by Lisa Oliver
“Confinement? CONFINEMENT?” Ivak pushed himself out of his throne, well aware he was yelling. “Where’s my mate? Where’s Byron?”
“I’m here, I’m here.” Byron came running in, hurrying to his side. “Ivak, babe, what’s the matter? Who upset you?”
“We’re leaving. We’re getting on a plane right now and we’re getting out of here. They…” Ivak pointed at David. “Him and the leading families are going to confine me when I give birth to our peanut. And they want to do tests – tests on our baby and me to see if I’m coping.” The last word was a definite sneer, but Ivak wasn’t going to apologize for it.
“David.” One word from Byron, and David was looking worried.
No one takes me seriously now I can’t see my toes.
“David, I thought we discussed this,” Byron helped Ivak sit down again.
I guess we’re not leaving right this minute then.
“Dragon males have no problems giving birth,” Byron continued. “They are all capable of it thanks to dragon magic. Ivak doesn’t need examining. He doesn’t need anyone to do any tests on him or the baby. My cousin Foster has already examined historical birth accounts and no preparation is required beyond Ivak nesting in the castle treasury, which he’s been doing every day since we got back anyway. Confinement in the traditional sense, is an old-fashioned notion that went out in Queen Victoria’s time and doesn’t apply here. Within minutes of him giving birth, Ivak will shift and be back to his old self. Now, what’s all this about?”
“You have to tell him the truth, David.” Petrov was like an immovable statue behind the throne. “Tell him, or I will. I won’t keep secrets from my brother.”
“I bet I can guess. They’re seeing this baby as a weakness – they worry our peanut won’t be full dragon, but a mysterious other they can’t control,” Ivak said bitterly. “They fret and fume and scheme in the shadows, thinking this bump has made me deaf and stupid. That’s why they want to do these tests. They want to manufacture a reason for confining me to bed rest so they can have more time to plot a coup. Bastards sicken me. Confinement, indeed.” Slouching in his throne as best he could, Ivak lifted a leg over the arm of it, kicking out, imagining faceless enemies at the end of his boot.
“David, is this true?” Byron growled, his fists clenched and his eyes flashing dragon. “Are there people in this court, who seek to undermine their rightfully crowned king?”
“They’re staying within the laws,” David said helplessly. “They’re walking a fine line, but none of them have done anything to warrant them being arrested.”
“We have laws pertaining the care of a pregnant king?” Ivak already knew the answer, but he wanted David to spell it out.
“No, not exactly.” David twisted his hands as he faced Ivak head on. “There’s never been a pregnant king in the history of all dragons everywhere, but there are provisions in our laws if a ruling monarch becomes unstable or infirm.”
“Ivak has been training with the guards every single day since we got back from visiting my family,” Byron protested. “He beats them all on a regular basis, despite his growing bump.”
“They take that as a sign of his mental instability,” David whispered. “Rumor has it that the king isn’t pregnant at all. They claim he can’t be pregnant because he trains every day – a caring parent wouldn’t do that. The general consensus is that the king is pretending to be developing a bump, so he doesn’t have to bed a female. If he is pregnant, then the people want proof and they want assurances that the offspring is a full dragon, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what, David?” Byron’s growl deepened.
“Yes, tell him David.” Ivak sneered. “Tell my mate, the ice dragon consort, that the anonymous group known only as ‘they’ doubt our bond, doubt my pregnancy or should I say, wants to doubt my pregnancy because they fear it, and if a child is born from my dragon and it doesn’t present as an ICE dragon when it is six weeks old, they will kill it. Tell him!”
David’s face went white as Byron roared, giant flames shooting up to lick at the glass ceiling. But it was Petrov who asked, “You knew about all this, bro? My mate’s been sweating for days worrying how to tell you.”
“Of course, I knew. Do you think I just spend my time jesting with guards and fucking people off? But I wasn’t going to discuss it with my beloved mate. Look at how angry he is now, and I wasn’t going to say anything to you two, until you came to me about this first.”
