Page 23 of Our Haunted Omegas (Moonscale Heirs Duet #1)

Odell

A cool breeze danced on the back of my neck as we set off into the woods, leaving Ambry and Indigo to have their fun at the house.

I had my fingers and toes crossed that they’d exchange their claiming vows before Ambry’s wolf hosted an honest to goodness rebellion.

Not that I’d blame him. I might’ve resorted to that too.

Hadn’t it been an eternity since we met our guys?

It felt like eons and seconds all at the same time.

I glanced at Cobalt out of the corner of my eye and hoped he remembered the condoms. We had discussed children enough now, right? Fingers crossed again.

“I remembered them,” Cobalt said. “I don’t leave anywhere without them. It’s an old habit. So when you want me to stop wrapping up, you’re going to have to tell me and then probably unwrap it a few times.”

“Yule all year round. I’ll bring the ribbons,” I teased him and bumped him with my shoulder. “I think I’ve proven dick isn’t something on the list of things that cause my anxiety to flare.”

I took a step and the shrapnel I hadn’t thought of in years pinched. It was all in my head and only ‘acted up’ because I remembered it was there. Cobalt shot me a worried look, and I frowned. The past literally wanted to bite me on the ass.

“I’ll bite you first,” Cobalt teased.

“You’ve already laid your claiming bite. It’s not my fault you chose my shoulder.”

“Well, it’s not my fault your claiming gland isn’t on your ass.”

“Could you imagine? No sitting down once you met your true-mate because this gland on your ass is swelling up and needs to be bit?” I laughed.

For a moment I couldn’t stop laughing. The image of someone trying to sit gingerly and pretend their ass wasn’t lopsided and aching.

“But imagine trying to show that you were claimed? Would we all just walk around flashing our asses all day?”

“Like you’d mind that.”

“Well, not if it was you flashing me,” he said, taking my hand in his and entwining our fingers.

“I never did ask. Is the lake swimmable?” I asked, sniffing the air.

The lake was close by and smelled clean enough but you could never be too careful.

Some of the territory’s natural bodies of water were still under cleanup after whatever the war did to pollute them.

Nature took a lot longer to recover than folks thought.

Hell, people took a lot longer to recover from war than folks thought.

“Yeah, it’s clear.” he nodded. “It might be a bit cold still but in a few weeks, it should be comfortable for you. I think there are some wet suits in the hall closet from the last time someone had a furry shifter guest. You can use them if you like.”

“I think I’ll wait if it’s cold enough for one of those.”

“I’m not sure how cold it is. It’s not too cold for me but fire and all,” he patted his bare abs.

Yep. If I had my way Cobalt would never get to put his shirt on again. Staring at his naked torso made it hard to worry about other things. I wanted to trace the faint outlines of his muscles with my tongue and draw circles over his nipples so that everyone remembered he belonged to me.

“No one’s stopping you,” Cobalt pointed out with a smirk. “No one at all.”

“Where’s the condom?” I asked.

“I didn’t bring the flavored sort---” he started, and I shook my head.

“Just so I know before things move too far…”

Cobalt dug into his pocket and slid a foil packet into my hand. I turned it over a few times before stuffing it into my own pocket. I trusted him with my life but if we got carried away and the condom was forgotten, I needed it to be my fault.

“So, I know your carrier---”

Cobalt blinked at me in disbelief, and I frowned. Yep. We were going to make it a lot further into the forest before he was back in the mood, but some questions had to be asked.

“I know he did something so that no one knows whether you’re the heir or your brothers. What does that mean for our kids?” I asked.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that for a long time,” Cobalt said, squeezing my hand and walking again. “For that to happen, my grandparents would have to die, and my parents, and me and both of my brothers. Or at the very least be incapacitated.”

“So like any kid any of you have would be---” I tried to put the puzzle pieces together.

“We don’t worry about it a lot but we’ve talked about it in the past. Probably the eldest from each of us.

We don’t do the whole heir and a spare thing.

Not even my grandparents did it. Sunny wasn’t born to be the spare.

He was born because my grandcarrier wanted another baby.

We’ll all do what we can but yeah, technically, any of our kids might end up in line to be the next flight leader. ”

“People might want to go to war with my babies,” I frowned.

“Not if they know what’s good for them,” Cobalt said and squeezed my hand.

