Page 29 of These Little Heirs (Moonscale Heirs Duet #2)

Teal

Two weeks passed and Morvan still refused to talk to me.

He didn’t answer calls or texts from me or any of our friends.

He’d given control of his family’s restaurants over to Crilus until further notice.

While our friend didn’t mind the extra work or revenue none of us knew if Morvan was going to snap out of it or not. Slowly but surely, he disappeared.

Following his disappearance billboards and flyers about Moonscale Meals covered London.

I took a few calls here and there and did a single virtual press conference to talk about it.

Before everything fell apart Morvan had been my right-hand man, taking up the job of running things if family obligations kept me away.

That job now fell to Patrica, but she was a natural at it.

She loved being outside and we shared the quality of being able to extinguish the light of evil without feeling too bad about it.

The more I thought about it the less bad I felt for Torvan and the worse I felt for his brother.

Though, I wasn’t sure I could say Morvan was my best friend anymore.

Hell, I couldn’t even say Morvan was on Earthside anymore because no one had seen him.

I took a break from everything like I promised Ciro I would.

Being back in Heartville made that an easy thing to do.

Along with my brothers, I fell back into the easy outdoors lifestyle we grew up with and often found myself working silently beside my carrier in his garden as the town’s children wove in and out of the plants looking for the best things to nibble on.

There was something about being in the garden that made the world right again.

Existence couldn’t possibly end as long as I was surrounded by such plants that were able to sustain so much life.

Torvan had been buried in his family’s cemetery and one day maybe something beautiful could grow out of all the shitty choices he made.

Whenever I couldn’t sleep at night, I walked down the street to my carrier’s garden and lay in the rows between plants.

It was late one night – probably midnight according to the stars – when Morvan found me.

As soon as his scent reached my nose my heart skipped a beat, and I sat upright.

Indigo had been right! He had come around!

Only he smelled darker than before – like graveyard dirt and regrets.

“Morvan?” I called out, pushing myself up to my feet. “I’m in here.”

He stalked to me and looked me up and down. I checked his empty hands at his sides for weapons. Revenge wasn’t out of the question.

“Stop calling me, Teal. I’m glad you’re happy.

I’m glad you have a mate and a family and your brothers.

You have the whole kitten and kaboodle. That’s good but stop fucking texting me about it.

I’m done with you and Patrica and every fucking body else.

Teal, I’m done. I have to live every day knowing that the guy who I thought was my best friend stopped me from saving my brother.

You stopped me from doing the very bloody thing we went there to do.

Fine. I’m alive. You got your way like Moonscales always do.

I even considered who would work with your family when I turned over management of the restaurants.

Be fucking happy and rejoice or what the fuck ever but leave me out of it.

We’re done. I never want to talk to you again. ”

Something inside me shattered as my best friend turned on his heels and disappeared into the dark. A moment later, Cobalt sprinted up from the other direction. I turned to grab him, thinking he had come because he heard what Morvan said.

“Something’s wrong with Ciro,” he said instead. “It’s like he’s going to throw up but he’s not. He can’t talk. Odell thinks it’s a furball, but I don’t think he’s spending that much time grooming himself or anyone. I--- We almost called Dara, but I thought we should get you first.”

“Shit!” I swore under my breath. Whatever I felt about Morvan hating my guts would have to wait until later.

My mate had locked himself inside the bathroom attached to our bedroom, but I heard his retching grunts as soon as we were back inside the house.

“Mate!” I called out and somewhere further inside the house Baby Steel broke out into wails. Cobalt cursed under his breath as Odie’s footsteps pattered down the hall. He stood guard outside the bathroom door as if someone might break it down and eat Ciro.

“I don’t think he can talk. He’s not choking.

We’d feel that over the links but---” he said, and I zoned in on my mating link with Ciro without paying attention to what my brother said.

Ciro was on the far side of the bathroom.

Which was a good thing because my dragon had enough bullshit for one night.

The door was bullshit, not Ciro. I shoved Cobalt out of the way and brought my foot down right next to the doorknob breaking the latch.

“Dude, we’ll have to fix that!” Indigo groaned.

Ciro’s eyes grew to saucers. This was pregnancy sickness.

It had to be. For weeks we danced around the topic whenever someone brought it up but seeing him knelt on the floor there was no denying the little pooch of his belly that protruded beyond his abs.

I rubbed soft circles on his bare back and waved my brothers off.

Sure, he sounded like a housecat with a hairball but they didn’t need to point it out.

After he was finished being sick and the house was silent for a few minutes, Odie padded into our bedroom carrying Baby Steel and a bottle of the orange morning sickness gummies that were passed around from omega to omega all the time. He entered the bathroom holding them out like a peace offering.

“Thanks,” Ciro grinned.

I reached out for the gummies but Odie pulled his hand back and handed them to Ciro.

“Don’t let him kick the lid off,” Odie said and walked back out.

“I’m sorry I woke the baby up, Odie!” I called after him.

“I know you are,” he called back. “You’re lucky Guardie didn’t come bite you. He likes you but you’re acting like we’re the ones not talking to you.”

Later I’d explain it all. I’d tell them about Morvan’s short visit where he didn’t even give me a chance to speak. Hell, maybe I’d even tell them how panic rose in my throat like dragon fire when the door was between me and my in-need mate.

“He knows,” Ciro said, popping one of the orange gummies into his mouth. “He really does know. I think he was joking or maybe he’s just not happy that his baby got upset. I don’t know but he knows all that. They all know all of that. I woke up when your brain shouted ‘Morvan’.”

He rubbed his stomach for a moment and leaned back against the bathroom wall, his long legs stretched out across the checkerboard tile.

