Chapter Twenty
Galen
Our baby girl was already growing inside her crystal egg. That was the only way I could describe the beautiful eggshell. We couldn't see her in there, but her shell reflected light like the stone around us. When daylight filled the room, it also lit her egg like the sun in the sky. It was beautiful.
She was beautiful. Our little girl was going to be here in a few short months. I couldn't wait to meet her.
I was surprised how quickly she drained my magic, though. Already, I was too weak to hunt.
Mac was also too weak to use his magic for more than his dragonet bond. Thankfully, I'd packed Mac's cell phone along with his tablet. He emailed his coworkers to order supplies. Once they had filled Rapture's saddlebags with everything we needed and let us know they were ready, Mac called the dragonet to us through his bond.
Instead of waiting at the entrance, Rapture rushed our nest. I roared at him, and he cowered with his belly on the floor. Still, he snaked his neck forward to sniff our egg. He made a mewling sound in his throat, and I swore I heard our little girl answer him.
It shouldn't have been real, that strange child and adult voice coming from our egg, but none of it had seemed possible. I had whipped together an egg using my magic, and Mac had walked through something as strong as stone as though it were air. I couldn't explain any of that, so how could I explain a bond between my mate's dragonet and our unhatched egg?
"They already have a bond," Mac marveled once he'd unpacked the bags and sent Rapture home. For his part, the little dragonet seemed reluctant to leave her.
"It's like I passed Rapture's bond to her, but I still have a hold on him, too." He laughed. "I used to tell everyone dragonets aren't pets, but …" he trailed off.
"Our little girl already has a pet." I dipped my head lower so I could rest my head on top of her egg. At first, I'd worried my weight would crush it, but my magic buoyed me above the shell and absorbed my heat while counteracting the weight.
"Rapture is not a pet," Mac said. "He's her mount."
"She'll have a tail until she's mature," I reminded him. "Only adult kobolds have mounts."
"We'll make her a special harness so she won't fall off. Sunny's been wanting one, too."
I gave up trying to argue with my mate and laughed instead. I was sure our little girl would love to ride a dragonet to school. It would be a long way for her to walk to the fortress, as Mac called it, but I wanted her to attend school with the other kobolds.
Eventually, she and Clementine would be classmates, I hoped. They would be almost four years apart in age, but after the first five molts, Clementine's development would even out, giving our little one a chance to catch up. I hoped they would become friends.
It wasn't a guarantee, though. Clementine was very much her own person, and our little one would be, too. I didn't want to influence her. It would be hard for me to give her space to make her own decisions, but in the end, it was best for her.
I was already a better parent than my paragon, and I had my kobold friends and Mac to thank for that. Mac and I weren't alone on our parenting journey, either, unlike Olaf and Bane. Yes, we had my family waiting in the wings, but I trusted Punky, Lark, and the other kobolds to help me brainstorm solutions, while my paragon would simply tell me what to do without any explanation.
Above all, I had Mac to help me make better decisions. He was the best partner I could want. He knew he didn't know everything, which made me question my own beliefs. I loved our conversations, and the easy way we agreed on most things. I loved him so much my chest ached.
I loved him. I'd known it before, but now, fear entwined the ache in my chest. If anything happened to either of our babies or our friends, Mac would blame me. What if I couldn't be dragon enough for the village I'd sworn to protect? What if my paragon threatened the village again over some unforeseen break with tradition?
I didn't trust my paragon, but I trusted Mac. He was all I needed.
* * *
When Rapture arrived a week later with more supplies, Mac took advantage of his willing transportation and rode him further into the mountains, to the ancestral caves. I didn't want to speak to my paragon, but it couldn't wait. I had questions about my egg-laying process. Their books were just as vague about it as they were about "magic."
While Mac was gone, I tucked blankets around our kobold egg, which was now the size of a grapefruit. I knew our little one wasn't cold inside, thanks to the magic draining from me, but I didn't know how far Mac could travel, or for how long, before our egg would feel his absence.
I was still shifting and spinning, trying to find a comfortable way to curl around the newly wrapped egg when Mac returned with my paragon. Mac sent Rapture on his way, while my paragon approached cautiously.
"Hello, Galen. Is that your little kobold egg? Not so little anymore, is she?"
"She's growing by the hour." My wings spread with pride and banged into the hard wall at my back.
"Your beta said you wanted to see me."
"He has a name," I reminded them. "He is not my beta. He is Mac, my mate."
"Mac." Paragon bowed their head to him. "I did not mean to offend you. My relationship with your father was far different from yours with Mac."
That gave me pause. "What happened to him?"
"He ran away." They sighed. "He's still alive, somewhere to the west, on this plane."
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I'd been to the west. I'd met several kobold betas who worked the fields and tended livestock for the other villages. Had I met my kobold father and not known?
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Goff."
