Chapter Twenty-Three

Ayelet

Ayelet was a tyrant in the setup process, making us place and replace all the cushions and other parts of the nest. The warming basket for the eggs took pride of place. Who knew there were even enough dragons or other egg-carrying shifters to make something like that a thing? But I was so glad it was. Our omega and our children deserved the very best of everything we could give them.

Apparently each cushion had an optimum place, each blanket a specific fold, and finding those spots took some shifting around, which we were delighted to do for our omega. My favorite part was all the stars and rainbows. While our long-maned, gorgeous unicorn was magnificent, he was also sentimental and had a love for beauty of all kinds. And, after all, this closet nest was going to be our children’s first nursery, and we wanted them to be born and/or hatched into the best we could share with them.

“No, over there.” Harbor pointed to a spot that looked pretty much like every other spot to me. “On the blue one.”

I shifted the lavender body pillow to where he indicated and then stepped back. “Magnus, come here.”

Our dragon moved to stand next to me and slipped an arm around my waist. I loved how affectionate my mates were. “What’s up?”

“Look at the nest. What do you see?” I rested my head on his shoulder, appreciating his warmth.

“I…oh. It is the rainbow.” The nest viewed from the right angle carried the colors in the order of the actual rainbow outside. ROY G BIV. More or less. We were limited by what cushions and throws and blankets we had found. But the effect was there. “I love it.”

“Do you?” Harbor came to join us, and we drew him into our embrace. “I hope the babies like it. Maybe we need to—”

Magnus laid a finger against his lips. “It’s perfect, omega. The babies will know how loved they are when they see this.”

Harbor turned around and took in the nest again. “It is perfect.” He patted his rounded belly. “It’s for you guys whenever you’re ready to come.”

“What did the healer say about that?” Magnus had been out meeting with James who was in town. He’d stepped back fully from his business for a bit but then decided he needed to work some for his sanity’s sake.

“Any time,” I told him. “With our mixed-up shifter species, it’s hard to be sure, but soon.”

Despite that prediction, after getting the nest all set up, things quieted briefly. We had rushed around making sure he had everything he needed or wanted, and sometimes I felt like I was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. After all, Magnus was a dragon and had explained that each of his kind had their own nesting style, and although Harbor was a unicorn, he was being driven by hormones, baby genetics, and who knew what all that I didn’t begin to understand.

But that was all right because even as an alpha, I had no issue with allowing my mates who were more in the know to guide me. And if that meant I had to suppress my fears about how a unicorn could carry eggs to start with much less deliver them…then that was how it was going to have to be. As a result, I was working from home more often than going in to the office at this time. I was so glad to be living closer to the office and could go in anytime I needed to, and since I did not work for a shifter company, I couldn’t exactly say my mate is about to lay eggs. I did however say my husband was having some complications of pregnancy and that until my paternity leave started, I would appreciate their patience and understanding.

The fact that my department was the most productive it had ever been since I took over made my bosses inclined to give me some leeway. Or maybe they were just nice. Could have been either way.

Harbor spent a lot of time on the nest, more every day, it seemed, until finally he was not coming out at all except to sleep. I found that concerning, but Magnus did not, reiterating that each dragon did it their own way.

We were all asleep when the moment came. Harbor jerked upright and struggled out of the tangle of arms and legs that we slept in. “Let. Me. Out.”

I shook my head, trying to sort out what the fuss was. Then I remembered he was pregnant and peeing every hour or so, and I rolled off the bed to the floor to get out of his way. But, to my surprise, he didn’t head for the bathroom but waddle-raced out the open doorway and disappeared down the hallways.

“It’s egg time.” Magnus grabbed his robe. “Ready to be a father?”

From that point, things happened fast. I put on boxers and a T-shirt and followed my mates to the nest. Harbor climbed the pile and dropped to a squat. Without any instruction, we moved, one on either side, prepared to support him if he needed it. He did not. Our magnificent omega gritted his jaw and laid three gorgeous pink-and-blue eggs. I’d wondered if they would all look alike but as we caught each one and laid it in the basket, I could see the differences of the patterns on each. Gorgeous. Delicate, yet strong. And each held one of our children.

The healer also couldn’t tell us exactly how long it would take for them to hatch.

Everything about our family would be a surprise.

After the third egg emerged, Harbor sagged into the cushions. He crawled over and curled up around the basket.

And that was where he stayed.

By the next morning, I figured out that unless his bladder was bursting, he wouldn’t be leaving the nest. He settled in to watch over the eggs with a ferocity I hadn’t seen in him before. Even if one or both of us were present, he was not leaving without a great deal of coaxing, and only the threat that he was going to freak the babies out with his stench got him to take a five-minute shower every couple of days.

Again…Magnus told me it was okay, that our unicorn was behaving like a really great dragon dad. But I still made him shower. For all our good.