Baby Me

by Aidy Award

  “I can only think of one reason, make that two reasons, why I would want to run anywhere. Toward a good glass of wine or away from zombies.”

  “I know of a better one that might, maybe, definitely get your power walk on.” Wes wagged a finger at Ciara.

  Ciara rolled her eyes. “Not likely.”

  Wesley knew something he wasn't sharing, and he was having a good laugh about it at Ciara's expense. Azy could tell they had been friends for a long time. She hadn't ever been that tight with anyone.

  Except, Cage.

  Wes folded his arms and cocked one eyebrow. “Your mother's here.”

  Ciara blinked, stood up, spun on one heel and ran toward the door.

  “Ciara Elizabeth Mosley-Willingham, you stop right there, young lady. That is no way to behave in front of your friends. Now, please come back here and introduce me.” A petite, but curvy woman with stylish white hair, a silk dress suit, and a French manicure stood in the doorway that led from the kitchen. She tapped one toe and looked expectantly at Ciara's back.

  Azy had grown up with only her father around and couldn't even imagine what it would be like to want to avoid her own mother like this. She did have to admit Ciara's mom was intimidating.

  What kind of mom would she be to her own babies?

  Ciara clenched her fists and slowly turned back to face all of them. She took a deep breath and then held out her hand, indicating to each of them one at a time. “Jada, Fleur, Azy, this is my mother, Wilhelmina Willingham. Mother, these are my friends. We're here to help Azynsa plan her wedding. What are you doing here?”

  That last part had been said through clenched teeth and a dark little storm cloud formed in the corner.

  “It's lovely to meet you all, I'm sure. What my daughter has failed to tell you in her brief introduction is that I own the most successful wedding planning business in the world. While I'm sure Ciara would do a perfectly lovely job, she should be busy planning her own nuptials. So, I am here at the request of an old friend to make sure this union goes off without a hitch.”

  Azy, Jada, Fleur, and Wes all exchanged looks. Wes was the first one to call her out. “Ciara, you and Jakob aren't married yet?”

  Ciara suddenly found a spot on the carpet fascinating. “We’ll get around to it.”

  Wilhelmina clacked her way across the room. “Yes, that’s right you will. Especially since you don’t have to plan this wedding.”

  Azy might not know what kind of mother she was going to be, but she knew what kind she wouldn’t be. “Mrs. Willingham. I appreciate your being here to help, but it is important to both Cage and I that Ciara is involved. She has insights I don’t because of her position and her powers. I know the two of you together will make an excellent team.”

  Both women gave her shocked looks, for very different reasons. Now that she’d gotten started on her little speech, she knew a way to make everyone happy. Including her.

  “In fact, I’m so confident, that I’d like the two of you to just take over and plan everything. No need to even consult us. You’ll choose better… umm, everything than I would anyway.”

  Mrs. Willingham narrowed her eyes. “Flowers?”

  Azy waved her hand. “Whatever Fleur thinks best.”

  “Dress?” Wilhelmina’s voice went up an octave.

  Azy nodded. “I hear Wesley is good with a sewing machine.”

  “Food? The cake?” Soon this woman’s voice would be outside of sound spectrum that humans could hear.

  Azy grabbed a piece of cake and popped it into her mouth. “Jada’s the best.”

  “Vows?”

  Ciara interrupted. “That part of the ritual is already set.”

  “Rings?”

  Cage walked in, looked around like he was assessing a battle and swooped Azy up in his arms. Her knight in shining scales. “I’ll take care of that. Thanks. If you’ll excuse us, I think my mate is in need of a nap.”

  Jada yawned. “Ooh. Is it nap time? Where’s that sexy beast of mine?”

  Ky appeared right on cue in the doorway. “I think it’s well past your naptime, aroha.”

  Jakob and his second in command, Steele were right behind him. Someone must have sounded the alarm.

  Mrs. Willingham scowled at them all. “Don’t you all think for one minute I don’t know what’s going on here. I recognize a dragon warrior’s retreat when I see one.”