The lump in my throat threatened to choke me. "I don't know a Goff."
"He is shy." Paragon leaned in, and I stretched my neck out so we could rub our necks together the way dragons hugged. The action reminded me how much I missed hugging Mac in my kobold alpha form. Tears sprang to my eyes for a new reason.
"I remember all the dragon tears," Paragon said when they pulled back. "It's exhaustion from carrying the egg." They motioned for Mac to come forward, dragging a large burlap sack behind him. Mac's nose wrinkled at the smell, but one sniff told me the bag was full of my favorite treats.
"Bovinji organs?"
"They will keep you strong and aid in the delivery."
"How much longer?" I was already over my six-week gestation period by two days, and the egg hadn't budged.
"When it's time." Paragon laughed at the face I made and curled their neck around mine again. "This will help, I promise. Once you've eaten the whole bag, you will be in prime condition."
"Either that, or I'll have indigestion so bad, I'll wish I was in labor." I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "Thank you for the organs."
"Is it all right if we visit you here in a few days? If you haven't laid the egg by then, it might take more drastic measures." They turned to Mac and winked. "You know what to do?"
Mac met my gaze with a nod, and a deep blush darkened his cheeks between his stripes. "Yes."
"Good. I'll give you three days. One to eat, one to set things in motion, and one to rest. Then, expect a visit from us."
"Thank you," I said again.
They smiled. "I wasn't here to watch you grow up, but I raised you when it counted. I intend to help you with my grandchildren, as well." Their eyes sparkled a radiant amethyst, and they huffed a gout of smoke. "You grew into a fine dragon on your own, Galen. I am proud of everything you've done at the village. The new pavilion and game yards, and your cave is so tidy."
"That's all Mac and the other kobolds," I said.
Mac tried to interject, but I talked over him. "Mac cleans my cave every week, and a plucky kobold omega and his alpha partner built the recreation spaces."
Mac frowned at me. "You do most of the heavy lifting to clean your cave," he said. "And Tuft and Axel wouldn't have dared to build the pavilion outdoors if not for your word you wouldn't burn us all on sight."
Right. I had been the reason the kobolds had feared the outdoors for over a century.
"See?" My paragon huffed their smoke at me. I'd forgotten how calming their scent was. "I knew it. This was your doing. I worried we would return to a war, or worse, to mass extinction of both species. Instead, I find you thriving here. I am so glad, Galen. More than you will ever know."
I bowed my head, unable to think of a response.
"We will see you in three days," Mac said with finality. He always knew what to say when I was at a loss for words.
"Yes," Paragon said with a cheerful tone. "Three days. You'll have two eggs in your nest by then, I'm sure."
Gods, I hoped so. My balls ached something fierce. There was no fluid left between the hard shell and my skin. It chafed with every movement as I settled back into my nest.
Mac approached with the burlap sack almost as tall as he was. It left a wet streak of red on the floor, since it was too heavy for him to lift.
"I know you prefer these cooked, but there would be more nutrients if you ate them raw."
I nodded, too tired to argue or complain. Organs were my favorite, no matter how they were prepared.
Mac dumped them out without ceremony. One of the bloody treats rolled under my snout, so it was the first into my mouth. Even uncooked, they tasted wonderful. I made a few uncouth noises while I ate.
"Better than my cooking?" Mac grinned, and I knew he wasn't upset.
"Everything you cook is wonderful," I said around a mouthful I'd snagged from the pile.
I'd neglected our egg in my haste to eat. Mac curled himself around the nest of blankets with our unseen egg in the middle.
His grin widened the more I ate. When I finished, I swore I could see each of his sharp teeth.
"What?" I asked.
"You've got … something." He circled his face with a finger.
That was easy enough. I licked the remnants of blood and gore from my lips and snout.
"I want that tongue wrapped around me again."
Mac's words surprised me. I didn't feel sexy with my balls swelled to twice their normal size. I carried the egg in my right, but the left seemed to be overcompensating for lack of eggs and swelling in sympathy.
Mac meant what he said, though. He thought my tongue was sexy. He wanted me to wrap it around his cock. He was thinking about sex, now? "Hush. Our little one can hear you."
He pressed his ear to the shell and whispered, "She's sleeping."
"Sleep sounds glorious right now." I licked the drying blood off the floor, grateful the reflective stone was less porous than in my cave. I didn't get nearly as much from the exchange, but the floor was far cleaner when I finished.
My quest to lick up every drop led me from my nest. Returning to it and trying to get comfortable was another challenge. Mac carried our egg a safe distance away and watched while I grumbled and whined my way through the torture of circling and finally lying down.
When he settled against my chest with our egg in his lap, I remembered it was all worthwhile. Yes, carrying our egg was painful, but Mac and our two precious little ones were worth it.
At least, that's what I thought before the real pain began.