The Dragon Lord's Omega

by E. J. Waugh

  “You will always be my first love,” Elston said softly. “I already manage to love you and the baby at the same time. I’ve had it for a while.”

  “I know. I’m just very old and easily frightened.” Jaren smiled wryly. “Now, you go to bed, and I’ll have everything you need brought to you.”

  “Will you stay with me? I know alphas don’t like to, but…”

  Jaren breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been sure how to ask, and he’d been afraid that it was too private a moment for Elston to share, even with his mate. “I would be honored.”

  Elston beamed, the pain apparently forgotten for a moment. He let go of Jaren and turned to head to their bedroom, where, sooner than Jaren was sure he was ready for it, he’d give birth to their child.

  Part of him had never believed this day would come, but now that it had arrived, he felt mostly ready to be a father. At his age, he should rightly have been a grandfather several times over, but this was enough for him. Elston, and the baby he was about to bring into the world, were enough.

  As soon as Elston was out of sight, Jaren raced to the staff quarters to gather the omegas who’d indicated they had experience with giving birth—which they’d assured him several times was a fairly straightforward affair, and something omegas had been managing since the beginning of the species. All the same, when it was his mate doing it, Jaren couldn’t help but think of the risks involved.

  Elston was tough, but he was only human, and his human fragility frightened Jaren at the best of times. Where Elston’s presence had kept his head clear before, he now found himself pausing in the hall outside their bedroom, needing to work up the courage to go inside.

  When he finally did, Alina was already there fussing over Elston. If Jaren had tried to do the same, he would have been told to stop, but Elston’s particular affection for Alina was not unlike that of a younger brother for his older sister. Besides, since she’d had Elston to look after, she’d come into her own as a formidable woman who was not to be trifled with.

  As far as Jaren was concerned, her job was secure for as long as she wanted it, and she would always be welcome back in his home. If nothing else, Elston wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Jaren moved hesitantly to sit beside Elston on the bed, reaching out to take his hand. Elston returned his grip with great force, showing the first signs of worry himself.

  “It’s coming fast,” he said, voice tight. Jaren could smell his distress, but had no idea how to soothe it, other than to sit with him.

  “What can I do?”

  Elston hesitated, wetting his lips. “Can I sit in your lap for a while? Until I need to turn over.”

  “Of course.” Jaren sat back and spread his legs without a second thought, helping Elston to settle between them with his back to Jaren’s chest. Elston took both of Jaren’s hands and placed them on his belly, linking their fingers together.

  In this position, Jaren could feel it as well when Elston’s next contraction came along, much sooner than he’d expected. If his own muscles had been cramping that hard, he would have been curled up and in tears. Elston winced, but barely made a sound other than that.

  Anyone who’d ever thought they could control him against his will had been a fool. Omegas were, by necessity, much stronger creatures than alphas were in all ways but simple brute force. Elston was no exception, other than in that he was a shining example of his kind.

  Alina had tied Elston’s hair out of the way in a neat plait, which gave Jaren room to drop a kiss on his shoulder. Through it, he tried to will some of his own healing ability into Elston’s body, though he had no notion that such a thing was truly possible.

  Two omegas—one the cook Jaren had employed for the past twenty years, another a newcomer who had shown himself to have a strong eye for problem-solving and who Jaren hoped would stay for at least the length of his contract—entered the room, clearly having been chosen among the rest as the most qualified.

  The cook—Maris—approached the bed without hesitation and reached out to touch Elston’s forehead. “First?”

  Elston nodded. The younger omega, Floren, also approached.

  “Between the two of us we’ve attended some fifteen births. You’re in good hands,” Floren smiled kindly.

  The two of them asked Elston question after question about how he was feeling and how fast things were happening, which Elston answered with admirable calm. Jaren, for his part, felt most of it was going over his head, because he didn’t understand and never truly would. Omegas had their own language when it came to their bodies.

  Too soon for Jaren, Elston climbed out of his lap and positioned himself on all fours on the other side of the bed, supported by pillows and blankets Alina was rearranging under him. He would be tense, and sore, when he was done, and Jaren made a mental note to remember to have a warm bath drawn for him once he’d slept off the effort.

