7. Kai

Chapter 7

Kai

The four of us stood round Albie's crib, admiring our adorable baby boy.

"I could make breakfast." Dante made no move to the kitchen as he bent over and studied the little guy that was an exact replica of himself. "Is it my imagination, or does he look a tad like me?"

Gideon rolled his eyes and elbowed our mate. "I think he has my nose."

Technically that wasn't possible, but Mate Number One laughed at Gideon's teasing.

"Hilarious." Dante blew Albie a kiss, even though our little boy was asleep, having had his first feed and diaper change.

"His eyes remind me of m-my dragon's. D-Dark with a hint of m-mystery." Seymour stumbled over his words, his gaze darting from me to my mates.

I giggled and shoulder bumped him, wanting him to feel as though he belonged in this family.

"Oh yes, I can see it." Dante nodded.

"Identical," Gideon agreed.

How did I get so lucky to find my first two mates who were so kind to the new guy and were doing their best to make him fit in.

"What was that about breakfast?" I asked. Giving birth and feeding was a hungry business, and my belly was complaining.

"Hmmm, that would require me to leave the nursery and go into the kitchen." Dante rubbed his chin.

"Yes," we all agreed. No one else volunteered to leave Albie.

"But how hungry are we?" Dante asked. "Do we need food?"

"Yes," the rest of us said in unison.

"Fine!" His tone suggested he was anything but fine, but he took off and was back in twenty seconds with a loaf of bread and sliced ham. We each took two slices of bread and slapped the meat between them.

"Enjoy!" Gideon raised his sandwich as we did the same and "toasted" our delicious breakfast.

I gobbled mine and took more bread and ham, not mentioning to my mates I'd need feeding again in an hour.

Much as I wanted to stay with Albie, I was exhausted, so we pulled the crib to the side of the bed and I lay down, my hand dangling inside the crib and touching our son.

Seymour had to leave the room to take a call, and Gideon whispered that we should do something to make the dragon shifter feel welcome. "A grand gesture."

"Like what?" Dante asked, but Gideon had no idea.

None of us had huge savings, so we couldn't give the guy a car. Not that a dragon shifter needed one. Nor could we all go on holiday and stay in an upmarket resort. Not that I was aware if Tarrin had such places.

There was still so much I didn't know about my newish home.

Whatever we did had to be cheap, easy, quick, and could be done near the nursery so we could all stay close to Albie.

"What about a cake?" In the before time, we made cakes to celebrate births, anniversaries, and weddings. Welcome to the family was a thing. Cake we could do, and everyone loved cake.

When I suggested it, the other two shared a glance. "Just as you did in Pineville."

"Exactly." Maybe cake wasn't a part of celebrations in Tarrin. Well, it would be in this family.

Albie woke and I fed him, while Dante and Gideon searched online for cake recipes. I could have reeled one off from my memories. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk, and whatever else they wanted, whether it was lemon, orange, chocolate, or something we didn't have in the cupboard.

"Chocolate sounds yummy."

"I get to lick the spoon."

My mates' faces lit up as they said, "Just like in Pineville."

Gideon offered to change Albie's diaper, and we all inspected his technique. Dante rated it eight out of ten, but when Seymour returned, he said it was perfect. I suspected the guy was trying to fit in and didn't want to criticize Gideon.

"Do you like chocolate?" Dante asked Seymour as I put Albie over my shoulder, and he gave a loud burp. We all gave tiny indoor claps so as not to frighten our son.

"I adore it, and my dragon is partial to it."

Hmmm, how big would the cake have to be to sustain a dragon's sweet tooth?

"But he has a stash in a mountain cave outside the city. He likes it when it's old and has that grayish sheen of stale chocolate."

Gross. Dante plastered a smile on his face while Gideon put a hand over his mouth. I buried my face in Albie's tummy, while I imagined my mate's dragon hovering over his chocolate and flaming anyone who came near it.

"Guess what?" I said to my dragon shifter mate.

Seymour's brow furrowed. "Is this a Pineville game?"

"Sorry." I patted his arm. "We're going to make a cake to celebrate you joining our family." But I clarified with, "We being these two." I jerked my head at Mates Numbers One and Two.

"That's so kind of you," Seymour gushed and shook hands with Dante and Gideon.

Were dragons excessively polite? I had the impression they were growly and prone to bursts of frustration where they burned stuff. But once again, I was allowing my human ideas about mythical beasts to interfere with my new reality.

With the tablet in front of them and each shifter taking turns to read out a step in the recipe, my mates beat, folded, and stirred. One of them would rush into the bedroom and give me a taste at each stage.

"Don't forget the frosting," I told them when they put the cake in the oven.

There was a flurry of activity as they found a recipe, and there was more beating and tasting. I had fond memories of being with my grandparents while the aroma of baking cake filled the kitchen.

"How's it going?" I was eager for a slice but too tired to leave the comfort of my bed.

"Not sure," Gideon said.

That didn't sound good.

"Show me."

Dante brought the cake in, flanked by my other mates. The cake was kinda lopsided, like the leaning tower I'd seen on TV in the before time.

I tilted my head to the side and my mates did the same.

"Is it supposed to look like that?" Dante asked.