Page 21 of The Dragon’s Emberlinked Mate (Dragon Flight Academy #3)

Emmen

Before I was mated, I never left work early, except for the time that my mate was injured and recuperating at home.

I always spent the full day at the office doing work, even though I was fully capable of working remotely.

Even now I was working a full schedule. If my mate didn’t spend as much time at the academy as he did, that might not be the case, but he did, and I accomplished more being present.

I took my position very seriously. There was a time when it came above everything else.

That was no longer the case. My mate and our clutch came first, always.

But that didn’t mean I’d half-ass my job.

If the time came where I had to choose being present for my family or giving the quality work the academy deserved, I’d quit my job. It was as simple as that.

Okay, it wouldn’t be simple, but the choice was a given.

Many commanders traveled for their job. Part of that was the culture of the schools they were connected to or the time periods they were working there.

Part of it was that some dragons needed to not stay in one place, it was part of who their beasts were.

That wasn’t me. I tried to keep most of my work at home, yet something about today was forcing my dragon to drag me out of the office.

Around noon, my dragon was itching to leave. The timing was shit. We had a staff meeting after lunch, but no amount of logic would keep me at the academy. He wanted out, and now.

Rhythe was home, his belly swollen with our eggs. Something told me it was time and that was why my beast was in such a tizzy. I trusted that instinct. If I was wrong, there was no harm other than a meeting rescheduled. If I was right, my mate needed me.

I closed up my laptop, packed it away in my bag with my clothes, then stepped outside.

I tossed the bag into the air and erupted into flight, catching it with my talons before it could hit the floor.

It was a dangerous thing to do with an expensive laptop that had all of my work on it, but my skills were enough that I trusted my ability to catch it.

And honestly, today, I didn’t care if it broke.

Once the wind hit my wings, my dragon took over completely. He had a raw need to be back at our house. I didn't fight him, because now that my beast was front and center, I felt his desperation fully.

We flew faster than we normally did, anxious to get home. It didn't feel fast enough.

When I landed on the balcony, I dropped my bag to the ground, not bothering to pick it up and take care of it. I’d come back for it later or one of the staff would deal with it. I didn't care which.

I had to get to my mate. Until I saw firsthand that he was safe and happy, nothing else mattered.

The first place I tried was our room. He wasn’t there, but he was close. I could scent him. I made my way to the adjoining nesting room where he had set up our beautiful, elaborate nest.

Hamel had outdone himself with our nest. Not only had my mate picked out all of the materials, but it had pieces of our hoard woven in, as well as some items from his family, including bits of the shell from the egg he and his brother had once shared.

But as wonderful as that was, what made it even better was that Hamel had managed to incorporate my family nest into it.

Mine had seen better days and wasn’t one I felt comfortable using as it was.

But this? This was perfection. It was like the humans did at weddings with the old, new, and borrowed thing.

Rhythe’s brother loved it too but said it needed a pop of color. He and their parents gifted him gems, and the entire family spent an evening weaving them in, making the nest sparkle and shine like it was fit for a king.

I took a few pictures from that night and gave them to an artist friend to turn one into a painting. It was a memory I would always cherish, and I wanted my mate to be able to see it the way I had and hold it close.

This nest was uniquely ours, but also carried our family history with it. Neither of us could be happier about it. Hamel’s reveal brought tears of joy to both our eyes. He was a master of his craft. But it was the family touches at the end that made it complete.

Rhythe was lying inside the nest, his hand over his belly, when I walked in. He breathed deeply and labored. The scent of the room had changed slightly. My beast had made the right call. It was go time.

“I was just about to call you,” he said. “I think it’s time.”

“My dragon sensed it. I came home as soon as I could,” I said.

“Is that why you’re naked?” He rolled his eyes.

“You like me naked.”

“Fair.” He flinched. The pain was getting worse.

“What can I do?”

“Any chance you want to take over so I don’t have to do this part?”

I smiled. “If I could, I would, mate.” I climbed in beside him, and he snuggled up close.

My mate held on to me, hugging me close. As he controlled his breathing, I tried not to interrupt. He knew I was here for him and that I’d do whatever he needed. And if this was what he was asking of me, this was all he wanted at this moment.

I rubbed circles on his back, kissed his forehead, all the ways I could think to silently give him my support. At one point I thought he fell asleep, which was good. He was gonna need his energy.

He quickly proved me wrong.

“Get out!”

I never jumped out of anywhere that fast, and I was king of the jump shift.

“Tell me what to do now.” Quiet time appeared to be over, and I felt completely hopeless.

“Help me out. They’re coming soon. I need to take a shower first.”

“Understood.” I scooped him up, and instead of setting him down to undress here, I took him straight into the bathroom. The water ran, coming up to temperature while I undressed him.

I started with his hair, massaging the shampoo in and then rinsing it with the warm water. He always loved it when I washed his hair, and today was no exception.

A few times during the shower, he’d grab his belly or hold onto the wall. One time his nails dug into my shoulder. But for the most part, he was doing all right standing on his own. There was a bench there if he needed to sit, but he hadn’t.

When he was all clean and dried off, I carried him back to the nest and set him inside.

“Make me tea,” were the next words out of his mouth.

I didn’t want to leave. Goddess knew it was the last thing I wanted, but I did as he asked, taking the stairs three at a time, not wanting to waste a second.

They say a watched pot never boils, and whoever they were wasn’t lying. But eventually, after what felt like four zillion years, I came back up the stairs with his tea only to find him squatting, holding onto each side of the nest for support.

I nearly dropped the tea, only barely able to manage to set it on the bookshelf before racing to his side. I wasn’t willing to chance dropping it and having him tell me to go get him another one. Now that he was in this position, I was definitely not walking away.

“Your tea’s here.”

He gave me some serious eye-to-eye.

“I don’t want the tea. Get behind me so I can lean on you.”

“Anything for you.” I climbed in as he directed, and it was like his body had been waiting for me to be there, the contractions almost instantly hitting hard.

It wasn’t long before he was pushing. I wasn’t experienced with this at all, but it felt like everything was coming at lightning speed.

His arms trembled, his legs shook, his breath hard and heavy as he cried out, pushing out the first and then the second back to back with little to no break between them.

And then everything stalled. Or maybe not stalling so much as slowing down. After the second egg came, I’d thought the third would follow in a similar manner. I thought wrong.

He’d been pushing for an hour and nothing. Had my phone been close enough, I’d have called for Vexus already, pleading with them to get here.

But leaving him, even for that second, wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, I stayed with him, supporting his body with mine and being the best hype team I could be. I was about to break and leave for my phone, fearing that if I didn’t, things would go wrong, when he delivered her last egg. It was huge.

He fell back against me, our three eggs lying on our side. He looked up at me and said, “I think we know the answer to the twin question.”

“Sure there’s not triplets in there?”

He growled. “I think we’ll have our hands full with four dragonets.”

“That’s true. Think about how full our hearts will be.”

It sounded like a cheesy greeting card, and I did not care, because it was true. I was fully alive for the first time in centuries, all thanks to Rythe.