20. Axel
"You"ll need several of these." Lark piled throw pillows of all shapes and sizes into my cart, not caring if they matched. I thought Tuft would mind if we brought him a vanload of mismatched bedding, but Lark said he had a plan for that, too.
The next aisle over, he cheered when we reached the pillowcases, coverlets, and duvet covers. "What is Tuft"s favorite color?" Lark asked.
"All of them." I grinned. "The more color the better, but it"s got to have some kind of pattern, or he"s going to think I"m the worst mate in the world."
"Nah. He was already mated to Weld." Lark met my gaze with a guilty look and let out a long sigh. "I"m sorry. He"s growing on me, but we"ll never be besties."
"I get it. I would still be mad if someone put an unnecessary notch in my ear, too."
Lark shook his head. "He got on my nerves for more than that, and then … Weld and Tuft knew they weren"t mated. I don"t understand why they tried."
"They didn"t know what you and Punky knew, that the eggs would thrive in sunlight."
"We didn"t know that, either," Lark admitted. "We took a chance. Punky did, I should say, and I went along with him because I would do anything for him."
"I would do anything for Tuft, too." I pointed at the shelf Lark was blocking from my view. "Do they have any rainbow designs?"
They had rainbows and unicorns, both an absolute must for my mate. I bought the store out, including a couch cover that would fit over my threadbare pullout and a cute Ottoman shaped like a giant pink ball of cotton candy.
"On to the hardware store," Lark said once I"d paid for everything and packed it into the back of the van for safekeeping. As Lark shut the doors, I noticed the bindings of the spell around Odessa. I hadn"t noticed them when I"d ridden with Lark before, probably because I didn"t have my own magic yet. Now, it was clear to see both the dire weasel and the cargo van, but I was missing a key component.
"How does the stuff not fall out?"
"The inside of the van is an inter-dimensional space."
Right. Like that explained it.
"You"ll learn how to create your own when you bond with your animal. It uses magic from both of us to make it work."
I"d forgotten Odessa had her own magic. She"d read my mind for directions when she"d taken us to my old apartment. "How did you know Odessa was the right creature to bond?"
"I didn"t." Lark grinned. "She bonded with me. All I did was approach the dire weasel paddock and look pretty."
"Is that how the dragonets do it, too?"
"Dragonets can be bribed. Some dire weasels, too, but I don"t recommend it. If a weasel"s bond forms on bribes, they"ll eat your hand off when you don"t have treats. Dragonets are a little more forgiving."
"Tuft has his sights set on a dragonet named Sunset." I laughed as I remembered all the treats he"d shoved her way. "What do they like?"
That"s how we ended up buying a bag of dog food along with two tarps, a spade for digging a latrine trench until the children were old enough to understand toilets, and our greatest find of the day, a portable hammock for the back yard.
"We love ours," Lark said. "We lie in it while the kids play. We trust Clementine to wake us if anything goes wrong. Otherwise, she bosses the boys around like a playground supervisor."
"Cute." My mind wandered to our eggs. Once they hatched, we could start them in preschool almost immediately. Baby kobolds were smart and curious, and they needed classroom stimulation and playground companionship. They were much like human toddlers, in that respect. The major difference was walking on all fours and balancing with their long, thick tails.
"We should get going, if you want to surprise Tuft with a decorated cabin after dinner."
"Sorry. I got lost in a daydream of what our children will be like."
He patted my shoulder. "At least you know you"ll get to watch them grow up. At this stage in Punky"s pregnancy, we worried we would have to send our babies to Earth through the changeling circle."
I couldn"t imagine sending my kids off to Earth for twenty-five years without us. The time apart didn"t do us any favors. I"d met my birth parents, but they were complete strangers, and besides, they had a new family of their own now, twin beta teenagers. When I asked them if I had any brothers, or a sister, they shook their heads to the negative with unshed tears in their eyes. I was the only egg who made it.
I needed to get home to Tuft with all our supplies. Survival wasn"t guaranteed, even with the sunlight and the dragon"s approval. There was still a chance we could lose our eggs. I wanted them to have the best odds.
With Lark"s help, I decorated the cabin for a welcome home party for Tuft and our babies. The last piece of the puzzle was snagging Tuft"s belongings from his room without him knowing.
Lark had the solution for that, too. He asked Tuft to meet him in the cafeteria before dinner to discuss the youth league. I hid in the hallway with an invisibility spell and slipped into his room just as he locked the door behind him.
I knew how to teleport items, but I"d never teleported myself like that before, and twice in rapid succession. I felt a little nauseated afterward, but it was worth it to see all of Tuft"s colorful shirts, vests, and his hanging display of ties and bowties in my closet. My chest filled with pride when I opened the two drawers at the top of my dresser and found his underwear, shorts, and pants. I resisted the urge to lean over the drawer for a deep sniff. I didn"t want to be late.
