It struck me that my brothers and I did it in the exact same way. I was going to joke that Spencer spent so much time with our family, he’d almost become one of us, but Aiden found his voice. “How was it?” He waved his hand at the egg and bit his lower lip. “Painful?”
Devlin caught my eye and gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head. And while I wanted to do what my daddy told me to, I couldn’t ignore the plea in my brother’s eyes. I considered my response for a moment before replying, “I won’t lie and say it’s easy, but it’s pain with a purpose. At the end, you know you’re going to produce an egg. A child. Your child.” Or maybe more than one like Dad did. “And that’s magic.”
Our parents turned up and they glanced at my brothers’ pale faces. “Now, now.” Dad waggled his finger. “I won’t hear of you scaring Aiden, Brenton, and Spencer with stories of laying the egg.”
“He didn’t,” Spencer piped up. “In fact, Chance made it sound rather beautiful.”
“Oh? Well done, my darling.” Dad leaned over and kissed my head. “I’m so proud of you.” His eyes wandered to Father and he corrected himself. “We’re proud of you.” He sauntered around the room, fingering the cushions and the lush fabrics. “You’ve made the nest so comforting and welcoming. Your little dragon is warm and secure here.”
Father interrupted Dad’s ramblings. “It looks familiar, Ezra.” He strolled up behind my dad and nuzzled his shoulder. My brothers and I shared a glance. We knew that move. If they’d been at home at the palace, they would have snuck back to their bedroom. Even Spencer squeaked out and made a face.
Time to change the subject. “Did you bring cake?” I whined. “Cook promised rainbow cake today.” My sweet tooth was out of control.
“It’s right here.” Father handed me a huge box. Once again, I could have eaten the contents by myself, but when I glanced up, there were five pairs of eyes on me, including Devlin’s. “Oh, right, I’m supposed to share.”
“Sharing is caring,” my brothers recited, repeating what our nanny used to tell us when we were kids. And Spencer joined in.
“Fine,” I huffed.
Dad hugged one of the cushions. “Can you sense the little one, Chance? In here? In the nest?”
I nodded. “Yes, his energy is all around the room. I tell him it won’t be long before he’ll meet us. And I’ll get to hold him.”
Dad had a faraway look in his eyes, and I guessed his thoughts were no longer with us but he’d gone back in time to when my brothers and I were born. His happiness at having brought us into the world was always tinged with a little sadness at losing one egg. “Good. Things are progressing nicely.” He hesitated before continuing, “If that changes, promise me you’ll call the midwife.” Unshed tears filled his eyes and Father squeezed his hand.
My brothers and Spencer inspected their boots and Daddy took my hand. We knew what was coming next. Dad’s voice broke. “S-Spencer’s aunt saved you three boys when things…” His voice trailed away and Father put his arms around him.
“Chance only has one egg, my love. He can devote his entire attention to it. There is less risk of something… going wrong.”
Despite being consumed with my egg, I had to get us onto a lighter topic of conversation. “What about names?” I caught Daddy’s eye. “Devlin and I haven’t come up with anything we really like as yet. Any suggestions?”
Brenton rubbed his hands together. “This should be good.”
Devlin held up his hand and took command of the situation. “Let’s go around the room and you each give one name. But not a suitable name. The worst one you can think of. Chance and I could use a good giggle.” He snuck a look at Father. Poor Devlin. He was so used to being Daddy with me, he’d forgotten royal etiquette. He gave a small bow and said, “If that’s alright with you, sir.”
“Please, go ahead. I’m enjoying just being one of the family and not having to take command.”
Spencer stuck up his hand. “Scales.”
Everyone groaned. That was bad. “Oh my gods, that’s like calling our child ‘Skin.’” I batted away the thought and stroked the egg. Lowering my voice, I spoke to our child. “You are special and your name will be distinctive. Not something that everyone has. Don’t listen to that mean old Spencer.”
“Brenton?”
