tops and he'd be able to change into his dragon form again, which meant that they'd be able to return to his lair. She looked forward to it even though she'd miss the big guy. As a friend. Someone to have a laugh with and to cuddle at night. Hey, it wouldn't take her long to get used to sleeping alone again.

”Penny for your thoughts.”

Tammy jumped, she hadn't heard him sneak up behind her.

”Nothing important, just watching the flames. As a little girl, my dad would take me camping. He could only get leave once, maybe twice a year, if we were lucky. I loved those trips. We fished and slept in a tent. I loved watching the fire at night ... come to think of it, that's where I learned to make one even if I never did it myself. Anyway, it was great, we'd toast marshmallows.” She had to smile as the memories came back. ”We didn't have much money but we had each other.” It sounded like a cliche but it was true.

”What about your mom?” Thunder leaned his big frame up against the wall.

She shook her head. ”I don't have a mom.”

”I hate to break this to you, but everyone has a mom.”

”I don't.” She was over her mom not being in her life. It was something she had made peace with. ”She left when I was three. To be more precise, she left just before my third birthday, so no mom in my life. I don't even remember her. My dad has been amazing. The best.” She missed him so much. ”When I was six, he showed up to 'Mothers and Daughters Day', much to my delight and my teacher's horror. He even took me to buy my first bra. He's always been there for me.”

”Sounds like a great guy.” He folded his arms. G.o.d, even his forearms were hot. ”Like he's a really nice person.”

She lifted her eyes to his. Those purple-colored irises glinted in the firelight. His face was shadowed with stubble.

”Yeah,” she nodded. ”Really nice. He finally remarried three years ago and retired to Florida. I haven't seen him since but we talk often.” She gave a laugh. ”I told him I was going camping and that there'd be no signal.” She gestured around the cave. ”So maybe this is karma getting back at me.”

”It could be worse.”

She thought of Cloud and s.h.i.+vered. ”Yes, it could have been.”

”You are safe now.”

”I know. I have my knife.” She pulled the blade from its sheath in her pants.

Thunder shook his head, he looked solemn. ”That won't save you. It's stainless steel. He'll heal too quickly. Don't worry though because he isn't coming.”

She nodded. ”You looked sad when we were talking about him the other day. You knew him, didn't you?”

Thunder gave a nod. ”Yeah, he was once one of my best warriors.”

”What happened to him?”

”His mate died. Part of him died that day. He hasn't been the same since.”

”That's awful.” She looked down at the ground for a moment.

”She was pregnant, already quite far along.”

Tammy gave a sharp intake of breath. ”Poor guy. No wonder he looks ... looked so lost, so haunted. He blames you. I don't know whether to refer to him in the past tense or not.” She couldn't help but frown. ”Why would he blame you for his loss? It doesn't make sense.”

Thunder sighed. ”In a way, it is my fault. I push all mated couples to procreate. It is my duty as the king of my people to see another generation born, moreover, to see female dragons born.”

”Yeah, Roxy mentioned that humans only seem to be able to have boy children.”

”And we are grateful and love our human mates.” His eyes burned with such intensity that she could feel it. For just a moment it felt like he was referring to her but she wasn't his mate. She wasn't even dating the guy so it was crazy thinking. The way he looked at her still gave her a warm fuzzy feeling though, which she couldn't explain.

”Thing is,” Thunder went on, ”we need female dragons. It would be a shame if they died out completely.”

”Terrible.” She couldn't imagine it. What if all human women died out? As in gone forever. She wouldn't be there to see it since she was a woman but heck, it would be just terrible.

”We push mated couples to have whelps.” He was frowning heavily. In that moment, his eyes looked just as haunted as Cloud's had been. ”I even teased him about having weak seed. It was stupid since we both knew he wasn't the problem,” he shook his head. ”That's when he asked my advice about whether his mate should take the herb.” For a long while Thunder didn't say anything.

”What herb?” It didn't sound good.

”Aside from very few females being born, many of the females we have do not go into heat and therefore cannot become pregnant. It is what forced us to seek fertile females elsewhere.” He put up a hand and his eyes widened. ”Do not misunderstand we ... we are greatly attracted to humans. We are highly compatible as a species. It is not a hards.h.i.+p but an honor to accept your kind into our fold.”

Charmer.

”There is an herb that forces dragon females into heat. It works every time but only fifty percent of the females who take it actually give birth. The rest go into labor early ... they hemorrhage out before the baby can be born. It is the reason why so few females use the drug.” He shook his head, his eyes hard, his jaw clenched. ”We don't understand it. We don't normally die from such a thing. It's a slow death. An agonizing death. He asked my advice and I didn't dissuade them. I should have.”

Tammy's eyes welled with tears. ”I take it that you didn't encourage them either.”

He shook his head. ”I didn't tell him not to do it, so ...” he widened his eyes. ”I may as well have encouraged them by default. I wish I could go back. I'd tell him not to do it. I have since banned the use of the herb.”

Tammy already knew the answer. She needed to hear it anyway. ”What about the baby?” A whisper. Her lip quivered.

Thunder shook his head. ”Too young to survive.”

”Cloud lost both his wife and his child?” A tear fell.

Thunder nodded. ”Yeah. Six months ago. He's been in a bad way ever since. It's why I couldn't believe it when he asked to take part in the hunt. In the end, I couldn't deny him. I guess I did feel like I owed him something.”

”You didn't.” She wiped away the tear. At least he would be in a better place now. With his family.

”I have days where I feel like it's my fault, I should have told him ...”

”It wasn't your decision to make.” She stood up and took a step towards him.

”Cloud blamed me, kept asking me why I didn't stop him. Asked me why I pushed so hard for whelps. Why I made childless couples feel inferior. I never realized I ...”

”That wasn't fair of him. You didn't force his mate to take that stuff. Don't do this to yourself. He's not all there. Wasn't all there,” she pointed to her temple. ”He told me that I was his mate, that you owed him so he was taking his payment in the form of me,” she pointed at herself. ”A human being. That's nuts. He thought he could rub my feet, give me a ma.s.sage and that I'd fall in love with him. I'm sad that he might be dead. He wasn't a bad guy at least I don't think he was but he also wasn't entirely sane. I can understand how the death of his family would do that to him, but you can't blame yourself.”

Thunder stepped closer. He gave her a half smile before threading some loose hair behind her ear. ”You're right. Thank you. I feel a bit better about the whole thing. I felt like I pushed him over the edge. I also felt responsible for his death as a result if he is dead that is.”

”He almost killed you. He would have forced himself on me.” She s.h.i.+vered again. ”He had serious mental issues.”

Thunder nodded. ”I'm going to kiss you on the cheek now. Don't kick me in the b.a.l.l.s, okay?”

Before she could respond, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, right next to her mouth. It was somehow better than a real kiss. It almost felt like he meant it. Why hadn't he tried to kiss her though? Why the chaste peck? Then she realized what he'd just said and that he'd said that to her before. ”Why do you keep saying that? About kicking you in the b.a.l.l.s?”

”On the last hunt ...” Thunder's cheeky grin was back. ”Blaze and I decided on which female we were each going to each take. I went for Roxy, unfortunately, she had decided that Blaze was her man right from the start. I guess I'm not used to a female saying no because I didn't even notice that she wasn't interested. I just leaned in for a kiss. Next thing, she kneed my b.a.l.l.s a shot. It was hands down, the most painful minute of my life. Not one I want to experience again.”

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