Jamie gasped, then turned to Emily, who sat beside her on the living room couch in her house.

"Weren't you supposed to travel today?"

Emily smiled. "I canceled it. Being here with you and Ethan is far more important."

"Won't you get in trouble?" Jamie asked, cocking her head.

"My boss can't do anything about it. Besides, this might be a good thing. The Custides were far too eager to get to the negotiating table. They must be hiding something. By pushing back the meeting, I'll throw them off their game and have more time to figure out what they're up to."

Jamie smiled and gave Emily a side-hug. "Thanks for being here for me."

"You're welcome."

A loud thud made Jamie jump up and run to the door. When she opened it, she saw Veilios, with Ethan in his arms and two enormous dark brown wings behind him. Having never seen dragon wings, Jamie merely stood and stared at Veilios as he walked up the porch steps.

"Mom," Ethan called, snapping her out of her awe as Veilios handed him to her.

Jamie pulled him close and tucked her head into his little neck, breathing in his childlike scent. Her boy was safe. Safe and in her arms.

"Thank you," Jamie whispered, lifting her face to Veilios.

He smiled and bowed his head. "You're welcome. The dragon has been captured and will be sent to prison. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

Jamie nodded as tears filled her eyes. This time she let them fall, and rubbed Ethan's back, both to comfort him and herself. A few seconds later, Ethan squirmed and pulled back.

"Enough," he said.

Jamie chuckled and put him down. If Ethan wanted out of a long hug, then he was fine. She wanted to have a chat with him about what he may or may not have heard, but she needed that information first because she didn't want to jump the gun, revealing too much.

Ethan walked into the house and hugged a waiting Emily. "I'm hungry," he announced.

Jamie shook her head and asked Ethan to follow her to the kitchen. Emily laughed and sat with Ethan, keeping him occupied while Jamie made a quick sandwich. Once it was ready, she placed it in front of Ethan and watched him devour it almost without drawing a breath. Jamie looked at Emily and whispered, "What's wrong with him?"

Emily shrugged. "Perhaps he'll have a delayed reaction."

"Ethan, buddy," Jamie said, taking a seat next to him. "You saw a lot of things today. Things that you may not understand."

Ethan shook his head. "Veilios explained everything to me. He even showed me how his wings come out."

Jamie locked eyes with Emily and smiled. Veilios was too sweet, saving her a difficult conversation that she knew so little about.

"You know that the bad dragon is gone, right?"

Ethan shoved his plate away and nodded. "Mm-hmm. Veilios told me that, too. He said the dragon is never coming back and that I can go to school now."

The enthusiasm in his voice told Jamie that Ethan was okay, even though he shouldn't have been. If he could think about school, then Veilios had broken things down in a way that made sense to him.

"That's right. But you do know that you can't tell anyone about dragons and people with magic, right?"

Ethan yawned. "I know, Mom. Veilios explained." Ethan rubbed his eyes. "I'm sleepy."

Jamie's eyes widened, and she laughed breathily. Ethan wasn't reacting anything like she thought he would or should, but he seemed fine, for all intents and purposes.

"Why don't you head to your room and take a nap. I'll be in to check on you."

Ethan nodded and did just that. Once he left the kitchen, Jamie turned to Emily with raised hands. "Am I seeing and hearing things? Ethan just ate an entire sandwich in three minutes’ flat, and now he's gone to nap without being asked to do so!"

Emily laughed. "It looks like Veilios should be the diplomat. I don't know what he said to Ethan, but he said it spectacularly."

"What about the sleepiness? Shouldn't he be wired?"

Emily smiled. "Now that I can explain. I believe that Veilios soothed Ethan's adrenaline and triggered some hormones that would make him sleepy. I've seen some healers do that when a patient gets erratic."

"Wow! It looks like I'm not needed here."

"You are needed." Emily patted her hand. "You just have a lot of help now."

Jamie smiled. "I like that."

"I need to go start work on lunch. If little Ethan is starving after the day's adventure, then I can only imagine what five dragons will be like."

Jamie stood up with Emily. "Let me come help."

"No. You stay here. If I know Corrus, he'll be here any second. Besides, you need to check on Ethan."