  It was too awkward for Jaren to stay in contact with Elston other than by sitting as close to him as possible and rubbing the back of his neck, but Elston seemed to appreciate it all the same.

  When the process truly started, Elston’s pained sobbing was almost too much for him to bear, but he stayed close, knowing that it was much, much worse for his mate. Neither of the two household-appointed midwives seemed to feel there was any need to panic, and both were encouraging Elston with enthusiasm, insisting that he was doing well.

  Jaren thought that there was really no way to have a baby badly, since accomplishing the feat alone was completely impossible to him. Elston had impressed him often during their time together, but never so much as in this moment.

  Jaren’s whole world narrowed down to listening to Elston’s breathing, reminding himself that everything was fine, that Elston was in good hands and certainly not the first omega to make it through this, even if the circumstances were unusual. Even Elston’s distress seemed to have lessened, replaced with a weary determination. Jaren could scarcely imagine the amount of pain he must have been in, but Elston was now taking it in his stride.

  He was so focused on Elston’s breathing, on watching him from one moment to the next for fear that if he stopped, everything might go wrong, that the cries of triumph took him by surprise. As suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

  Sitting back dazed and exhausted, Jaren only moved enough to allow Elston to climb back into his lap a few moments later, and held him up while Maris passed him the baby, swaddled and screaming at the top of its lungs.

  Jaren looked down at the tiny new creature in Elston’s arms, and immediately understood why people valued children so highly.

  All he could manage to say in response was, “oh.”

  Elston laughed, cuddling the baby close. “Oh,” he repeated, though not as mockingly as Jaren expected. “You can have her in a minute,” he said.

  “Her?” Jaren asked, apparently having missed that discussion entirely in his relief.

  He caught Maris and Floren making a silent exit out of the corner of his eye. Alina was keeping a respectable distance, but already setting up things to bathe both Elston and the baby. Jaren intended to do the actual bathing himself, but the help, for the moment, was much appreciated.

  “Yes,” Elston said. “She’s so perfect.”

  “Having come from you, she would have to be,” Jaren reached out with a single finger to touch the baby’s head so lightly he wasn’t sure he’d even made contact. It was enough, though.

  “I’m in no hurry to hold her,” he said, though that was a very long way from the truth. His heart ached to hold his new daughter in his arms, but she was Elston’s, first and foremost. “You did all the work, so you should enjoy the rewards for as long as you like.”

  “I can barely keep my eyes open, so I’ll have to hand her over soon.” Elston wriggled closer to Jaren’s body.

  “Do you have a name picked out?” Jaren asked. Omegas were often secretive about names, worried that naming a child aloud before it was born would tempt fate. In t
his moment, he was happy to accept any superstition, since it had given him a healthy baby and a mate who had come through the ordeal of giving birth unscathed.

  “Erla,” Elston said. “If that’s all right with you?”

  “That is more than all right with me.”

  Elston sighed a soft, satisfied sigh, and let his full weight fall against Jaren. “I’m going to need more than one of these,” he said.

  Jaren laughed, surprised and delighted at Elston’s statement. “Then I will do everything within my power to provide you with another.”

  Now that he’d seen the first part of it, Jaren, too, was anxious to expand their tiny family as much as Elston wanted to. In his many centuries, he’d never felt as though he was living his life until this moment, and he couldn’t wait to begin the rest of it.

  Epilogue

  Two years to the day after the birth of his first child, Elston found himself peering out a window at a land he’d never seen before, Erla balanced on his hip. Jaren had promised to show them both the delights of the city beyond in the morning, but for now, he was content to watch the sun go down over it, marveling at the sheer number of buildings—and people in them—in the one place.

  When Jaren had promised him that he could barely imagine the wonders of the world beyond his village and their forest, Elston hadn’t realized how true that was. Over the last few months, he felt as though he’d seen more than most people had in a lifetime.

  Elston felt Jaren approach him from behind, and relaxed against his chest as Jaren’s hand settled on his free hip. “Stunning, isn’t it? This is one of my favorite places. It’s nice to be lost among the crowds here, no one knowing who or what you are.”

