Dragon Twins Bride: A Paranormal Menage Baby Romance

by Alyse Zaftig

  “Do you hear that?” Gahariet asked.

  Olivier listened hard. “Wings.” His eyes turned to flame.

  Olivier threw open the window before dissolving into smoke. Gahariet followed him up to the highest tower in their castle.

  “I knew that he’d be back.”

  “He has reinforcements.”

  Jumping out of the tower, they shifted into their dragon forms as they fell. Then they chased the winged meddlers off, one by one. They were in a ring around the castle, and it was easy for the brothers to chase them off. Their flames blew hot as they overwhelmed the attacking party. Their dragons, royal dragons, were much larger than the average Draka. It was crazy for anybody to attack a Draka castle, especially a royal one. The attackers would soon find that out.

  It was a very confusing and suicidal attack, but they soon had slaughtered all of the small Lockwings who had been sent to them.

  They flowed back to Phuong’s room. She had left her bedroom window open a crack. They would have to tell her to try to be safer.

  Hoa was at Phuong’s bedside, weaving together some sort of mat.

  “Your Highnesses,” she said. Olivier wondered if she was going to sink to her knees, but apparently Draka weren’t going to be treated like a Yore royal.

  She set the mat aside. “Are you hurt? Do you need any kind of help?”

  “Don’t worry. It was just Lockwings. They’re a minor threat, and honestly, they’re an insult more than anything.”

  Hoa nodded at them, digesting their words for a moment, before she said, “You’re right, the Lockwings don’t matter. I need to tell you more about the prophecy.”

  “We’re listening.” Olivier sat on the bed and stroked Phuong’s light silver hair with one hand. She smiled in her sleep.

  “I’m sure of what I saw. Your children — the dragon babies born to a Yore queen — are destined to change this entire world when they are kings. They will be dragons in spirit more than they will ever be Yore, and the Yore will rebel against it.”

  Gahariet raised one eyebrow, but Olivier was still listening intently.

  “How do you know the gender...”

  Hoa’s eyes were glowing silver now. “The babies must make it into the world before they can become kings, and there will be a number of attempts to ensure that they don’t.”

  Olivier caught his brother’s eyes. Olivier knew that Gahariet didn’t put much faith in Yore predictions, but Olivier thought that her prophecy was pretty much common sense. Yes, there were plenty of Yore-Draka pairings...but as far as he knew, they were the only Thrones to take Yore wives. With the quantity of Draka and off-world girls thrown at them, most Draka princes didn’t need to marry Yore.

  Gahariet and Olivier had mated Phuong purely by choice and a little bit of luck.

  If the seer was right, the children who were growing inside of Phuong would be little boys.

  Olivier smiled at the thought of chubby little dragonlings running around the castle. It would be fun to teach them how to fly.

  “I must go to bed,” Hoa told them, rising from her chair in the corner. “But think about what I said to you. The threat is very real. If they aren’t born, then this world will stay just as it is.”

  With that, Hoa walked out of the room.

  “I understand why that’s bad for the Yore, but what do we have invested in it? We’re Drakan Thrones...we rule this planet.” Olivier turned to his brother. “So why would we care?”

  “We care because those twins are our children, Olivier.” Gahariet sighed. “We will protect them until they are born, and we’ll protect them beyond that. We have the money and the fighters to do it. I just hope that Phuong has a healthy pregnancy. We can fight Marc, but we can’t fight sickness. Pregnancy is a fragile time.”

  Olivier stared at Phuong, who was all the way under the sheets. Nobody could even see that she was pregnant yet, although Phuong’s scent had definitely changed.

  It would be months before she had the babies. They’d just have to stay close.

  41

  Blast

  Phuong

  Phuong’s eyes shot wide open. She looked down at her hand and saw that her new dragon scales were close to the surface of her skin and glowing.

  What had woken her up? She closed her eyes again and concentrated. She could feel Marc. He was very close. She could feel his evil intent like a cold wind wrapping around her, trying to pull her away from the castle.

  She jumped out of bed. Apparently her dragon mind and Yore blood could pierce beyond just getting faint impressions from him.

  He wanted to attack her. She knew that. He wasn’t here to persuade her to leave.

  She got out of bed and went straight out into the hallway. She looked in Gahariet’s and Olivier’s rooms, but they weren’t there.

  She went downstairs and looked in the dining room and the kitchen, but they weren’t there either.

  Finally, she found them in the library.

  “What are you two doing in here?”

  “Researching,” Gahariet replied. “Is everything okay?”

  She looked at them. Why wouldn’t they tell her what was going on?

  Right then, an enormous blast struck the castle.

  “Stay here,” Gahariet told Phuong. She frowned, but she stayed still as he and his brother went out.

  One minute later, she followed them out the door. She wanted to see what was going on. She slowly climbed to the top of one of the towers.

  From up there, she could see the twin dragons defending their stronghold against Marc’s brood, who had encircled them. Dragons were a lot more dangerous than Lockwings. Their eyes were flames.

