Page 13 of The Ruby Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter

Twelve

Tovey

I t was supposed to be a victory. My father and Lord Groswick’s plan to tax and impoverish the farmers had failed and Lord Groswick had been thrown into the dungeon for who knew how long. Everything that my brothers and I had hoped to accomplish was complete.

So why did I feel so hollow?

“Tovey!” Obi climbed down from the dais and rushed to me ahead of the rest of my brothers as Rufus and I made our way over to them. “That was amazing!”

“Look at what you did!” Leo exclaimed, running ahead of Obi to hug me. He laughed as he picked me up and spun me around. “You were braver than even me.”

I laughed, my spirits buoyed slightly as my brothers surrounded me, but my heart continued to fret. Something was wrong. Something was incomplete.

“Father made it look like Lord Groswick was the only one to blame,” I sighed, leaning into Rufus as he stood beside me. “He escaped blame.”

“This time,” Selle said as he joined us, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Knowing Father, there will be a next time.”

“I don’t think everyone believed he was innocent at all,” Rumi said, shaking his head. “In fact, if you look around, I think most people don’t believe Father. It’s just that the ones who do believe him are loud.”

“Why do they have to be so loud?” Misha sighed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Leo said, shifting to throw his arm over my shoulder, despite Rufus standing right next to me. In fact, I wondered if Rufus still bore part of the concealment that made him difficult for others to notice. “Today we had a victory, and I think we should celebrate.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Rumi said, grinning. He noticed Rufus then and said, “You’re more than welcome to join us. You are our brother’s mate. Our victory is your victory, and our celebration is your celebration.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Selle said.

“I would be honored to celebrate with you,” Rufus said, sounding cautious instead of happy, “but I don’t think our celebration can happen here.”

He nodded to the side, and we all turned to find not only Father’s guards, but Father himself marching toward us, looking furious.

I turned back to Rufus, but he’d taken a large step back. I was certain then that he’d resumed his disguise.

“How dare you?” Father railed at me as he stormed right up to stand toe-to-toe with me. “How dare you and that man, whoever he is, destroy my plans? Where is the man anyhow? Guards! Find the blackguard who importuned Prince Tovey and bring him to me!”

“Go!” I whispered, turning my head but not daring to look directly at Rufus in case that gave his disguise away. “I’ll come and find you in the magical world. I’m ready to stay with you there now.”

Suddenly, it hit me. I knew what I was missing. I knew why I felt so empty. I nearly moaned aloud with longing as I thought about my eggs, my babies, waiting for me in Rufus’s lair. My concerns had been with the people of my father’s kingdom, and it was as if the eggs knew that and were keeping their own needs quiet so that I could help where I was needed.

My help was no longer needed in my father’s kingdom and my babies knew it. Their silent cries for me nearly had me weeping.

“I will go to them,” Rufus said gently, touching me through our bond, though in actuality, he took a few more steps back. “I will comfort them and tell them their papa is on his way.”

“Thank you,” I said, nearly sobbing the words.

“Thank you?” Father barked, sneering at me. “Thank you for what? For not having you thrown into the dungeon along with that fool, Groswick?”

I pinched my mouth shut and tried to focus on Father so that Rufus could slip away.

“Tovey was trying to help the people of our kingdom,” Leo said, bravely standing up to Father for me. “He cares about our people.”

“We all do,” Selle said. “So should you.”

“How dare you tell me what to do, whelp?” Father snapped. “It was a mistake for me to allow you out of the castle for the festival. I do not know what I was thinking. Guards! Escort the princes back to the castle and lock them in their room! And keep them there without even bread and water to sustain them! That’ll teach you to defy my wishes.”

Half of the guards who had come with Father to confront us were off looking for Rufus in vain. The two that remained looked doubtful as to whether they would be able to force six omegas back to the castle and then to lock them in their room.

Fortunately for them, we were all more than willing to go. We made a show of acting like we were forced, like we wanted to stay and enjoy the festival, but it was make-believe. In truth, the six of us couldn’t get back to the castle and our bedchamber fast enough.

