by Lisa Oliver
Marybelle was thriving, which did a lot to settle Fergus’s mind. It was wonderful, being able to see her every day instead of waiting on once a week phone calls. Although, Marybelle was proving to be a busy lady. Having settled in with Mrs. Hooper, she learned how to get around in her new wheelchair within two days. Her face regained its round softness Fergus remembered from when he was younger, and she laughed so often, finding joy in everyone around her. Between helping at Mrs. Hooper’s store and working with Sarah in the bakery, she never sat still and seemed to love and care for everyone in Arrowtown.
On the home front, he and Cam had settled into a new and comfortable routine. Brutus said he was more than happy to do the early morning starts at the bakery, and Nicky had now taken over the evening shifts at the bar full time. This meant the new mates could spend more quality time together, something Fergus adored. Cam was naturally reserved in nature, but he could be sweet too. Such as the time when one afternoon Fergus found Cam at home, under their big tree, with a beautiful picnic laid out for them to enjoy. They went to bed together at the same time every night, nearly always falling asleep wrapped around each other after a sensuous session. Sunday mornings were now spent in bed, watching movies, making out, and generally relaxing with each other.
Life was good, really good, which was why Fergus didn’t understand why he wasn’t feeling as settled as he should be. Slipping the apron over his head, he tied it behind his back and turned to see Brutus looking at him expectantly. “Try this,” the bear said, holding out a muffin. “It’s a new recipe I’ve been testing at home. Well, I found it on the internet, but it had bacon in it, and I thought why not give it a try.”
“A bacon muffin?” Fergus took it and sniffed at it. “It smells delicious. What else is in it?”
“It’s a pretty standard muffin mix, actually,” Brutus said with a shy duck of his head. He was never very good at taking compliments, even for his baking. “It’s also got natural yoghurt, bananas and seventy-five grams of grated cheese. I thought, seeing as most predators love bacon with anything, these could be a hit if you wanted to trial them out.”
“I take it these have the Rocky seal of approval.” Fergus grinned. “I also love how you think of recipes based on different shifter types. Like those kale and apple cupcakes you made last week. They just flew out the door once Sarah let her family know about them.”
“Cakes can’t be all about strawberries and chocolate.” Brutus shrugged. “It’s nice to have a variety sometimes.”
“That’s very true. I’ll box up some of these to add to the pub lunch order today and we’ll see what they say.” Fergus took a big bite. Brutus had a light touch with his baking – the muffin was still slightly warm, with a fluffiness that hit Fergus’s taste buds, making them sing. “Yum,” he said as he swallowed. The balance of the sweetness of the bananas contrasted perfectly with the savory bacon, the whole thing evened out with the cheese and yogurt.
“That is… Oh, my gods.” Slapping his hand over his mouth, Fergus ran out the back door to the small toilet attached to his shop. He’d barely made it when the delicious mouthful, and half of his undigested breakfast made an appearance. Still bent over, Fergus panted heavily through his nose, trying to quell the retching motions currently ruling his insides. “Well, that was unexpected,” he said to himself as he managed to stand upright again. “I wonder…”
“Are you all right? Oh, my goodness, Fergus, say something.” Looking over his shoulder, Fergus saw Sarah and an equally distraught Brutus watching him from the doorway.
“I’ll be fine. I am fine.” Reaching over, Fergus flushed the toilet, grateful he hadn’t made more of a mess. “Honestly, it’s probably just something I ate.”
“I swear I was careful with the ingredients.” Brutus was wringing his hands looking as though he was going to cry. “Rocky’s had a dozen of them or more, and Mal, Seth, Ra, Darwin and Simon too. Even the kiddies had some. That’s why I was making them here. There was never enough of them left at home to bring in for you to try. I’m so sorry.”
“It wasn’t your muffins.” Fergus leaned against the sink, running the cold tap so he could wash his face and hands. “The muffins were delicious,” he scrubbed his hands, then sluiced his face, letting some of the water run into his mouth. His tongue felt decidedly furry. I wish I had a toothbrush.
