Leonidas
Somehow my mate was taking all of this in stride. He accepted that I was a dragon and only asked for proof, rather than running out of the room screaming. I only hoped that when the other four found their mates that it would go just as well.
I held Flint's hand as we drove down the winding drive that led to the country estate. Excitement ran through me once again. For the first time in forever, I was going to show my dragon off. I was proud of my dragon, and I wanted my mate to feel the same way.
“So,” Flint started. “Let's circle back to the earlier discussion. What did Merek mean by pregnant?”
Oh, damn. I'd known this discussion was coming. I should have prepared for it.
“Dragons don't procreate in the same way that humans do. There are no female dragons. Our males carry our eggs,” I said. I didn’t bother to beat around the bush.
“Like sea horses?” Flint asked.
“Maybe. I'm not overly familiar with marine wildlife.”
“Okay,” Flint said slowly. “So, I'm going to lay an egg?”
I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it.
He pushed out my shoulder. “Stop it,” he said. “It was a serious question.”
“Sorry.” I winked at him. “You won’t give birth in the typical way, but you do not lay an egg. When we mated, I knotted you and you most likely became pregnant─”
“Knotted? Is that what that was called?” Flint shivered, and his eyes rolled back. “Will that happen again? Because that was amazing.”
I chuckled. “Yes, it will happen again. Anyway, our child will grow very similar to how human children grow, only instead of a uterus, there will be an outer protective shell that is essentially like an egg. When the time comes, instead of giving birth, my dragon will cut the egg out of you.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm going to have a C-section via your dragon? That’s insane! Are you even a trained doctor? How in the hell is this all going to work?” Flint’s arms flew frantically in the air and his eyes blown wide.
His panic seeped into me. I almost stopped the car, so I could soothe him. “No,” I said. “When we mated, I claimed you. You bear my mark. Because of that, you have some of the same abilities that I do. For instance, you will live just as long as I do, and you'll be able to withstand higher temperatures just as I do. And obviously you can now have children. You will also have my rapid healing ability. You won't feel a thing when the time comes. We'll simply cut open your abdomen and extract the egg. You’ll heal almost immediately.”
“Holy shit,” Flynn said.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve never actually seen it done. Armant will know more about it. He has more knowledge of Dragon history that I do. I may not be explaining it very well.”
“No, you're doing just fine. It's just all little crazy. I mean, I always wanted children. I just assumed that I would be adopting them or using a surrogate.” He placed his hand over his flat abdomen. “It never occurred to me that I would be growing my own.”
Despite his trepidation, I still felt happiness coming from him.
“How long is the gestation period?” Flint asked.
“Five months,” I said.
“Holy fuck. We don’t have a lot of time to prepare. What am I going to do when I start getting big?”
“Well, you might not be able to go back to work.”
“What am I supposed to do for money? What about my apartment? How am I supposed to pay my bills?” His hands flew in the air again and he turned to face me, sitting completely sideways in the passenger seat.
I grasped his hand and squeezed. “Flint? What's mine is yours. I can cover the cost of anything you need. We can keep your apartment or stay anywhere you'd like. My penthouse in the city, the country estate, or any number of the homes I own throughout the world.”
“I got myself a sugar daddy.” Flint giggled.
“I don't know what that means,” I said.
He just laughed harder. “I'll explain it to you later.”
Once again, I pulled in next to Broderick’s truck. The others had arrived before us. They stood outside in the driveway.
“Is that one always grumpy?” Flint pointed at Broderick.
“Yeah,” I said. “Broderick is a stone dragon. So, as you can imagine, he’s pretty hard-headed.
“And what's the deal with Armant?” Flint asked.
I took a deep breath. “Armant has a slight gift of foresight. Sometimes he can sense the future before it happens. And he’s an insatiable academic. I'm pretty sure he spent the last few centuries inside a library. He also has a strong penchant for jewels. He owns the largest jewelry store chain in North America.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Flint said. “And the other two?”
“Totally normal as far as dragons go. Gale is an ice dragon, and my closest friend. His abilities are similar to mine, only with ice. Merek is a black dragon. The extent of his abilities has yet to be determined. Black dragons have always been sort of a mystery. We're the last of our kind. There are only five types of dragons and we're the last of them.”
Flint turned to me, grasped my hand and placed it over his abdomen. “Not anymore,” he said.
I puffed out my chest, pride getting the better of me. “You're right. Not anymore.”
