Denial

After a few long and tedious hours, the examination had finally ended. The girls' results are unpromising. In the end, she is simply lucky to be a dragon shifter, a healer one at best. I sigh, leaning into the back of the chair I sat in minutes ago. I simply watch as Max wraps ace bandages around the girl's half-naked body to help secure the bags of ice to her. A scarcely seen pale blue light glows from her body, seeming more so like steam escaping a heated surface during the dead of winter—a faint surge of power flowing from the scarce light showing her energy and mana being low.

'How long since she has eaten a proper meal?'

Max, who has finally stepped away from the girl, admiring his handwork, looks towards me slightly startled from my sudden mind link.

'Perhaps a few weeks, but her body shows she has had a stable meal setting, so not more than a month or two.'

With a slight nod of my head, I stand and stretch. A soft and exaggerated yawn escaping my lips as I growl softly at the discomfort in my muscles from lack of motion.

'Carmine wants an audience with me about the girl. You're to stay here and make sure she doesn't try to escape or injure herself further. Her orders, consequences of failing...'

I pause slightly, having already made it to the door, my hand freezing before roughly pulling it open and continuing.

'..will be a visit with Marcus.'

A gentle whimper follows as the door shuts behind me. A rough and rugged shudder tears through my body. I struggle to hide the shakey sigh that escapes my lips as I make my way down the hall to our mistress bedroom. Moments later, I gentle and hesitantly knock on her door, a soft and deceiving invitation following shortly after. A strong scent of licorice and a delicate undertone of vanilla floods my nose instantly. The vanilla was making my headache and body feel weak. Vanilla is the only way she could ever use against us to keep Max and me in order without the threat of Marcus. Instinctively, I bow my head to prevent any accidental eye contact with Carmine from avoiding problems. Softly I clear my throat before speaking low to her,

"Mistress, we had finished looking over the younger dragon girl. I suspect her to heal within a few days. However, her mana is very weak for her species. Max and I feel it is from lack of training and proper eating."

It remains deathly silent for a few minutes. The vanilla was starting to make my head spin slightly but not enough for me to show any weakness. Tilting my head up briefly, I see her sitting on her bed, running her nails along with a glimpse of scars from the attack before Akiera's injuries. Hesitantly I call her name gently only for her to interrupt me before I could.

"What are her injuries."

I fight a frown before lowering my head. Thinking of the list of injures the dragon had been gifted with.

"A great deal, Mistress. You had done a wonderful job of showing her what happens when disobedient towards you."

A loud growl echoes through the room, sending a slight shiver through my body. I lower my head more, knowing I have angered her.

"I said, what were her injuries, Caesar."

My name rolling off her tongue as if it were some kind of venom. The sound causing me to flinch slightly at the way her voice inflicts her anger and demand.

"S-she has a spinal cord fracture to her middle disc, fractured ribs, and even one broken, along with multiple bruising along her entire neck."

Silently, I curse myself for the slight shudder through my sentence, knowing it gives her pleasure to see us weak. I notice the smallest of smiles hit the corner of her lips, making me frown and shudder at what possible thoughts could be running through that insane head of hers.

"You're permitted to leave now, Caesar. Make sure the shifter eats but not enough to feel as if she is privileged here. She has one more chance before she meets Marcus."

Bowing my head and shuddering, I quickly leave her room, disappearing into the kitchen to figure out what to feed this damn shifter.

Max's P.O.V

I sit beside the bedside once Caesar had left. Simply wondering how the hell this girl had survived. She might be a shifter species, but even then, she should have more damage than she has at the moment. Her mana is low, which could be from several things. Simple ones would be, lack of food and energy, stress, lack of training, or even sickness. These being the simplest I could come up with. The worst being an order to keep her bound. Her wounds weren't life-threatening; however, her spinal injury might cause future problems is if she doesn't do as recommended. She seems like a nice girl, but she needs to learn how to obey orders and respect those who tolerate her. I tense as a soft whine sounds from her bed. Slowly I stand and watch her. The heart monitor shows calm breathing, yet her breath sounds ragged as she watches me. Her fangs slightly extended, and her nails like claws. Her eyes are shining as if they were made from bright blue ice. This being was no longer the simple girl Akiera, but a mix of her and the dragon we had wanted to be locked away. A low rumbling growl vibrates from her chest as she sits up in the bed. The machines around her beeping loudly as she stands, ripping the I.Vs out of her arms. Not once had she paused for a breath or turning her eyes away from me to blink. The beeping seemingly gets louder as I take a step back, not wanting to have any more issues or cause her more harm then need be. Holding my hands up to show her, I mean no harm and that I had no weapons on my person. She eyes me before growling darkly at the constant beeping behind her. I watch as the bed and wall freezes before the entire back wall and equipment around her had become covered in a thick layer of ice. The machines that were once attached to her now crumple to the floor in pieces.

"Hi, fen neh govey zu'u. Nid matter hevno hi unt."

I frown, not understanding what the dragon says. Slowly I lower my hands and move a step closer. Speaking softly, I watch as her body tenses.

"You're the dragon side...correct?"

She tilts her head slightly before slightly sitting back on her feet.

"Geh"

She nods her head as she speaks, signaling yes. I smile slightly

"I'm Max, and I'm not going to harm you in any way. I'm the one who fixed up your wounds." slowly, I point to her bare top. She raises a brow before looking down, seeing only her bra and the bandages I had left. Her eyes flicker back and forth between a dark blue and her dragons. I make my way closer, stopping once I'm beside her bed. A small silver tabler sits close to her, a syringe with a dosage of a sedative seated in the tray. I don't remove my eyes from her as I slowly inch my way to the small table. Her eyes stop flickering, landing on her dragons once more. Her eyes look between me and the table, growling darkly. Quickly, I lunge for the syringe just as she does. Both of us knocking into one another and the table. I hear the syringe skid across the floor. Quickly I get up and scramble to where I had heard the needle land. Seeing it, I lunge and grab it. A low growl immediately following right behind me. As I turn around, I feel a sharp and searing cold pain shoot through my thigh and lower back, making me wince. Growling softly, I ignore the coldness and sting before twisting my body, so she was pinned below me. Quickly inject the dosage into her system.

A few minutes of scratching, biting and growling, her body relaxes. Looking up, I see her face red and her eyes back to normal. She looks at me with half lid eyes confused.

"Max..?"

Her voice was soft as she spoke. The way my name rolled from her tongue, making it seem as a plead and question more than a comment or threat. Letting go of her, I get up and gently lift her back into the bed before starting to fix her bandages once more.

"Sleep, you need to rest to heal."

Without a single word of protest, she does so.