Reaching for a towel, Fergus quickly dried himself off. Sarah and Brutus were still looking worried. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe, the banana bacon combo reacted with something I ate for breakfast. Look at me. I’m fine, and Brutus your muffins were divine. We’ll definitely trial them here.
“Now Sarah sweetie,” he added, seeing as neither of his friends had moved from the door. “I need you to run across to Mrs. Hooper’s and grab me a toothbrush and paste. One of those travel kit things will do. Brutus, I want another two dozen of those muffins made before the lunch order for the pub is due. Cam gets a lot of predators in that bar of his, and they are going to go nuts for anything with bacon in them. Move it, come on. We’ve still got a shop to run.”
They left, but not without a lot of anxious looking back from Sarah, and Brutus looked like he wanted to shoot himself. Fergus checked his reflection. “I am perfectly fine,” he told himself. “Hungry now, but per-fect-ly fine.”
/~/~/~/~/
But Fergus wasn’t fine. He managed to get through the rest of the day without any further incidents, and Cam loved on him just as he always did that night, never suspecting anything was wrong. But the next morning, Fergus gagged just walking into the bakery, and it seemed his stomach wouldn’t settle until he’d thrown up. The third morning he didn’t have breakfast, hoping that would help, but around ten o’clock he felt so woozy lifting a tray of eclairs from the oven, he dropped them. He made some toast, just plain bread and a hint of butter, and spent ten minutes hovering over the toilet bowl again.
“You have to see the doctor.” Poor Sarah was so upset. “What does Cam say about all this?”
“Cam doesn’t know and you’re not going to tell him,” Fergus warned. “It’s probably nothing, just a residual effect from the drugs those council guards pumped into me a few weeks ago.”
“That was over three weeks ago,” Brutus said. “And Doc cleared you from that the day after it happened.”
“Yeah, well he also couldn’t tell me what they injected me with either, so you never know.” Fergus inhaled long and slow. He was worried, deathly worried that the drugs had impacted him somehow, or maybe it was because he had a dual animal spirit. Maybe it was the drugs/dual animal spirit combination, he didn’t know. But no matter how worried he was, that was no excuse to take it out on his friends.
“I’ll pop in and see the doc after I’ve dropped off the lunch order for Cam, all right? But no breathing a word of this to anyone. The last thing a bakery needs is the reputation of being owned by someone who can’t stop throwing up. We’d never get any sales. Go on, back to work. I’ve got to remake these eclairs.”
Of course, sneaking into the doc’s office, when it was just two doors down from Cam’s office, wasn’t going to be easy. Cam liked to watch him walk back up the road after the delivery, part of his protective nature. Fergus would get to the bakery, turn and wave. Cam would wave back and then they’d both get on with their day until Fergus closed up his shop. I’ll just have to come up with an excuse for him not to do it today. With any luck, he’ll be busy and won’t notice.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Hey, was that your Fergus I saw skulking into the doc’s office?” Liam said cheerily as he sauntered into the bar. Since mating to his two hunks, and having a child, he’d cut down his hours as a deputy, preferring to spend time at home. But it was early afternoon, and he looked very handsome in his uniform. Taking off his hat, he rested it on the bar. “I’ll just have a soda. It’s as warm as hades out there today. So, how have you been keeping?”
“Good. Everything’s good.” Cam frowned as he reached down into the ref
rigerator and pulled out the soda Liam wanted. “What did you say about Fergus? He was just here. Wasn’t he going back to the shop?”
Liam shrugged. “Not unless the bakery’s moved. He was going into Doc’s as I came around the corner. Oh, my goodness, don’t tell me he’s delivering his baked goods around town now. Rocky will have him run off his feet delivering to the council offices all the time.”
“The only place he delivers to is here.” Cam thought back over their lunchtime visit. Fergus looked a little pale, but he didn’t say anything about needing a doctor. Checking the bar, Cam saw no one but the regular crowd. “Keep an eye on this place for a minute, will you?” He asked Liam. “Sue’s on her lunch break but she will be back in shortly. I’ll just go and see if Fergus needs a hand with anything.”
