129. Dimitri

CHAPTER 129

Dimitri

My bear is driving me up the wall. He wants me to follow Aurora into the woods during her hunt. My other instinct is to provide a safe nest for her to return to.

After pacing around the house for about half an hour, I go into town. Several of the stores have reopened, and I go and investigate. The linen store is my favorite; I purchase several of the softest blankets and sheets I can find. With bags in hand, I run home and down into our private quarters. There's a room down here that's supposed to be for storage, but it's currently empty.

Several text messages go off, alerting me to my other purchases being delivered. Multiple trips are made to bring my items downstairs. "Do you need help?" Arnulf asks, startling me and half scaring me to death.

Grasping my chest, I turn to face him. "Sure, there's still boxes outside." I motion towards the front of the house.

"Okay, on it." Arnulf takes off, leaving me to ponder how the fuck he managed to sneak up on me.

Back in the room, I start ripping open the boxes and pulling out pillows. Dozens upon dozens of pillows line the one side of the room. Arnulf finds me in the middle of a sea of pillows and starts laughing. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were building a nest." He sets the boxes down just inside the door. The look on my face must have spoken volumes to him. He immediately stops laughing and starts opening boxes to help.

We work in silence for hours, using the sheets to hold groups of pillows together. Carefully, we set it up in the corner then used the rest of the sheets to make a "den." The super-soft blankets go over the top of the pillow nest to make it extra soft. While I put the final touches on the nest, Arnulf installs the lock on the door.

Soft twinkle lights and a natural sounds radio are installed easily. Arnulf claps me on the back and smiles. "This is a nest any female would be proud to use." Nodding slowly, I usher him out of the room and lock it behind us.

"You really think so?" Sighing softly, I head over to the sitting area and flop into a chair. "I've never had the urge to build a den before. It's so important and scary at the same time." Roughly, I run my fingers through my hair before leaning against the back of the couch.

"At least with your species your worth isn't determined by the nest you build," Arnulf says and sighs, looking down and away.

"I've built grand nests, and none were ever chosen." Arnulf shrugs, then looks back to me, his eyes the gold hue of his eagle. "I guess fate had other plans for me," he says smiling, his joy so very obvious.

"With bears, only the strongest boars were ever chosen to be mates." I look down, rubbing the cut on my thumb that Irena and I made. "I was chosen, but it never felt right. I did my male duty."

I look away and exhale deeply. "When I was chosen to serve at the queen's side, I went without question. I didn't know Irena was with cub." Roughly, I slam my fist on the arm of the couch. "Duty will not pull me from my cub again."

"Settle down, big guy, this time is different." Arnulf smiles and shakes his head.

"You are mated to the queen. On top of that, the biggest threat to us has been destroyed." Arnulf gets up, walks over to the bar, and pours us both a bourbon on the rocks. He comes back over and offers me the glass.

As I take the glass from him Tia and Ladon come barreling into the room. Ladon is carrying his wooden sword that the blacksmith made for him. Tia is in her favorite pink dress and dragging her favorite doll behind her. I open my arms, and Tia runs and jumps to me quickly. She nuzzles my neck and jaw, her little dragoness purring up a storm. My arms band tightly around her little body as my bear rumbles to her. Deep in my heart, I cannot wait to hold my own cub like this. "Papa Bear?" Tia says softly.

"Yes, little one?" I lean back and sit her on my thigh. Carefully, I sip at my bourbon and wait for her question.

"Can you teach me how to fish? Momma says you're the best fisherman in the family." Tia's pale-grey eyes shift to that of her dragoness as she studies me.

My eyes drift to Arnulf, then back to Tia. "I could, but let's have a bit of fun with it." My eyes drift between Ladon and Arnulf before looking back to Tia.

"Ladon and Arnulf are one team, and you and me on the other team, Tia." Tia starts bouncing up and down excitedly.

"We got this, Papa Arnulf." Ladon raises his fist to Arnulf, and they fist bump. "Tia's a princess. What can she do?" Ladon says smugly.

Just so happens, Aurora walks in on the tail end of what Ladon said. "What can a princess do?" Aurora asks as the rest of our bond mates enter the room.

Slowly, she stalks across the room, freezing the floor as she goes. Her arms shift to that of her gauntlets. "Technically, I am the only queen of the Ice Dragon court. I am still a princess in the Marelup court." Aurora smirks.

