Chapter 4: Matthew
A few days after our steamy night together, we got the breakthrough we were waiting for. Simon came into my lab, looking excited as he handed me something in a small plastic bag. I looked at it curiously for a moment.
“What’s this?” I asked, looking at him, placing some gloves on my hands. It wasn’t clear to me what the small item was, but in any case, contamination was out of the question.
“The piece of evidence we need to solve this case,” he said confidently as he watched me pull out a small layer of compacted soot. Placing it on a microscope slide and taking a look, it confirmed Simon’s theory.
“It’s an almost perfect fingerprint!” I chimed, zooming in closer to it. “This could crack the case!” My voice was filled with excitement. With this, we could finally put whoever did this behind bars.
“That’s what I told you. How long before you can figure out who it belongs to?” he asked me, getting closer, as I sat down on the lab bench. As his body pressed against mine, I blushed slightly thinking about our amazing night together two days ago.
“A couple hours, max,” was my reply. I quickly moved the fingerprint to our scanner. It began to glow a bright green color as it analyzed the fingerprint and digitized it, bringing it into the computer system. It didn’t take me long to fiddle around with the program and instruct it to compare the scanned fingerprint with all ones we currently had on file. If the person was in our database, the software would tell us.
“Excellent,” Simon mused before patting my head, messing up my hair. It seemed like he really liked to do that. He did it almost every time he left my presence. I blushed softly and watched him go away, my eyes locked on his sexy body as he made his way out the door. The software took longer than expected. It made me stay behind in the lab until the late hours of the night waiting for the results. My eyelids were getting heavy as I sat there, my head drooping forward. As I drifted to sleep, my daze was interrupted by a loud chiming noise, making me get up in an attempt to figure out where it was coming from.
Looking up, Simon’s face stared back at me from the computer screen. It took me a while to figure out what this meant, but then my entire world turned upside down for a moment. Simon was the culprit.
Anger overtook me. How could Simon do this and act like he was innocent? How could he betray me like this? Hurt beyond measure, I printed out the results and tossed on my jacket in a flourish.
His home wasn’t too far way. Even though it was three in the morning, that didn’t stop me from loudly banging on his door. He had to be confronted about this.
Each second seemed like an hour in my impatience. Eventually he showed up, looking at me sleepily. I pushed my way into his house, much to his surprise. He looked at me curiously.
“Matt? What’s wrong? What time is it?”
“I don’t care. Explain this.” I thrust the results in his face. He took the piece of paper before turning on the light. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the words.
“This has to be some sort of mistake,” he said, looking up at me seriously.
“Science doesn’t lie.” Tears began forming in my eyes. “How could you do this to me? I trusted you! I loved you!” Anger flowed through me as I made my way toward the door, opening it. Looking at him, my eyes brimmed with tears. “In the morning I am exposing you for the arsonist you are.” Slamming the door, I stormed off, tears running down my cheeks.
Chapter 5: Simon
Matthew left me in a daze. I looked down at the piece of paper in shock. Could it be that my inner dragon had burned down the museum? Trying to remember that night yielded no result. Maybe my alter ego took over subconsciously.
For so long now, nearly six months, I had been suppressing my dragon instincts. Maybe they were making their way out of me, one way or another. Realizing that tapping into those memories would require me to shift made me sigh. I put on some clothes and got in my car, driving to a vacant field on the outskirts of town. Finding a secluded place, I relaxed my body, allowing my primal instincts to come to life. Soon enough my wings emerged from my back and my body underwent a change as my beastly form began to surface.
Rapidly, my true form took control. Looking around, my surroundings seemed sharper and more crisp, thanks to my evolved eyes. I sniffed the air, my sense of smell heightened. Feeling more powerful, a roar emerged from my throat. As I settled down, a feeling of horror settled over me. Guilty memories flooded back. The events from several nights ago flashed before my eyes. I fell into shock.
It was indeed me who destroyed the museum. In anguish I soared up into the air, flying fast, trying to clear my head. Finally I realized it was a bad idea to suppress my dragon, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go back to my nest all by myself. It was lonely there.
Besides, Matt was in my life now. My feelings for him were true and the thought of leaving him made my chest tighten. I wanted to stay in the human world and be with him. Flying over Matt’s home, a sigh escaped my lungs.
Things couldn’t stay like this. He deserved to be told the truth. Even if it meant losing him forever, my conscience had to be cleared or I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Disappointed, I returned to the field, feeling relieved to be back on two feet again.
It didn’t take long to drive back to Matt’s house. Agitation built up inside me as his door was within my reach. Never before was it necessary to reveal my darkest secret to a human. My anxiety turned into fear as I expected the worst of reactions from him. Sucking it up, however, I knocked on the door, waiting for Matt to answer.
In quiet patience, the minutes turned into hours, but no one answered the door. Even after another set of knocks, nothing happened. My eyebrow raised. Was he not home? Sighing, I allowed some of my dragon senses to come back to help me smell the air. He was definitively home, his scent was unmistakable. Did he know it was me at the door? Was he avoiding me already?