  Phuong knelt and tried to hide while still being able to see. They wanted to come for her. All of this trouble was for her.

  The castle shook as Gahariet slammed two other dragons into the walls. Her mates were absolutely marvelous. There was an enormous number of dragons set against them, but they didn’t seem to be intimidated by the odds.

  They fought the intruders, dodging in and out. For such huge creatures, they were incredibly graceful.

  Her dragon mind wanted to help them defend their home, but that same primal mind knew that she had to keep the children safe.

  The eyes of all the dragons glowed, their fires burning hotter and hotter.

  Suddenly, there was a turning point in the battle. The attack brood began to wing backward, away from her mates. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest.

  “My queen.”

  Phuong spun around to see that Hoa was behind her. Phuong could see that she was crying, so she pulled Hoa into a hug and pulled her down the steps of the tower.

  As they got to the ground floor, she could see wisps of smoke that solidified into her mates.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No time for that,” Gahariet said briskly. “We have to search the lower levels to make sure that they’re really gone. The aerial attack could have been a distraction.”

  Gahariet and Olivier turned around and left Phuong with Hoa.

  42

  Lucien

  Gahariet

  An hour later, the twins had checked every nook and cranny underneath their castle. Nobody was there, not even the Yore servants.

  Gahariet’s body suddenly felt like he needed about 10 years of sleep. Adrenaline could do that.

  He slumped and sat on a box, his brother settling beside him.

  “That took a lot out of me,” Olivier admitted. “I think that we need to train more.”

  “I agree,” Gahariet said. “We won, but it wasn’t all that easy. I feel so sore.” He flexed his shoulders.

  “He was bolder than he’s ever dared to be.”

  “We could fix it,” Olivier said. “All we have to do is say that she’s carrying our child. No court would ever let him keep her.”

  “I think that it wasn’t Marc behind this one.”

  “What are you talking about? It was Marc’s brood, wasn’t it?�
��

  “It was Lucien, I just know it,” Gahariet said. “He was here. He is trying to use Marc’s fixation against him. They’re probably going to try to take our place.”

  “They aren’t royal, and they certainly aren’t dragon enough to take our crowns from us.”

  “But he is cunning. We need to keep an eye on the situation.”

  Gahariet and Olivier went to Phuong’s room. They heard the sounds of her vomiting in the bathroom again.

  “Is she okay?” Olivier asked. “She’s gone through a lot lately.”

  Hoa turned and met their eyes. “You need to be quick. She needs to see a healer. Whatever this is, it isn’t natural.”

  “What about the babies?”

  “I think that whomever is attacking her doesn’t know about the babies, but I don’t know what’s going to happen when the attacker discovers that she is pregnant.”

  “We have the best healers in the area. We’ll take her down to the medical bay.”

  * * *

  They had a healer who was well versed in both Draka and Yore medicine, a necessity when the household was so large.

  He ran a few tests on Phuong before talking to them.

  “Nothing seems to be amiss. It wasn’t meant to hurt her.”

  “What possible reason could there be for making her feel like this?” Olivier asked.

  “I don’t know,” the healer admitted.

  “Maybe Marc wants to draw her out. He keeps attacking our castle and failing.”

  “I could do something to help.”

  “Oh?” Gahariet looked at the healer, who looked uncomfortable.

  “I can detach her from her blood, but it’s not really…legal.”

  “We’re princes,” Olivier said. “What’s the point of being a Throne if you can’t take risks?”

  “We set an example for everyone else, Olivier. You know that.”

  “What could be better than keeping our mate safe? Is that something that we should be ashamed of?”

  “We’re in,” Gahariet said grimly. “Do what you need to do to take care of her.”

  “It’ll take some time,” the healer warned. “And it won’t keep him away forever. It’s temporary.”

  “Do it,” Olivier said, flames leaking into his eyes. “I’ll stay here for as long as I need to.”

  The healer nodded and began to rummage around in a cabinet.

  “Excuse me,” Gahariet said before he walked out of the room.

  His heart was heavy as he left. Could he fight something that was invisible? He and Olivier would do everything they could, but could they prevent her own blood from turning against her?

  They would have heirs soon, but his dragon was restless when it came to protecting the children. He knew that Marc might be pretty unethical, but he wouldn’t harm children. Lucien was another matter.

  “Hello, prince.”

  Gahariet spun around to see a young Yore man standing behind him. He lowered his center of gravity just a little bit and adjusted his stance. He might be paranoid, but after the Lockwing attack, anything could happen.

  He could feel his eyes start to heat, ready to begin flaming.

  “There are rumors that you took in a girl. Very pretty? Answers to Phuong?”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “She’s my sister.”

  43

  Found

  Phuong

  Phuong could hear people talking around her in the medical bay, speaking in low whispers. She wasn’t sick, but the procedure had been pretty exhausting. The doctor had taken all of the blood out of her body, cleansed it, and put it back in. It had been cold when it went back in, and now she felt like she was an ice cube.

