18. Caspian

Chapter 18

Caspian

I could tell Dimitri was concerned about something. Through our bond, he seemed to be uncertain. I did my best to not bother him while he was at work, and when he reached out and let me know he was on his way home, I had worked myself into a mess. That was how he found me when he arrived home.

"Caspian?"

"Back here," I called out. I was sitting on the sofa—more like lounging. I'd been here on and off most of the day, and although I had a couple of shorter naps despite not drinking the sleepy-time tea, I felt as if I had taken a step forward because I wasn't sleeping deeply in our bed.

"There you are."

I looked up at Dimitri. When our eyes met, his widened, and he rushed the last several feet separating us. "What is wrong, lyubimyy?" Dimitri was kneeling in front of me in moments.

"You are…I'm not sure. Conflicted, perhaps? Have I done something? Are there issues?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Nyet." He ran his fingers through my hair, which I knew was a mess; I just couldn't care enough at the moment. I was up and out of bed and felt somewhat decent after feeling like death for longer than I ever wanted to. I was going to pick my battles, and right now, hair wasn't going to win.

"What's wrong? I've felt it through our bond since this morning."

"Apologies, my heart. I never meant to worry you so." Dimitri cupped my face, and when he leaned in, I gladly accepted the kiss. It didn't go further than a simple joining of our lips, but it spoke volumes. When Dimitri pulled away, I wanted to follow, but the need to know what was going on was stronger, and I sat up and waited.

"What is going on? Do we need to leave? Your grandfather was here earlier," I told him. "He said we would be welcome here always. My mind is spiraling, Dimitri. Share something."

Dimitri grinned. "I would if you would give me a moment to talk."

I rolled my lips inward to keep from responding. Dimitri's smile grew. I wasn't going to say a word until he'd told me what was going on.

"My dragon has been struggling today a bit. I've been given an assignment, and although I want to go, I'm torn because I have you now, and I will be leaving you behind."

I released my lips and blinked at my One. "That's it? That was the issue? You're fighting yourself internally because you are being sent out on assignment?"

Dimitri nodded. I wasn't sure if it was the stress I'd felt for the past several hours, the fact that I wasn't feeling completely myself just yet, or that it was something insignificant, but I started laughing. It wasn't a little chuckle either. It was full-on laughter that I couldn't seem to stop once I started. By the time I had myself under control, Dimitri was smiling with me. We stared at one another for a moment before he shook his head.

"I love you." He leaned in and kissed me again, and when he pulled away this time, I suddenly felt better—much more relaxed and surer of everything.

"I love you too. But were you seriously struggling with the fact that you are going out on assignment all day instead of reaching out to me? We knew this was a possibility. If you are going to struggle like this, maybe we should both retire completely and just move away somewhere and raise our family there."

Dimitri gave me a look. "Do not tempt me. I want to be helpful. I believe it is a family-honor thing. I am the only one, aside from Dedushka, that has joined the council to help. It is not a requirement, but I wish to help others."

I reached out, and it was me who cupped his face this time. "That is what makes you so wonderful. Well, in part. You are a good person all around, and you have such a loving and protective person inside of you. I couldn't help but fall in love quickly." I smiled again. "But reach out. I know we're new to being mated still. But I've been sitting here, worrying all day, because I could feel your conflict. I'll be fine. Do not worry about me. I have a huge support system here. All right?"

It took a moment, but Dimitri nodded finally. "You do. Yéye said he stopped by."

I nodded. "He did. He is just the most adorable. I can now see where you get a lot of your looks."

Dimitri's smile grew. "Yes. But my father also looks a lot like Yéye. My mother, of course, is not of Asian ancestry. But then they had me, and, well, you would not know that I was hers, to be honest."

I chuckled. "I can't wait to meet them. I got a message from Papa today. They're here, but he's being patient and waiting to pounce on us."

Dimitri shook his head. "I met your father. He was at the council this morning. I am not sure he likes me."