“I was on my way out to you or would’ve been if it didn’t all hit me at once. I’m sorry he’s a dick.”

“He’s not a dick,” I sighed.

“He upset my guy. He’s mad at my guy for saving his ass in seven different directions. He’s a dick. Even dicks grieve,” Ciro shrugged. “I’m not saying he’s not entitled to be sad. I’m just saying maybe he should aim his rage where it belongs and that isn’t you.”

“Not to change the subject,” I started.

“But you’re going to,” Ciro smirked.

“Yeah. I can’t talk about him right now. I need to focus on you. On us. And I think it’s time for us to double-check our suspicions. I’m not saying you have to see Dara or anyone. Just ---”

“I’ve been waiting for you to calm down enough to do the ultrasound,” Ciro said.

“Look, maybe Dolores and Dara and everyone else is good for Odie. I get that. Cobalt isn’t a doctor and even though he sees you as a ‘almost-Cobalt’, you’re not him.

Just like Cobalt and Indigo aren’t you. They were good enough for Odie and Ambry but I’m not having it.

I’m a bloody nine-hundred-pound liger, Teal.

Pregnant cats can be vicious. Laboring cats are vicious if we feel the slightest bit threatened.

I’m not explaining to anyone why I ate that nice midwife or why Dara is missing an arm or a face or whatever.

So, call me selfish, but I need you. I didn’t make this baby alone.

This is why I asked you to take a break and decided to take one myself.

I’m not nice, Teal. Don’t laugh at me,” he said before I could.

“How I treat you or your family doesn’t mean I’m nice. ”

“I think you’re kinder than you think.”

“Not when my instincts kick in. Back at Moonglow in the truck – I meant it when I said I’d bite you if you didn’t kiss me. I wasn’t putting up with your underwear theft without---”

“Are you switching to dirty talk on purpose?” I asked, wishing my dick would read the room.

“Um… What?” Ciro blinked and then laughed when his eyes landed on my crotch.

“Babe, you’re taking care of yourself tonight.

I’m sorry. I know Morvan has you all upset and if I thought ripping his face off would make you feel better, I’d pull it together and do it, but it won’t.

But I can’t do that. We get to jiggling around and it’s not gonna be pretty, even if I eat the whole damn bottle of gummies. ”

“I wasn’t trying to get you to do anything. Just be nice to me,” I mock-whined.

“I told you I wasn’t nice.”

“But really, I don’t mind the threats. I don’t mind the babying either,” I shrugged. “From you. From anyone else I might let you rip their face off.”

“The only other people who baby you like that are your brothers. Not even your carrier babies you like they do. Hell, they might do it more than I do. They just don’t use the same language.”

I opened my mouth ready to defend how we interacted, but Ciro wasn’t done speaking.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. You get sad a lot but that just means you see the world for what it is.

You all ‘baby’ each other and I think that’s the way it’s meant to be.

Sometimes we have to tiptoe around each other’s sore spots because they wouldn’t be sore if someone else hadn’t stabbed us.

You’ve changed the subject again, though.

The baby,” he pointed at the pooch of his belly.

“I’ll do the ultrasound when you’re ready,” I grinned.

“I haven’t been putting it off because of Morvan.

I’ve been counting days, mate. I think you’re between seventeen and twenty-one days pregnant.

That means we have about eighty days left.

You’ve been active and eating normally. You’ve been sleeping well and your mood is as good as can be expected with what happened.

After what you had to see I didn’t want to add extra stress to the situation. ”

“Had to see? No, I didn’t have to see anything,” Ciro shook his head.

“I’m pregnant, not a damsel. Do you know you have to pass a psychological evaluation to be a Moonscale Guard?

That they turn jocks and brutes away every session because they don’t have the resilience to be a guard?

I do and being pregnant doesn’t change that.

Plus, I insisted on going with you. Do I wish we could’ve saved him?

Honestly, I don’t know but I’m not haunted by his death.

Maybe by the look on your face. Maybe even by Morvan’s sobs and screams but not by the death of a guy who tried to blow us up on purpose and hired a hitman to kill someone in his own egg clutch. I’m not wired to grieve that.”

“I wasn’t saying you’re weak.”

“Remember that,” Ciro said. “This,” he pointed to his stomach. “doesn’t change who I am. This only adds to it and I wouldn’t have let you cum bucketfuls into me unless I thought I could defend my kittens.”

I blushed.

“Bucketfuls, huh?” I arched a brow.

“Not tonight, mate,” he shook his head. “The only phallic shaped object coming near me tonight is the ultrasound wand. I am not in the mood to vomit on you. You and your buckets got us into this mess.”

“Huh? What happened to not making the baby alone?”

“Well, I didn’t cum in my ass, sweetheart,” he laughed.

“That would be a trick.”

“And just so you know my cat says kittens. S. Hard S. Kittens in the plural.”

“We can handle that,” I grinned.

“Good. Now, I want to shower and when I come out into the bedroom you better have that wand ready.”

“Mate, you’re killing me here,” I groaned.

“Well, I’m about to get naked and soap up. So unless you want to be extra dead, get out while you still can,” he said, holding his hands out to me for help up.

I helped him up, achingly aware of how hard I was.

“You take a long time in the shower. I’ll take care of this and then we’ll see how many babies are in your bucket.”

“That analogy doesn’t work unless you’re going to do a sperm count test,” he said and playfully pushed me out of the bathroom.

“Oh, and the door? That would be bloody hot under different circumstances but you’re fixing it after we get some sleep.

We’re going to have toddlers in this house soon and no one knocks here.

So, the bathroom door is going to lock or I’m going to bite someone. ”

“Killing me!” I groaned as he shut the bathroom door.