“A hand.” Liam leered and wiggled his eye brows. “I know all about mated hands. I’ve got two of them myself, well, mates, I mean. Between them, they have four hands.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Cam wasn’t going to disabuse Liam of his assumption. “I won’t be long.” He jumped over the bar, heading for the door.
“Maybe that’s part of your problem,” Liam called out. “If it doesn’t take long, you’re not doing it right.” A chorus of laughter followed Cam out of the door.
Ha, fucking ha, ha. Cam sprinted across the road, letting himself into the doc’s hallway. The waiting room was on the right, the door wide open. The room was empty, but the door into Doc’s office was closed. Cam debated for all of two seconds, before knocking on the door and opening it.
He peered round. Fergus was lying on the bed, his shirt off, looking even paler under Doc’s bright lights. “Ah, Cam,” Doc beamed. “I was wondering how long it would take for the gossips to tell you Fergus was here. I was just congratulating him. He’s about a month into his pregnancy from what I can tell.”
“Pregnant?” Cam almost fell into the door, righting himself long enough to make it to the side of the bed. “How? I mean why? I mean… what the fuck?” He fumbled for Fergus’s hand, hanging onto it as though it was a lifeline.
“It was a bit of a shock to me too,” Fergus said quietly. “I didn’t think… I’ve been raised as a bull shifter all my life…”
“Yes, well Mother Nature will have her way, and it would seem your dragon genetics are stronger than most.” Doc smiled and patted Fergus’s other hand. “It’s all very fascinating really. I mean, Seth was unusual being half fae half rabbit, but it was magic that allowed him to get pregnant and give birth. I’ve never heard of a half-breed shifter who has one furry and one non-furry side. From what you said, your dragon half only came out after Cam claimed you, is that right?”
Fergus nodded. “But I can still change into my bull side too. Cam and I both shifted to play in the garden last night and I was very definitely furry then.”
“And you’re very definitely pregnant now, so whether your dragon makes an appearance or not, he’s definitely working well on your insides.”
“I just never dreamed it was possible.” Cam stroked the hand he was holding, studying Fergus’s torso. It looked as slender as it always did. “I mean, we all know, we grow up knowing furry male shifters can’t get pregnant. But a half dragon? Shit.” Cam panicked as he thought about the ramifications. “Is Fergus’s dragon half strong enough to carry the baby to term? Can he shift and if he does should it be into his bull or dragon form? What about the drugs he got stuck with a while ago? Have they hurt the baby in any way? How soon can you tell?”
Doc didn’t seem fazed by Cam’s questions. If anything, he seemed amused by it. “Believe me, when I got pregnant it was just as big of a shock. But as for the dragon being strong enough – Fergus, you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant if the dragon inside you couldn’t carry the baby to term. As for the drugs, they were out of your system a day after you got injected. It was a council made concoction so it should be safe for all shifters. They weren’t trying to hurt you.”
“No, just steal him away.” Cam’s heart leapt in his chest. What if they’d succeeded. Fergus could be sitting now, in a council jail, not sure what was happening and probably pining for me. He could’ve been held for months. Once the council learned he was pregnant, there’s no telling what they’d have forced him to admit to, just to save their own hides. My gods, and if they’d taken him, I’d probably be in the cell next to him, after trying to save him. I wouldn’t be any help to him at all. What if…
“Cam!” Cam was snapped out of his worry by Doc’s harsh tone. The doc held up a wand-shaped instrument. “Thanks to the efforts of the fundraiser held in your bar, we can see what’s going on inside of Fergus. Will that help?”
“It’s either that, or you’ll have to shake out your shoulder’s again,” Fergus teased. Cam was pleased to see he’d gained a bit of color in his cheeks.
