Page 32 of Dragon’s Revenge (Irresistible Dragons #7)

Chapter Thirty-One

“C ongrats, bro,” Valdis said, handing Nadiv a cigar. “Five healthy eggs.”

Nadiv snorted. “You’re saying that as if I had anything to do with it. This was all Emma, dude. I did nothing but hold her hand and wipe her forehead with a cool cloth while she cursed at me in various languages. I didn’t even know she spoke that many.”

Jermon grinned as he leaned back in his Adirondack chair, putting his feet on the wooden outdoor table before thinking better of it. If Riordan caught him, he’d get an earful, which was really not worth it. He’d learned by now that keeping Riordan happy was crucial to not only their happiness but also their sanity. And in all fairness, the omega had enough on his plate, raising four hatchlings, so there was no need to add to his stress.

“I’m glad to see you give credit where credit is due,” Erwan said, taking a puff of his own cigar. “I don’t know how omegas do it.”

“Honestly, and I mean no offense, but popping out the eggs is the easy part,” Jermon said. “The real battle begins after the eggs have hatched. I can tell you from experience that it’s a whole new level of insanity.”

Erwan’s eyes softened. “Your kids are so cute though. How are they?”

Jermon couldn’t help the goofy smile that cracked his face wide open. Every time he thought of his little hatchlings, it came automatically. He really had become that dad. The one who bore everyone with endless tales about his kids—and he wasn’t gonna apologize for it. “They’re doing very well. Growing like crazy and getting in all kinds of mischief. Zayden is obviously the biggest, strongest, and the undisputed leader. He’s the one who will come up with the crazy stuff and the others will follow. Usually, if we keep an eye on him, the rest will fall in line. Olivia is determined to keep up with her older brothers. She reminds me of Emma, actually.” He shot a grin at Nadiv. “She’s equally stubborn and refuses to hear the word no. If she can’t do something, she’ll keep trying until she figures out a way to succeed.”

“And Harley? How are they doing?” Valdis asked.

Jermon’s heart grew all mushy. He had such a soft spot for their youngest. “They’re wonderful. They’re…different. Not as rambunctious as their siblings, more content to cuddle with Riordan, Wilmer, or me. I regularly take them in a sling when I go to work, and they’re happy to be with me, peeping over the edge of the fabric from time to time to see what’s going on.”

Valdis took a deep puff from his cigar. “They’re growing at the right rate? No developmental delays?”

“None. They eat well, sleep well, and do everything they should. They’re just a little different. Enar and Maz have studied them but haven’t come to any definitive conclusions. And Emma and Duer have done research, but we can’t find any mentions of a dragon with similar characteristics. So, for now, we’re gonna go with intersex and beta since those seem to be the safest labels, and we’ll let Harley indicate what feels right for them when they’re old enough.”

Erwan sighed. “They’re so stinking cute, those little hatchlings. I could watch them all day.”

“Anytime, bro. Anytime. We’d be glad to have you babysit them for a day so we can take some much-needed time off.”

Valdis quirked an eyebrow. “Which is a euphemism for sex, I assume?”

Jermon snorted, almost choking on the exhale of smoke. “Sleep first, but yeah, some uninterrupted time to reconnect would be a godsend.”

He wasn’t about to rat on Riordan, but it had been weeks since Jermon or Wilmer had gotten to fuck him. Which wasn’t that big of a deal when it came to the physical need because Jermon loved being fucked just as much and Wilmer was all too happy to oblige him. But he missed that connection with Riordan, and he knew Wilmer felt the same way.

“Emma said that in the old days, omegas had teenage omegas to help them. The official term was wet nurse, which is a bit weird as they weren’t breastfeeding the hatchlings, but the idea was that every new parent had full-time help for the first year,” Nadiv said. “The teenage omegas would move in with the new parent and be available day and night for whatever they needed. It gave the parents a reprieve and crucial time to rest. And for the young omegas, it was the perfect way to gain experience in childcare so they’d be ready to take care of their own kids when the time came.”

Jermon scratched his chin. “That sounds amazing, not gonna lie. Wilmer and I pitch in as much as we can, and we get help from others, but most of the day-to-day routine still falls on Riordan. He does it all with more patience and love than I could ever muster, but it’s a lot for him.”

Nadiv nodded. “Emma asked me to talk to Sivney to see if we could set up a similar program, but with adults. It doesn’t even need to be full-time, you know? But a few hours of help a day would be amazing.”

Yeah, no kidding. Jermon could only imagine Riordan’s reaction if he told him he’d have a few hours to himself every day. Why hadn’t he thought of that himself? He should have, and he could have slapped himself for not trying harder to find a solution. “Maybe some of the new omegas would be open to helping? I’ll talk to Sivney. Like, today.”

“What’s the status of your plans?” Valdis asked Erwan, who was clearly enjoying his cigar. “With Finlay, I mean.”

