Chapter 18

Eli

I didn't feel bad or sick. It wasn't as if something was wrong.

But I wanted to be home more than I'd ever wanted to be home before in my life. It was a feeling beyond homesickness. I craved my bed and the safety of it like it was necessary for me to live.

I held Aldryn's hand tightly. We ran back to the car, and he was hardly able to keep up with how fast my feet were moving. It was only two miles, but it was the fastest two miles of my life. We made it there in record time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aldryn asked. He sat in the driver's seat, concern radiating from my mate. I wished I could put into words what was happening, only I didn't know. I only knew I wanted my mate, and I wanted to be in my bed.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just... I want to be home right now."

"Okay." He drove as quickly as he could while also being safe. Once we were there, I exited the car and raced into the house. I went straight to the bedroom. I didn't put a lot of thought into what I was doing; it was as if my limbs acted on their own. Instinct took over, an instinct that I didn't even recognize that I had.

I began organizing the pillows, then the blankets, laying down all four of the fluffy fleece blankets that Aldryn had bought for me when we first moved in. I put the last one—an emerald-green one that matched the color of his scales—over the top. After that, I stripped and lay in the center of the bed, in my makeshift nest.

"Eli?" Aldrin's voice was tentative, with a slight tremble to it.

He stood in the doorway, staring wide-eyed at me. It had to look as if I'd lost my mind. I was lying naked in the middle of our bed, surrounded by blankets and pillows.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just... I don't know what this is."

"It looks like a nest," he said. He stepped close, slowly. He reached the bed and ran his hand over the top blanket.

"Why am I making a nest?" I cried.

"Well, we're mated now…" He shrugged, letting the end of the sentence hang.

"And... what? Are we going to have a baby?" I asked, feeling the weight of the implications. "If I was pregnant, I would be pregnant for a couple of months."

"I'm a dragon. Dragons lay eggs," Aldryn explained.

Why the hell couldn't my dragon come with an instruction manual.

My stomach cramped. The muscles constricted, like something was happening. Goddess bless, was Aldryn right?

Aldryn was by my side in an instant, gripping my hand.

"Should I call someone?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I don't know," I replied. I clenched my jaw. My teeth ground together, almost hard enough to break them. I squeezed his hand so hard that my mate winced under the pressure. He did not let go.

A slick, viscous substance pooled between my legs. "Oh my god. Holy goddess. I... I think I'm laying an egg!"

"What?" Aldryn cried out. His eyes were as wide as saucers. The whites of them matched the walls.

"Well, you're the one who thought I was nesting and that I was pregnant," I said. My voice strained with the effort. My body was working on its own, forcing out what I had to assume was an egg.

"Right. But that was just a theory. You're... having one now?"

"Yes," I cried out again, feeling the urge to push. Before I knew it, something slipped out of my body, landing softly on the nest that I had created.

I sat up quickly to take a look at it.

A perfect oval-shaped egg with glittery emerald scales shone back at me. It was larger than I expected, about the size of a loaf of bread. Immediately it was like a thread of connection formed between me and the egg. This was my child, created from my mating with Aldryn. Our baby.

"Oh," I cried softly, brushing my hand over the hard surface. "We did it."

"What is that?" Aldrin said, bewildered.

"That is a dragon egg," I said with a smile, looking up at him. "Yours, in case you're wondering."

His eyes widened. "We're going to be parents?"

I nodded. Happiness bloomed like a field of sunflowers in late summer.

Then the contractions hit me again. I gripped Aldryn's hand tightly. "There's another one," I said through gritted teeth.

"How many are there?" Aldrin asked, his concern evident.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" I replied, feeling overwhelmed. "I didn't even know I had one!"

Just like the first one, the second egg slipped out easily. It was a similar size, but with darker scales and a duller tone. Another connection snapped into place. I loved this egg and the child inside with every fiber of my being.

"Is that normal? Do you think that's normal?" Aldrin asked anxiously.

"Sweetheart, I don't know," I admitted. "This is my first time, too. But two is a good number, right?"

Then the cramps hit again. I shook my head. "There's another one. Three. Goddess, I hope there is only three!"

Aldrin nodded, looking amazed and worried all at once. The third egg slipped out smoothly, and we placed it beside its siblings. Three shades of emerald with sparkling scales glistened in the natural light of the room. They were perfect. They were ours.

My body began to relax, and I sensed that the labor was complete. I'd laid all of the eggs.

"They're so beautiful," I whispered, overcome with awe.

"They really are," Aldryn agreed, his voice filled with wonder. "How do you feel? Are you sore at all?" He looked me over as if giving me an exam.

"Fine," I said, wiping at my brow where sweat had gathered. "I think maybe I need a shower, but also, I don't want to leave them."

"Stay right where you are, mate," Aldrin said softly. "I'm going to order more blankets."

"No, stay," I insisted. "I want you to stay with me."

"Okay," he agreed immediately. He gathered me into his arms, and we spooned around our three eggs, gazing at them and softly caressing their shells. I felt a deep connection to each one of them, similar to the bond I felt with Aldryn. Perhaps that was a dragon thing.

"How long do they stay in their eggs?" Aldryn asked, his curiosity piqued.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Aldryn, sweetheart, I didn't even know that I was carrying them, how am I supposed to know how long they will be in their eggs? This is something we're going to have to learn together."

He had the decency to look sheepish. He lightly touched each one, and the level of love I saw in his eyes as he gazed at his children caused my heart to skip a beat.

The chirp of his phone ringing caused us to jump. "It's my mom," he said, glancing at the screen. "What do I tell her?"

I looked down at the three dragon eggs between us and smiled. "Tell her she's going to be a grandma."

He smiled back at me. "We're definitely staying here." He got up to leave the bed.

"Wait," I said, feeling a surge of nerves at having him away from me. "Definitely stay in here, please."

"Okay." He settled back into the nest with me and answered the phone. "Mom, I've got some good news."