I waited a few more minutes, but nothing changed. Pressing my ear against the door, I barely discerned a soft groan, and worry overtook me. It sounded like he was hurt. My eyes grew in shock as my loud knocks echoed throughout the neighborhood.
“Matt! Open the door! It’s me! Please!” The door remained closed. The groaning seemed to get louder as my ears strained. He was definitely in pain. Worried, I backed away and looked at the door with a determined expression on my face. I ran forward, shattering the door into splinters under the force of my beastly kick. I walked over the broken door, making my way into the apartment. “Matt!”
Calling out to him, I heard the groans seem to get closer. After looking around, I found him curled up into a tight little ball, holding his stomach on his bed. I walked up to him, about to place my hands on him when he glared up at me.
“Don’t touch me! Get away from me!” he yelled, looking angry. The hatred in his voice made me cringe. My unintentional betrayal had really hurt him. I needed to figure out what was wrong with him, and my feet kept shortening the distance between us, almost as if some strange force was pulling me towards him.
“Matt, please, what’s wrong?”
“I said…get away from me,” Matt groaned as he rolled away from me, trying to get out of the bed. I kept him in place, looking at him seriously.
As I leaned in closer, my dragon side slowly crept out, heightening my senses. Seeing the world in deeper color, the next step was smelling the world better. Taking a whiff of the air, my whole existence was shaken.
I could smell Matt’s scent, but there was another fainter scent somewhere inside the room. Following my nose, it led me right to Matt’s stomach. Scrunching my face, my eyes grew wide in realization. Could it be?
My hand reached out slowly, resting on his stomach. As it did, he stopped groaning and looked up at me, his pain melting away with my touch. He looked confused.
“How did you do that?” he asked in awe as he touched his stomach. He sat up, still looking at me warily.
“I… I can’t believe it.” I looked
at Matt for a moment before looking at his stomach. Could it be that he was my omega? My mate? Pressing my hand a little harder on his stomach, a shiver ran through my spine. There was no denying that my child, our child, was there, slowly growing inside of Matt.
I bit my lip and shook my head, trying to clear my head. No, this couldn’t be. How could a male alpha impregnate a male omega? Was that even possible? My eyes examined Matt from head to toe, almost as if to confirm he was still a male, but the feelings running rampant inside of me told me it was true. In a few short months, a new dragon would take its first breath.
Chapter 6: Matthew
I looked up at the arsonist with disgust. It didn’t matter why he was in my house. He had to get out. He had to leave my presence. My trust in him was gone, and in my mind he was nothing more than the criminal who destroyed my precious museum.
Snapping out of my daze, I got up and tried to push him out of my house, but with no success. He was much bigger than me, and it felt like pushing on some sort of a brick wall. All of a sudden, Simon wrapped his arms around me, making me blush as I felt his body press against mine.
“Matt, please listen to me. There are things that you need to know.” In hopes that listening to him would make the arsonist leave, I looked up at him.
“Fine, but then you have to leave,” I huffed, crossing my arms and sitting down on the bed. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, looking nervous as he glanced around the room. He seemed to be avoiding looking at me, and it made me wonder why. Eventually, however, he walked over, standing next to me as he gazed down at me. His blue eyes looked almost sad, but there was a hint of excitement in them.
“You’re pregnant, and I’m the father,” he said, looking completely serious. I looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. This man must have been completely nuts. First he burned down the museum and now he claimed we would have a child together. Did he not understand how biology worked?
“Look, Simon, I don’t know what is wrong with you, but guys can’t get pregnant. Now, I don’t know what you are trying to pull here, but you aren’t going to fool me. If this is some sort of a trick to talk me out of exposing you, it won’t work, because as soon as the station is open I am turning you in myself,” I said angrily, looking up at him with fierce eyes, trying to stand my ground. He looked down at me and sighed.
“No…well, yes…usually males cannot get pregnant. But I am not a normal human. Not a human at all,” Simon continued, trying to explain himself. He just sounded crazier. Looking up at him and shaking my head, it was hard to believe that this man would stoop so low. “Simon. Stop lying.”
“I’m not lying.” he said through gritted teeth. In his desperation his hand shot out, wrapping around my arm. He pulled me up, his nails digging into my skin. I winced and tried to get away.
“You’re hurting me! Let go.” This seemed to snap him out of his trance, and he let go of me. I moved away from him. “Get out.” He shook his head. “Get out!”
“I can’t.” Looking at him in anger, the thought of calling the police crossed my mind more than once. “Listen, please listen to me…” he said in a soothing voice as he approached. For some inexplicable reason, the closer he got to me, the calmer my emotions got. As our bodies almost touched, a warmth took over my body, making me relax. I looked up at him, ready to listen.
“I need you to listen to me, okay?” It was impossible to know he was using trickery on me, practicing ancient magic to calm me down. Slowly, I nodded at him.
“Good. Sit.” My mind wouldn’t let me do anything but obey. I sat down on the edge of the bed again. He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m a dragon.” The disbelief in my eyes must’ve been obvious, because he attempted to convince me. “I can prove it if you just give me the chance, but first I need to continue.” He paused for a moment. “When we made love, I climaxed inside of you. You must’ve gotten pregnant that night. I am sorry, but a male omega getting pregnant was unheard of until now.”
