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Could she feel the burn too? The same burn that he did?
“See? That should stop the bleeding.”
And with that, he turned from her and continued walking.
Dragon shifters … well, all shifters … had excellent immune systems. This was standard across their human and shifted forms.
Hammer had been hurt many times in his life, especially in prison. His flesh wounds never lingered any longer than twenty minutes.
Penetrative wounds healed within an hour. He had actually seen his muscle, fat, and skin knit themselves together while healing.
As a dragon shifter, Hammer had also trained himself to absorb heat and fire. This had allowed his human skin to become thicker. At this point, his dragon scales were almost impenetrable.
And Ajmal knew all that. The bastard had been his friend and ally for decades.
So when Ajmal learned he had rescued Charlie, he relied on something sneakier.
Hammer should have realized that Ajmal Basu would not have played fair. He knew that Hammer’s abilities and strength were nearly unlimited. There were few things that could damage dragons. One of those things was a special acid. Hammer was pretty sure the bullets that had hit him had been coated in that acid.
As they walked, his breathing became shallower. His breath hitched painfully in his chest every time he inhaled.
He had to push forward. Hammer could not let Charlie notice.
The thick foliage around them started diminishing. Up ahead, Hammer heard the rush and bubble of water.
At least his senses hadn’t been too damaged. He could smell the sharp, pungent fragrances of mint and pine.
He could also smell earthy soil as well as the bright scent of blackberries.
Charlie must have picked up the scents, too, because she sped up. She pushed gently past him.
“Oh, my God!” He heard her exclaim and felt his heart thud erratically in his chest. He hurried to catch up with her.
Was she hurt? Was she face-to-face with a predator?
“This is so beautiful!” She was almost swooning, and he bent over. Placing his hands on his knees, he took several deep breaths.
She was safe.
When he straightened, a wave of dizziness passed over him. He shook his head again, swallowing. His throat filled with bile, and his tongue felt thicker in his mouth. What the fuck had been on those bullets?
When he joined Charlie, he saw that they were in a clearing. His arm burned painfully as he surveyed the area. There was a thicket of trees where they could find shelter.
A heavy stream of water fed a small, natural rock pool off the side of the clearing.
There were numerous plants that grew around the edges of the clearing. He also noticed several different kinds of wild fruit trees.
As he walked over to inspect them, it wasn’t only his arm that hurt.
His heart ached slightly as he looked over each one of the trees. The wild fruits were the kind that he had eaten as a child. The fruits that his mother had bought from roadside vendors.
Charlie was exclaiming at each new discovery that she made. Hammer couldn’t quite fight the smile that crossed his face while listening to her.
As he turned away, he realized that he was in paradise. Some version of it, anyway. A paradise filled with the cleanest water they would probably ever find. A paradise filled with the fruits of his childhood.
A paradise with his mate.
The wave of dizziness took him by surprise, and Hammer let his bag and stick fall. He could not stop his legs from wobbling. He could not stop himself from staggering.
