Chapter 3
One day later
Dragos let the shift overcome him as he landed on the icy, cold earth behind his house. He’d lived in many domains over the millennia and his current abode was nice and comfortable. But he’d found a cave in the mountains behind his clan’s settlement that he occasionally snuck away to—often with his mate.
And, of course, he hid treasure. It was simply part of his dragon nature and it didn’t matter how old he was. Hiding away his treasure—just jewels, gems, gold and other shiny things—was something he had a compulsion to do. And he didn’t trust human banks.
But his greatest treasure of all, he would never hide away. His mate and children.
Stretching his arms over his head, he inhaled the fresh, crisp night air. It was time to see his mate—
“I swear to God if I could breathe flames, I would set your mate on fire right now!” Victoria appeared out of nowhere and Dragos found himself staring down at his oldest son’s very pregnant mate, the normally serene wolf shifter. But her pregnancy had dragged on past what was normal for shifters—or humans for that matter—and lately she’d been on edge. He did not blame her.
“What’s she done now?” he asked, sighing.
Victoria opened her mouth, then seeming to suddenly realize he was naked, turned around. Then she let out a short, frustrated scream. “It doesn’t matter. Do you know where Drake is? I thought he was over here.”
“Tell me what happened,” he said, pulling on clothes from the bag he’d left by his landing spot hours ago.
“Nothing new. I just can’t breathe with Arya and your two sisters around. Every. Single. Second. At first it was kind of charming, a little amusing. But the closer I get to giving birth, honestly, the more it’s stressing me out. I literally climbed out a bathroom window at Ziti the Great when they appeared there out of nowhere, quizzing me on the type of food I was eating, making sure it was enough and safe for the baby.”
Dragos inwardly winced, but kept his expression neutral as he gently touched her shoulder. “I’m dressed. And I’m sorry. I’ll see what I can do.” Because while he loved his mate more than anything on this planet, he knew she would not want to stress Victoria out. Neither would his sisters. The truth was, Arya had been going a little crazy with the overprotective routine in the last few weeks. Maybe because Victoria’s pregnancy had dragged on so long? He didn’t know.
Over fifteen hundred years ago he and Arya had lost their son, Drake—and only recently got him back after he’d unjustly been locked in Hell—and he had a feeling this impending birth was bringing up emotions she had tried and failed to bury.
Victoria sniffed once and to his horror, tears pooled in her green eyes, making them brighter than normal.
He froze for a moment. He was not accustomed to dealing with crying females. He could count on one hand the number of times his own mate had cried. Usually she just burned things—or beat them to death.
“I swear I’m trying to be understanding of her feelings,” Victoria said, wiping at her cheeks. “But right now, I need things to be just about me. I’m exhausted worrying about other people. And I really don’t care if it’s selfish. I’m not sleeping and…” Victoria froze, and then jerked forward slightly, clutching her stomach.
That was when he scented it. Blood.
Fuck. “What is it?” he asked urgently.
“I need to lie down. Now.”
Without thinking, he scooped up his daughter-in-law and hurried through the back door of the massive house.
He headed for the closest room, a living room with couches and pillows and all sorts of stuff.
Gently he set her on the longest couch and let her stretch out.
Wincing, she said, “I’m bleeding. I can feel and scent it. I can sense the baby’s life force. It’s very strong. I think I’m okay but…I need Drake. And I need Greer.”
He already had his phone out and was calling Greer, the other healer of their clan. Victoria was a wolf, whereas Greer was a dragon like him. She’d been with the clan for a long time, had been around even before his last Hibernation, and she was a skilled healer.
“Greer, get to my house now. Victoria is bleeding,” he snapped into the phone before hanging up and calling Drake. He could have simply texted the healer, but since awakening a few years ago, he’d discovered that he hated texting. And much of technology.
The second his son answered, Dragos said, “Victoria is bleeding. She’s at my house—”
Drake hung up, and less than two minutes later, Greer, Drake, and Arya burst through the front door, with Drake ahead of everyone as he barreled into the living room.
Dragos didn’t pause—he wrapped his arm around his mate and tossed her over his shoulder, heading for the front door as Drake and Greer settled in front of Victoria.
“What the fuck are you doing!” Arya snarled, smacking him on the butt once. Under other circumstances, he might consider this foreplay.
“We’re leaving them alone. Victoria is stressed and she started bleeding.”
Arya struggled and he simply clamped his arms around her as they strode out the front door. This might be their house, but for now it would be Drake and Victoria’s. For as long as they needed it.
“They need privacy, and to be blunt, Victoria does not need to be around you right now. She’s stressed out and her health comes first. Our grandchild’s health comes first.”
At his words, his mate stilled. “You can put me down,” she said quietly as they reached the sidewalk.
He’d been mated to her for thousands of years so he knew she wasn’t going to rush back inside. Setting her on her feet, he wasn’t surprised when she swiftly punched him once in the chest. But it was without heat. If she’d been truly mad, she’d have gone for his throat. Or his dick. His mate did not mess around when she was truly angry.
“She’s bleeding?” A flicker of fear crossed Arya’s features. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, a tight, intricate braid that looped around half a dozen times, making her look exactly like the warrior queen she was.
“Yes. And I don’t know more than that. Greer is in there and will take the best care of her. We’ll go inside once we’re able to. Once we are explicitly invited. And not a second before.” He gathered his mate into his arms, pulling her close. He was tall even by dragon standards, but his mate was tall as well and fit against him perfectly. He set his chin right on the top of her head and sighed as she held him tight.
“I know I’ve been crazy,” she whispered. “I will deny it if you tell anyone I admitted this, but I’m scared for her. I thought I had a handle on it. I know worry is stupid. To quote a younger clanmate, I’m too old for this shit. But I keep having these stupid dreams.”
Startled by the admission, he leaned back slightly to look down at her. They told each other everything. And this was news. “Dreams?”
She nodded once. “I don’t think they’re prophetic, but they won’t stop. They’re nightmares more than anything. I keep seeing Victoria, Drake and their child swept up in a Hell gate. And this time we lose them all. Forever. I…” Swallowing hard, his strong mate buried her face against his chest.
“You’re sure they’re not prophetic?” He was old enough not to ignore dreams and what they could mean.
“Yes. They’re my worst nightmare come to life. I get the sense it’s just my long-buried fears, but it doesn’t make them any less hard to sleep through.”
“Come on. Let’s go find my sisters. You can start a fight with them and burn off steam.”
She let out a snort and wrapped her arms around his waist as they started down the sidewalk. Sparkly silver stars were attached to each lamppost, with garland wrapping around each one. And every house on the street had some sort of decorations, including one house with a life-sized Santa on the roof being led by blow-up dragons instead of reindeer.
“You know me so well,” Arya said, sighing.