“If that changes your mind about kids, I get it. I’ve thought about what would happen if I was with someone who couldn’t have kids and adoption is okay.

I want a family. Between you and me, I’m not reproducing to carry on some family legacy.

Outside of Frost and Juda pushing their way into the Other World and letting the true-mate magic come over here, I don’t think a lot of it is worth replicating. ”

I grinned. The Moonscales had led the flight for as long as anyone could remember.

They led the flight since our founders Frost and Juda moved on and their kids took over.

Their twins went their separate ways and because of that we had a dragon flight.

Well, technically, I’d have descended from the other side of that line.

The wolfy side but it was all so mixed together that no one knew their elbows from the assholes these days.

“I love my flight. I love the pack too. I’d fight to protect either if it came down to it but I’d never have a kid and say ‘this is on your shoulders now.’ We got lucky.

Our carrier wasn’t having any of that bullshit.

He’s over the moon at what Teal’s doing.

He’s already thinking about our mating feast. He’ll wait until everything calms down of course but we’ll have a feast. Maybe two if my grandcarrier has his way. ”

“You’re going to make me hungry,” I laughed.

“Do we need to go back?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Not yet. I’m okay. I have snacks in my pockets too. Habit from the war.”

“Mate, I have snacks in my pockets and my carrier would never let me near a boxing match much less a war,” he teased.

I patted his pockets, feeling out what he brought to eat through his pants. He had a couple of protein bars and what felt like a bag of gummy snacks. I reached inside and took out the latter.

“All blue,” I said, holding up the bag in the dim light of the setting sun.

Further away from us back at the house the hot tub started up and Cobalt and I exchanged a hopeful look.

“And all yours if you’re hungry,” he added a second later.

“I’ll share. I’m not stingy.”

“I like to see you eat.”

“In a dragon provider way or in a kinky way?” I asked, opening the bag.

“The first but you’re always nice to look at,” he said and grabbed my butt.

I swerved to avoid his hand but wasn’t fast enough.

Clutching the bag in one hand I tried to grab him back but he dodged, hopping over a root sticking up in the path and catching my waist when I didn’t step over it in time.

I blinked away the edges of the flash back that tried to invade my mind.

Tripping was a death sentence back when…

“Have a gummy dragon,” Cobalt said, sliding a single finger into the bag of candy and pulling one out, the tail hooked onto his finger. He dangled it into my mouth and I tried not to laugh as I sucked it in.

“Cherry?!”

“They’re all blue but they’re not blue flavored,” he laughed, shoving one into his own mouth.

A twig snapped somewhere in front of us and Cobalt shoved me behind him like a polar bear might charge out of the bushes and gobble me up.

A shadow shifted, almost human, but not quite.

He stepped forward, his hand still behind him on my side.

I walked with him, my ears straining until we reached the bushes.

The shadow was gone but Cobalt still breathed smoke into the bush to chase out any would-be stalkers.

Then he squatted down ruffling through the foliage and came up empty handed.

“I think the shadows are playing with us,” I said, grabbing his butt now that I knew there was no threat except the setting sun playing tricks on us.

“Sometimes back home trauma brings wraiths,” he squinted into the forest.

“Not me. I’ve seen priests at the temple of Juda. I’ve had my aura cleansed and all that. Ambry too. Believe me, if there were wraiths following me around, I’d know. I sit in the dark a lot.”

“Okay,” he said, not sounding fully convinced but he took my hand and started walking again.

His jaw was tight, and I fought off the urge to offer him a massage. I didn’t want my naked knees or ass on this part of the forest floor. Too many pointy weeds waited to pierce my butt cheek and make friends with the shrapnel.

“Are we wandering or did you have a place in mind?” I asked.

“A bit of both,” he said.

“Who do you think would follow us around out here?” I asked, trying to sound playful but his scent wasn’t settling back down and that put me on edge.

“Journalists and if I find one I’m going to eat him. I’m going to bathe in his blood and snort his bone dust like coke,” he growled.

“Well, if I was a journalist I’d leave. Hey!” I stopped and tugged on his hand. “Do you do coke? Because if you do it affects the pregnancy timeline, you know?! If you’re in active use during the time of conception it could affect the baby and…”

“Mate, I do not do coke. I’ve probably snorted some bone dust before but believe me, if I was on an upper like that you’d know. A dragon on speed isn’t subtle,” he said, trying not to grin.