  “Whatever do you mean, mother. There’s no such thing as dragons.” Ciara had gone from defensive mode to a scrambling offense in a millisecond.

  “Good try. I’m not as sheltered and naïve as you think I am, dear.” She walked up to Ciara and patted her on the shoulder. “I know all about the dragon warriors, their battles with the demon dragons and probably more than you do about being married to one, because I used to be.

  Ciara’s jaw just about fell off her face. “Mother. What are you talking about?

  “I had quite the love affair with a gold dragon when I was your age. Although, I insisted we marry before we, you know.” She waved her hands instead of finishing her sentence. “Besides, who do you think asked me to come plan the wedding of the Gold Dragon Wyvern?”

  DragonCon

  Cage gathered his brother Wyverns together when Azy went off with the women. He needed information and help. After what he’d seen in Dubai, he was not entrusting his mate’s or his children’s safety to a woman he didn’t know.

  He prowled back and forth while the other Wyvern’s stared at him. They were all shocked by the news of a dragon warrior dying when his mate had. None had any idea what to do about it besides assign a lot of extra guards and keep mates far away from battles.

  “Ciara is not going to like that. She fancies using her powers to smite those little bastards.” Jakob was the first among them to be mated and had fought many battles against the demon dragons already.

  “No, nor Jada. She’s a very creative warrior.”

  Match had kept silent. “We cannot afford to lose every warrior who has a mate. There is too much at stake to let the Black Dragon roam free.”

  “I will not put Azy and my children in danger. If Geshtianna is working with the Black Dragon, she could have already planted spies in our midsts. Like this Senora Boh. Who the hell is she?”

  “She’s the midwife.” Match shrugged and seemed distracted. “When a dragon is ready to be born, she’s there to help them come into the world.”

  Cage paced while his brother Wyverns watched, not nearly as concerned as they should be. “Why have I never heard of her?”

  “Because no dragons have been born in the past couple hundred years or so,” Match said.

  Wait, could that be right? Surely, there had. But there weren’t any dragonlings in the Gold Wyr. “Ky, Jakob, you have young ones in your Wyrs, don’t you?”

  They both shook their heads.

  Well, what the hell? A new fear grabbed at Cage’s gut and twisted inside.

  This was the first time in six-hundred years that gold dragons were again able to find their true mates. Many dragons of his father’s generation had taken companions and those women had born their sons. Cage himself was the offspring of such a union.

  But that curse had been broken, first with Jakob, then Ky, and now Cage. They all had no doubt now that the three of them had found their mates. The White Witch and the First Dragon would ensure that even a grumpy bastard like Match would find a mate so that the red dragon Wyr would be able to as well.

  There must be more to the curse on them all than they understood if none of the dragons of their generation had children.

  Their fathers hadn’t had mates, but they had children. Maybe the curse was evolving, and they had mates now, but wouldn’t have offspring. It would mean the end of Dragonkind.

  If the Black Dragon and Ereshkigal were behind this, affecting the future of all Dragonkind was a more devious plan than any of them even suspected.

  The scent of his own fear burned in his nostrils. No, that wasn’t his pungent
emotion. He sniffed at the wind. Azy in distress, hit Cage causing his dragon to burst forth without him even needing to call it up.

  Azy.

  He and all the Wyverns moved like a well-oiled machine up to the dining room of the new villa. The other dragon warriors didn’t even need to ask what was going on. Unlike generations before, the four of them had formed a pact. When one brother was in need, they had each other’s backs.

  Halfway there Jakob put on a burst of speed. Something is wrong. Ciara is freaking out.

  Shit. Cage had never seen her do that. Ciara was the one who calmed everyone else down. The women must be in imminent danger.

  A second before bursting through the door, Match blocked the entry way. He sniffed the air and then chuckled. You do need to go in there and get your mates out. But carefully and I suggest in human form. There is something much scarier than demon dragons.

  Cage pushed, but Match didn’t let him through. I need to get in there. What is it that has them?