“Ummm… Maximus.”
Devlin and I looked at one another and he wrinkled his nose. “Sounds like maxi-mouse,” my mate declared. “Next.”
“Wally.” That was Aiden.
“No!” everyone shouted in unison.
“That’s the name for a lovable spaniel. Not a child of dragons.”
“Your Highness… err, I mean, Ezra?” Devlin inclined this head.
“Oh, I have no idea.” Dad ummmed and uhhed.
“Come on, my dear. You must join in the fun,” Father prodded him.
“Very well. Ummm, Spike!”
“We may as well just name him ‘Dragon,’” I told Dad and giggled. Now it was Father’s turn.
He folded his arms and grinned that regal smile only he could muster. “Hiccup.”
“That’s a good one.” I attempted to hide a yawn.
“Time to go.” Dad stood up and ushered everyone to the door. “Chance needs his rest.” My family and Spencer waved and blew kisses, and Dad’s parting words were, “Don’t forget to call Spencer’s aunt if there is any problem.”
“I won’t.”
Having them visit was a great distraction from the low-level anxiety surrounding the egg and wondering when we’d get to meet our child. Devlin pottered about the room, rearranging and fluffing up the cushions, knowing the mess would increase my stress.
“Daddy?”
“Ummm,” he answered as he did the cushion chop I liked, by giving it a karate chop so there was an indentation in the middle. He may have been my daddy, but I had him well trained in terms of making the nest the way I wanted it.
“I’ve been thinking. How would you feel if I came up with a name for our little dragon? I mean, as long as you like it, of course.”
“You have something in mind?”
“I do. And it’s perfect.”
30
Devlin
“Are you sure this is all normal?” Even I could hear the strain in my words. Something was wrong, it had to be. The egg still hadn’t hatched, and there was a current in the room, like electricity crackling against my skin. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. I was going to wear a hole in the floor from all my pacing.
“Sure. Everything is totally normal. I can sense the baby in the egg, and they’re perfectly fine in there.”
Except it wasn’t just the baby that had me worried. It was Chance. He had a grimace on his face; it was obvious that he was in discomfort. I tried to calm my jangling nerves and nestled in beside him. “My love… my sweet, sweet boy… what’s wrong? I’ve barely seen you move from that spot for two days. Not to eat or stretch your legs. Are you in pain?”
Chance bit his lip and averted his eyes. “I just…”
“What is it? I will do anything in my power to help.”
“I… I have to pee.”
I waited a moment before letting out a snort. “That’s it? Then I will stay here with the egg and you go to the bathroom. I promise, nothing will happen to the egg while you’re away. I will guard them with my life.”
“I know it,” he began, but there was something dark creeping behind his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but… the mere thought of stepping away from this nest makes me want to claw my scales off. I can’t leave. Not even to pee.”
His eyes never even left the egg’s shell as he spoke to me. He was curled protectively around the egg, but his hands were fisted in a blanket, his knuckles white. Unease skittered through me.
“Of course, sweet boy. I understand,” I told him, but in truth, I didn’t understand anything about this situation. This was a part of the sex ed class they had glossed over. Egg was laid, egg hatched. Ta-da! Baby! T
hat was the extent of that lesson. We had no idea what we were doing. No, it was time to call the doula.
I told Chance I was going to the kitchen to make him something to eat and then snuck out of the room to make a phone call. There was no need to worry my boy. He didn’t need to know I was calling in the reinforcements until she arrived. Then she could assess and see how we were doing. But after the look of grief in Chance’s fathers’ eyes, over the memory of their lost egg, I wasn’t going to take any chances with my mate and our child.
I kept close to Chance while I waited for the doula. I had no clue what was the right thing to do to help him, and it was tearing me apart.
When the knock at the door finally came, I practically collapsed with relief. Chance barely seemed to register that there was someone at the door.
