23. Merry

Chapter 23

Merry

“No twigs.”

I refused to sit on and lay my precious eggs on branches and leaves. Dragon shifters might be content with that scenario, but not me.

“A nest is whatever you want it to be.” He glanced out the window. “If it were winter, you could use ice and snow.”

My temperature was running high. Not that I was sick, but all pregnant omegas had raised temps, and I had dragon eggs in my belly. Those fiery little beasts might’ve been sleeping and growing, but their heat seeped through the shell and warmed my body.

“I’m not a polar bear.” I cradled my bump. “Come.”

Considering he was a shifter and had super speedy reflexes, my mate wasn’t a natural on a bicycle. But we couldn’t drive into the village itself. I pedaled faster than Hernan—my legs whirring as I pushed the pedals around—and reached the warehouse and was off my bike waiting before he arrived.

“How do you do that? Your legs are shorter than mine, you’re not a shifter, and you’re pregnant.”

I shrugged and grinned, pleased there was one thing besides organizing and the ability to get pregnant that I could do and Hernan couldn’t.

“Years of practice.” Short legs came in handy sometimes.

My mate looked up at the facade that had no name and no number. All the buildings in the village were named and/or numbered.

“What is this place?”

“It’s for the ones that didn’t make it.” I tapped in the code.

“What?” He pulled me away. “Neither of us wants to see that. Did the spell trip them up doing the transfer?”

He was speaking words and sentences but making no sense.

“What are you talking about?” Whoever it was, it was grim.

“The elves who were transported elsewhere and… got trapped or something.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is kind of a halfway station but not the sort you’re talking about.” I yanked open the door and strode in before turning on the lights.

Hernan poked his head in. “Oh. Not elves or humans or shifters.”

There were no humans in Christmas Village, but I didn’t correct him.

“Toys. But aren’t these for this Christmas?” He picked up a doll, and her head flopped to the side. “Oh, she needs surgery.”

I took it from him and kissed the doll’s head. “Sometimes we make mistakes. So while these toys won’t be placed in stockings, during our downtimes, we fix them and donate them to needy kids.” I gathered dinosaurs and teddies and told Hernan to do the same.

“Are you taking on a new project, so close to the laying of the eggs?”

We bundled the toys into a little trailer outside and went back for more.

“No. You told me a nest is whatever I want it to be. These toys are my nest.” There would be no scratched and painful butt cheeks if I squatted on a soft toy nest. I shuddered, thinking of myself with a stick up my ass.

“You’re so clever.” We high-fived.

“I know.”

When we had enough toys, Hernan attached the trailer to his bicycle, and we pedaled home.

“Hurry!” I yelled over my shoulder. “We’re going to need the nest sooner rather than later.”

“Why?” His voice was almost carried away by the wind.

“Just trust me.”

On arriving home, I waddled into the house and told Hernan I wanted to nest in the bed. He went back and forth, bringing loads of toys, while I showered and rearranged the toys when I was done.

My mate might’ve been a dragon but he wasn’t an expert nest maker. I climbed in and got comfortable while my mate brought sandwiches, snacks, and water.

“You think it’s time?”

“My body feels different.” It was hotter, and my hands and feet were clammy. I’d never laid eggs before, so what did I know? There was no manual telling me what to do.

Hernan stripped down to a tee and boxers and sat behind me. I lay back, and after nibbling on crackers and fruit, I dozed off.

I was awakened by a sharp pain in my belly. This had to be it unless I had an upset tummy. I shook Hernan who’d also fallen asleep.

“I need to squat. The eggs are coming.”

He helped me up and supported me as I bent my knees. Looking down at the crocodiles, dolls, pandas, dinosaurs, and teddies, I knew my eggs would be safe.

My body was wracked with pain as I grunted and moaned, and Hernan whispered how great I was doing. And when I thought I was going to burst, I pushed out an off-white egg, streaked with blues and greens.

I wanted to snuggle it and cover it with a blanket and tell the little one inside this was supposed to happen. But another egg was on the way. This one was more eager to emerge than their sibling, but it was cream with pink and blue spots.

“Two eggs,” Hernan kissed my head. “Are there more?”

“No, that’s it.”

My mate put a pillow under my head and tucked the toys around the eggs so they wouldn’t move. He wrapped a quilt around the base of the eggs, and we snuggled together under a blanket, admiring our babies.

“You’re amazing. Omegas have mad skills. I’m in awe.” Hernan explained they’d recognize our voices, especially mine, so we sang to them and read stories about Santas and elves.

Our babies were so lucky they’d know the world of dragon shifters and the North Pole.

“We should choose names.” Hernan curled around me.

“Let’s wait until they’re born.” Names needed to suit a baby.

I shifted my butt and a toy squeaked. Oops, one of the squeaky ones had been put in the wrong pile at the warehouse. I would never have chosen a noisy toy for my nest.

“Maybe we can call one of the babies Squeak.” My mate giggled, but I nudged him.

“Nope. What did you have planned for the second one? Bubble? So there’d be a Bubble and Squeak?” One of the Santas loved that dish of eggs and leftover vegetables.

“Nah. What about Go-Round? We’d have a Merry and a Go-Round. Merry Go-Round.”

“Not funny.”