Mel blinked. She hadn’t seen that coming.
She shrugged, downplaying her actions. “I’m sure he would’ve done the same for me.” She patted the rock again. “Now, sit down. You’re super tall and looking up at you is giving me a crick in my neck. My little dragon baby might not care, but I do. Sit down, Arabella. I won’t bite.”
The dragonwoman hesitated a few second before gingerly sitting next to Mel. It took everything Mel had not to wrap her arm around the woman’s shoulders for support.
But for now, she was content that Arabella MacLeod would sit next to her.
The two of them sat in silence, staring at the tent and no doubt both hoping Tristan would pull through.
~~~
Tristan was trying to sleep, but his inner dragon kept repeating, “Wake up” over and over inside his head. Nothing, not even a growl or a threat of not shifting for a week, would make the beast stop.
Finally tired of it, he cracked open an eye and promptly shut it again. He moved his arm over his eyes. The light was too bloody bright.
He heard a breathy, “Tristan,” before a soft, warm hand grabbed his other hand and squeezed. He could scent Melanie Hall.
Suddenly, he remembered everything she’d done for him back in the clearing.
Clearly, he was still alive, and now in human form, which meant he was no longer in danger of dying. Yet he had no bloody idea what had happened between then and now. Maybe Melanie could tell him.
He moved his arm and opened his eyes more slowly this time to adjust to the light. Then he looked up into the face of his beautiful human. The way the light played along her cheeks and highlighted the red glints in her hair took his breath away. “Melanie.”
His voice sounded more like a choke than his usual calm, deep voice. But before he could ask for water, Melanie threw her upper body against his and hugged him tightly.
Pain seared through his shoulder, and despite the surge of joy at her touch and warmth, he couldn’t help but say, “Ouch.”
“Oh, sorry!” She released him and moved away. His dragon growled at that, but Melanie then moved to stroke his forehead and both the man and beast settled down. His female smiled and said, “I would tease you about being a big man baby when it comes to pain, but I’m beyond happy that you’re awake. You’ve been out for nearly a week, Tristan, and everyone was starting to think you wouldn’t wake up.”
The pain in his injured shoulder subsided as she continued to stroke his skin. He leaned into the caress of her fingers on his forehead and said, “But you never gave up, did you?”
A tear rolled down her cheek and he wished he had the strength to reach up and wipe it away.
Melanie shook her head as she rubbed away her tears. “No, of course not. If you haven’t learned by now how stubborn I can be, then you never will.”
His smile ruined his words. “You bloody stubborn ox.”
She laughed and leaned down to kiss his lips. She lingered and he found the strength to raise his hand and cup her cheek. “Melanie.”
“Yes?”
As they stared into one another’s eyes, Tristan wondered what would’ve happened to him if Melanie Hall hadn’t entered his life.
It wasn’t just the fact she was giving him the chance to be a father or that the wound he’d received from the dragon hunters might’ve killed him without her coaxing and calming his dragon enough to let the healers help him.
There was also finding out the truth about Arabella and making him realize his sister needed more help than he’d offered.
And, most of all, Melanie Hall had convinced him that not all humans were bad. Yes, bastards like the Carlisle hunters deserved his hatred and scorn, but the average person deserved a chance. Some, such as his human, were downright amazing.
Before he could stop himself from asking the question burning in his mind, he said, “Why did you put up with me, Melanie? I was a right bastard to you. And as much as I recoil at the thought of another male touching you, I am honest enough to admit that you deserve a man better than me.”
She frowned down at him. “That is your opinion. Do you want to hear mine?”
Yes, his dragon screamed. Let her talk. Don’t try to push her away. We love her.
Rather than think on his dragon’s use of “love” again, he nodded. Melanie sat on the edge of his bed and said, “You’re partially right. You were a bastard.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. “No, it’s my turn to talk.”