Page 17

Chapter 17

Malric

O llie was expecting... he was going to have my clutch. There was no test necessary, no ultrasound or any such thing that we needed to do. His symptoms were the only verification we needed. And truthfully, it would’ve been shocking if he hadn’t been. We had been enjoying each other’s bodies pretty much nonstop. A clutch was inevitable given that we were mates.

We’d only been mated for a short amount of time, but as was typical for newly mated dragons, my seed took, and with it came a clutch of eggs. That had to be a lot for him to take in. He was a mouse, and mice didn’t lay eggs, but there was something about the genetics of a dragon that turned that impossible into the possible.

How many eggs would be a mystery until a few weeks from now when Ollie laid his clutch. But until then, we were in the throes of a fierce nesting storm. It came on quickly, and at first, Ollie didn’t even see what was happening. He thought he was just on a cleaning kick. It was so much more than that. And after the cleaning came the building.

I watched helplessly as Ollie gathered blankets, pillows, and bits of cloth—anything he could get his hands on that was soft. Unlike with cleaning, this part was very personal, and the omega was the one who made all the decisions. It was their body, the clutch they grew, and biology gave them intense possessiveness over the nest itself. All I could do was be there to get anything he wanted, to bring him food, and to assure him he was doing a great job.

He used empty boxes, books, and other things to prop up the blankets and make a nest-like structure out of it. He was determined for this to be perfect, and despite his mouse biology, he had done a really good job of creating a nest from nothing, but it wasn’t necessary.

“We’ll get a new nest, mate. I promise.” The nest that I had used for my first two clutches, and that had been in the family for generations, was still at Tavian’s home. The kids used it for naps and as a reading nook. More than once I had found Ollie curled up in the nest with the three kids reading and cuddling.

Not once had Ollie asked for it or for me to get another. He had been determined to make his own, to provide for his own clutch. While I appreciated his desire to be the best, it was hard not to take over and make it simpler for him.

“Are you sure?” Ollie said. “I thought you’d only want to use the family nest.” He didn’t look away from his work at hand. He fluffed and adjusted the blankets and pillows to his liking, then did it all over again until it was perfect.

“I would love that, but Tavian’s children still need it.”

“They do.” He paused his work, studying his nest intently. “That’s why I was doing this. I didn’t want you to feel like the family nest was our only option.”

He was such a sweet mate.

“With a clutch being born this close to one another in a family, it’s not uncommon to have multiple nests. The new one can be ours,” I said. “Having another in the family will come in handy in case Eryndor or Thalric find their mates.”

“Do you think…” Ollie trailed off, his hand caressing the sides of the makeshift nest, “that we could have another clutch after this one?”

“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility,” I said. “I never thought I would have another clutch. Yet here we are.” Perhaps the lesson there was never say never.

“You’re happy, though, right? About this?” Ollie’s face was pensive and unsure.

“Yes, mate,” I said, and I went to him. I climbed into his beautiful nest he had put together and then pulled him to my side. “I am so very happy. I never thought I would feel this way again. Not after…” The pain of my loss still burned deep within me. Who knew that grief and happiness could live so close to one another. “I never thought I could be this lucky again, and if another clutch comes along, I’ll be luckier still.

“Please tell me about him, tell me about your first love, the one who helped you become the alpha you are, the one who was and will always own a part of your heart. Let me know and love him too.”

I looked at my beautiful mate, smiling up at me, his eyes glistening with emotion.

“He’s such an important part of your past, Mal, and I know next to nothing about him. I didn’t want to ask Tavian or Eryndor. That’s not fair to them, and it’s awkward.”

I sighed and relaxed into the comfort of the nest. Ollie clung to my side. “Chastain was amazing. Believe it or not, he was the stern one among us. I was the fun dad, and he had us all on a schedule.”

“I can see that. You are the fun grandpa too. It’s like you’re a different man at work and with family. One side all business all the time, but I suppose that’s the way it has to be.” He snuggled into me.

He was right that my job required me to be no-nonsense.

“Tell me more.”

At first, I worried that sharing about my past would hurt my mate, but there was a calmness spreading over him as he I spoke of Chastain. He needed this. I did too.

