Page 16

Chapter 16

Malric

I let myself into my son’s house, as I normally did. He and I hadn’t yet had a chance to really talk about the fact that I had found my mate, except for when he berated me into not fucking this up completely. He, more than my other two children, had a stake in this, since Ollie worked for him. He also had an understanding of some of our obstacles, ones I planned to remove.

It was one thing for a dragon to have an opinion. We all had them. It was another for Elias to disrespect both my mate and my position in public like that. He knew better, having been around for such a long time. But with that seniority came a sense of entitlement and superiority that wasn’t acceptable.

I went to the kitchen and found Tavian at the stove.

A mischievous grin covered his face when he saw me.

“What?” I said. “You look like the dragon that captured the canary.”

“Well, you look like the dragon that ensnared the mouse.” He was enjoying this much too much, and it was exactly what I needed… full acceptance and joy over my mating.

“Okay, I walked into that one.” And would again, probably. I was okay with that.

“You really did.” He put the lid on the skillet and crossed over to me, pulling me into a hug. “You know me and Eryndor are very happy for you, Dad. Thalric is also, and if he ever slowed down his traveling long enough to visit, he could tell you in person.”

Thalric was the wandering sort. I hadn’t actually seen him in person in many years. Thankfully we’d all adopted enough modern technology to keep in touch. It wasn’t a case of him not wanting to stay connected, it was more that his dragon needed to keep moving. Humans would call it wanderlust, but I had a feeling it was more than that.

“I know you all are. I truly didn’t think this was possible, but I’m very happy that it is.”

“Me too. Father would be pleased as well. He always wanted you to be happy, even without him here.”

I sighed. I knew that it was true, and as happy as I was about finding another mate, sharing my life with someone and having a bright future, the guilt remained. And the grief.

Grief was such a fickle thing. There were days when I didn’t feel the sadness, the loss, and others when I wore it like a bad suit. There was no rhyme or reason as to it, either.

“We are gonna have to figure out how this is all gonna work out, though. Have you and Ollie talked about whether or not he’ll continue working?” Tavian asked.

Work. That was an easy one. It wasn’t a matter of clan politics or family acceptance. It was a job.

“We haven’t, but I believe that he wants to.”

And as long as it was his desire, it was mine also. I wasn’t one of those alphas who needed their omegas home doing the housework and goddess knew what. I had people for that, but even if I didn’t, we were a team, and we’d share those tasks. If that was his yearning, I’d support him, but I didn’t get that from any of the conversations we’d had.

“And if you two have a clutch...” Tavian’s brows raised. There was hope in his voice, thankfully.

I grimaced. We had not talked about that. It was yet another thing I hadn’t let myself think about. I had to stop doing that. I scrubbed a hand over my face.

“We… that hasn’t come up yet.” I’d raised my children to be open and honest with those around them, and here I was avoiding the difficult conversations at every turn

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, will the two of you sit down and communicate? Please? I can’t be your little relationship coach. I have a family and a job, I don’t need a side hustle.” He tried to lighten the blow with humor, but he was right. I was old enough to know better.

“Easy there, young one,” I said.

“Oh, you’re gonna pull out the ‘I’m your dad’ voice now, huh? I’m a dad, too.” He made a face that reminded me of when he was young and being silly, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Mal, you’re here.” Ollie came to my side and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I pressed a kiss to his lips.

“How was your day?” I asked. With him here, my son would stop his twenty questions. Did I ever learn?

“Great. The kids have learned quite a few new things. We were watching some television, and Ruby saw someone jump roping. And, well, you’ll have to see.” He linked his fingers into mine and tugged me toward the living room.

There, Ruby had a shoelace she was desperately trying to hold in both hands, fumbling in a way that only a child with very few fine motor skills could do. I held back a laugh as I watched her try to grasp it in her little hands and try to mimic the movements they had seen.

Ollie was so good with the kids. So many people tried to prevent kids from getting hurt to the point where they never got to experiment. Ollie found that balance, and moments like this highlighted how amazing he was at that.

“Are you jump roping, Ruby? Is that jumping?” I squatted down to her level.

She bounced their little legs, her feet never moving off the ground as she bent her knees. A wide grin split her face. She was having the time of her life.

“You’re doing so great,” Ollie said.

That was when I saw it—a vision for what our future could be.

I may have been old, but I wouldn’t be the first dragon to have a clutch at my age. Thanks to all of our shifter abilities, I didn’t age like humans. And at one time, I thought I’d never have any more children. I’d had that season of my life. But now, watching Ollie with the kids, it made me want that again… with him.