I added some magical sparkles to the "Welcome home" sign, and then I teleported as close to the fortress as I dared. I didn"t want to knock into someone I couldn"t see.
Tuft had his back to the door where I entered the cafeteria, and Lark looked concerned. When he saw me, he waved me over.
Tuft turned toward me, and it was like the clouds lifted to show the sun, his smile was so bright. I beamed back at him. I pulled out the chair to sit beside him, but Lark jumped to his feet. "Sit here. You"ve got a lot to discuss."
I slid into the chair facing Tuft and Lark vanished, like he"d teleported home from right behind me. I didn"t know we could do that.
"I have a surprise for you," I said.
At the same time, Tuft said, "When you left, I thought you weren"t coming back."
"Oh." I studied his worried expression. He even smelled off, like he"d been stressed for hours. "I"m so sorry. I wanted to travel to Earth and back before you knew I was gone." I should have known Tuft would find out I"d left, but this was far beyond ruining my surprise. I"d let Tuft think I"d abandoned him.
"One of your coworkers was looking for you," he said. "I wouldn"t have known until tonight, if …"
"I will never leave you." I reached across the table to take both of his hands in mine. "You"re my mate, and my home. All the French fries in the world won"t change that."
"French fries?" He frowned suspiciously. "Who"s she? I"m jealous."
I laughed at his silly pout. "You know I mean food. Speaking of which, we should grab some to go. I have something I want to show you."
Tuft let me take the lead, grabbing two bags of to-go cuisine from the counter and waving to the beta at the grill. Outside, I handed a bag to Tuft and took his free hand. In a flash, we were standing on my—our—front porch.
Tuft leaned over his knees and took a breath. "That"s really powerful magic."
"I swear my magic is stronger each day I spend with you."
"Lark asked if I noticed a difference, but I don"t." His adorable pout returned.
"You"re pregnant with our eggs," I reminded him. "They"re sucking all of your magic to form their protective eggshells. Once they hatch, you can compare your new magic levels to what you had before."
He flashed me a hopeful grin, and I opened the door.
His grin vanished as he looked around my living room. "Axel? Someone broke into your home and set off a glitter bomb."
I laughed. "It was me. Do you like it?"
"Like it?" He read the sign silently. Instead of the happy dance I"d expected, he frowned. "What is this?"
"I should have asked." I was such a fucking idiot. I assumed he would want to move in with me. "I"m so sorry. I moved all of your stuff here, but I can move it back to your room in the omega wing, if that"s what you want."
"What … you"re … I"m …" Tuft"s expressions continued to shift as he tried to find the right words. Then, his eyes caught on his framed artwork, pieces I knew he"d created, and his eyes filled with tears.
I fell to one knee, which I"d neglected when proposing to Rosanna. "Tuft, will you move in with me?"
He blinked back the tears and scoffed. "Now? Really? You"re not going to wait to see if the eggs are viable?"
I hopped back to my feet and grabbed his forearms, not sure if he wanted a hug or not from his body language. "Viable? Why wouldn"t they be viable?"
"My first clutch didn"t make it. I didn"t produce enough slick. You don"t want to be there if?—"
"You don"t have a real window in your rooms," I reminded him. "Our friends" babies hatched in the sunlight. And why would I wait? I want to spend every waking moment with you. Walking you home each evening is fun, and probably good for my cholesterol, if we even need to worry about that, but I"d rather sleep with you, wake up with you, spend my days and nights with you."
"Oh, Axel." Tuft"s tears flowed unbidden down his cheeks, leaving a shiny trail beneath his eyes. "How did I ever get so lucky?"
"We"re fated," I reminded him. "It"s not luck. It"s pheromones, and compatibility, and?—"
"Luck," he insisted. "Thank you so much." He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed every inch of both cheeks. I took full advantage of his proximity and lifted him off the ground by his firm ass. He wrapped his legs around me, and his lips found mine.
I regretted breaking the kiss, but we still needed to eat. I set him down to retrieve our bags of food from the floor.
"Gods, you are so perfect," he said. "Yes, I"ll move in with you."
"Whew." I wiped pretend sweat from my brow. "I didn"t want to move all your stuff back to the fortress."
After dinner, I gave him a tour of our room. This time, I didn"t resist leaning in for a huge sniff of his underwear drawer. His magical compression shorts were clean, but they smelled like his slick. I wanted to rub myself on them, but why should I settle for his clothes when I could have the real thing? I dragged him to the bed, fully intent on doing just that.