“And stay there!” one of the guards who had escorted us and shoved us into our room said once we were all back where we wanted to be. Like a child, he humphed and jerked his head, then slammed our bedroom door.

“Quick!” Leo said, taking charge. “Bar the door just in case, then let’s go!”

Obi and Misha hurried to help Leo push chairs up against the door so that anyone trying to enter from the outside would run into obstacles at the very least. While they did that, Rumi, Selle, and I ran to Rumi’s bed and pushed it aside to reveal the magic door.

“Hurry!” I said, starting to tremble with my need to be back in the place where I’d left my heart. “They all feel so far away. I need to be with them.”

“Them?” Selle asked as we moved the bed far to the side.

I reached for the door’s handle and pulled it open. “Rufus and my babies,” I gasped.

It was such a relief when the first, fragrant waft of scent from the magical world filled my nose. I breathed it in, the feeling of being somewhere that I didn’t belong easing. One breath wasn’t enough, though. Only barely checking to make certain my brothers would follow, I hurried down the golden staircase and into the magical forest.

I heard my brothers murmur and exclaim behind me as they descended into the forest with me. They’d never been there during the daylight, and to them, the sparkle of the jewels in the trees along with the vibrant sun above must have seemed like discovering something they’d once thought was pretty was, in fact, astoundingly beautiful.

“So there is day and night in the magical kingdom as well,” Selle said, adjusting his glasses once we were all standing on the forest floor.

“Of course there is day and night,” Obi laughed at him as I glanced around, trying to get my bearings. “Did you think it was only ever night here?”

I could feel which direction Rufus and my babies were in, and as soon as I was confident, I started forward at a fast walk.

“You never know with magical kingdoms,” Selle said as my brothers all followed me.

“How would everything grow if there was no sun to help it along?” Obi asked.

“Magic?” Misha suggested.

Their conversation was amusing and I could tell my brothers were happy, but they faded into the background of my senses as I strode on. Whether by luck or by magic, I knew Rufus’s lair was close and I couldn’t get there fast enough.

We broke through the trees a few minutes later and I spotted the ruby path that led to the place that felt in my heart like home. As soon as I saw the vast, timbered house on the hill in the distance, I broke into a run.

“Rufus!” I called out as my brothers picked up their pace to keep up with me. “Babies! I’m home!”

As soon as I neared the house’s huge front door, it opened to reveal Rufus standing there. My gorgeous mate was no longer dressed as an ordinary townsperson from my father’s kingdom. He was dressed resplendently in red velvet with black breeches and boots. His face shone with joy, and his red beard seemed fuller than ever.

“Tovey, my love!” he greeted me with open arms.

I flew at him, jumping into his arms and wrapping myself around him. I was so happy to be home at last that I burst into tears.

Rufus kissed those tears away enthusiastically, then slanted his mouth over mine in a kiss that took my breath. It was wonderful and overpowering. His tongue thrust possessively into my mouth, claiming me as surely as he did when we’d mated. I might have been brave and done what needed to be done for the benefit of my father’s people when we were in my old kingdom, but in that moment, with Rufus welcoming me home that way, I felt like I could melt into a puddle of contentment without worrying or fighting against the world ever again.

“The babies,” I gasped as we both paused for breath. “I need to see my babies.”

“They’re waiting for you,” Rufus said, putting me down and letting me run into the house. Behind me, I heard him say to my brothers, “You’re all welcome in my home. I’m sure Tovey will want you to meet the eggs as well.”

I didn’t pause to see if my brothers were confused by the mention of eggs. I’d explained giving birth to them earlier, but it was one thing to be told something so fantastical and quite another to see it for themselves.

I couldn’t be concerned with what my brothers thought. I rushed up the stairs and down the hall to Rufus’s massive bedroom. I needed to be in my nest, to stay close to my babies and nurture them so that they could come into the world as safely as possible. The nursemaid who had been tending them sat on the bed with them, but as soon as she saw me, she rose with a smile and made way for me.

“Babies, I’m home!” I called out, dashing to the bed and jumping in with them.

