“I love you,” he whispered to Molly before allowing his finger to press against the bone.
The rush was instant through his body, the surge of power surrounding him. His eyes flickered between being human and dragon. In dragon form, his vision was amazing. He could see even the most minute bug on the walls of the cave. He looked down at his hands and scales appeared on them. His legs began to change too, but it was the way he grew away from the floor that shocked him the most. He was changing—he was becoming the creature of myths and dreams. Green scales covered his body, and he felt horns protruding from his back. A tail grew out from behind him and swished with sharp spikes on the end. He opened his mouth and felt the urge to breathe fire from it, but remembering there were others in the cave, he closed his mouth again. He needed to control the power within him.
He pleaded with his body to go back to that of his human form. “Please,” he spoke inwardly to himself.
Eventually, he started to shrink back to the floor. The scales disappeared, but his vision continued to flicker between that of a dragon and a human constantly. He couldn’t stop it.
“It’s still controlling me,” he informed Caleb. “But I can learn from it. It’s beyond powerful.”
Scales flickered over his hands—he wasn’t strong enough to win this battle. He knew eventually he’d be able to control the dragon, but now was not the time.
“You need to hide me away,” Hayden informed Caleb. “I’ll take the beast for the chosen one, but I can’t be free.”
Caleb nodded and looked over to one of the other men in the cave.
“Take him to the Reichstag and the dungeons.”
Caleb turned to Hayden again. “I hope you can learn to control it. The fact you’ve changed back is a good sign. It’s the reason we had to kill the last man— he couldn’t return to his human form.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Hayden informed Caleb.
The other men changed into their witch forms, and as he felt himself being teleported again, Hayden knew in his heart he’d tame the beast one day so he could return to Molly. He just hoped it was while they both had breath left in their lungs.
Chapter Seven
“It’s been never ending today.” One of the other nurses sighed as she finished changing bandages on yet another patient.
Molly had to agree with her it’d been an exhausting, but she was glad she’d been kept busy as she’d had an unsettled feeling inside her stomach all day. Her puma was restless again. It wanted to see her mate.
“I’ll definitely be pleased to get to bed tonight,” Molly answered as she gave a fresh bedpan to one of the injured soldiers. “I was planning on going to the dance, but I think I’ll pass.”
“I don’t blame you. I sometimes wonder how long this war will last. I’ll be a shadow of my former self by the time it finishes.”
“I have to agree there.” Molly laughed.
She finished tidying up her section and with a big yawn headed out of the makeshift hospital tent.
“Molly, can I have a word?” the commander called to her as she walked across the camp toward her tent. She wanted a shower and was then going to collapse into bed.
“Yes, sir.” Molly turned to face him.
She didn’t need the strength of her animal instincts to know something was wrong. Her puma jumped to its paws.
“In here.” The commander turned and walked toward his private office.
Her stomached turned, but she needed to be brave. She followed the commander inside, and he motioned for her to sit, which she did.
“I don’t know how to tell you this. This morning there was a raid by our men on a village in the Northern provinces. It was primarily to rescue injured civilians after the enemy destroyed the village the previous day. Captain Eckhart was in charge of the operation.”
The mention of her lover’s name caused her to let out a little whimper.
“The mission was going well. They found an injured man, and Captain Eckhart helped save his life by giving him a blood transfusion. They were preparing to move the man when Captain Eckhart realized they were caught in the middle of an ambush. He warned his men, who managed to escape injury, but Captain Eckhart was shot in the chest. The doctor with them tried to do everything he could, but I’m really sorry...” The commander was visibly upset. Before he could even get his next words out, Molly knew what was coming and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Molly. Captain Eckhart lost his life today. I know you were close to him.” The commander opened his drawer and pulled out a bag. He handed the contents to her.
Molly stared down at Hayden’s dog tags.
She couldn’t speak.
She could barely form a thought in her mind.
“His last words were of his love for you, and he requested these be given to you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not true.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I want to see him,” Molly pleaded, needing to see the truth for herself. Maybe even sniff out clues to his killer so she could go and find them and rip them apart.
The commander paled.
“What?” she stammered.
“The unit had to get the injured to safety. They made the difficult decision to leave Captain Eckhart’s body behind. When they returned to retrieve it, it was gone.”
“No.” She collapsed farther into the chair, heavy sobs of anguish ripping through her chest.
“I’ve arranged for you to be transported back home, if that is what you want?” the commander questioned.
She didn’t know what she wanted. She needed closure, and there’d only be one way she’d get that.
“I don’t know. I need to think,” she cried.
“Go rest,” the commander suggested. Molly stood and made her way toward the door. “He was a good man, Molly. His loss is being felt in a lot of places.”
“Thank you.” Molly left the room clutching Hayden’s dog tags. Her chest felt empty, and then again, it didn’t. There was confusion in her mind.
A mate knows when their partner dies.
She remembered something she’d been told before. The magical world was a strange one—it linked together those who loved each other, physically and mentally.
I love you, Molly. The words came to her whispered on the wind.
Instead of going to her bed to cry herself to sleep, Molly headed straight for the jungle. She walked with a determined purpose, wiping the tears from her face. She removed her clothes and her own ID tags. She placed them all on the ground and brought Hayden’s dog tags to her nose. She inhaled the scent of them deeply. His smell. She allowed it to invade her body as she shifted into her puma form. Then she ran—she ran toward where his scent was strongest in the jungles of Vietnam.
It didn’t take long before she found herself of the edge of what looked like an abandoned makeshift village of mud huts. She sniffed the air again. Blood filled her senses. Hayden was everywhere. He’d been here.
This is where he’d died.
She stepped forward listening carefully for humans. The place was abandoned, or so she thought until a young boy stepped out in front of her. He wasn’t scared of her at all.