“Huh.” Petrov folded his arms across his chest. “If you knew about it, then you clearly have a plan to deal with it.”
“Yeah, it was called, get on a plane before my mate and consort had a fucking fit. Now he’s had a fit. Fuck it. Stuff it. New plan. We won’t run. Byron. Babe. Don’t kill David, he’s just the messenger,” Ivak yelled as Byron stalked David across the throne room. “I’ve got a job for him, leave him alone.”
“He knows who these bastards are,” Byron growled as he flipped David off and stalked back, puffs of smoke still coming out of his mouth with every word. “Some sentinel he is. He demeans our mating, threatens the life of our child…”
“He didn’t – he was simply passing on a message from the anonymous group who are too chickenshit to face me themselves.” Strangely, the angrier Byron got, the calmer Ivak felt. He even had a warm glow going on where his heart was, knowing how his mate would defend him and the peanut with every weapon in his arsenal. “We need a plan, my consort. A plan to unmask them all for who they are so I can kill them.”
“We can get on that plane.” Byron leaned over the side of the throne, catching Ivak’s breath as his lips were savaged. Even with his bump pressing his bladder, Ivak’s cock did it’s best to respond. And just as suddenly the kiss ended. “No one will hurt you or the baby,” Byron warned. “I will take out this whole court and every bastard in it before I will let anything happen to you.”
“Hmm, that’s a good idea.” Ivak tried leaning back, so he could nudge his cock into a more comfortable position. Not easy when he couldn’t see it. “David. David. Stop hiding behind Petrov. Take a decree.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” David peered around Petrov’s smirking bulk. “Those scorch marks will be impossible to get out of the glass ceiling.”
“We’re going to leave them there,” Ivak said happily. “They’ll be a talking point for the massive dinner party we will be holding tonight. Everyone in the court is invited – and I mean everyone from here to Moscow. We will serve the finest wines, the most expensive caviar, the finest foods this region has to offer. I want music, our crystal dinner plates used, and decorated tables for every family group. We’ll hold it here, in the throne room, so there is a lot to be done. See to it, David. Petrov can help. My mate and I will be in our quarters until it’s time for the function. Byron?” He held out his hand and Byron obligingly pulled him to his feet. The fire dragon was still looking a little wild around the edges.
“Oh, and David,” Ivak said as he stepped down from the throne platform, “ask the court doctor to attend myself and the consort in our rooms, would you please? Just him, no one else, and I expect to see him, and an ultrasound machine in our quarters within the hour.”
“Make that two hours.” Byron was still growling and had a lot of tension going on in that hunky body of his.
But Ivak happily nodded. “Two hours, David. Tell him not to be late.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Byron was fuming – not in that polite way he used to feel in life before Ivak where he mentally imagined someone bursting into flames as he sat and managed meetings - but in fire and fury, rage and dragon power type fuming. His mate was in danger. His offspring was in danger. What was worse, Ivak knew about this danger and hadn’t said anything to him. He’d barely let Ivak get the door closed to their room before he pounced, pushing Ivak up against the wall, crowding up against him as best he could.
“You knew,” he snarled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I�
�d already made plans for us to leave today,” Ivak said, settling his back against the wall and resting his hands on Byron’s shoulders. “Our bags are packed. The plane is on standby. If you want, we can be in the air within twenty minutes and can go wherever you please. My only focus is to have a safe home for us and peanut.”
“Oh babe.” Byron melted, the stress falling from him like a waterfall, as he gently cupped Ivak’s hips. “Then why are you planning a party – is that a distraction so no one notices us leaving?”
“Nope.” Ivak shook his head. “That was a new idea. I’m in the mood for a party.”
Leaning to the side of Ivak’s bulk, Byron knocked his head on the wall – twice. “You are the single most infuriating man I’ve ever met. Why make all these plans to leave, and then throw a fucking party?”
Ivak sighed. “When you pushed me up against the wall I had hopes of a blowjob at the very least. But fine, let’s sit on the bed, and I’ll explain.”
