Page 15

Chapter 15

Zayne

I n preparing for our competition—the first one of the season that would establish our rank for the rest of the year—I found myself stressed. I was no stranger to it, but every other season, I’d been able to focus solely on leading my flight. This year, however, I had plenty of other things to keep my mind busy.

I loved it. It made my life so much more full, but it was mentally taxing in a way I had not expected. And then there was the protective side of my beast that clawed at me to protect Ash, to make sure the competition went off without a hitch. He never cared when it was just me.

Ash had been waking up every day for the past four days, emptying the contents of his stomach before nibbling on some toast until the nausea went away. It passed just as quickly as it came, but I still hated to see him so sick in the mornings. I helplessly stood by his side while his body violently evicted his stomach contents.

Never before had I been so inept. By the time we made it to class, he was back to his normal self. It didn’t matter what he ate, the result was always the same. When he woke up in the morning, he was sick.

Of course, when we spoke to the doctor, he assured us it was normal. No. Worse than that, he said it was good. And while I understood the science behind saying that, it wasn’t possible to embrace his take when it was my mate who was suffering so miserably. How, after thousands of years, we hadn’t come up with a remedy for this, I did not know. It didn’t seem fair.

Ash assured me he didn’t mind. That had to be a lie, because no one could go through that every morning and be happy about it. Although, given that I would happily take it from him, maybe I did get it more than I realized. He was doing it for our young, as I would do it for him. Whatever. I still hated it.

Our flight team was excited about the turn of events. I’d been worried they would look at it as us letting them down. There was no denying that the season was only going as well as it was because of my mate. As much as Ash wanted to be there for the team, he wasn’t able to give his all the way he had been.

The team was more looking forward to having a clutch of eggs to dote on almost as much as I was. Raising dragonets was a community endeavor in the dragon world, and being an Academy, they were few and far between around here. Our dragonets were going to be the most spoiled little ones for miles.

Once our clutch was laid into our nest, we’d be visited by as many family members as could arrive. I’d be shocked if cousins I hadn’t seen in centuries showed up. We’d welcome them with open arms, but it would be a lot to take in.

I imagined the staff were going to be over-the-moon happy for us and ready to contribute to the nest in whatever way they could. It was the dragon way. I loved the way dragons came together to give dragonets the best start in life.

Originally, we thought we might use Ash’s family nest, the one he was hatched in. Having a nest that was saturated with the scent of family was exceptionally good for the eggs. Unfortunately, since Ash’s brother still had their family nest at his home, and his three-year-old clutch still used it as their little comfort spot, we didn’t feel right accepting it. New dragonets didn’t make the needs of their older family members any less important.

His brother offered a few times, but I didn’t like the idea of taking away my nieces’ and nephews’ little play area before I’d even met them. Instead, Ash and I decided to procure a new nest rather than use a family one, as was tradition. It would become a new family nest. The plan had been for us to shop around in our free time.

Only there was no free time. When we got home from class, we rested or prepared for practice. Any time my mate was not working, he was sleeping, sleep his body needed. Growing the next generation was hard work, and every day that passed, I was more and more in awe of him.

Now that it was Friday, perhaps we could spend the weekend catching up. It was weird to think that I missed him even though we spent so much time together, but I did. Working together was amazing, but so was snuggling on the couch and telling stories from our past or sharing dreams for our future.

I, of course, wanted to make sure my mate was well-rested and taking care of himself. That was far more important. I was more than happy to dote on him, hand and foot. In fact, I loved it and planned to continue even after our little ones arrived.

We walked inside, hand in hand, and the door had barely clicked closed when he leaned against me. My poor mate was beyond exhausted.

“Practice went well today,” he said, his voice slightly rough, with an edge of tiredness to it. “It was a good run. They’re really coming along nicely. I really think we’re going to be unbeatable. I know we’re not supposed to get too cocky—anything could happen—and I’m sure other teams are practicing just as hard as we are, but I’ve been incredibly impressed by this team.”

“I have been as well.” You never knew how things would go when you added new teammates. Sometimes it was gold and other times dirt. You never knew until you saw them working together for the first time.