I leaned over and kissed him. We kissed slowly for a while, getting lost in the moment, until one of the guys began banging on the window. We parted and found Broderick standing there, scowl on his face per usual.
“Get out here so we can show this guy that we're actually dragons.”
We exited the car.
“So how are we going to do this?” Flint asked as he looked at me expectantly.
I shrugged. “I don't know. Who do you want to see first?”
He shifted around awkwardly and I sensed there was a question he wanted to ask. “What is it?”
“Can I go flying with you?” The question burst out of him like a child asking for dessert after supper.
“Yes, you can go flying with me.” I started taking my clothes off and handing them to my mate.
“What are you doing?” He looked around awkwardly at the other four guys.
“Well, I can't shift fully clothed.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”
Once I stood there, naked, I reached for the fire within me, and called forth my dragon. I surprised myself with the nervous energy that ran through me. I wanted my mate to like my dragon. I wanted him to love my dragon just as my dragon loved him. I opened my eyes and looked down at my mate, so tiny in his human form against my dragon size. His eyes were wide, and his mouth formed an “o” but he stood there strong. Which I supposed was a good sign.
Then he broke out into a huge smile.
“Holy shit. It's real. I mean, I trusted you. Obviously, I felt the magic. I felt our connection, but seeing it is a whole other deal.” He reached up a hand, then put it back down. “Can I touch you? Can you understand me in this form?” He looked at the other four then back at me.
I nodded my head. I could understand him, but I couldn't communicate with him. I nosed forward with my snout, giving him permission to put a hand on me. He did. He giggled a little.
“Wow, you're warm.”
“He's a Fire Dragon,” Gale supplied, but we ignored him.
I crouched down low on my belly and gestured for him to climb on my back. I'd never done this before, but I knew I would not let anything happened to my mate. I trusted my dragon, and my mate trusted me.
Without hesitation, Flint climbed on, and settled between my wings.
“So how do you take off? Is it like a running start, or—”
I launched myself in the air, flapping my wings, rising higher and higher. My mate squealed with joy and he hugged himself against my dragon body. Nothing in life could be better than bringing my mate joy, making him happy, making him smile.
Within a few minutes the others joined us. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Flint, looking at the other dragons, inspecting their forms.
“Hands down, you are the best-looking dragon,” Flint said.
I rumbled my pleasure at the praise.
We flew for a long time, just coasting through the clouds, around the property.
I decided to take Flint to my absolute favorite spot on the property. I split off from the others, hoping they wouldn't follow, assuming that they would know I needed time with my mate. My favorite place was a small pond surrounded by a field of wild flowers. Several years ago, possibly as much as ten or fifteen, I couldn't exactly remember, wildfires had swept through the edge of the property. So, everything was brand new growth in this particular location.
I enjoyed laying by the pond in my dragon form. When it was cold, I would use my fire to heat the pond and go swimming. It served as my own personal hot spring whenever I needed it to. Today, I would share this spot with my mate.
Flint had been confronted with a lot today and I wanted to make sure he was processing it all. I touched down beside the pond and waited while Flint slid off my back. He stood next to me, his hand on my side as I breathed in and out.
“Cool,” he said. “This is absolutely insane. I can't believe I'm standing next to a real live dragon. Never in my life, never in my wildest dreams did I think this could be possible.”
I transformed back into my human form. “Not only that,” I said. “But you’re mated to a dragon. How do you feel about that?” I asked as I slipped into my pants.
“Amazing,” he breathed. “I don't have a lot, Leo. My parents are gone. No siblings. I don't know anything about my grandparents. I literally have no ties to anyone. Sure, I have friends. Claire and some of the authors I talk with online because I designed their book covers, but I had nothing until I met you. And I never expected to have much, but already you've given me so much more than I ever thought possible. And to think in five months, we're going to have a baby? That's crazy.” He covered his face in his hands. “I’m rambling, sorry. I babble sometimes. I promise I’m not crazy.”
I took him into my arms. “Crazy? Most other people who’ve learned what you have in the last twenty-four hours would be losing their minds. I can't believe you're taking this so well. I mean, when our Armant told us we would find our mates and that they would be human, I worried about the reaction we'd receive.”
“Maybe that's part of the reason why I was chosen for you?” Flint said.
“I could be. Either way, I’m glad it’s you. You’re perfect. My perfect mate.”
Flint laughed. “I hope you still feel that way when I leave toothpaste globs in the sink and never clean out the microwave, and all the other annoying habits I have.”
