Liekki resisted as he stared down at the territory interloper.
Plop, plop.Plop, plop.
Even through the dense white fog, which stunned the multitude of angry bees and caused them to fall like heavy raindrops in a lake as they landed into the thick pool of their honey where it spilled onto the ground, he could see her.He winced at the sight of her glistening, golden, swollen features.Every section of flesh from her forehead to her chin was grotesquely distorted.Those same hills and valleys were prevalent across every swath of skin not covered, both the bee-sap-coated gown she wore and her neck, arms, and legs.
The stinging attack on her had been plentiful and merciless.Fire rolled up and settled on the back of Liekki's throat, ready for him to burn all the stingerless, winged insects to a crisp, ending their lives instead of just placing them in a daze and paralysis for a bit.Resisting, he swallowed and forced the flame back down when his acute hearing picked on a soft sound.
The female let out a soft wheeze through her thick, disfigured, parted lips.
The strangled breaths slammed a sense of urgency in his gut.It was proof that she was experiencing an allergic reaction to the bees’ venom.It didn’t matter to him if the woman’s reaction was due to a lifelong allergy to yellow-and-black buzzards or if it was due to the amount of punctures she’d experienced.He needed to help her.Soon.
He couldn’t tend to her out here and risk her being stung again.He needed to take her somewhere safe.The healing chamber, he thought.
Home,his dragon countered.
Liekki agreed.If he had taken her to the chamber, the entire Thunder would have discovered her there.Right now, he didn’t want that.At least until she was better, Drahks could be a bit much, and for a human to recover and see a room full of curious faces staring at her through a glass like a fish in a bowl could be more than a bit daunting.
He pulled her limp form tighter to his chest, not caring about the sticky substance that drenched her from head to toe.Before he rose, he exhaled a burst of smoke from the remainder of the broken hive and fastened to the side of the tree to the ground where many of the bees lay.Not because he feared they would awaken before he could get her away, but because if he couldn’t fricassee them, then keeping their miniature asses stunned for a little longer before they could begin their propolis and wax reconstruction project of their hive would be best.
On his feet, he could feel the slight heft of the woman in his arms.By Drahks’ standards, it was nothing, but by human standards, he knew she had to have thick curves hidden beneath the shapeless gown.One side of his mouth lifted, and he didn’t try to squelch the joy that thought brought to him.
Liekki stared down into the still features of the female in his arms, and something tightened inside of him.He knew it didn’t make sense to be upset at the insects for simply fighting to protect what was theirs, but he would go to whatever length he needed to guard her from any threat.As he began moving deeper into the thicket of the overgrown forest and set out on the miles back to the central area of the territory, he knew it would be faster for him to get her care if he allowed his dragon to come forth and carry her back.
Inside of him, his beast lowered its shoulders, arched its hindquarters, and stretched, prepared to take the lead.However, Liekki held tight on the reins that controlled their shared body.Just like the chamber would attract attention, in dragon form, it would be harder for him to shield his thoughts, and others would become aware quickly that his beast carried someone.
Even with the early time of day, when few Drahks were about, he’d be detected.Hell, even his brother’s mate, with her novice pregnancy skills, could pick up on his dragon’s thoughts, which were image after image on a repeat of the female when she initially turned around and saw the beast in all its flying glory before horror distorted her features.Even though Liekki was powerful as a Drahk with concrete abilities to shield his damn thoughts,thatact would cause suspicion.
Keeping an unnatural pace, he continued maneuvering through the dense forest on a path that would skirt the edges of central and lead directly to his place.
As he passed the back side of the Mckenna building, Liekki hoped Aodh was busy burying himself inside his mate one last time instead of heading off to work at the crack of dawn as the leader liked to do.
He sighed with relief when the entrance and wide landing of the Mckenna’s suite remained empty, and there were no signs of Aodh.Even though Liekki kept deep enough in the trees not to obscure his journey, it would shock him if Aodh sensed him.He loved his brother, their leader, but sometimes the male was too fucking perceptive.
Liekki hadn’t missed how often his brother had met his gaze in the last couple of days, his opal-blue gaze analyzing him, picking apart every movement in his features and posture, searching for signs.
Fuck, he did the same thing when he stood before a mirror, investigating himself and trying to decipher why he felt like a framed puzzle on a wall that recently was discovered to have had a single piece missing.Not something that had fallen out, but a tile that had never been there in the first place, even though it was hung under the guise of being complete.He wasn’t complete.He wasn’t whole.
On some level, that sentiment had echoed through his core for a minute.And now, he knew that this unconscious female in his arms would have something to do with defining that hole, even if it wasn’t her job to fill it.
Myhnn, his beast, declared in Drahk.
Liekki rolled his eyes.His dragon may be confident of who she was.However, just as the honey clung to the female’s form, it stuck to his olfactory senses and saturated it with the saccharine scent, leaving only an obscure trace of the person he held.He could take the time to dissect the smells around him and drill down to just that hint that was her, but there would be time enough for him to discover that later when she was on the mend.
As he walked, every time her breathing lessened, he blew a small puff of smog directly into her face.It wasn’t much, not the actual healing smog.They were outside, and the fact there was not only a soft breeze, but his rapid movement made it hard for the cloud of smoke to settle around her for long.Thankfully, it was enough to open her airway and resume her raspy breathing.
She needed to be in an enclosed space soon.
He was so grateful to see his place come into view that he had to keep himself from running to his door, drawing attention.Liekki spotted Druk, one of the morning patrols, cutting across the bright-lavender sky.
Liekki held his position but used the moment to blow the slightest puff to the wounded female, unable to risk the swirl not dissipating before it reached the treetops.A signal that would draw curiosity.
He watched the dragon’s path and knew Druk was headed in the same direction he’d come from; he was Liekki’s relief from duty.By now, Liekki would have flown to the security headquarters and given his southern night report to Edjer.However, he knew Liekki’s priority was to the Mckenna and would probably assume he’d been pulled to another task.
Edjer knew no news was always a positive unless Druk’s dragon messaged back with a situation.Liekki would radio the head of security when he got inside his residence.
Once the sky was clear, Liekki made his way out of the forest and to his front door, keeping his pace moderate yet with long strides.
When he was inside with his door sealed behind him, he allowed the tension to leave his shoulders as relief moved through his muscles like tingly fingers.Keeping his back pressed to the door for a moment, and he stared down into the face of the woman.She was still with him, still hanging on.He could not say if she was a rare beauty or had average features, a face as indistinguishable and unremarkable as a sea potato.Still, it didn’t matter to him because she was his to heal and safeguard.