“Omega?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Well, I’m an alpha. They are a class, sort of like a race, who are classified as dominant and strong. You’re an omega, which means you’re more submissive and, well, you need to be protected by alphas like me,” Simon explained, making me blush. I continued to nod as if all of this made perfect sense to me. “Anyway, because you got pregnant, that means you now want to stay with me at all times. That’s why your stomach was hurting you before. It was the baby calling out to me.”
I looked up at him in surprise. It was a lot to process, but there was no other choice. The magic Simon was using on me was quite powerful, and resistance was futile.
“But why didn’t you tell me you were a dragon, then?” Curiosity took me over as he was somehow managing to convince me. Not completely, but he was certainly making progress.
“Years ago…as a dragon…it was my fault that my loved ones perished. I renounced my dragon nature at that point. However, it turns out that a dragon’s spirit cannot be successfully suppressed without destroying things, like the museum.” His voice was sad as he said this, and it made me frown, realizing he was being earnest with me. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him gently.
“But just because you give me this sob story and the crazy idea that our child is growing inside me doesn’t mean I believe you. You have to show me that you really are a dragon.” Simon looked at me for a moment before nodding his head.
“Very well.”
Chapter 7: Matthew
I watched in amazement as a pair of wings emerged from my partner’s back. As I stared at him dumbfounded, they stretched to their full length, filling my room, extending from wall to wall. It was unbelievable. He had been telling the truth.
Stepping forward in a daze, my hand reached out and touched his wings. They felt soft to the touch as I pressed my palm against them. He seemed to smile as he looked down at me, allowing me to touch and look at them for as long as my mind needed to be convinced of this impossible development.
Eventually, my shock dissipated and my eyes looked up to Simon once more. “So, you were telling the truth.” He nodded, looking at me with a serious look. “And I’m really pregnant?”
He nodded again. “The baby’s scent is unmistakable.” The thought of getting pregnant never even crossed my mind. Not knowing what to make of the news, my hands reached down and rubbed my stomach in disbelief. It was now time for some important decisions.
“And we have to be next to each other 24/7 or my stomach will hurt again?” Simon nodded. “Well, how is that going to work?”
“We’ll have to go back to my nest.”
“Your nest?” My eyebrow raised in confusion. He nodded. “Explain,” I demanded.
“It’s where a dragon lives.” My gaze stopped on him for a moment before moving across my flat. Would this mean my cozy little apartment had to be abandoned? “It is…rather nice,” he added, looking at me with hopeful eyes. I sighed.
“There is no other choice, is there?” Simon shook his head.
“Not really. Well… I could leave, but you would be wracked with pain.” The thought made me flinch as my body was reminded of the pain it struggled with just a few moments ago.
“Fine. Show me this nest of yours.” I crossed my arms over my chest in determination. He smiled slightly as he reached out his hand, offering it to me. I took it hesitantly, looking up into his deep blue eyes.
As we held hands for a moment, heat overcame my entire body, followed by a moving sensation as my eyes blinked. Within a moment, we were no longer in my apartment. I took a good look around, and a gasp escaped my lungs.
This nest wasn’t what I had expected at all. Instead of branches and a giant tree, like a bird, this so-called nest looked just like a fancy mansion. I looked around, seeing the high ceilings and expensive looking furniture. In fact, the mansion looked a lot like the Berkley Museum.
It took me some time before I could find the courage
to walk around, touching this and that. The number of artifacts decorating the nest was simply breathtaking. The history buff inside of me started to come out as relics I had only seen behind a glass case were within inches of my grasp.
“So?” My daze had caused me to be completely oblivious to Simon’s presence. At the sound of his voice I turned around, looking at him. Realizing that next to me was a bookcase filled with the lost books of Alexandria’s library, my cheeks reddened.
“It’s…amazing. Where are we?” Simon chuckled as he walked up to me, wrapping an arm around me. He walked me over to a large window, covered with red velvet curtains. He looked at me as if expecting me to react.
Nervously I stepped forward, pulling back the curtains. A gasp emerged from my lips naturally as a magnificent sight revealed itself. Outside, there was a large body of water surrounding us. We seemed to be on some sort of island, and to the west was a larger island with a volcano located in the middle of it.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
“Eh, somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. No one can ever find us, however. You know how boats and airplanes get lost in the Bermuda Triangle?” Offering him a nod, my eyes were slowly widening in disbelief. “Dragons.” My eyes widened even more.
Eventually, he closed the curtains and lay down on the couch, allowing me to look around. I continued to explore, but the moment the distance between us increased, my stomach started to tighten with pain. Having no choice but to make my way back, I lay down on top of him, placing my head on his chest.
“I’m sorry about yelling at you,” I whispered softly. He ran his fingers through my hair as we lay there. He then kissed the top of my head.
He followed my gaze to the empty fireplace and chuckled. With a flick of his wrist, the fireplace exploded with sparks and a roaring fire appeared, filling the living room with a cozy heat. I looked at him in awe.
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