Jamie shook her head. "I don't even know if he needs me to do that anymore."

"You're his mom," Emily said smiling. "He'll always need you."

* * *

A few minutes later, Jamie walked down the stairs after checking in on Ethan. The boy was fast asleep on top of his bed. Jamie maneuvered him under his sheets and watched him sleep, marveling at how strong and mature he was.

As she got to the bottom of the steps, the door opened, and Corrus walked in with a look of relief on his face. Jamie ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're okay," she mumbled into his shirt.

"I am, and so are you," Corrus responded, running his hands up and down her back.

"I love you," Jamie said. She'd known she was falling for Corrus for a while now, but seeing him go after Ethan without a second thought made it clear to her. Corrus was everything she needed and wanted in a mate, with a few complications thrown into the mix, of course, because life could never be perfect.

Corrus pulled back and grinned. "I love you, too."

"I made you wait for that, didn't I?" Jamie chuckled.

Corrus smiled and led her to the couch. "It was worth it. How is Ethan?"

Jamie sat down and leaned into Corrus. "Surprisingly fine. Veilios must have explained everything to him in a magical way because he's not scared and he finds the whole shifter thing normal."

"That's Veilios for you. He'd make a great father."

"That he would." Jamie shut her eyes and let the steady sound of Corrus' heartbeat soothe the last of her lingering nerves. The man she loved and her son were home safe, and that was all that mattered. The dragon was off to prison and would never bother them again. Jamie could go back to normal life, or what had become the new normal.

"Wait." Jamie pulled away. "Shouldn't we be on the move? Other dragons might be looking for Ethan."

Corrus shook his head. "The Gleonite dragon was working alone. In fact, the mission was personal."

"What do you mean?"

Corrus sighed. "He's Ethan's biological uncle."

"What?" Jamie yelled, before covering her mouth when she remembered that Ethan was fast asleep upstairs. "How did he find me? What did he want? Did Ethan's father send him?"

"Whoa." Corrus chuckled. "Too many questions."

Jamie ducked her head. "Sorry. I just need to know."

"I get it. The first thing you need to know is that Ethan's father died in battle. I don't know when, but he's no longer here."

Corrus paused, searching Jamie's face for a reaction. "Should I continue?"

"I knew him for about two months, and he disappeared years ago. I'm not happy that he's dead, but I also don't feel a huge sense of loss. Please continue."

Corrus shrugged. "Okay. Well, his brother defected from the army and came to find Ethan so that he could claim his inheritance. Whatever type of person Ethan's father was, he made sure that he put Ethan into his will. His brother wanted to use Ethan to get the money, and I believe he would have handed him over to buy his exit from Gleon."

Jamie shook her head and sighed. "I'll probably dissect all that over the next few days, but I'll just focus on the fact that everything is alright for now."

"That's the best thing we can do, just focus on the positive. We're mates."

Jamie cocked her head. "Just like that? Isn't there a ritual or ceremony we have to carry out?"

Corrus grinned. "You bet there is. I'll tell you all about it after I nap. I must have spent too much time in human form because all that flying has worn me out."

"I'd like to see your dragon one day." Jamie smiled. Seeing Veilios' wings reminded her that there was a whole other side to Corrus. She wanted to see him in all his power and glory. Not just in human form, but in dragon form, too.

Corrus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Of course I do. Veilios' wings looked so cool."

Corrus smiled. "Well, mine are a boring green. If you want to see something fascinating, you should see Narchis or Penum. Narchis' are silver, and Penum's are gold."

Jamie pecked Corrus and stood up, holding her hands out to him. "Well, I happen to love green everything. Starting with your sparkling eyes. I'm sure I'll like yours the best."

Corrus chuckled. "I think you've got this mom thing down pat. Making me believe that green wings are cooler than silver or gold."

"It's not a lie." Jamie stroked his face. "When you love someone, you can't help but love everything they are, and I love you, Corrus. Dark side, green wings, and all."

For the first time since she'd known him, Corrus blushed and ducked his head. "I love everything about you, too."

Jamie laughed as she led him to her—no—their bedroom. She looked forward to a lifetime of expressing her love to Corrus in various ways. Especially with her body.