68. Dominik

CHAPTER 68

Dominik

February -

We're in the home stretch, and I feel as though we are walking on eggshells lately. Aurora is miserable; her poor body aches, and her breasts have started to leak on occasion. Her sexual appetite has calmed down some to where it's manageable. The days of teaming up with my brother are over for now. Thankfully, we are not fucking to the point of exhaustion anymore. Now, Aurora wants it slow, sweet, and gentle, Honestly, it's because she's afraid the baby will be born with a dick imprint on its forehead.

We all attempted and failed miserably at trying to keep a serious face when she said that to us over dinner. Poor Nicodeamus needed the Heimlich maneuver because he decided to literally inhale his chicken wing. The rest of us have gotten smart. We don't eat or drink when Aurora is talking at the dinner table. I can say, without a doubt, you never know what's going to come out of that girl's mouth.

In theory, today is going to be an easy day. Jayce and I have Aurora floating around in her oversized bathtub to ease some of her discomfort. My brother and I take turns holding her head above water as we walk backward around the tub. Hell, this thing shouldn't be called a tub. It's a fucking small pool. It's gotten quite interesting to watch the odd shapes Aurora's stomach takes on when the baby moves. The freakiest thing to date was the hand. I say the hand because out of nowhere, the baby pressed her hand to Aurora's stomach, and the outline was perfect.

We all stared in wonder as that little hand slid around the one side. Klaus decided to reach out and touch it, and immediately the hand disappeared. The next thing we know, there's a little foot there instead. Nicodeamus and Dimitri sat there telling us stories about what Aurora was like when Anca was pregnant. I'm glad Aurora isn't going through half of what her mother did.

Dimitri regaled us with stories about how constantly nauseous Aurora's mother was during her pregnancy. There were days on end that she couldn't keep any food down, which made her very angry for a she-wolf. Nicodemus told us about how he would hunt for her to bring her back fresh meat, but she wouldn't touch the raw food because of the way she was raised. Aurora sat there rolling her eyes because the raw food doesn't faze her one bit. To be perfectly honest, she prefers to hunt and eat her food as her animal versus as a human.

Aurora comes over and sits on my lap, curls up, and presses her forehead to my throat. She stays snuggled like this for several minutes, and eventually her breathing evens out and she's fast asleep. We've all noticed that she's napping more often and for longer over the course of the day. We know it's getting close to time for her, and we're doing everything within our power to keep her happy and healthy. Klaus's grandmother has been on high alert, preparing everything that she feels she may need to deliver the baby. Little does she know, she's going to be riding a dragon, probably in the middle of the night, to a destination we're not telling her about.

We're keeping everything very quiet about our plans for the swift departure when we know it's time. Just recently, there was another attempt on Aurora's life in the middle of the night. I'm very thankful that my brother, Jayce had decided to remain as his wolf that night. With his heightened senses and not needing to sleep, Jayce was vigilant throughout the entire night. Somewhere around one in the morning, someone entered our quarters through a hidden passageway that we were not aware of. The assassin did not know Aurora would have all of her mates with her. He didn't even make it ten feet out of the passageway before Jayce was on him and ripped his head off instantly.

Jayce was so stealthy that night we didn't even hear the body hit the floor, nor was there any evidence of the attack the next morning. He pulled us aside and told us what happened so that we didn't concern Aurora with it. We've gotten rather sneaky in the last three months, things that would stress her out, she has no clue happened. Alaric, Klaus, and Nicodemus have been running the kingdom for her. We've hosted several dinners with visiting dignitaries. Still, at the slightest notion she was getting tired we would give Aurora an excuse to leave the room. So far, the kingdom is unaware Aurora is unable to shift. We fully intend to keep it that way, especially for her and the baby's safety.

I feel the baby moving within my mate's womb, up against my stomach. The baby does unfortunately seem to prefer her father over the rest of us. I'm guessing it's a dragon thing. Hopefully, it'll work out differently for Aurora than it did for her mother. She has the advantage that her mate will be present for the birth. There's also a lot of things different between Aurora's birth and now her baby's. Firstly, Aurora is half-dragon, so her body is already acclimated to the child she's carrying. It wasn't like her mother, whose body was hosting a tiny alien that literally burst free of her body.

Secondly, we are on her like white on rice; she doesn't sneeze without all of us being alerted to it. From what Dimitri and Nicodemus told us, Anca's other mates had very little to do with her during the pregnancy. They spent very little time interacting with her, and most nights she slept alone. That, by itself would cause undue stress to the mother and child.

