Page 8 of Purple Protector (Eiloren Clan #3)

A ARON WAS SO NERVOUS that he was almost climbing the walls as he followed Marlin through the palace. Today was the day. He was about to meet Hedley.

He was almost as nervous as he’d been when meeting Killian.

Hedley was human, but he was rich and powerful.

It wasn’t only that he was Killian’s consort.

Hedley was all that of his own accord. Aaron hadn’t followed his career or anything like that, but everyone in the human world had heard about him and his company.

A lot of people had been shocked when Hedley had decided to abandon his life and move in with a dragon clan.

They were even more shocked when they found out that he’d fallen in love with the king.

Some idiots thought he’d done it on purpose and had seduced him, but from the way Killian talked about Hedley, Aaron didn’t think so.

Besides, how would Hedley have forced Killian to fall for him?

No, theirs was a genuine relationship, and Aaron couldn’t wait to see the two of them together.

One of his articles would focus on the way they’d met and fallen in love, and he hoped to show people that it was possible to have a relationship with the dragon.

Hedley and Killian weren’t the only proof of that.

Aaron had heard about the Ogorth clan and the many mixed couples there, and he wondered if maybe he’d have the opportunity to interview those people, too.

He supposed that if his articles went well, he’d have more leverage if he decided to ask for it.

Today, the interview would focus on Hedley and the many changes in his recent life. Aaron had expected Marlin to lead him back to Killian’s office, but he didn’t. They ended up in the same hallway, but he knocked on a different door.

“Come in,” a voice called out.

Marlin opened the door, shaking his head. “You know Tito would be pissed if he heard you were answering the door yourself.”

“What Tito doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

“He’s not wrong, though. You do need an assistant.”

Aaron followed Marlin into the office. The chair behind the desk was empty, and Hedley stood next to an armchair by the window. There was a small sitting area there, and after Marlin nodded, Aaron moved that way.

His eyes widened when he saw the coffee table.

A small nest had been placed there, and two eggs were settled in the middle of it.

Aaron had never seen dragon eggs, but he knew that hunters had trafficked many of them over the years.

He was glad that these eggs were safe and that the babies inside of them would be raised in a loving environment.

Hedley took a few steps toward Aaron, his hands held out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aaron,” he said. “I’ve heard good things from Killian, Marlin, and Birch.”

Marlin coughed, which Aaron was pretty sure hid something he’d just said, but he decided to ignore it. From what he’d seen, Birch and Marlin were very much part of Killian and Hedley’s family, which explained how close they all were.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Aaron said with an awkward tilt of the head.

“Please don’t start calling me your Majesty or anything like that. I have enough of it from the dragons.”

“I’ve never called you your Majesty ,” Marlin grumbled.

Hedley grinned at him. “You’re right. I should probably tell Tito.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I love you too much to sic him on you. Don’t tempt me, though.” He turned back to Aaron. “Why don’t we sit down?”

Aaron obeyed, keeping a respectful distance from the eggs.

These had to be the children Hedley and Killian had adopted.

Killian had mentioned them, but Aaron had never thought he would be introduced to them.

Well, there wasn’t anyone to be introduced to right now, but still.

He was sitting next to the future king and their sibling.

He couldn’t look away. He’d always wanted children, but he wouldn’t be able to afford to have them. Adoption was expensive, and he was single. He suspected that even if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t be something he could afford.

“You like children?” Hedley asked.

“I do,” Aaron confirmed. “Do you know when they’re supposed to hatch?”

“It won’t be long now. I’ve been keeping an eye on them.”

“Well, congratulations.”

Hedley slowly nodded. “What about you? Do you have children?”

“I wish, but I’m very much single. It would be a dream come true, though.”

“You’re still young, but if you really want children, why wait?”

“I couldn’t afford adoption.” Aaron wanted to talk about something else, but at the same time, he had questions about the eggs and how Hedley had ended up adopting them.

From what he knew of dragon anatomy, males could become pregnant. In theory, Hedley and Killian could have their own children, which would make sense for a king who needed an heir. Instead, they were adopting these two.

“You could here. The clan doesn’t take money when it comes to adoption. We just want the children who are still in the nursery to have parents and loving families.”

Aaron blinked. Was Hedley suggesting what he thought he was suggesting? “I’m sorry?”

“Or you could have your own children if you dated a dragon,” Hedley added.

Aaron’s thoughts went straight to Birch. Did he want children? Aaron did, but he didn’t feel ready for it just yet. He couldn’t dismiss the thought that Hedley had put in his head, though. Maybe in five years, when he was ready, he could have kids. Maybe he could even have them with Birch.

No. There was no way Birch was interested in Aaron.

Aaron needed to keep a straight head on his shoulders and be realistic.

Birch was an important man in the clan. He was Killian and Hedley’s bodyguard and their friend.

He was family to them. Why would he want to be with an uninteresting human who wouldn’t be sticking around?

“What about you, Birch?” Hedley asked, pulling Aaron out of his thoughts. “Do you want children?”

Aaron gaped when he turned and realized that Birch had been in the room the entire time.

He was standing next to the door on the opposite side of the room, which explained why Aaron hadn’t noticed him.

When he’d come in, he’d gone straight to Hedley.

He hadn’t looked around, especially after noticing the eggs.