  Match stepped to the side to let them through. It’s Jakob’s mother-in-law.

  Jakob shifted back into his human form and shook his head. “Shit on a shasta daisy flower. Ciara’s mother is a great source of discord in her life. If we’re going to save my mate and yours, we need a plan.”

  The rest of the dragon warriors shifted too. Match folded his arms. “I suggest a strategic retreat. Live to fight another day.”

  Together the four of them entered the dining hall intending to abscond with their mates. The second Cage saw Azy he really did want to sweep her off her feet and take her away from here. Mostly for nap. There were new lines around her eyes, and she had one hand in the small of her back. She was being questioned by a petite but curvy older woman with a screechy voice.

  “Food? The cake?” This lady’s voice was getting close to only being heard by his dragon ears, it was so damn high.

  Azy didn’t seem fazed by it, but Cage saw beneath the surface. Her scent told him that she was frazzled, tired, and confused. She grabbed a piece of cake and popped it into her mouth. “Jada’s the best.”

  Aha. They were discussing wedding plans.

  “Vows?”

  Ciara interrupted. “That part of the ritual is already set.”

  “Rings?”

  Cage walked in, assessed the best route out and picked Azy up to take her away. “I’ll take care of that. Thanks. If you’ll excuse us, I think my mate is in need of a nap.”

  He hugged Azy close to him, cradling her body into his chest. He could give a damn about the wedding. He’d do whatever Azy wanted. But he would not let some ancient ritual come between him and his mate.

  “Are you okay, love?”

  “I think our lives just got more complicated. We really need to find that ring and get this whole thing over with.” Azy gasped at that last part and covered her mouth. “I didn’t mean, it’s just…I want to be with you forever, Cage. The wedding part isn’t important to me. Only you.”

  Cage didn’t need a ring to know Azy was his true soul mate. They rest of the world were the ones who wanted that.

  Cage kissed her forehead. “Don’t fret yourself. I feel exactly the same and I have an idea. Trust me?”

  “Always.” Azy glanced at the others and back at him. “Any chance that idea involves eloping to Vegas?”

  Maybe it should. If he wasn’t worried about her health on the flight across the ocean and most of the American continent, he’d take to the air with her right now.

  He couldn’t risk her life or the lives of their unborn children.

  The conversation had continued, and he tuned back in just in time to hear that Ciara’s screechy mother had been a companion to a gold dragon.

  Strange.

  It wasn’t like Cage didn’t know all dragons were total horndogs. He certainly had been before Azy came into his life. But he couldn’t imagine the dragon warrior who would choose to make this bossy woman either a lover or a companion.

  He couldn’t think of any gold dragon living in the US then either. They mostly all stuck to Europe.

  Must not have lasted, because they weren’t together long if Mrs. Willingham had remarried and had borne Ciara. A puzzle for another day.

  “Let’s get out of here and I’ll tell you my plans.” Cage felt the tension slip from Azy’s body. The more of that he could do the better. He wanted to get her back to the relaxed state she’d been in before everyone else started showing up.

  “Yes, please,” she said and nodded.

  Ciara held up a hand silencing her mother. “Azy, Cage wait. Are you sure you want us to just plan the wedding?”

  The two of them gave their response in unison. “Yes.”

  Jada snorted. “Like she wasn’t going to anyway.”

  She lowered her voice and cupped her hand over the side of her mouth so only Cage and Azy would hear. “I think planning all of our weddings keeps her mind of the lack of her own nuptials.”

  She wasn’t quiet enough.

  “Ciara, dear. Is that true? Why are you avoiding your own wedding?” Uh-oh. Monster-in-law was about to go ballistic.

  Ciara threw her hands up in the air and looked over plaintively at Jakob. “Oh, mother.”

  Azy poked Cage in the chest. “Now’s our chance to get away,” she whispered. “Go, go, go.”

  Smart lady.

  Cage backed away slowly and when they were out of the dining room shifted into his dragon, then cupped Azy in his talons. He flew straight up and out of one of the built-in skylights strategically placed all over the house specifically for that purpose.