Ollie and I could do this—this could be us. I’d love to have one with Ollie. He’d be a fantastic father, just as he was a fantastic manny. And together, we could grow our family. But was that what he wanted? My son was right. I needed to alpha up and have the conversation already. It wasn’t fair to either of us to keep avoiding it.

“You want to keep an eye on these three? I’ll see if Tavian needs any help with dinner,” he said.

“Absolutely,” I said. “They are three of my favorite people.”

Dinner was a laid-back affair. Eryndor had also come for dinner, arriving at the same time that Kier came home. My whole family was here, except for Thalric, which was a far too common occurrence. Everyone around the table was important to me. This wasn’t work, it was so much more important than that. It was family.

“So how’s this gonna work?” Eryndor asked. “Are you gonna move in with Tavian? Is that what’s gonna happen?”

I rolled my eyes. It seemed my sons had gotten together on this one, and knowing them, they were never gonna stop pushing. That made me happy, even if it was slightly annoying. They were showing how much they loved me and wanted my happiness and didn’t want me trapped in my grief. I was such a lucky dragon.

“We haven’t discussed it.” Which I’d already told them.

“It’s early in their mating. There’s not a whole lot of talking going on,” Tavian said with a wink at his brother.

My mate looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. I got it. These were my children discussing our private time. That was awkward on a good day.

Eryndor made a face. “Gross, dude.”

“Hey, you started the conversation.” Tavian wrinkled his nose at his brother.

“I absolutely did not.” Eryndor shook his head. “You’ve taken it too far, like you always do.”

Eryndor went to ball up a napkin and toss it at his brother. In some ways, their sibling bond was no different when they were teens.

“Ah,” Ollie said, giving a glare to both of them. “You guys can have fun later, after the kids go to bed, but right now you’ve got little eyes watching. Let’s keep the sibling rivalry down to a minimum.”

I hadn’t thought of that. We didn’t need three little ones throwing things at the table. That was for sure.

“Sorry,” they both mumbled, the almost-fight petering out before it even started.

Kier covered his mouth with his hand, laughter bubbled out of him. “He really is like a stepdad.”

The blood drained from Ollie’s face as he looked around the table. “No, I was just… because of the…”

“You’re fine, Ollie,” I said. “They think they are funny. They aren’t.”

Tavian went to open his mouth, probably to say that he was funny, and I stopped him with a glance. There’d be plenty of opportunities for Ollie to experience the joy of their sibling antics. Today was not going to be that day.

“It’s not like that. I’m not your dad—” Poor Ollie was so flustered.

Eryndor shrugged. “You kind of are…”

“Should we call you like Pops? Or Da? Dad 2.0? Young Dad?” Tavian asked.

“I like that one. Let’s go with Young Dad,” Eryndor said.

Great. Now they were conspiring together. Their intent was to make Ollie feel like one of us, and I got that. But being dragons, they wouldn’t understand the age issue. Not fully. I didn’t even, and I was the one mated to him. For us, the huge age difference was something we were used to in our daily lives. We were constantly around people far from our age. That wasn’t true for Ollie.

“My goodness, you guys are going to be the death of me,” I said.

“That’s our purpose in life.” Eryndor winked.

Ollie still looked like he might be a bit sick. I placed my hand in his.

“You sure everything’s okay?”

He grimaced. “Yes, sorry, just—” He put a hand to his stomach. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Ollie ran from the room, and before I could fully get up, Tavian’s arms were wrapped around me. “Dad, I didn’t realize—congratulations!”

Next thing I knew, Eryndor’s arms were around me the other way, from the other side. “I’m so happy for you!”

It took me a few seconds to piece together what they were saying. “You think it...?” I asked, afraid to get too excited, in case I was wrong.

Both chuckled.

“Yeah, we think… Actually, we know.” Eryndor stood back. “Now go. Go to him.”

I was out of the room so fast, standing in the bathroom doorway as my mate was looking up at me, his face still a little green.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin dinner.” He had no clue yet.

“You didn’t,” I assured him and grabbed a washcloth, cooling it off with water before handing it to him. “Trust me, you didn’t.”

“Wait outside. I don’t want you seeing me like this.” Poor guy was embarrassed and still hadn’t figured out what the rest of us knew.

He came out a minute later, his face looking normal again.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah, thanks. I don’t know what I could have eaten.”

“It isn’t something you ate.” I placed my hand on his belly.

“Oh... that’s what you meant. You think I’m really...?” He placed his hand on mine.

“Really.”

“Is... is that okay?” He looked up at me, his eyes filled with worry.

“No, it’s not okay. It’s amazing.” I hugged him close. “I love you, Ollie. I can’t wait to start a family with you.”

“I love you, Mal. More than words can express.”