“I’m looking forward to sleeping for a while, though, so I hope you didn’t have big plans for the weekend.”

“I did not,” I said. “Whatever you need.”

“I need to cuddle you and sleep.” He rubbed his cheek against mine.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” I led him to the bedroom, helped him get undressed, and then the two of climbed into bed, Ash snuggling into me and falling asleep almost instantly.

I watched him as he peacefully slept, listening to his even breaths, and wondered what he was reaming about. I’d expected him to wake up close to dinner time, but he didn’t, his exhaustion too intense. While I understood his desire to keep working, seeing him like this worried me. He needed to stay strong for our clutch. But the truth was, I’d be doing the same thing, and I couldn’t fault him for that.

“We need a nest, Zayne. I can’t keep piling blankets onto the floor.”

Ash had spent the morning circling the mishmash of blankets. He’d started to say something about it a few times, but then got back to circling it. It wasn’t until we were outside in the fresh air going for a long walk that he formed the words to tell me what was wrong.

And he was right. If we wanted a nest that we could take with us if need be, it wasn’t going to be a pile of random blankets. But also, he hadn’t fully decided what his nest would be, which was how we ended up in this holding pattern.

“I know, love.” I tugged him closer and kissed his temple. “We can do some shopping this weekend. Or reach out to some friends to see what is available.”

Ash was starting to get tired, and we cut the walk short, heading back home. It was a gorgeous day, and I half suspected we’d be sitting outside and enjoying it before a nap.

We passed through the cluster of trees that hid my cabin from view to find that a group of people had gathered on our front porch.

“Surprise!” they shouted.

Ash and I stopped. I should’ve been suspicious when the team kept asking me if Ash was getting enough walking in and then being presented with the ideal walk for both beauty and low-impact exercise. But I didn’t, and here we were being surprised by a gathering at our own home.

Right away I recognized our team at the front of the crowd. Scott, Christa, Susan, Isaac, and Jay stood in front holding a banner that read “Congratulations!” They were all wearing smiles from ear to ear, and Isaac was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Our trainers, some other co-workers, and fellow clan members stood by as well, their cheerful faces smiling broadly at us. Having the entire community supporting us like this was everything.

“What’s going on?” Ash asked.

“It’s a celebration!” Scott shouted.

“We heard you didn’t have a nest, and we wanted to make sure you got the best one that the school could provide,” Christa said. “We all helped.”

They didn’t buy it. They made it… for us.

Ash squeezed my hand and gasped. “Really? For real?”

Emotion clogged my throat. The swell of warmth in my chest stole my breath. This was more unexpected than finding my mate. Nests weren’t random things you picked up; they were important and held such meaning in my community. Seeing everyone come around us to help create one for our family was almost too much.

We walked forward and the crowd parted. On the front porch, directly in front of the door, lay a large nest. It was about five feet across and a foot deep. The inside was smooth, while the outside was woven with different-toned wisteria vines to create an intricate pattern.

“It’s gorgeous.” Ash’s voice cracked.

“We’re hoping it will serve you well for this clutch and more. We’re honored to be able to gift this to you,” Commander Emmon said.

He was met with cheers.

I looked around at the people I had worked with for half a century. They were clan members, as close to me as my own family was, yet this was so unexpected. I hadn’t seen it coming. I wanted to say something profound to show them what this meant to me. Instead, all I was able to say was, “Thanks.”

Kellen and Hayden gave me and Ash a hug, while the team wrestled the nest into the living room. The task was easier said than done, but we managed.

“This is for our clutch.” Ash hugged me close, his voice cracking. “I never thought… when I came here… I don’t—”

“Cake time,” Hayden called out.

“They even have cake.” That was when the tears of joy started freely flowing from my mate’s eyes. Mine too.

We ate cake, opened presents I had noticed them bringing, and celebrated our clutch with the people who would be our dragonet’s community, their family.

What a difference only a few months made. Back then I was a loner wondering if I would even have a job, and now I was a mated, father-to-be who had the support of an entire campus and a team ready to take on the Dragon Games. What could be better than this?

“More cake?” Hayden held out a piece to me.

“Absolutely.” Because all of that with cake was better. Not much else.