I didn’t even bother to kick off my shoes. I threw my body at them, curling around them and pulling them close to my chest and stomach. It might have been my imagination, but I thought they’d grown a little since I’d left them the day before.

Immediately, I could feel ease spread through the eggs and into me. My poor babies had been worried.

“It’s alright,” I cooed to them, stroking and kissing each egg. “I’m home. Papa is home. You know I had to go off and fight for what is right, but that’s all done now and I’ll never leave you again.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Rufus said, entering the room and sitting on the bed with me. He stroked my back and left his hand resting on my side. “A dragon mate’s place is here, in the magical world. What’s mine is yours, and you are free to enjoy it to its fullest.”

“Those are eggs!” Misha gasped before I could reply to Rufus with words of love and gratitude.

“Tovey did tell us he laid some eggs,” Leo said teasingly.

“He said he gave birth to eggs,” Misha corrected him.

“Come and see them,” I said, sitting up and placing the eggs carefully in my lap. “Come and meet your…well, I’m not sure if they are nieces or nephews or one of each.”

“They’re beautiful,” Obi said, stepping ahead of the others and crouching so that he could see the eggs closer. “It’s like they’re made of rubies.”

“That would be the point of being a ruby dragon,” Rufus said with a touch of sarcasm.

“Be nice,” I laughed, swatting him playfully.

I’d never been so happy in my life. We’d been sent to our bedchamber to be miserable, but Father had no idea what sort of beautiful magic lay within the very place that was supposed to be our prison. He was a small man who would never understand the power of love or imagination.

We stayed where we were for a good hour. I explained everything I could about the house and how it was Rufus’s lair to my brothers. Rufus filled in a few details about how every dragon had a lair, but that didn’t mean it was a dark cave somewhere.

My brothers were happy to meet the eggs, and they each held them in turn. I didn’t feel anxious about them handling my babies. The only thing that made me anxious was knowing we had reached the end of our time together.

“I plan to stay here now,” I told them as the sun began to set outside the bedchamber windows and discussions had started about attending that night’s ball in the pavilion. “This is my home now. Rufus is my mate, and we’ve started a family.”

“Of course you must stay,” Rumi said, resting a hand on my back as he sat by my side. “Anyone with eyes and a heart can see that you belong here now.”

“I feel so awful about leaving you to battle against Father on your own,” I confessed.

Leo made a snorting noise. “It’s not a problem at all. Father is no match for us.”

“I would feel worse if you came back with us than I do parting ways with you here,” Misha said.

“I don’t think we’re really parting ways,” Rumi said with a mischievous smile. “Something tells me we’ll all be living in this kingdom before too long.”

“Why not just come now, then?” Rufus asked, a hint of his usual impatience through our bond making me smile.

My brothers exchanged looks. “You saw what Father nearly did today,” Rumi said. “No doubt he will try to find some other way to make the lives of his own subjects miserable.”

“We need to stay behind for now and find a way to remove him from the throne,” Obi said. When we all stared at him, he shrugged and said, “Isn’t that the point?”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Selle agreed with a nod.

“But now, we should go and let the two of you rest,” Rumi said, rising from the bed. “Besides, our own dragon princes might be waiting for us in the pavilion as we speak.”

My brothers looked excited about that. I got up, setting the eggs aside for a moment so that I could say goodbye to them all and wish them well. I hoped their dragon princes were waiting for them in the pavilion. My brothers deserved real reasons to celebrate.

“They all deserve to be as happy as I am,” I said with a sigh once Rufus and I were alone in our room.

“Are you happy?” Rufus asked as he arranged the eggs on a large, round pillow at the head of the bed so that the rest of it was open for the two of us.

I walked up to him and hugged him from behind before he could rise. “I’m the happiest omega prince and dragon’s mate that has ever lived,” I said.

Rufus chuckled as he straightened and turned so that he could embrace me. “Good,” he said, then brushed his hand under my chin and tilted my face up for a kiss.

The kiss quickly deepened into something more. I felt the stirring of desire within me almost as strongly as I had when I was in heat or when I birthed the eggs. Rufus and I had fought so hard to be together. All I wanted to do now was celebrate that togetherness.