I rolled my eyes. "He likes you just fine." I thought back to when Drew first met Father. It had been both comical as well as enlightening. I think Father learned quite a bit from that little cheetah omega that day. Lorenzo and I both adored Drew, as did Papa, and Father, he very much liked Drew. But he and Papa had both been a bit judgmental of Sebastian and were quite upset that he'd not informed them of his meeting his One right away.

"What?"

I blinked and smiled at Dimitri. "I was thinking about the first time Father met Drew. Much like me, Drew was sick during his first several weeks of his pregnancy. Sebastian had been so wrapped up in newly mated life and then taking care of Drew that he didn't consider letting our parents know he'd met his forever." I shook my head. "Our parents didn't really take that too well. They have since learned because I think they did a lot of reflecting on how it was when they first met each other."

Dimitri looked concerned. "Did I do something wrong? Should I have let Arturo know you were ill?"

I shook my head as I smiled at Dimitri. "You have done everything right." I reached out and cupped his face again. "Tell me about your assignment," I said, changing the subject.

Dimitri got up from where he'd been kneeling on the floor and sat down beside me. "It is something that has been in the works for a while now. There will be two teams in Italy at all times. We are looking for a pair of enforcers, and unfortunately, they are warlocks and can easily evade the council."

I grinned. "We can do that, yes. What have they done to warrant so many after them? You mentioned two teams. How many are on a team?"

"Usually four. My team is Benjamin, myself, Raiden, and Briggs. We will be leaving for Italy in four days' time. If I choose to go, that is."

I slowly shook my head. "Why wouldn't you? We were in agreement from the beginning that we would both do what we needed to do for work. I was going to go to Madrid for a week or so and turn over my clients. Granted, I ended up not having to do that, but still, I was going to."

"Ja. I will go as long as I know you will be all right. I know Benjamin will send me home at a moment's notice if you should need me for anything."

"You should go. I'll be fine. Not only are my parents here, but Chin as well. And although I don't know your parents, they're in the area. I have so many to help take care of me if I need them. But I'm not exactly helpless."

"I realize that. I also cannot help but worry. I will go if you insist though."

I grinned while nodding. "I do. Now, tell me all about your day. I spent mine drinking tea, not the sleepy kind, and eating crackers and fruit. I did have a couple of shorter naps, but nothing like I have been. I actually feel as if I'm starting to recover from my body adjusting to being pregnant." At least, that was the hope. I wanted to have the ability to have a life and to enjoy being mated as well as pregnant. One couldn't do that when they spent twenty-plus hours a day sleeping.

I shouldn't be nervous. I wasn't certain why I was exactly. At my insistence, we were having a "family get-together" before Dimitri left tomorrow. He was leaving for Italy in the morning, and I was sure that was the actual reason for my anxiety. I knew he would be safe. He was a dragon, after all, but even a dragon could be overpowered by a warlock. And he would be after a pair of them.

"We can return to our cabin if it is too much."

I looked over at Dimitri and shook my head. I was bundled up in not only jeans and a thick sweater, but I had warm boots, my wool coat, a hat, my scarf, and gloves on. It was a bit difficult to move, actually, but Dimitri had insisted, and now that we were out in the wind, I understood why. My dragon though? Nope. He was wearing a thick shirt and what I would consider a thin jacket, but beyond that, he had on what he always wore: cargo pants and boots. The fact that he'd put on the jacket was a bit of a surprise.

"Are you cold?" I asked, suddenly wondering if he'd chosen to wear it because he realized just how cold it would be.

"I am not." He raised his hand, and when I looked up from the ground, I saw the cabin that I really hoped we were heading toward. "That is Dedushka's cabin. You will know where it is now, and if you need, you can come to it?"

I nodded. It did no good to smile because the only part of my face that was visible was my eyes. The rest was covered by either my hat or my scarf.

"I will. But my parents are here. They're in the cabin Rainier has for the family. At least for now." I had talked to Papa two days ago when I was feeling up for it. It had gone exactly as I'd expected. That wasn't bad, just that it had been an emotional conversation as I had assumed it would be. "I can go there as well. Or to Sebastian's."

Dimitri nodded. I knew he wanted to be with me, but we both understood that as long as Dimitri remained an enforcer, he would be sent out on assignments.