Plans with Finlay? Oh right. Jeez, in all the stress about Rhene’s disappearance, Jermon had completely forgotten about Finlay’s offer to carry Erwan’s eggs.

Erwan chuckled. “I was a little preoccupied with other things to give that much thought, but Finlay came to see me yesterday and told me he’s still willing to do it. His next heat is two weeks away, so…”

“And you’re still gonna do it, right?” Jermon asked.

Erwan hesitated. “I don’t know. I want to, but…” He threw up his hands. “Is it smart to do this when Duff Bás is here?”

Jermon sighed. He didn’t want to criticize Rhene openly, but he had serious reservations about giving the man so much access to the pack and the clan. “Fair point.”

“You don’t think Rhene made the right call?” Valdis asked, apparently less concerned with criticizing Rhene than Jermon was.

Erwan’s answer came fast. “I would never question his instincts. You know both of us were suffering, being apart for that long. He had little choice but to come up with this solution. That doesn’t mean I trust Duff Bás.”

“No shit,” Nadiv said, his words carrying an edge. “Though I heard he was visibly shaken by what Grayson told him.”

“He was? Why?” Jermon asked.

“He was shaken,” Erwan confirmed. “My guess is because he knows about the reputation of a pack’s storyteller and how he can’t deliberately lie. Yet everything Grayson told him directly contradicted what he’d been taught his whole life, so now he doesn’t know what to believe anymore.”

A heavy silence fell. They all knew how that felt, didn’t they? After all, they’d been told nothing but lies by Cladhaire and Baoth, and it had taken them months to accept the truth. Even now, Jermon still had to correct himself sometimes, falling back on old patterns of thinking. “I don’t envy him,” he said softly. “It’s hard to have your entire foundation shaken like that.”

Erwan’s expression softened. “It is, and we know this all too well from our own experiences. But it does make me wonder if now is the time to bring a child into this world. How do we keep kids safe under these circumstances? I’d be constantly worried something would happen to them.”

“Welcome to the reality of being a parent,” Jermon said. “Where anxiety becomes your constant state of mind, only rivaled by the deep love you have for your kids. You learn to live with it. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

Erwan studied him. “You didn’t plan on getting pregnant though. If you had the choice, would you do it again?”

“In a heartbeat. The joy they bring is worth more than anything else. I’m not saying that’s true for everyone. Not everyone is meant to be a parent, and it’s not like life is meaningless without having children. But for me, for us, it has been such a blessing. Even with all the stress, the sleepless nights, the endless feedings, and the damage those little hatchlings can do in a few minutes of unsupervised time, it’s still worth it. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Erwan buried his face in his hands. “I’m so scared, you know? Scared of the world I would bring my kids into. Scared of all the evil that’s out there.” He looked up again. “We’ve seen what people are capable of. If nothing else, the Murphys have shown us the worst of humankind. One of the omegas who was rescued was with egg, conceived in one of the many times he was sexually assaulted and raped in the red tent. He chose to abort.”

Abort? Jermon hadn’t even known that was an option for dragons. For wolves, yes, since they carried a fetus, not an egg.

“Abort?” Valdis asked, apparently having the same thought.

“He was given herbs that triggered his body into delivering the eggs early. They didn’t survive.”

Another silence descended. How many more omegas had been forced to carry eggs from the very alphas who had raped and abused them? Jermon couldn’t even imagine.

“How can I forget about that when I consider having another child? I’m scared enough about Ainle as it is, and now I want to bring another kid into this world?” Erwan’s voice was barely audible. “How do I get past all the horrible things I’ve seen and heard, all the atrocities committed? Just the thought of something happening to my kids…” He choked up. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

On impulse, Jermon got up, then sat on the armrest of Erwan’s chair, wrapping his arm around his brother. “You’re wrestling with the same things every parent has struggled with. I wish I could give you an easy solution, but there isn’t one. There will always be things we can’t keep our kids safe from, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have them. Even if the worst were to happen, the moments I’ve had with them would be worth it.”

Erwan put his head against Jermon’s shoulder for a moment, and a deep sense of gratitude filled Jermon. After what he’d done to his brother, he hadn’t expected to grow this close, and he was so, so thankful they were. Erwan’s heart was big and his capacity for forgiveness even bigger.

“Thank you for sharing that,” Erwan finally said. “I needed to hear that.”

“In less serious news…” Nadiv could always be counted on to bring some welcome relief from heavier topics. “I hear some rumors about Hakon and Ainle?” He wiggled his eyebrows, bringing a welcome laughter that released the tension. Jermon returned to his own chair.

“What happened?” Valdis asked, apparently not as tuned in to the gossip mill.