“Take me,” I whispered, gazing hungrily up at Rufus. “Claim me again and make me yours forever.”

Rufus smiled, hot and hungry. “Your every wish is my command, my beautiful mate,” he said.

He swept me off my feet, turning and laying me across the bed as he did. I glanced quickly at the eggs as he began to peel off my clothes, but I felt like they were sleeping.

As soon as Rufus had my clothes off, he rushed to rid himself of all his finery. I laughed, wriggling in anticipation as my body responded eagerly to the way he revealed himself. When he saw I enjoyed the show, he slowed down and wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I laughed. “You are incorrigible,” I said, parting my thighs a bit as my hole twitched and slick leaked from me.

“No, I am insatiable,” Rufus corrected me, throwing aside his shirt.

He hurried through the rest of his clothes and boots, then stalked over me, settling himself between my legs. I wrapped my body around him, tilting my hips up and rubbing my cock against his as he bent to capture my mouth in a kiss.

“I love you,” he said, scattering kisses over my lips and nose and cheeks. “I love you more than I thought it was possible to love.”

“And I love you,” I replied, raking my fingertips down his back. “You are my prince and my savior.”

He shook his head. “I am your slave,” he said.

My heart could have burst with joy in that moment. I surged up, grasping him behind his head and kissing him with passion. How had I gotten so lucky to be the fated mate of a dragon as wonderful as Rufus?

“Love me,” I whispered to him, relaxing my body and spreading my arms and legs, as if I were a platter of treats for him to feast on.

Rufus growled low in his throat then did just that. He kissed my lips again, then trailed his kisses down my neck to my shoulder, then lower still.

As he kissed my chest, licking and teasing my nipples, I could already feel the changes my body would undergo as I prepared to feed my babies. I didn’t know what a dragon’s papa experienced once their babies hatched, but I longed to find out. The way my nipples felt so sensitive as Rufus suckled them, each in turn, felt so good that I moaned and jerked my hips as if I might come.

Rufus left me panting for more and on the edge of orgasm as he rocked back and traced his hands down my sides. He shifted so he could kiss and nuzzle my thighs, like he had before, but without the same sense of urgency. I wasn’t in heat, which meant we could touch and kiss and learn each other’s bodies, taking as much time as we wanted.

That was exactly what we did. He kissed every part of my thighs and belly, breathing in my scent and lapping at my slick as it poured for him. Instead of entering me immediately, he flipped our positions and gave me all the time I wanted to stroke his large body and learn its taste and scent.

I loved our gentle exploration of each other, but I was hungry for so much more in no time at all.

“You said I could ride a dragon,” I said breathlessly, straddling him and holding myself above his thick cock as he gripped the base. “I don’t want to wait for my next heat to give it a try.”

“Then ride, my fiery omega,” Rufus growled, eyes glittering.

I wasted no time positioning myself, then lowered onto him, inch by glorious inch. He felt so big as my hole gave way to him. His girth filled me so perfectly that I moaned with the need to move faster and take him deeper. As soon as I felt I had my bearings, I began to bounce on him, creating the most amazing friction within me.

“Wicked omega,” Rufus growled, grasping my hips and thrusting to help us both find our pleasure.

It was amazing. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, losing myself in the feeling of claiming my dragon. That wasn’t enough, though, and I switched to watching Rufus under me, our gazes locked together, as bliss spread and spread through us. I could feel him around me, in my body, and through our bond. The union was so perfect that with a loud moan, I started to come.

Rufus cried out as well, his orgasm beginning before mine had fully ended, and thrust hard into me. The moment united us in ecstasy, our bodies alive and buzzing with pleasure.

It was the moments afterward, when we were both spent and when I collapsed into his possessive embrace, that brought me the most joy, though. We were hot, panting, and messy with sweat, slick, and cum, but we lay side by side, kissing like our lips together gave us life.

“I love you,” Rufus said again, stroking my head and side. “I will make you the happiest omega who ever lived.”

I smiled. “I already am,” I said. “Because I have you.”