Epilogue

Lyla

I peeked out of the kitchen window. Falkon was exactly where I expected. Curled up in the sun next to Vedrac. The pair of them were always in one of our gardens, soaking in the sun. Although admittedly, Falkon was nearly too big for Heather and Vedrac's garden. I rubbed my growing stomach as I turned back to tie my hair out of the way. Being 8 months pregnant wasn't enough to stop me from running exercise classes. But I had started wanting to slow down and focus on nesting.

The doctor had been doing regular scans to check on the baby and while he was going to be big, he wasn't so big I wouldn't be able to give birth naturally and I wouldn't need to be induced early. I was excited to meet our little girl, though. The phone rang, and I spotted my brother's number as I picked it up.

"Sable! How are you?"

The voice at the other end was soft, but gruff.

"Good. How's incubating a dragon?"

"Tiring, she's a kicker."

"You can't blame Falkon for that. You kicked me whenever you didn't get your way as a toddler."

"And you could always just fly away and taunt me from the air," I teased.

As a child I'd always found my mothman brother's ability to fly fascinating. But it also made me jealous at times. Now I could fly whenever I wanted. Falkon never missed a chance to take me up into the skies. I wondered if our girl would be able to fly too.

"Yeah," he laughed, but I could tell he had something on his mind.

"What's up, bro? Is it time?"

"Yeah, Heather said Vedrac was over there. Can you ask him to give me a call? I think I've nearly got him."

Daylen. Finally.

"Of course, I'll tell him straight away."

There was a pause.

"What else?"

"Well, I dunno. There's this woman. I don't really know what to say…."

There was something in his tone of voice I hadn't heard before. A softness.

"Of course, whenever you want. I'm always here for you."

"I know. Even when I was young and a dick, you never gave up on me. Despite everything."

This was unusually soppy for him.

"And I never will."

"Thanks sis."

As we hung up, my mind was whirring. A woman? I'd be hard pressed to keep my curiosity in check until he was ready to talk. He never got emotionally attached to women. I wandered outside.

"Vedrac, my brother wants you to give him a call. Sounds like he has a lead on Delaney."

Vedrac leapt up like a bee had stung him.

"I'll do it now."

He took off, wrapping his robe around him. He was keen to see this through. I sat down on the grass next to Falkon and he wrapped around me.

"Are you sure you don't want to go too?"

"No, Sunbeam. Not this close to your due date. Vedrac and Sable will get it done."

"I hope they will both be ok."

I chewed my lip nervously.

"They will be."

"Maybe I should go for a run to keep my anxiety in check?"

"Maybe I could think of a way to keep you distracted?"

"Oh, yes?"

He kissed the wedding ring on my hand and then trailed more kisses up my arm, to my neck.

"Well, I suppose I could let you try. You'll have to be very distracting, though."

"Oh, I can be. Very."

He nibbled at my neck before tugging my ponytail with his mouth. As I laughed, he swept me into a paw and carried me back inside the house as fast as he could. Pictures frames flew off the sideboard as his tail swished. He flipped me face up and dropped me down on the dinner table. And then pulled me so my legs were hanging off.

"Falkon!"

I pretended to be offended, but he wasn't falling for it.

"This will do. The perfect height for me to distract you, without putting pressure on your stomach."

His large front paws landed on the dinner table on either side of me, and it shook precariously.

"Falkon, we're going to break the table again."

"Yes we are. And many times again after this."

I squealed as he hooked a claw into my panties and then ripped them off. I gazed up at his blue face and rubbed the scales on his snout. This was going to be a very good distraction indeed.

The End.