“Gods…” Erwan shook his head, smiling. “I couldn’t believe my ears. We were all waiting in the meeting barn for Rhene to come home, and I had Ainle on my knee. Hakon casually strolled over and, after some chatting, declared he was gonna marry Ainle when he was older.”

Valdis’s eyes widened. “Marry? Was he serious?”

“Oh yes. Dead serious. When Palani raised the possibility that Ainle might not agree, we got a little alpha growl. The apple did not fall far from the tree with him.”

Jermon leaned forward. “I thought Hakon had DNA from all four of his dads.”

Erwan nodded. “He does, but Lidon’s genes clearly dominate. That kid is one hundred percent alpha and a born leader.”

“Huh…” Valdis scratched his chin. “Hakon and Ainle… Aren’t they technically family?”

“I had the same thought,” Erwan said. “I can’t remember the exact distribution of his DNA, but even if he is twenty-five percent Palani’s—and I’m pretty sure it’s less than that—it’s still not an issue since Ainle is fifty percent Rhene’s. They’d be, like, second cousins or something. Besides, neither of them is an omega, so it’s not like they’d have issues with fertility or mixing genes.”

“Do you remember what Emma said right after Ainle was born?” Jermon asked. “When she blessed him?”

“She said that one day, he’ll unite the White Dragon and the True Alpha of his generation,” Erwan said.

“If Hakon is the next True Alpha, it stands to reason that your son would be the next White Dragon… So what if Ainle will be mated to them both? I know it’s a little weird to discuss this, considering he’s a baby, but I can’t help but wonder.”

Erwan let out a deep exhale. “Yes, I’ve done that same math. But my mom told Hakon he’d have three mates, like his father. So even if we’re right, there’s still someone missing. And I have to admit, it feels a bit weird because Ainle and the son I might have would grow up together…as brothers.”

“But they’re not brothers,” Jermon insisted. “They wouldn’t share any DNA since Ainle is all wolf and your son would be all dragon.”

“If nothing else, I think we’ve learned that being brothers isn’t always about sharing blood…” Erwan said softly, and Jermon had to admit he was right there.

Valdis hummed in agreement. “By the way, did you see there’s a pack meeting tonight?”

“I did,” Jermon said. “Any idea what it’s about?”

Erwan nodded. “We’re being asked to approve Zack becoming Sivney’s right hand, the official third-in-command.”

Jermon’s eyebrows rose sky-high. “Zack? That new omega?”

“The one and only. With all the new people arriving, Sivney is overwhelmed…and he’s pregnant.”

“He’s pregnant? Aw, that’s amazing.” Jermon’s heart went soft again at the thought of more babies in the pack.

“Not according to Sivney. He’s tired, emotional, and sick as a dog—his words—and he’s not happy. You know it takes a lot for him to ask for help, but he did. In classic Sivney style, he immediately provided the solution too, proposing we name Zack third-in-command. That way, he’ll have the necessary experience and knowledge by the time Sivney goes on pregnancy leave to take over from him temporarily.”

Jermon chuckled. “Damn, okay then. Sounds like Sivney, alright. Naran must be over the moon though.”

Erwan pursed his lips. “I had the same thought, but it’s not Naran’s. It’s Lev’s.”

Lev’s? But… At the same time the thought hit him, reality washed over him like a cold wave. Wow, that reality check was sobering. He cleared his throat. “There’s a classic example of an old thought pattern popping up, huh? My automatic assumption was that it would be Naran’s since he’s the alpha.”

“Yup, same here,” Erwan confirmed. “Which, if nothing else, should make us a little more understanding of what Duff Bás must be going through. Delton calls it deprogramming. Your brains have been programmed to run certain automatic scripts that now have to be unlearned…and that costs a lot of time and energy. Like the automatic script that a first child should always be the alpha’s…”

Jermon let out a long sigh. “Fair enough, but that doesn’t mean I have to trust him.”

“No, but he did request to talk to all of us.” Erwan raised his chin. “We’re meeting him at ten tomorrow morning.”

Valdis shot up straight. “What the fuck? You didn’t think that was something to check with us first?”

“No. The order comes from Rhene, not from me, so we comply. Easy as that.”

“Easy for you,” Nadiv grumbled. “He’s your mate.”

“Would you rather Erwan give the command as your king?” Jermon asked, his tone colder now. Who the fuck did his younger brothers think they were to question Rhene’s orders? “Because make no mistake, he can, and if necessary, he will.”

The fight left Valdis and Nadiv instantly. “We didn’t mean any disrespect,” Valdis said, still sounding a little perturbed.

“Maybe, but it sure as fuck came across that way, so keep yourself in check.”

“Damn, becoming a parent has really helped you develop that father voice,” Nadiv said, his eyes twinkling now. “It’s impressive, dude. A little scary, but impressive.”

How could he not laugh at that? And so he did, enjoying the last of his cigar as he caught up with his brothers until it got too cold to be outside anymore.