“Marissa, thank the gods,” I gushed, barely restraining from wrapping my arms around the woman. She gave me a nod and swept into the room, already a force to be reckoned with. She was no-nonsense and moved straight over to the nest, eyes focused on my mate.
“Your Highness,” she murmured softly, resting a hand on his forehead. She pulled a stethoscope from her case and listened to Chance’s chest, and then asked, “May I listen to the egg?” It was always a risk to approach a dragon’s egg. There was no telling how they might react when in protective mode, but Chance gave her a quick assessment and gave a nod.
After a few more minutes, she returned to my side. She spoke loudly enough for both of us to hear her words. “It’s nearly time for the egg to hatch. We need to make preparations.”
This brought Chance’s eyes up at last, his gaze intense. “What do I need to do?”
I was so grateful for Marissa’s distraction. She directed us to turning up the heat and setting all the baby stuff in order. I suspected it was nothing more than to give Chance somewhere to direct all of his anxious energy, but I was glad to see him leave the nest for a few minutes at least. Marissa sent him to the bathroom to clean himself up, telling him that the baby would need his scent to be clear of toxins in order to create a stronger bond. She gave me a wink when he was on his way out of the room. Yes, she was most definitely manipulating him into taking care of himself, and I appreciated her all the more.
“You’re a devious woman, Marissa,” I said under my breath, and she gave me a sly smile.
“I do whatever needs to be done for those I care about.” Her shoulders raised in a shrug, but I sensed there was a lot more she wasn’t saying.
Chance soon returned looking much refreshed. He even managed to have a few nibbles of food. But then the relaxed mood in the room was torn in two with a bang. Well, not so much a bang as a crack. “The egg!” Chance gasped and ran for the nest.
He nudged me out of the way and nestled in against the shell. “What do we do now?” he panted. The shell had a single crack down its surface.
“Now you wait,” Marissa said calmly. She settled into the chair by the fireplace, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes.
“What, you’re having a nap? The baby is coming!” Chance snapped.
Marissa peeped one eye open. “Oh, my prince, this will take some time. It is a long process for the little one to break through the tough shell. We must leave them to it. You can speak to them, if you so wish. They can hear you.” She closed her eyes again and made herself comfortable for the long wait.
“But… shouldn’t we help him?” my sweet boy asked, his expression confused. “I can break him out of that shell lickety-split.”
“Ah ah! Don’t you dare!” Marissa scolded. “We really need to have a word with the instructors about what they’re teaching in that sex ed class. You should know better. This is all part of the process. Every dragon goes through it.”
Chance bit his lips to stop himself from asking more questions, letting the older woman fall into a doze.
And so we waited. The hours passed, and every so often, the egg would wiggle in its nest of pillows, the cracks slowly splitting off and spreading over the surface of the shell. We watched with bated breath, our eyes zeroed in on the egg to catch the first glimpse of our child.
“There!” Chance said in a hushed squeal. “It’s a claw!”
Marissa roused as if she’d been listening the whole time, waiting for this precise moment, and pulled herself out of the chair, joining us for the final moments of the birth. This was it, I could feel it.
We all held our breath, not a single sound but the cracking of the egg, and then—a single triangle of shell broke free. And like it was what the whole shell had been waiting for, the integrity of the casing gave way, the cracks expanding and pressing outward.
And when the shell had fallen away, there… stretching its clawed paws, its leathery wings, was our dragon. “Oh, my darling,” Chance cooed, wrapping his arms lovingly around the tiny dragon.
As the baby’s scales came into contact with their omega father’s warm flesh, there was a ripple, their scales retreating, their claws retracting, wings curling and going into dormancy. And in their place…
“Our son,” I said reverently.
“Our son,” Chance agreed, meeting my gaze, his face full of absolute joy.
“And his name?” I asked with a raised brow. He had yet to tell me this perfect name for our little one.
“I was thinking Draeke. My parents named my brothers and me with names beginning with A, B, and C. But our other brother… the fourth egg… it never hatched. I just thought—”
I rested a finger against his lips to stop him from babbling. “No need to explain, my sweet boy. A name beginning with D is a lovely homage for your lost brother. Draeke is perfect.”