"I can come here if it makes you feel the most secure," I told him.

"I do not require you to come to my family over yours. I know your family will help just as much as mine would." Dimitri stopped, pulling me to a halt with him as I was holding on to his arm while walking through the deep snow. "I want you where you are most comfortable. But yes, I do wish for you to reach out for help if you should need it. Even if it is through our bond and you ask for me to be returned, that is what I wish."

I was smiling but, again, knew he couldn't see it. "I will," I told him. "I am feeling so much better. Even you have commented on how much more energy I seem to be having." I did have to drink the other tea at night. It wasn't that I couldn't sleep without it. That wasn't an issue. But I had problems with staying asleep. I wasn't nearly pregnant enough to have the aches that I did, but they had appeared from the beginning and were still keeping me from resting as I needed, so Dimitri and I had agreed that having a cup of the other tea before bed was my best course.

"I know, lyubimyy." Dimitri leaned in and placed his forehead on mine. "We can continue this conversation inside. Or even later. Right now, if I don't get you over to that porch and inside, I believe my mother is going to come running over here, and that, in turn, will upset my father."

I turned my head and saw a couple standing on the front porch. There was a tiny woman standing there with a rather large man with his arms wrapped around her. That could only be Dimitri's parents. It could be nobody else.

"Oh. We should probably hurry up. If your father is anything like you, then I would imagine he's not going to be too happy with your mom being outside in the cold."

"Nyet."

I chuckled as I tugged on Dimitri's arm to get him moving again. It didn't take long, and we were climbing the steps to the porch. Dimitri's father was holding his mate back, and I couldn't help but smile.

I heard him say something, but I didn't understand, so I looked up at Dimitri in question.

"He told her that she has been through this before and to be patient."

"Ah."

Dimitri moved across the porch, bringing me with him. "Caspian, these are my parents, Shen and Millie," he said.

I smiled, but since I still had my scarf wrapped around my face, I knew they couldn't see it, so I pulled it down and continued to smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you," I told them. I chuckled when Millie started wiggling in her mate's arms. She was so tiny, but that seemed to be the normal thing for fox shifters, but the size difference between her and Dimitri's father was quite a bit.

Dimitri said something to them, and his father opened his arms, freeing his mate, and then Millie was rushing toward us. I wasn't sure if it was because he knew what to expect or if it was because Dimitri was being protective, but he stiffened his arm and held me in place while taking a step forward. I wasn't sure if Millie picked up on it or not, but Dimitri effectively kept his mother from plowing into me. He held out his free arm and wrapped it around her when she reached him.

"Hello, Mother. It is good to see you again."

I let go of Dimitri's arm and gave him an encouraging smile. Dimitri took his now free arm and wrapped it around his mother. I couldn't help but notice the tall, imposing man who was Dimitri's father as he approached us. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Caspian," I said, holding out my hand.

"Shen," he told me. "We are pleased that Dimitri has found his mate." He glanced at his son and mate and smiled. "Perhaps we could continue with hellos inside out of the wind and cold?" Shen asked. "I am certain Dimitri does not want his pregnant mate out in the cold any longer than necessary."

I was a bit surprised by Shen's words, but I shouldn't have been. Everyone knew I was pregnant.

"Ja," Dimitri said. Dimitri managed to disentangle himself from his mother before he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I do not wish for Caspian to be outside in this weather. It wasn't a far walk, but it is exceptionally cold today."

"Inside," Shen said. "Everyone else is already here."

I looked at Dimitri, worried we had been the ones holding up everyone. "We're last?" I asked. "I thought we had plenty of time?"

"We do. Everyone else is early. Do not worry." Dimitri sent his father a look, but I found myself suddenly being pulled into the massive cabin. The temperature inside was drastically different than what was outside, but I wouldn't call it exactly warm. At least not to my own standards. Would I freeze? No. But I had to remember that this was a cabin full of dragons, and they went around outside without a coat on most of the time.

While Dimitri was helping me out of my coat, I picked up on the auras in the cabin. Four were incredibly familiar to me, two more were becoming so, and I looked back at Dimitri with wide eyes. "My family is here?"