Now Byron felt like a shit. Ivak was heavily pregnant and the baby could come at any day within the next two weeks. Brushing a gentle kiss against his mate’s temple, he led Ivak across the room so they could both sit on the bed. “Explain your thinking, babe, and then I’ll suck your dick, okay?”
“Hmm, good.” Ivak grabbed a couple of pillows and set them behind his head. Lying on his back had proven uncomfortable as he’d gotten bigger, but he could half lounge, half sit. “Basically, my thinking comes down to safety, for you, me and the peanut, okay?”
Byron nodded. He wanted that too.
“We could run. In fact, up until David finally got the balls to hit me with his stupid message, I’d already decided today was the day. For some stupid reason, the people in this court think the bigger I get around the waist, the more my hearing is impacted, or my brain has started to melt.”
“But I haven’t heard anything,” Byron protested. “And I’ve been around this court as much as you.”
“My wolf,” Ivak said simply and Byron wanted to hit his head again. Of course, Ivak would have an advantage with his wolf hearing. “I have to admit, it’s all really strange when you think about it. My clan despises the fact I have a twin spirit, but they have their noses so far up their own asses, they forget how much more sensitive a wolf’s hearing, and ability to scent emotions, can be.”
“So that’s why you haven’t been taking things easy, like I asked you to.” It made sense now that Ivak explained it. “You’re doing all this running around, eavesdropping on court attendees.”
“And building bonds with the guards,” Ivak added. “The last thing I wanted while we were still here, was to have our own security turn against us. Not that I worried too much about that with Petrov leading them but having them see me as more than just a figurehead has been working.”
“They adore you,” Byron agreed. “The pay rise, change of uniform so they were more practical, and training with them all really helped too, I imagine.”
“So, the guards are on our side. Our dragons would be too, but I’d noticed both of our dragons were being diverted by far flung ice dragon spirits around the world, while my wolf advised the danger to us was much closer to home.”
“Well, then we’ll leave.” Byron jumped to his feet. “Where’s the bags, I’ll get them, and we’re gone.”
Ivak patted the seat beside him. “We’re not leaving. Not yet, at least. The thing is babe, we rule the ice dragons.”
“I know.” Byron didn’t want to sit down. He wanted to do something. Where would Ivak have hidden the suitcases? “I was there at our coronation.”
“Babe. We. Rule. All. Ice Dragons. All of them.”
“Shit.” Byron sat down with a thump as realization hit him. “You figure, if we run, that no matter where we went, we still wouldn’t be safe if the dissent from here spreads.”
“Now you’re getting it. And I seem to recall, from those baby books your brother insists on sharing with me, that a baby needs a stable home, so moving every couple of weeks is not an option. For the moment, the danger to us is confined to here.”
“And you’re thinking, if we squash the danger here, then it doesn’t have a chance to spread worldwide.” Byron nodded. “So, the party is to what? Confront them all in one place?”
“Hmm, sort of. Can I not tell you what I have planned?” Ivak tilted his head to one side. “Can I ask you to trust me, and ask you to promise that no matter what you hear at the dinner tonight, you stand by my side, even if I threaten to wipe out the whole court.”
There was a tiny voice in Byron’s head screaming that he wasn’t being trusted again; that after all they’d been through, Ivak still wouldn’t confide in him totally. But he nodded, because despite the bump, or actually because of it, Ivak looked damned sexy splayed out on the bed and his mate had never given him a cause not to trust him since they’d met at the plane. “I’ll hand you fresh machetes as the ones you use start to blunt,” he said, reaching over and placing his hand over Ivak’s crotch. “Is the doctor going to make it out of this appointment alive?”
“That depends on what he wants to do when he gets here.” Ivak grinned as he pressed up with his hips. “I just thought a blown-up ultrasound picture would look good as a banner at the dinner tonight.”
“You are devious my mate, and I love you for that.” Byron bent over, sliding Ivak’s pants down to allow his dick to spring free.
“You love me no matter what I do,” Ivak groaned letting his head flop back as Byron’s mouth went to work. “Just the same as I love you.”