As we nestled in together, welcoming our son to the world, I turned to thank Marissa for all her help. The look on her face, however, was not what I expected to see. She seemed to be clouded in sadness and regret, her head bowed as she made her way out the door without a word.
She was present for the birth of the princes years ago. No doubt, the reminder of the lost child had rekindled memories of the heartbreak all over again. I would have to fix things with her later, but for now, I only had room in my heart for the joy of being a father. For now, it was all about my new family.
31
Chance
“You make beautiful babies, Chance.” Brenton rocked little Draeke and held up a soft toy—a dragon—in front of the baby. The word babies had my hair standing on end. I’d just produced one, and the anxiety and effort it took to deliver the egg and wait for it to hatch had been overwhelming.
To say nothing of the all-encompassing love for our son that consumed me and Devlin. I couldn’t imagine expanding my heart to love another child. Not now. It was all too new. In the future, yes. But for the moment, little Draeke was the center of our universe. I’d awoken in the middle of the night and gotten up to take a peek at the baby, only to discover my mate sleeping on the floor beside the crib. He was my first thought in the morning and the last one at night.
Devlin and I joked about how we’d become those parents who talked incessantly about their offspring and bored everyone senseless. But we wore our obsession with pride. I’d even suggested we get badges made so people were warned and could avoid us if they didn’t want to be subjected to endless photos of Draeke sleeping.
“But I have a question.” Brenton interrupted my daydreams and brought me back to the present. “Did either of you,” and he glanced at my mate when he spoke, “take a photo of my new nephew in his talons and wings?”
“Brenton, he’d just emerged from the egg. The last thing I was thinking of was taking a photo.” Though now he’d mentioned it, I was regretting not thinking of snapping a pic. “Besides, you know the rules. No photos!” While there were plenty of myths and legends about dragons ruling the island in ancient times, they were just that to most of the mainland human inhabitants. Old stories. And it wasn’t only our island. Montipan was just one in a chain of islands—ours was the closest to the mainland—that were ruled b
y dragon families.
“Makes no difference,” Devlin replied, draping an arm over my shoulder. “I have an image in my head.”
Smartass. Emotions had been running rampant as Devlin and I clutched one another and watched as our son made his way into the world.
“Don’t worry, babe.”
Babe? That was new, though I supposed he could hardly call me sweet boy in front of my brother.
“You can describe what you saw to an artist and he or she will recreate the scene on digital canvas.”
“But you know the rules, my love.”
He shrugged. “We’ll hide the image in another pic. I know enough about digital manipulation to do it. It’ll be our secret.”
A precious memory. Just for the two of us. I flung my arm around him. Devlin always knew exactly what I needed. Gods, I adored him.
“Not fair,” complained Brenton. “I’ll have to wait for years before I see him with his wings.” He nuzzled our son’s tummy and Draeke let out a peal of laughter, something a human baby would not do at this age. Dragons shifters were different in that respect. The baby’s giggle was similar to a cleansing breath, sweeping out the old and ushering in the new. “I bet you were a fierce little dragon,” he sing-songed to the baby.
“He was.” Devlin puffed out his chest with pride. “He’s going to be an amazing flyer. His wingspan, even as a newly hatched dragon, was impressive.”
“Did you measure it?” Brenton asked, his eyes wide.
“Oh no!” I smacked my head. “That’s what we forgot. A tape measure.”
My brother’s eyes flicked from me to my mate. “You’re jerking me around.”
“Just a tad,” I admitted.
We were in my old room—my former nursery. We’d come to the palace for a ceremony to introduce our son to the king’s subjects, though Father hated that word. The citizens of Montipan was how he usually described the island’s population.
The Dragon Prince’s Daddy: An M/M MPreg Shifter Romance (Royal Heat Book 1) Page 14