"Before I was queen, I took down a Wyrm Black Dragon, the great Nexus. He was undefeated before me." Aurora kneels to be at eye level with her son.

"Your sister, like me, is a direct descendant of the Blood Queen, the fiercest dragoness in history," Aurora says as she points between her and Tiamat.

"I know deep in my heart Tiamat will be a great warrior and queen one day. Her still having dragon scales in her human form tells me she will be even more powerful than I am one day." Aurora smiles, looking fondly at her daughter. Slowly, her eyes turn back to Ladon.

"Females are revered because the Goddess allows so few of us to be born. Treasure the females in your life always." She finishes speaking then kisses Ladon's forehead before leaving the room as suddenly as she came.

I'm gobsmacked listening to the way Aurora put Ladon in his place. He looks between his mother and his sister then back again. "Can we just go as a family? I don't want to compete anymore." Ladon kicks the ground staring at his feet.

"Wise decision, young prince," Arnulf says, attempting to keep a straight face looking between Tia and me.

Ladon smiles and nods as he leads us out the door. We follow him outside and to the stream not far from the outskirts of town. I was happy to find out that the other family members are already fishing in the stream. Tia screams happily, runs to the water, shifts her arms, and starts trying to catch the fish. Shaking my head, I duck into the shed we have out here, strip, and shift quickly. I amble out towards the others as my bear. Tia squeals and runs at me, trying to pull herself up onto my back. Aurora shifts her hands back and lifts Tia up, setting her behind my shoulders.

Carefully, I wade into the water and start fishing. With every fish I catch, Tia's musical giggles make my heart swell. Out the corner of my eye, I watch Aurora and imagine my cub growing in her womb. I huff a breath out of my bear's nostrils before I stick my head underwater and catch a nice-sized trout. Carefully, I approach Aurora and drop the fish beside her and tilt my head to the side. Tia is giggling her ass off as she watches everything I do. "Awe, Papa Bear is feeding momma." Tia exclaims as she slides off my back to go snuggle next to Aurora.

Once I'm sure everyone has gotten fresh fish and I've consumed mine, I head back to the shed and get changed. I really don't understand what Alaric's hang-up is about Tia seeing us shift is. Never in all of Aurora's years growing up did I ever hide anything from her. Personally, I feel Alaric is making a huge mistake hiding everything from Tiamat. My cubs won't be sheltered like that. I don't want their wedding night to be a night of terror because she sees her first penis. Thinking back, I don't believe we hid anything other than having sex from Aurora. We did the best we could for the situation that we were in for her.

Before leaving the shed, I grab a basket, throw some drinks into it, and carry it down to the stream. Using stones, I make a holder to put the basket in so that I can chill the drinks. Aurora starts to giggle, looking at what I'm doing. "Why didn't you ask me to chill the drinks for everyone?" she asks as she smiles at me and mouths silly bear .

"Honestly, love, I just don't want you overtaxing yourself, all things considered." Gently, I place my hand on her lower stomach and caress it.

Aurora stands up on her tippy toes and kisses my cheek. "Always so thoughtful of my needs. Thank you, love, for always putting me first." She kisses my lips gently, and in the background I hear Tia say awe and Ladon say eww .

Shaking my head, I move away slightly, then drop to my knees and kiss Aurora's lower stomach. "Why's Papa Bear kissing mommy's tummy?" Tia asks as she climbs into Alaric's lap.

Raising a brow, I look to Alaric, unsure if we were ready to broach this subject as a family. "Well, Tia, momma is carrying babies in her belly. Just like she carried you and Ladon," Alaric says as gently as possible.

Tia looks from Aurora to Alaric. "How did they get there?" Tia tilts her head slightly. "Did you put them there, Daddy?" Tia grips Alaric's beard staring into his eyes. She has him in such a grip it's almost impossible for him to move.

"Well, um... Aurora?" Alaric takes the easy way out, getting Aurora to navigate this one. Quickly, I get up and move out of the way and sit off to the side to watch this one.

"Tia? Father didn't gift me with babies this time," Aurora says, waiting to get her attention.

"Okay?" Tia responds as she releases Alaric and moves over to her mother, and places her little hands on the small bump of Aurora's stomach. "Who did it?" she asks innocently as she lifts Aurora's shirt to look. "I really don't see how they got in there," Tia says as she pokes Aurora's belly button.