Byron’s hum of approval reverberated around Ivak’s length and Ivak groaned. It wouldn’t take long. Often times Ivak was too tired to do anything when they went to bed except sleep, but Byron could be patient. This was for his mate, the one carrying his child, and who, if the conversation was to be believed, may or may not be planning to wipe out most of the members of the ice dragon court over dinner that evening.
Groaning, Byron resumed his sucking, quickly unzipping his pants and freeing his own hardened length. He didn’t want to reach for lube, that would mean giving up the musky taste of Ivak in his mouth, so instead he caught the head of his dick in his hand, squeezing and rocking his hand in the hopes of catching precome. It didn’t take long to dribble onto his hand. Smear. Swipe. Suck. Slurp. Ivak’s hand in his hair sent Byron’s senses soaring – Ivak commanded with everything he did, even down to receiving a blow job.
“Gods. Love. Yes.” Ivak’s back arched just slightly and Byron’s mouth was filled with his mate’s tangy release. Byron squeezed the head of his own cock and his release spilled onto the covers. He kept swallowing, breathing heavily through his nose until he felt the tension in Ivak’s body ease and then let the cock slip from his lips, his head resting on Ivak’s bare thigh. The top of his head was leaning against Ivak’s baby bump and he smiled as he felt a gentle nudge against his hair.
“Have we got time for a nap?” Ivak yawned.
“You nap, babe. I’ll watch over you.”
And that, right there is the trust you were looking for from your mate, Byron reminded himself as Ivak did exactly that.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ivak was up, cleaned and dressed, sitting in a chair in their suite when the knock at the door announced the doctor. Byron went to open it, pushed aside as a man came in with a half a dozen other people bringing machines, a hospital bed, and a tray full of ominous looking instruments.
“What the hell is this?” Ivak was on his feet in an instant. “You, you, you, you, all of you, out and take this shit with you. You,” he glared at the doctor. “You stay with the one machine.”
“Your majesty.” The doctor bowed so low his head almost hit the ground. Ivak’s toes itched with the urge to kick his portly behind. “I’m sorry. Is there a problem? I don’t understand. I was given to believe that you were amenable to the testing ordered by the leading families. I need all this equipment and my team for this to be as thorough and successful as possible.”
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br /> “You were one of the signatories on the petition?”
“Not me, no.” The doctor bowed again. “My brother is the head of our family, but I was strongly in favor of it and he signed on our behalf. That’s why I was so excited when the sentinel gave me a call.”
“Because you want to poke, and prod and pry into a situation that is as old as time itself and just as natural,” Byron grumbled as he started herding the team members out, using the hospital bed as a battering ram. “Which one’s the ultrasound? Ah, there it is. You can take that one, that one – a fucking heart monitor? That one and that tray all with you…”
There was a huge clatter as Byron threw the tray of instruments out of the door, “And what are we left with? One doctor. One ultrasound machine. Excellent.” He slammed the door shut for good measure and sauntered back to where Ivak had his lips pressed tightly together to stop his smirk showing. “You’re right babe. People truly don’t listen to you when you’re pregnant. We might have to make up another decree.”
“Your majesty…”
“Majesties,” Ivak corrected. “My consort is considered as royal as I am, considering I wear his scar.”
“Your majesties,” the doctor corrected himself although he looked like he was sucking lemons as he did it. “I’m afraid I must protest this treatment. I understand you are at a difficult time in your pregnancy, and it’s a common theme that any pregnant individual struggles to handle their emotions as the body works on creating and growing a new gift of life…”
“He’s saying I’m hormonal,” Ivak said to Byron.
“A new gift of life,” the doctor went on doggedly. “And as such is subject to all manner of ills, problems, complications that we in the medical profession can test for and hopefully remedy.”
“He’s now trying to say in an overly wordy manner that there’s a good chance our peanut will be born deformed, suffer from still birth, or perhaps be brain damaged. Probably because I’m a twin spirit.” Ivak kept his growl to a minimum.