He smiled at me. "Ja. It cannot be a family dinner without all of the family."

"Little Flora is just the sweetest," Millie said. I looked over at my new mother-in-law.

"She is." I reached out, and although her eyes widened briefly, she quickly wrapped her arms around my waist. "It is nice to finally meet you," I told her. Her arms tightened on my waist before they loosened, and she took a step away. I noticed she stepped back into Shen's arms.

"I was wrong. You do look like Chin, but you most certainly look like your father. Almost his clone, to be exactly."

I heard Dimitri chuckling through our bond. "Much to Mother's heartbreak. Although there are a couple of my siblings that take after her, but yes, Yéye's genes run strong in our family." Dimitri looked at me. "I hear Arturo and have a feeling that if I don't get you into the den where he can hug you again, I might get scolded."

I rolled my eyes. "Papa loves you," I told him. "But I agree. We should get in there so nobody has to wait any longer for us."

Shen and Millie led the way, and although Dimitri walked at a slower pace, I didn't pick up on anything out of the ordinary. When we got to the back room though, there was certainly a good time being had. Papa, of course, noticed us, but I was certain he had been watching. He came rushing over, and instead of hugging just one of us, his arms were wrapped around the two of us. I had seen him a few weeks ago, but now that he was hugging me, it felt as if it had been so much longer.

"Look at the two of you," Papa said. He gave us a squeeze and then stepped back. Immediately, his hands went to my face. "You are looking a bit pale. Are you still feeling poorly? Do you need to sit down?"

I shook my head before looking over at Dimitri. "Do I look that bad?" I had thought I was doing so much better.

"You are as handsome as ever," Dimitri said.

"Smart man," Father said joining us. He held out his hand, and Dimitri took it. "It's nice to see you again," Father said. "Don't ever tell your mate that he looks anything but beautiful." He pulled Papa into his side and smiled at him. "Even if he has the worst bed head and absolute wretched morning breath, he is still the most charming and beautiful person to you."

Papa's mouth dropped open as he looked up at Father. "You didn't."

Father smiled at Papa. "I said you are beautiful no matter what. Is that not good enough?"

There was chuckling, and when I looked behind my fathers, I knew I was staring at the created dragon.

"Caspian, this is Dedushka."

I smiled at him and noticed Chin standing just behind Alpha Sergei.

"Alpha Sergei, it is an honor to meet you," I told him.

"As it is you, Caspian. Welcome to the family. And please, call me Sergei. You are family." I smiled and nodded. I wasn't sure I could call him by his given name just yet, but I would certainly try. He seemed to pick up on that immediately. "Whatever you are comfortable with," he added.

I nodded again, then smiled at Chin. "It is nice to see you again, Chin. Thank you for inviting us."

"You are always welcome here, Caspian. I won't push, but please feel as if you can come anytime you need to."

I just smiled and grabbed on to Dimitri's hand a bit tighter. When I looked at him, I hoped he would understand. The moment was broken by Drew, bless him.

"There's my favorite brother-in-law," Drew said as he came over. Immediately, Lorenzo called out.

"Hey. I thought I was your favorite." We all chuckled, and when Drew walked up to me, I pulled him into a hug.

"How are you? Sorry my visit was drastically changed last month."

"Are you kidding? This is so much better. You live here now. The entire family is here, and we're going to have a nephew." Drew took a step back. "It is a boy, right?"

I smiled.

"Yes, the dragon baby is a boy," Dimitri said. "I believe that Master Ambrosius is going to remain the lucky one with a female dragon child."

Drew shrugged. "No matter. Flora will have a dragon for a cousin, which is totally cool. Have you seen the view?" Drew asked, taking my hand. "You can see the waterfall from out back. Although it's covered in snow right now, but the water is still flowing."

I let Drew pull me into the house and grinned at the others as we slowly walked by. I saw Lorenzo, who was holding a bundle of pink, and felt a pang. I hadn't gotten to hold her in some time, and although I was going to have my own baby to cherish, I still wanted time with Flora. What were my chances of getting her away from my brother, I wondered. I'd try after I let Drew show me Dragon Falls.