  “I might need to hold your hand the whole time,” Elston said. While he was excited at the prospect of exploring, he was nervous about getting separated from Jaren and perhaps never finding him, or the house they were staying in, again.

  “What a shame. What a hardship. How will I cope?” Jaren teased, leaning down to kiss Elston’s shoulder. He ruffled Erla’s hair, much to her delight. She was enamored of her father, and he was equally in love with her. Elston couldn’t have asked for a happier, more adoring family.

  Erla was growing up to look like Jaren, too. The same dark hair and serious eyes. She’d be beautiful when she was older. If she wanted a mate, she’d be able to take her choice of them.

  “I have a feeling you’ll find a way. You’d miss me if I got lost out there.”

  “Very much,” Jaren kissed the side of Elston’s neck. “I know you don’t feel like it, but you really must come and eat. Just a little.”

  Elston hadn’t said anything to Jaren about not feeling like food, but their connection to each other was growing stronger all the time, so it wasn’t ridiculous to think that he knew. “Maybe later,” he said, not really intending to go through with it.

  “If not for yourself, or for me, then what about for the new baby?” Jaren moved the hand on Elston’s hip to his belly, which was still soft from his pregnancy with Erla, but which Jaren insisted made him all the more beautiful.

  It took Elston several moments to fully process what Jaren was saying. “I’m…?”

  “Definitely pregnant. You smell even better than usual.”

  For a moment, Elston’s head spun. He’d wanted another baby, but hadn’t pushed the issue, wanting nature to take its course and not wanting Jaren to feel inadequate for not immediately providing one. The fact that he hadn’t fallen pregnant again straight away seemed to make sense, since it had been so unusual the first time.

  He turned to face Jaren, and stood on the tips of his toes to kiss him. Tears rolled down his cheeks as pure, simple joy overflowed inside him.

  They were having another baby, after all.

  “I promised you I’d do everything in my power to give you another. I’m sorry it took so long. I was afraid you would have given up hope.”

  “Never.” Elston shook his head. “But don’t be sorry. I had a lot of fun trying.”

  “I know,” Jaren smiled. “You always make that very clear.”

  Elston blushed, shifting his hold on Erla so she was leaning against his belly instead. “Did you hear that? You’re getting a little brother or sister. You’ll have to teach them everything you know.”

  Erla, who was half-asleep, and not about to be roused by the unexciting news of a new baby, sighed and leaned her head against Elston’s chest. No matter how often she did that, Elston would never grow tired of it.

  Now, he’d get to do it all over again, just as Erla was moving to a different stage of her young life. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

  “I suppose I should eat, then. Let me put her down, and I’ll let you feed me.”

  Jaren’s whole face lit up at the prospect. “That’s very fair of you. And Elston?”

  “Hmm?” Elston turned back to Jaren as he was readying Erla’s cot for her.

  “I love you.”

  Elston laughed softly and laid Erla down on her mattress, tucking the blanket in around her. “I love you, too.”

  fin.

  Have You Read The Billionaire Dragon’s New Omega?

  “If you’ll excuse my bluntness, I’m a whore, not a PR manager.”

  Teddy Monkhouse is a billionaire dragon shifter with a problem...

  After the death of his first mate he has become withdrawn, and now people are starting to worry. Investor confidence in his various companies is falling, which means the potential loss of jobs for the people he believes himself responsible for. He's sure he'll never love again, so simply finding a new romantic interest isn't an option.

  Arthur is the solution...

  A human omega and high-class prostitute valued for both his classic omega good looks and flawless discretion, he's the perfect person to fill the role of publicly being Teddy's new mate—he's charming, attractive, and used to playing the part of doting partner to men he isn't at all interested in.

  All goes well until Arthur's growing affection toward Teddy leads to him spending the night, and ends in an unplanned pregnancy. With all eyes on them, Arthur and Teddy must preserve the charade until Teddy can come up with an exit plan—or until they both manage to figure out how they really feel.

  Read it now, free with Kindle Unlimited!

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