And now, Hedley had just asked Birch if he wanted children and was heavily implying that maybe Birch could have them with Aaron.

* * * *

B IRCH KNEW WHAT HEDLEY was doing. He glared at the consort as he moved closer, but Hedley ignored him and continued softly smiling at Aaron. Hedley was meddling, just like Killian kept doing. Those two truly belonged together.

It was annoying, but it was a sign of how much they cared.

It reminded Birch of his mothers, and even though he had enough meddling with those two, he couldn’t exactly tell Hedley to stop.

Even though Aaron knew they were friends, it wouldn’t be good for Birch to be disrespectful to his king’s consort in front of a journalist.

“Well, like Aaron, I’m very much single,” Birch said, hoping that Hedley would leave it alone.

“That’s not what I asked,” Hedley pointed out instead.

“I’m also extremely busy with my job. I feel it wouldn’t be fair to anyone I might be with to have children with them when I work so much. Besides, my job means that they would have to be pregnant and not me, and again, it’s not something I want to push on anyone.”

Birch didn’t miss the way Aaron’s smile fell a little. Aaron tried to quickly get it back up, but it wasn’t as bright as before.

Birch wasn’t sure why Aaron looked sad because of what Birch had said. It made sense. Birch worked for the king, so he couldn’t take the time off to have a child. That meant that whoever he was with would have to carry the pregnancy.

Unless they couldn’t.

Aaron couldn’t get pregnant. If he and Birch were together, the only one of the two who could have children would be Birch. If he wasn’t willing to take time off from his job, they would have to adopt. Maybe that wasn’t what Aaron wanted. Maybe he wanted his own children.

What the fuck was Birch thinking? He was imagining their life together, and he shouldn’t. Hedley might be trying to tempt Aaron into staying, but he might decide not to, and even if he did, Birch was too busy protecting his king to have a relationship, no matter how much he liked Aaron.

So far, everything Birch had seen of Aaron was nice.

He was respectful of everyone, not only the king and the people who worked with him.

He’d made friends with some of the humans who lived with the clan.

He hadn’t bothered people with his questions, and he’d withstood the curiosity of the dragons watching him with a smile, albeit a nervous one.

He might not have initially thought he was right for the job, but Birch thought he was.

“Don’t you think that’s something whoever you’re with should decide?

” Hedley asked. “I mean, they might want you to get pregnant, but knowing it’s not possible, they might be okay with adopting, like Killian and me.

Or you could wait to have children. No one said you had to have them tomorrow.

We don’t know what the situation will be like in five years, but maybe then, you’d be ready to take some time off the job and have children and build a family.

” He glanced at Aaron, then back at Birch.

“Killian and I don’t want your entire life to be the job.

We love you too much for that. It goes for both of you,” he added, looking at Marlin.

“I’m not having children,” Marlin said instantly. “It’s not for me.”

Birch couldn’t help but wonder if his brother wanted kids. They’d never really talked about it, but he imagined that the answer was yes. Curran probably didn’t know that Marlin was opposed to it. What would it do to him? Should Birch tell him? Or should he try talking to Marlin?

It would be best if he stayed out of that relationship. At the moment, there wasn’t one, anyway.

“I don’t know,” Hedley said. “I think all three of you would make cute kids. Can you imagine babies with Aaron’s eyes? Adorable.”

Aaron’s cheeks turned red. It was fascinating, and Birch wanted to touch the soft red color. He needed to keep his hands to himself, though. “I don’t think we’ll see those babies when he has them. He’s leaving, isn’t he?”

Because Aaron wasn’t a clan member. He was here to interview Killian and Hedley and to talk to other clan members, but he’d be going home eventually. Birch wasn’t sure why everyone was forgetting that, but he needed to keep it in mind before he got in too deep.

But instead of agreeing with him, Hedley’s expression turned pensive. “That’s true. Aaron isn’t a clan member.”

Why did Aaron look sad at the reminder? Why did Hedley look like he was plotting something?

Birch wasn’t going to like this, was he?

He disliked people meddling in general, but it was even worse when those people were the king and his consort.

They could do what they wanted. They could tell Aaron that he could stay if he wanted to.

Birch narrowed his eyes at Hedley. That was what he was plotting, wasn’t it? For some reason, he and Killian had decided that Birch and Aaron belonged together, and they were working toward getting Birch to accept that.

What was Birch supposed to do? He couldn’t tell his king to fuck off, although he was tempted.

He definitely couldn’t tell the consort to do the same.

He liked Hedley, and he considered him family, but still.

They hadn’t known each other nearly as long as Birch and Killian had, and it wouldn’t feel right.

Besides, there was something imposing about Hedley that made it so that it wouldn’t feel right to say those words to him.

Maybe Birch should anyway. Maybe he should tell Hedley how he felt about this.

The problem was that he didn’t know how he felt.

Did he want Aaron to stay? He had no idea.

He liked Aaron, but he couldn’t say he’d thought they might have a future until today.

He’d kept as far away from him as he could because he knew that Aaron could be dangerous to his heart.

It was better not to get to know him too well, even though it was hard when half the clan talked about him constantly.

Apart from a few dragons, everyone seemed to like him.

“But that might change,” Hedley added.

Marlin snickered. Birch scowled at him. He’d known that was how things would end. Hedley and Killian were truly made for each other. Neither of them could keep their noses out of Birch’s business.