I smiled. “I can assure you that I have just as many annoying habits. I’m two thousand years old, but I still bite my fingernails.”
I led Flint over to the dock I'd built last year, we sat down and hung our feet in the water.
“So, what happens now?” Flint asked.
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Do we go back to my apartment? Do we start dating? Are you going wait two days before you call me? I mean, we're still technically on our first date.”
“We can go anywhere you’d like. We can look for new places, we can do whatever you want. The sky's the limit. I'm currently between job like I told you. So, I have no real ties to the city. We can live anywhere, do anything,” I said.
“Wow,” Flint said. “I don't even know where I'd start. But if we're going to have a child, then I think we ought to get a house, set down some roots, and some stability. We’ll have to research schools, too.”
I laughed. “Research in schools already? The kids not even born yet.”
“You can never be too prepared,” Flint said.
I leaned over and kissed his neck. “Sure, sweetheart, whatever you want. It's yours. Are you sure you're okay with all this? I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about dragons.”
“What have you done for the past two-thousand years?”
Oh damn. Straight for the hard ones. “Um, well, most recently I owned a company that manufactured fireplaces. I sold that just a few months ago. Oh, I was a fire-fighter for a while. In what is referred to as the Dark Ages, I worked as a blacksmith.”
“I’m sensing a theme here.” Flint laughed. I loved his laugh. I could spend eternity listening to only that laugh.
“Yeah, well, I have a gift for fire, so, I work with what I’ve been given.”
Flint rested his head on my shoulder as I continued to tell him about my life, the jobs I’d held, places I’d lived. It was magical. Perfect.
After a while the sun drifted lower into the sky and we made our way back to the house. While we flew, Flint laid down on his belly, hugging my neck. Within a few minutes he was asleep. I circled back to the house and landed in the driveway.
I thought for a minute about how I could possibly change back and keep my mate asleep. Gale touched down next to me and transformed. He stood naked beside me.
“Do you want me to pick him up, so you can change back?”
I growled. Maybe if he was fully clothed, but there was no way he was laying a hand on my mate while he was naked.
“All right, all right, I get it.” Gale backed away.
Finally, I decided to give it a try. I changed back, and in the midst of my change, turned around as quick as I could to catch Flint in my arms. It worked. I cradled him against me, and he continued to sleep, nuzzling in against my neck.
Armant came up beside me. “Little human can't handle all the excitement.”
“Well, it has been a pretty big day.”
“Yes, the egg will take a lot out of him as well. He'll probably sleep for the rest of the day. I'll go through the history books, see what we have recorded about carrying eggs.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Merek opened the door of the house for me, and I stepped inside. I immediately took Flint up to my suite of rooms and laid him in the bed. I couldn't believe my luck, couldn't believe that after all these years, I had a mate and a child on the way.
I left a note for my sleeping mate to let him know where to find me when he woke. Then I went down to the kitchen to see about dinner. I wasn't sure whose turn it was to cook, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it was mine, and I was not prepared at all. In the kitchen I found Merek and Gale eating chips.
“Hey, whose night is it for dinner?” I asked.
“Yours, but don't worry, we sent Broderick to town to get pizza. Does Flint like pizza?” Gale asked.
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Merek laughed. “You've got some learning to do about your mate.”
“Give me a break,” I said. “Before last night all I’d ever said to the guy was ‘I’ll take a double mocha latte please.’”
“Yeah,” Gale said. “Give him a break, it's not every day that a guy gets strapped with the old ball and chain.”
I smiled. “Don't get too cocky over there. You might be next.”
“Maybe. I hope so,” Gale said. “Hey, so I did a little digging into that club where all those guys are disappearing and you're never gonna believe this—”
I held up a hand, needing Gale to slow down. “Wait. What are you talking about?”
“This morning I told you the club just down the street from your apartment has had four guys disappear from it? Weren't you paying attention?”
I poured myself a glass of water and gave him a pointed look. “I was a little preoccupied.”
“Well, I've been seeing this on the news for the last couple of weeks and I've been following the story. It's crazy as hell. Ten guys in the last four years have disappeared from this club. No leads. No trace. No nothing.”
“So? Humans disappear all the time,” Merek said.
“I know, but something about this place… I don't know what it is. I just can't get it out of my head. The name of the club is Molpe. And we all remember her, don't we?”
“Just because the place is named after the siren that wanted to keep you as a pet doesn't make it a bad place,” I said.