  Azy was yawning before they even got to the treehouse and Cage dropped her right into bed. She curled into the pillows. “You don’t think I made Ciara and the others mad by saying I wanted them to take over the wedding plans, do you?”

  Cage shifted and stripped, crawling in beside her. “Ciara’s probably tickled pink. She’ll go completely overboard and love every second of it, I’m sure.”

  “Okay, good.” She lifted her dress over her head and then snuggled up to him. “I feel kind of, I don’t know, awkward around them. No one has ever been so nice to me for no reason.”

  That statement made Cage sad for the little girl she’d been. While he felt like he’d known her his entire life, in reality they’d only been mated a few months, and a big chunk of that he’d been away. He wanted to know everything about her. The good times and the bad, the things that made her happy and the sad.

  He wouldn’t be leaving her side any more unless absolutely necessary to defend the Wyr. Not after what he’d seen happen with the death of one of his dragon’s mates.

  What if he was killed in battle? Would Azy die too?

  He couldn’t take that chance with her life. As soon as he could get the order out, he’d make sure no other golds with a mate took chances either.

  Regardless of what Match said.

  How had dragon warriors survived for millennia? Maybe it wasn’t a curse that they hadn’t been able to find the match for their souls these last few hundred years. Maybe it was a blessing.

  Cage couldn’t figure out how he could be a mate and a warrior, or how he could be a Wyvern, leader of all gold dragons, if he couldn’t lead them in battle.

  He would give it all up for her. That wasn’t an option. Being a dragon warrior meant protecting the world from the plague of demon dragons. Dragonkind had always kept humanity safe, they couldn’t suddenly stop now.

  Cage wrapped his hands around her and gently caressed her stomach. If it was possible, the bump felt bigger than this morning. Azy snuffled softly and shifted to get comfortable. She’d be the only one, because she pushed her ass right against his cock which was hard in an instant.

  He would have liked to make love to her again, assure that she was safe with him, lose himself in her body. For now, he’d settle for holding her close. He didn’t like the stress and exhaustion her body was undergoing.

  Next on his agenda was to find that midwife and figu
re out exactly who she was and what in the hell was going on with his mate and his unborn children.

  He fell asleep thinking about how to do that and awoke with a start what felt like hours later. The sun had barely moved in the sky and Azy still snored softly. Cage’s mind and body were rejuvenated from his power nap as if he’d slept a hundred years.

  He wished all the answers had come to him in a dream, but they hadn’t. One thing had popped out of his subconscious though. The ring.

  Cage knew how to get Azy a ring that might not have come directly from the White Witch, but from the First Dragon and that was the next best thing.

  Don’t Look a Gift Dragon in the Mouth

  Cage stood on top of the highest hill near their home he could find. He wanted direct access to the sun’s light and heat. The grassy knoll was unhindered by trees or rocks and the only shadows were from his own body and the sword he held over his head.

  The sword the First Dragon had given Cage was shiny and strong. The magic imbued into it made it more than a mere weapon for slicing and dicing the enemy, it could move anyone he pierced with it through space when used in conjunction with Azy’s mirror.

  He sure as hell hoped melting a piece from the hilt wouldn’t destroy the gift. The sword had saved his ass a few times in the past few months. Losing the ability to use it would be worth the sacrifice.

  If his little plan worked.

  Cage concentrated on the decorative metal on the hilt, drawing the power of the sun down into a hot ray, searing the metal around a particularly brilliant inlaid yellow diamond.

  Even with all of his might, he’d barely melted a scratch into the metal. If it took weeks to make the ring, he would stand here all alone, day after day until he had Azy’s ring.

  A strong breeze whipped around behind him and a dragon flew overhead careful not to block Cage’s light. A lot of gold dragons would be flying in to Spain now that the word was out that the wedding was back on.

  He could tell this one was a gold because of the way it flew. One of his wings was askew, somehow broken, but still he flew like a champ using the wind like only one who had the power over that element could.