  “Phuong?”

  Was she dreaming? That voice sounded just like Xuan. She opened her eyes to see the familiar twinkle of her brother’s eyes.

  She felt a wave of warm relief wash over her. She sat up. He came in for a quick hug, but she held onto him for a little longer than was strictly necessary.

  When she let go, she said, “How did you find me?”

  Xuan just grinned down at her. “I have ears. I’ve been looking for you, and I heard a rumor that you were here.”

  “I meant to come to you. I tried to…”

  “Don’t worry about it, Phuong.”

  He looked at Olivier and Gahariet, who were watching the family reunion.

  “I can see that you’re mated.”

  “And there’s something else you should know.”

  “Yeah.”

  Phuong put her hand on her stomach.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Are you sick?” He looked around the medical bay. “Is there something wrong?”

  “A little sick,” Phuong admitted, “but I have great news. I’m having a baby. Well, two.”

  Xuan hugged her fiercely this time. “There won’t be a more perfect mother on this entire planet. I can’t wait to meet your kids.” He kissed his sister’s cheek. “Wow!”

  Part III

  44

  Reclaim

  Phuong

  “This reunion is great, but we have to reclaim your blood from Marc.”

  Phuong leaned back in her bed, all the joy drained out of the moment by the reality check. They didn’t have to clarify what they meant. She knew that they were right. She looked back at her brother.

  Gahariet continued, in his deep voice, “It will mean invading their territory.”

  Phuong’s stomach dropped. Gahariet wanted them to storm the auction house, which was their stronghold. She couldn’t think of anything worse. Her hand went to her stomach.

  “The babies will be safe. If push comes to shove, we’ll say that you’re pregnant. Marc would never hurt any child, Draka or Yore.”

  Her brother grabbed some red chom chom from a bowl on Phuong’s nightstand. He ate it.

  “I like it. I would like to repay Marc for the trouble he’s caused.”

  Phuong knew that Xuan was angry about Marc trapping Phuong when they had robbed the auction house, but Xuan also had his underground reputation to protect. Marc and Xuan moved in a small sea full of sharks; showing weakness meant that you were food. He needed to figure out a way to reestablish his credibility.

  It was a macho thing.

  “We could just stay here, where we’re safe,” Phuong suggested.

  “Or we can protect our family.” The three boys spoke in unison.

  Phuong winced. They’d obviously made up their minds.

  45

  Goading

  Marc

  “You botched the perfect time to snatch her. You’re losing your touch, brother.”

  Marc didn’t say anything, but his fists were clenched.

  “You pulled back when you should’ve pushed forward. You were already inside of her mind...and now what do you have? You’re changing her body a little bit? That’s ridiculous. We should’ve taken her when she was in the medical bay.”

  Marc still didn’t respond. There was something slightly strange about Phuong. There was something in her aura that felt different. She was much bigger in spirit now.

  Yes, of course some of the change was due to taking dragon blood. But there was more than that.

  “Maybe we should try to...”

  Marc stopped listening to his brother, but he nodded at appropriate intervals. Lucien hated the twins even more than he did. As the oldest, Lucien had spent his young years in a very poor Draka family, before their father had dug them out. Yes, they were part of generations of criminals, but their grandfather hadn’t been especially great at what he did.

  “And then we can be Thrones,” Lucien finished. “What do you think?”

  “I need more time to think about it.” Marc got to his feet and walked out of the room.

  46

  Spellbook

  Phuong

  Phuong looked at Hoa.

  “Wow. This book is huge and old.”

  “It has all the old Y
ore spells and rituals that can bring you up to speed on what a queen should do. Your parents entrusted the Yore to give it to you when you were of age and able to use it. Now it’s your time.”

  For her whole life, Phuong’s identity had been a mystery. Yes, she knew that she was Yore. She could see that in the mirror. But she had no idea about Yore magic.

  She couldn’t read the spell book all that well, but she had Hoa with her. The characters in the book weren’t anything like the Standard characters that the Draka used. And even though she had a little Draka blood in her now, her Yore heritage was the strongest call.

  “What should I memorize first?” Phuong felt overwhelmed by the foreign characters. She felt like she was a little child learning how to read all over again. There was a part of her that felt as if she should’ve learned Yore characters earlier than the Draka ones...but she’d been in an orphanage, a lost princess.

  “You need to internalize the magic that you have, not memorize some spells. These spells are just the basics. As you use magic more and more, you’ll be able to do more. We’re going to train you in basics first.”

  “If the Yore have magic, why were the Draka able to take over?”

  Hoa sighed. “The Yore thought that the Draka were just merchants. We welcomed them on our planet, no matter how many people they wanted to bring. It was a fatal mistake. Once they had enough people and technology on the planet to take over, they did. Your parents went into hiding before being found and murdered. Most Draka don’t know that you and your brother even exist, or you would’ve been killed as children.”

  “So Yore magic isn’t that powerful?”