“Chastain kept us all in line—making sure we were at our events, making sure the children learned their languages and did their music lessons. He had each of them learn an instrument because he wanted them to experience music fully. Of course, this was back before electrical anything. The piano we have in the foyer belonged to him. He liked to play. I still can’t listen to music the same way. He was fiercely loyal and quick-witted. Strong. Like you.”

“He sounds like someone I’d have liked.”

“You’d have loved him. Losing him was hard. One of the hardest things I ever went through. I threw myself into my work afterwards. It’s the only reason I became clan leader. The boys were all grown, and I was alone in my home for the first time. The grief was… insurmountable. Tavian looks the most like me. Thalric looks the most like Chastain. He has that same quick wit.”

“The two of you did an amazing job raising your sons.”

“You and I will do the same with ours.”

Ollie sighed and looked around the nest. There was plenty of space for the two of us and however many eggs we ended up having. Of course this wasn’t the final nest, but whatever style we purchased would be large enough to accommodate both of us. I’d make sure of it. We didn’t have a lack of space, there was no reason to go small.

“I’m terrified of having a large clutch.” He admitted, and I completely understood. This wasn’t going to be a normal pregnancy for his species, and he had no experience with others like him having a clutch. The entire situation had to be terrifying.

I chuckled, squeezing my mate against me. “Fate will deliver us whatever she thinks we can handle, whether that is one egg or five.”

Ollie shuddered in my arms. “Please, not five.”

“You know, even though you will lay eggs, it doesn’t mean they will all be dragons. There is the possibility that we will have a little mouse in there.” It wasn’t common, but it had been known to happen.

“That’s terrifying also.” He shivered.

“Would it help alleviate some of these concerns if you met my dragon? I still cannot believe you haven’t met a dragon before.”

Ollie rolled his eyes. “I’ve met plenty. I just haven’t actually seen one in their scales.”

“Come, let’s go.”

My dragon was itching to get out, not wanting to take the time to go all the way outside first, like he would have fit in the room without breaking pretty much everything.

Ollie and I went outside, and I led him to the covered swing I had out there. “Have a seat.”

I rubbed my nose against his, and he gave me a look, one I couldn’t quite decipher.

“You’re carrying our dragonettes or our mouslettes or both. No need to be standing here when there is a nice seat for you to use.”

And while that was all true, there was a part of me that was worried my beast would scare him. Sitting would give him a little bit of grounding.

I took off my clothes, ignoring the way my mate licked his lips upon seeing me. “You’re killing me, Ollie.”

“Is that so?” He did it again. He knew exactly what he was doing.

I jogged far enough away to allow me to shift and still give him ample space to adjust to my size and my scales as I took my dragon for the first time.

My dragon was more than ready for this. He wanted to meet our mate, and he wanted to meet his mouse. But today wouldn’t be the day for that. Ollie was growing our clutch, and while some shifters were able to do that and shift, because of his size, it was highly recommended that he didn’t. We’d have to wait for that.

I called forth my scales and landed on the ground with a thud. I kept my wings close to my body, waiting to see how he would respond. He gasped, his hands going to his mouth as he got up and crossed over to me.

“You’re stunning.” He reached out, and I lowered my head so he could run his fingers along my scales, just under my eyes. “I hope our young have your eyes. Every single one of them. You. Are. Stunning.”

He didn’t say much for a long time—walking around me, running his hand over my wings, my back, doing his best to give me a hug, even kissing me on my nose.

I was enthralled. And my dragon was, too.

“I want to see you fly. And maybe one day we could build something so that you could fly with me… maybe a basket.” And he chuckled at the image of that, but the second it came out of his mouth, I was already planning to make that happen. I could think of nothing better than flying with my mate.

“I’m gonna go sit over there so you don’t yell at me for standing too much when you get down.” He winked.

I didn’t yell, but I would be worried, and I would shorten my flight.

Once he got in his seat and was watching me, I took to the air. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t showing off. I 100% was.

I tried to think of every fancy move from the Dragon flight Games that I could accomplish, and I did every single one. Up and away I went as he stared up at me in awe. I couldn’t help but wonder how the goddess deemed me worthy of such a mate.

But I was ever so grateful that they did.