Page 33 of Ronen (Sweet Alps Legacy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mason

Ronen had taken the news of my secret relatively well, though he had muttered, “Holy shit,” the entire ride into town to the clinic, while giving me some serious side-eye.

Honestly, his response was a bit anticlimactic from what I was expecting. Not that I was sure what to expect, but I could admit I’d been hoping for my revelation to generate a little bit more excitement than it had in the moment.

Maybe he was in shock. Between the baby news and the dragon news, it was a lot to process.

His cousin had met us at the employee entrance, sipping on a large coffee.

Logan Sinclair was a tall alpha wolf, with dark hair, gray eyes, and a warm smile. I recognized him from around town, and had seen him a few times in the coffee line, while I had waited at The Sweet Spot, but this was the first time we had been formally introduced .

I liked him instantly, mainly because he didn’t ask too many personal questions, and he easily teased Ronen. They were snarky with each other, but it was in the relaxed way of people who had known each other their entire lives and truly liked one another.

Following Logan into an exam room, he pointed to a low padded bed. “Lay down, shirt up. Push your pants down past your belly button. Here’s a sheet to tuck into them so the gel doesn’t get on them.”

Ronen fiddled with his clothes, and I helped him secure the sheet, while Logan lowered the lights. He messed with what looked like a computer screen, typing on the keyboard, while a black and white screen came to life.

When he was ready, he held a wand over Ronen’s tummy. “The gel should be warm,” he smiled as he spread the goop over Ronen’s skin.

Running the wand thingy over Ronen’s lower belly, Logan concentrated on the gray and white images that suddenly appeared on the screen. It all looked like blobs of nothing to me.

Squeezing Ronen’s hand in mine, I gave him an encouraging smile.

Logan didn’t say anything for several minutes, until he finally stopped moving the wand.

“There’s your baby,” he pointed to a circle on the screen that still looked like nothing to me, but since he was the one with the medical degree, I would take his word for it.

Ronen pushed himself up on his elbows, staring intently at the blob on the screen. “And it’s a baby, not an egg?”

Logan looked startled, “What? An egg?” He eyed me up and down, before asking, “What the hell kind of a shifter are you?”

“None of your business, that’s what,” Ronen told him shortly, “Baby or egg?”

“It’s not an egg,” Logan rolled his eyes, clicking some keys on the keyboard, then he handed Ronen a towel to wipe up with.

The machine whirled and two pictures printed out. He handed one to each of us. “In August, you should have a bouncing…something.”

“August,” Ronen whispered, staring down at the black and white picture. “Matty’s birthday is in August.”

“Well, have the baby on his birthday, and you probably won’t owe him a present for the rest of your life. You can’t really top that gift,” Logan joked, before turning serious. “Make an appointment tomorrow with Lily. Limit your caffeine intake. We suggest one cup of coffee a day only.”

Ronen made a horrified face at the thought. “But I can have other caffeine, right? Tea,” he shuddered, “gross, but it has caffeine. Soda, something.”

“What part of limited caffeine are you having trouble with? No. One cup of whatever you choose a day. One.” Logan pulled some pamphlets off the walls, where they were stored neatly in bins.

“Here’s some information you can read over until you see her.

Do’s and don'ts. No shifting after the twelve week mark. You’re about four, four and a half weeks now. Any morning sickness?”

I took the pamphlets, while Ronen finished straightening his clothes. “No, but I got a little dizzy this morning.”

“He was throwing up last night,” I felt the need to tattle since Ronen didn’t feel he needed to mention it.

“We had Italian food,” Ronen rolled his eyes at Logan, and they both nodded, and said at the same time, “Garlic.”

“Yeah, I’ll be avoiding that from now on. ”

“Thank you for doing this for us,” I told Logan, as we walked out to our respective vehicles.

“It’s no problem,” he assured us. “And, you don’t need to worry about me telling the fam. I won’t say anything until you do.”

“Thanks, Logan,” Ronen told him quietly, clutching the ultrasound picture tightly in his hand.

We waved good-bye and I helped Ronen up into my truck. Even though he didn’t need help, it still made me feel good to be able to do it.

Starting the ignition, I looked over at him. “Eggs? Really?”

“What?” He clicked his seatbelt. “It was a valid question. Dragons lay eggs. It’s a known fact. I,” he pointed to his chest, “do not want to lay an egg. At least, I would like some kind of heads up before that happens.”

“That’s fair,” I decided, heading back to my place.

I would need to talk to Papa about this. Did this mean Ronen wasn’t carrying a dragon? If we had more children, later on, and one was a dragon, would it be in an egg? Or did the fact that we were different shifter species come into it? So many questions.

We were quiet for the drive, both lost in our own thoughts about our baby, and our future.

“Mason,” Ronen laid his hand on my arm.

“Hmm?” Glancing over at him, I gave him a smile.

“Will you show him to me? Your dragon?”

Looking at the time, I nodded. “But not until it’s dark. I can’t take the chance of anyone seeing.”

“Is that why you have so many acres, away from people? So you can let your dragon out?”

“And I needed them for my animals,” I told him. “I’d like to get some beef cattle. Some more goats. Maybe some sheep. But yes, I needed a place for my dragon to be able to fly and not be noticed. I make sure it’s dark and I stay on my land.”

“I can’t wait to see him,” Ronen whispered, “I bet he’s magnificent.”

My dragon preened under the praise, content with our mate.

“I thought you’d be more excited when I told you,” I admitted. “With your tattoo and all.”

Ronen’s mouth fell open in a small O. “I…I think I was a little shocked at first. I mean, of all the things I had come up with that you might be, I did not have dragon on my bingo card.”

“Most people don’t. Now you know why I couldn’t tell you until I was sure of us.”

He laid a hand gently on my arm, his voice quiet. “And, you’re sure? Of us?”

Turning to look at him, I gave him a soft smile. Not wanting to remind him that I wasn’t the one who had needed a minute to wrap my head around the fact that we were fated. “I am. Are you?”

His free hand rested on his stomach, and he nodded. “It’s pretty amazing to think our baby is half dragon. Will they be able to fly? Breathe fire?”

“You sound way too excited by that prospect,” I muttered. “Can’t we just have a nice honey badger and be happy about it?”

Though I wasn’t sure nice was the best word to describe a honey badger.

“Ohhhh,” Now he sounded even more excited, rubbing his hands together like an evil cartoon villain. “A honey badger, dragon hybrid. Imagine what a little badass they will be!”

“That’s a truly horrifying thought.”

He was grinning now, his eyes teasing me, and I rolled my eyes at him.

“You know what this does mean though?” he asked softly.

“I’m scared to even pretend to act like I know what road your brain just went down.”

“I can finally have Charlie finish my tattoo,” he cupped my cheek as I turned into my driveway. “I know what color eyes the dragon should have. He’s you, so he needs your eyes. It was you I was waiting for to be able to finish it.”

Kissing his palm, I whispered against his skin, “After the baby comes.”

“After,” he agreed.