We only have maybe a week, possibly two at most before the new little princess is born. I'm kind of frightened right now. Let's face it, I've never witnessed a birth, nor have I ever had the title of father. Genetically we know the child isn't ours, but it's Aurora's and Alaric's. As a group, every child is all of ours; paternity doesn't matter. I motion to Alaric to come over and take our beautiful mate from me.

I feel how restless her child is and I'm guessing it wants its father. Almost instantly, the minute Alaric picks her up, the baby calms and Aurora starts making that odd hybrid noise of hers that's a mix of dragon and wolf. It's definitely a dragon thing. I wonder who will get to father the next child that she's going to carry? It really doesn't matter if you think about it. She said each of us would have our own child; it's just a question of when. I'm kind of excited, mostly scared, but excited all the same. Only time will tell. For now, we do what we have to do. We have to make all of our preparations and wait for Aurora to say to us that she's ready.

Tonight's my brother's and my turn to go out with Alaric to work on the birthing space. We're adding our own little touches, each one of us, so that something of ours is present with her. Nicodeamus and Alaric suggested that it just be the three of them when it comes time because of the child she's carrying. I don't like the idea, but if we're to maintain any semblance of control here, some of us must stay behind. After all, we don't want anybody looking for Aurora while she's off giving birth.

A little after midnight, Alaric gathers Jayce and me up and takes us out into the courtyard. I'm really not too keen on the idea of flying. The gods gave me four paws for a reason and not wings. Jayce looks so excited. Then again, he likes looking at Alaric naked. Alaric, like most dragons isn't very selective about what gender he takes his liberty with. I was however shocked about Klaus being bi. He didn't seem like the type that would be on the receiving end. Hell, I've caught Jayce and Klaus more than once taking care of each other's needs. Aurora doesn't care, as long as her needs are met and no other female is ever involved.

Alaric finishes his shift and Jayce walks over to me carrying Alaric's clothing bag. I have our bag of stuff for the birthing nest. Wow, a birthing nest for our mate. The weight of the situation hits me harder than any punch ever delivered to my body. I'm amazed and in awe of what Aurora is capable of. Here is one of the strongest females I've ever known, heavily pregnant and defenseless. Aurora isn't the type to like to depend on others, and here she is, trusting us to protect and provide for her. I can tell Alaric is getting impatient when he thumps his tail on the ground near me. Fuck, I'm really not looking forward to this. Aurora once asked me if I'm afraid of anything and I answered with losing her. The truth is, I'm scared of heights too.

Reluctantly, I climb onto Alaric's back where he had instructed us to sit. I have a death grip on the spine before me. I'm terrified. Jayce looks back at me and smiles at me. I force a fake smile at him and draw in a deep breath. I admit it, I scream like a little bitch when Alaric launches himself into the air. We circle the castle once, waiting for his personal guards to join us. Aurora is standing on the balcony with Dimitri right behind her, holding her tightly. I couldn't think of a better male to entrust her care to.

We turn to the north, following the ridge line, staying low to the ground to not attract attention to ourselves. Jayce is ecstatic, looking everywhere, making me a nervous wreck with how he's constantly twisting and turning. Me, personally, I feel like I want to puke my dinner up. The dips and rises on the thermals make my stomach flip and flop with every beat of Alaric's wings. Up, down, up, down…. How much fucking further is this damn place!

Out of nowhere, a mountain rises up out of the fog. The side facing us is almost perfectly vertical, disappearing into the clouds. I'm starting to panic when Alaric reaches out to me through the bond. Relax, we're almost there now. Just a straight climb up the side of the mountain. I won't fly straight in like I do with the others. I roll my eyes as if that makes me feel better.

Suddenly, Alaric flair's his wings as if hitting the brakes, and he brings his body up and parallel to the mountain. Yup, experiencing terror in this moment. I can feel his dragon laughing at me, the bastard. Alaric lands, and his talons dig into the stone as he begins his climb. Several minutes later, we reach the opening and he climbs in. I look around cautiously, and my eyes widen. He flies into this opening? Yeah, I'm glad he decided to climb this time. As soon as it's safe, I slide off Alaric's back and begin to look around.

As I step away from Alaric and Jayce, I shift my eyes to the ones Aurora gifted me with. My mercury, wolven orbs look around, taking in the layout of the caverns. You can tell, once upon a time, that a dragon dug the cavern out itself. I run my fingers over the groves that were left behind. I'm genuinely amazed by the strength of the dragons, more than anything. Alaric comes up beside me and lays his hands on the groves as well. "The Blood Queen dug this cavern; it's been in Nicodeamus's family for generations. From what Nicodeamus told me, he was the last hatchling born here. He had fully intended for Aurora to be born here, but the attack happened and well, we know what happened after that." Alaric looks down and moves away. One of his guards lands in the cavern opening and lies down, blocking the entrance.