Gale rolled his eyes. “She didn’t want to make me a pet, she wanted to have all of us be the guardians of their stupid island.”
“She took a special liking to you though, Gale. She had a chain all picked out for you.” Merek chuckled. “You remember that, Leonidas?”
“Can we get back on track? I did some digging and turns out she owns this club.”
“What?” I said. “Don’t they stick pretty close to their island? Since when did they venture into the city?”
“I traced it back,” Gale said. “Look.” He swiveled his laptop around on the counter so I could see. Sure enough, the picture of the club owner was none other than Molpe herself. It had been over a thousand years since I'd seen her in person, but her look was unmistakable. Striking. A woman that could make anyone, man or woman, gay or straight, look twice.
“So, she owns a club in the city? Maybe she just got bored on the island. We own a lot of businesses and we've owned many others throughout the years. The sirens have to make a living, too.”
“Well, people aren’t disappearing from our business. You don't think it's a little odd that the club she owns has had four men disappear from it?”
“It’s shady, that’s for sure,” I said. “But, we're not the paranormal police. We can't go around confronting other immortals about crazy shit that they do.”
“It's not right.” Gale said. “Things went south in the ancient times when humans knew about us. And if this stuff keeps happening, it’s not going to be long before humans figure it out or start to suspect. Someone needs to do something to make sure these bitches don't ruin it for the rest of us.”
“He makes a good point,” Armant said as he walked in the room. “We agreed all those years ago not to interfere in the lives of humans, and the sirens were supposed to stay on their island. If they're not living up to their end of the deal someone has to do something.”
“See,” Gale said. “Armant agrees with me.”
I shook my head. “No, man, look—”
“I get it,” Gale said, holding up a hand. “You've got a lot going on right now. I'm not asking you to do anything about this. I'm just getting your opinion.”
I wanted to help. I’d always had Gale’s back in the past, but so much had changed in the past two days. “It's shady, that's for sure. But we've been rewarded for keeping our heads down and minding our own damn business. We've been gifted with our mates. I really don't want to rock that boat by tempting fate now.”
“We can't just let the sirens kill innocent humans either. That's not what we're about. I'm not going sit idly by while they kill people.”
Damn. He had me there. “Armant? Is there any chance we can get a meeting with the Fates? I've got a couple of questions about this whole mate thing that I wouldn't mind asking.”
Armant scoffed. “I have been trying to hold council with the three Fates for several centuries. They don't answer my calls.”
“Maybe you have the wrong number,” Merek said.
Armant flipped in the bird.
“What about Valerie? I assume she's still practicing the craft.”
Armant nodded. “We can give her a call. We’ll want her to examine your mate as he gets closer to hatching.”
“Hatching? Really Armant?” Merek said. “We're not harvesting an egg out of the dude.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. “Guys. That is my mate you're talking about. Can we not call it an egg, please?”
“Well, that's what it is.” Armant’s face was full of confusion.
“It's my child,” I said and pounded my fist on the counter.
“What in the hell is going on down here?” Flint asked as he walked in the room.
I grinned the minute I saw him. His hair disheveled from sleep, and still a bit wind-blown from flying.
“Is there anything to eat? I'm starving,” he said.
“Yeah,” I opened the fridge and grabbed a vegetable tray. Obviously, someone had been to the supermarket. Thank goodness. “Broderick is on his way to get pizza for dinner. I suppose we should kind of decide what's happening and whether or not you’ll be returning to your apartment or my penthouse anytime soon.”
Flint yawned and stretched. “I feel like I could sleep for a week,” he said.
“It's normal,” Armant said. “You're growing an egg in there.”
“A baby,” I said. “He's growing a baby.”
“Question,” Merek said. “We were super young the last time there was a dragon born. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t know a damn thing about the whole process. What are we supposed to do for pre-natal care? What do we do when they start shifting? And what are we going to do to make sure that any offspring we have don't start shifting in the middle of preschool?”
We all looked toward Armant, the resident scholar among us.
“Don't look at me,” he said. “I’m not a baby expert.”
“I'm sure we'll figure something out,” I said. Childbirth was natural, right?
Flint had gone ghost white.
“What is it, sweetheart? Are you feeling okay?” I was at his side in a second, with my hand on his abdomen as I ushered him to a chair.
“I'm fine,” he said. “It's just I didn't really think about the fact that our baby is going to be a dragon. Is he going to be able to shift like right away?” he asked.