“I’m not doing that in here.” Once on the street was enough for Cam. “Thanks, Doc, yes. I think we’d both want to see what’s going on inside of my mate, and maybe then you’ll have some idea of a time line. Before the birth, I mean.” Even as he spoke, Cam was already running the numbers. Honey badgers in the wild were pregnant for about six months, or one hundred and eighty-one days. Scottish Highland bulls, in their natural state, had a longer gestation period – more like nine months, or up to two hundred and ninety days. A dragon on the other hand…
It seemed the doc had been thinking along the same lines. “From what I studied in college, and from the information I gleaned from on the paranormal website, dragons have a very short gestation period in comparison to other larger animals, only about three months.” Doc had a tube and was running a line of lube across the base of Fergus’s belly. “Dragon pregnancies are very rare. It’s why I was surprised when Marybelle told me your sire left her, Fergus.”
“He broke her heart, I know that.” Fergus gasped as Doc pressed the wand on his belly. “But she never mentioned if her pregnancy was shorter than her others.”
“We can ask her, if that helps.” Cam was split between watching the doc, and watching the strange blobs moving around on the screen the wand was attached to. “How on earth are you meant to make anything out of those blobs?”
“It’s all very easy when you know what to look for.” Doc moved the wand and pressed around some more. “Ah, there we are. It’s never an exact science, knowing where the womb is going to locate itself in a male shifter. But there we are.”
“Womb?” Cam felt his knees wobble slightly and he straightened them. “Fergus has a womb?”
“Well, where else is a baby going to grow, numbnuts.” Doc chuckled. “I suppose in your head, a cute little fetus was just floating around Fergus’s other vital organs, snatching a bite to eat from whatever he could find.”
“I know they don’t do that.” Cam’s cheeks were fiery, he could feel them. “But if Fergus’s dragon only manifested when I claimed him…”
“The dragon was always there,” Doc said patiently. “That’s why I’m surprised the sire was never around. Dragon spirits can lay dormant for centuries. If a male half-breed never takes a mate, then he could die, never knowing he had the potential to let his dragon out. In typical dragon half breed circumstances, the sire would arrange for a mating as soon as the child came of age, simply to force the dragon out of his slumber. It doesn’t always work. A true mate is the only firm guarantee of a successful dragon wakening, but sometimes the bond bite of a strong male can trigger it.”
“Well, let’s just say I’m glad that never happened,” Fergus said brightly as Cam growled. “What can you tell us of the lumps and bumps I see on the screen?”
“That you have a healthy, well-formed baby,” Doc said, twisting so he could point to the screen with his free hand. “Spine, head, legs and arms. The child has fingers, toes, and facial features. The tail has completely been absorbed and from the size, I’d be guesstimating your little one is about twelve weeks, possibly fourteen weeks along, although I will know more on the next scan. With shifter
babies, it’s not always easy to tell from just one scan.”
“We’ve only been mated seven weeks – two months at the most. That means, that would mean…” Cam dropped Fergus’s hand; his heart was beating so fast he couldn’t hear anything for the rush of blood in his ears. Oh, my gods, surely not…
“Oh, Fates save me from clueless males.” Doc banged his head on the bed. “The baby’s yours, dimwit. I can tell by Fergus’s scent and you could too if you just used your animal senses more often. I was using the human developmental framework because we know humans gestate for forty weeks. All shifters are different, especially when a couple is a mixed pair like you and Fergus.”
“Okay.” Cam would listen, but only because his heart refused to think anything else was possible. He went to take Fergus’s hand again, only slightly mollified when Fergus allowed it although he didn’t look his normal happy self.
“Look, it’s basic biology. You have a dragon who gives birth in three to four months. Honey badgers are around six months. Scottish Highland shifters have the longest pregnancy out of the three of the genetics that make up this baby at roughly nine months. With this combination baby, what am I meant to do? Put all three time spans in a hat and pull out one and hope that’s it?”
“All babies develop along the same lines?” Cam’s heart rate settled down.
“Yes, even in cases like Simon’s when he had his babies in shifted form. That’s why I needed the ultrasound machine. By taking a base reading now, and another one in a week’s time, I can see how much the fetus has grown and will have a better idea on when he or she will be born.”
“Oh shit, the birth. How…”