Dominik almost chokes to death on his drink. Jayce hits his twin's back, trying to clear his lungs. Aurora rolls her eyes then looks back to Tia. Carefully, she sits down and pulls Tia into her lap. "Remember we had the talk about heat cycles?" Tia nods and still studies Aurora. "So if a mommy and her mate, or mates in my case, are left alone to do mate things, babies happen," Aurora says with a very serious face, though through the bond, we hear her laughing.

Tia nods and stands up. She looks at each of us in turn, and I feel like I'm standing before a firing squad. Tia moves to stand before me and lifts her arms. Hesitantly, I reach down and pick her up. "Did you give momma cubs?" she asks in a very serious voice. Her little fingers thread through my thick beard as she holds me hostage.

"Momma thinks so, little one." The smile that moves across Tia's lips brings me so much joy.

"Good!" she says with such finality. "They better be girls. If I end up with another smelly brother, I'm going to be mad." Tia says firmly, then gives my beard a tug. She leans in and kisses both of my cheeks, then wiggles to get down. To my surprise, that went much better than expected. That is until Tia tries to shove a piece of fish into Aurora's belly button, trying to feed the baby.

"Little one?" I say gently as I kneel beside Tia and take the fish away from her as Aurora laughs hysterically. "Mommy feeds the baby in her tummy. We just have to keep mommy fed." I smile as I watch Tia's expression change.

Without warning, Tia shoves the piece of fish in Aurora's mouth. Time seems to stop as we watch and wait for Aurora's reaction. Aurora's eyebrows shoot up, and she decides to start chewing the offered fish. "Thanks, sweetheart. The babies will love it," she says kindly with a smile.

Tia's head tilts. "Babies?" She looks at the small bell of Aurora's stomach then at each of us in turn. "Okay, who put another baby in there?" She jabs her finger in the direction of Aurora's stomach.

Alaric and Jayce almost choke on their drinks as we watch Tia walking around like a tiny general examining each of us in turn. I watch her move slowly, examining everyone, then she stops in front of Alaric. "Did you do it again, Daddy?" Tia stands there with her fists on her tiny hips, tapping her foot like Aurora does.

Alaric kneels before Tia, getting eye level with her. "I was with you, Grandpa, and Grandma when it would have happened, little one." Alaric raises his eyebrows, waiting for it to make sense to Tia.

Tia's little dragon comes to the surface, and scales ripple up and down her arms as she looks at all of her mother's mates. "Who did it?" she screams, and a small burst of frost shoots out in all directions from her.

Everyone's eyes widen at her display, and jumps back. "Little one, calm down. Some of your daddies can't survive your frost," Aurora says softly, trying to calm Tia down. She's scary powerful for such a little person.

"Sorry, Daddies. I just want to know what babies are coming." Tia pouts and sighs, then flops onto the ground with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Little one," Aurora says, then sits next to Tia. "I believe I'm carrying Dimitri's and Klaus's. So a bear and a Lycan baby," Aurora says with a sappy smile on her face. Her hand absently goes to her stomach and touches it lightly.

Tia pouts a little. "So we get a teddy bear and a puppy?" She raises an eyebrow looking at everyone to see if she's right.

Slowly, I move past the frost and kneel near Tia. "Baby bears are called cubs. If I'm not mistaken, Lycan babies are called pups," I say gently to Tia so she can learn the differences.

Her lips form the perfect little "O" as the information sinks. "So, does Daddy Jayce and Daddy Dom have puppies?" Tia asks innocently.

Dominik double blinks as he registers what Tia called him. He looks at Aurora, who's now white as a sheet. Then back over to me, hoping for me to fix the innocent slip up. Alaric is beside himself, Jayce and Arnulf are giggling with Klaus. I shake my head slowly and try to figure out how to fix this faux pas.

"Little one, how about we call Daddy Dominik by his full name. Momma and the rest of us call him Dom." I raise my eyebrows and look at Tia, trying to be gentle and serious at the same time.

Tia huffs and rolls her little eyes. "If I must." She smiles, then turns around, grabs hold of Ladon, and starts walking home.

We watch the twins walk off, apparently done with the family outing. It makes me wonder what the next set of babies will be like. I know those two are insanely close because they are both dragons. But a Lycan and a bear cub, I wonder how close they will be? I guess only time will tell. Everyone except Aurora grabs stuff to carry back. By the looks of it, she's going to need a nap sooner rather than later.