“Typically, dragon offspring can't shift until age four or five. And even then, it tires them out a great deal. So, they can't shift for long periods or very often. Once they hit puberty, shifting becomes easier for them to control and doesn't take as much out of them,” I assured him.
“Oh, Christ,” Flint said. “What am I supposed to do with a toddler that can fly away at any given time? When he’s naughty is he just going to shift and run away? How can I compete with that?”
We all stared at him blankly. None of us had the answers either.
“Oh, fuck. We are so screwed. We're going to need baby gates with like a canopy or something that can keep him from flying away.”
“Don't forget you're having a fire breather,” Merek said. “He might start your house on fire too.”
“Not helping,” I ground out through clenched teeth as I glared at my friend.
Gale chuckled. “I'll stick around and help with that. I can put out any flames.”
Flint rested his head in his hands. “Oh, Christ. I'm going to start buying every fire extinguisher I can find.”
“It's not a bad idea,” Armant said. “I mean, we've got a lot of plans to make as far as us finding our mates and being able to continue our lives with baby dragons around. The last time that a dragon was born on this earth, humans at least knew about us. Now it's a whole new ball game. We need to think about the fact that we're still under cover. And humans can't know about us.”
My head pounded with worry, but I couldn’t let my mate know. I needed to be strong for him.
“Don't worry, Flint. Everything will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you or our child.”
“I know,” he said. “It's just terrifying. I'm sure all parents feel this way, but I'm guessing that they usually don't have to worry about their children transforming into a beast.”
“Hey!” Gale said.
“Sorry!” Flint’s hand flew over his mouth. “I didn't mean it that way.”
Gale grinned. “I was just teasing. We are a bunch of beasts. Have you met Broderick?” He turned to me, his expression hardening. “I still think we need to do something about Molpe.”
I rolled my eyes. “Now is not the time and it's none of our business.”
“Molpe?” my mate asked. “The club downtown? What about it?”
My interest perked. “What? What do you know about the club?” I asked my mate carefully.
“Not much,” he said. “But that's what woke me up, my cell phone rang. I didn't get a chance to answer before it went to voicemail. But I listened to it. It was the owner of Molpe, she wanted to know if I could do some graphic design work for them.”
I exchanged a glance with Gale. “Do you usually do design work for businesses or do you strictly do book covers?” I asked.
“Just book covers. I don't even advertise. It's all through word of mouth between authors. I've got a handful of regulars that I work with. I don't know where she would have gotten my name,” he said.
“Can we listen to the voicemail?” Gale asked.
“Sure. What's this about?” he asked.
“We're not sure yet,” I said.
Flint pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons, then set it on the counter for us to listen.
A soft, feminine voice came through the speaker, almost like a melody. “Hi, Flint. This is Molly Penderton, owner of Molpe. I was just calling to see if you'd be interested in doing some graphic design work for my club. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience so we can set up a time to meet. Or if you’d like, you can come down to the club anytime. We really look forward to working with you.” She left a phone number and the voicemail ended.
“That can't be a coincidence,” Gale said.
“Molly Penderton. That's a good one,” Merek said.
“Who is this person?” Flint asked.
I let out a sigh. “She's one of the sirens.”
“Like from Greek mythology? Singing and luring sailors to their death and all that?” Flint asked.
“Sort of. The Greeks didn't get everything right, but essentially, yes, that's who they are. They usually stay on their island. But apparently, they've opened up a club in the city and several men have gone missing from there.”
“Oh,” Flint said. He looked at his phone like it was a snake ready to bite him. “I don't think I'll be calling her back.”
“No,” I said. “I'm not even sure I want you going back to the city right now. I don’t like that she has your name and number.”
“Umm, I kind of live there,” Flint said. “I at least need to get my stuff from my apartment and talk to my work.”
That gave me some hope. Maybe my mate wouldn't be opposed to staying at the country estate for a while, at least until the baby was born.
“I can't just run around naked and I didn’t even bring an overnight bag for today,” he said.
“Having you naked doesn't seem like a terrible idea to me, as long as you stay in our suite,” I said
“It does to me,” Armant said. “I don't think we can ignore what they've been doing. Her contacting your mate cannot be a coincidence. I'm going to get in contact with Valerie. I want her to come out here as soon as she can. I'd like to get her input before we make any moves. In the meantime, stay vigilant.”
Armant left the room.
Gale met my gaze. “Still think I'm overreacting?” he asked.
No, I didn't.