Chapter Six

Mason

The ringing of my phone broke my concentration and I put down the dragon carving I was working on, created in the likeness of my own mate. It would be a piece that I would keep for myself, not for sale.

Since Broderick had claimed me, we barely spent any time outside of our bedroom. But when we did come up for air, I was able to work on my art again. My muse had returned. Already, I had shipped pieces back home to sell at the shop and listed a few online. I had another stack of packages ready to take to the post office today, as long as Broderick would let me go. Of course, he would insist on going with me, which was perfectly fine, since I preferred to be near him anyway.

Even now, as I worked on my carvings in the garage, he was just outside in the backyard measuring and planning where he would be building a playset for all the kids. I’d told him that he could buy premade sets online, but he’d scoffed at the idea, saying that he would build a custom playset fit for dragons. I hadn't yet seen the sketches he’d put together for what he was planning, but already I was terrified of what he would come up with.

I picked up my phone, checked my notifications; I'd gotten a text alert saying that the new tools I'd ordered online had arrived. I checked the time and I had missed the outgoing post for today. Time had gotten away from me this morning after Broderick and I had crawled out of bed. If I didn't go to the post office now, I'd have to wait until tomorrow.

I sat my tools down and made my way outside. Broderick stood, hammer in hand, staking out the spot he planned to use for the playset.

“That looks huge.”

Broderick turned to me and smiled. “It’s thirty feet squared.”

“Just how big of a sandbox do you think these kids need?”

Broderick shrugged. “We have all this room. We might as well use it.”

“Yeah, but this might be overkill, don't you think?”

“Once the kids start shifting, they'll need plenty of space to play,” he countered.

Oh, christ. I didn't even want to think about what would happen when the babies started shifting. Just the other day Keegan had sneezed, and smoke had come out of his ears, which had sent Flint into a frenzy. Every room now had a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall, just in case.

“My packages arrived in town. Want to go to the post office real quick?”

Broderick tossed his hammer down and wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me against him. “Do we have time for a quickie first?”

I moaned and ground my hips against his. “I wish we did, but unfortunately, if we don't leave now we’ll miss closing and we won't be able to go until tomorrow. And tomorrow I'd like to spend the entire day in bed with you.”

“That's what I wanted to do today, but you insisted on getting out of bed.” He kissed my neck and I clutched at his shoulders.

“I promise I'll make it up to you if we go right now.”

He stepped back, and I staggered without him there to support me.

“Alright, I suppose. We’ll swing by the lumberyard and I’ll pick up the supplies I need for this.” He handed me his sketchbook and my eyes widened.

“Jesus,” I said. “That's massive. That's not even a swing set. It's an entire play yard.”

He’d drawn a castle structure, with two towers, connected by a rope bridge, and two slides down the center. “Is that a working drawbridge?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I thought that would be fun. You can turn this wheel here,” he pointed to the page, “and lift the bridge up and down.”

“Oh, for god's sake,” I said. “You think that's going to be safe?”

He shrugged. “They’re dragon babies. Tough little boys. They can handle it.”

“Sure. But maybe you should get this idea approved by Flint and Frost first.”

“I talked to Leonidas and Gale about it yesterday and they said it was fine.”

“If you say so.”

He grabbed my hand and the two of us walked to his truck. We stopped in the garage and Broderick effortlessly picked up the stack of packages I had and placed them in the bed of his truck.

I hoisted myself into the passenger seat while he took his place in the driver’s side.

“Alright, if we're leaving the property, you remember the rules?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I remember the rules. My cell phone is in my pocket. I have my SOS button thing that Merek insisted we carry, and I will not, under any circumstances, leave your side. At any point, if something happens and we are separated, I'm to send text messages and phone calls to anybody I can and scream very, very loudly.”

I recited the plan we’d put together. Flint, Frost, and I had the emergency protocol drilled into our heads. We wanted to be prepared for the next time that Peter and Molpe struck. So, far we'd hit dead end after dead end on finding out more information about Peter. Armant had been traveling around the country talking with different vampire covens to find out where Peter might be from and what his deal was.

Broderick seemed satisfied by me reciting the rules, because he pressed the button to open the garage door and drove out.

I held his hand throughout the drive to town, enjoying the scenery.

***

Once delivered everything to the post office, Broderick and I walked out of the building hand in hand, swinging our arms. Carefree, like we didn't have a worry in the world.

“Hey, you know what we should do before we go get the lumber?

“What?”

“Get ice cream.” I spun around so that I was holding both of his hands and walking backwards. “Come on. It'll be fun. I saw a place on our way into town.”

“I'm not a big ice cream guy,” he said. “Do you think they have any real food there? I could go for a burger.”

“We just had lunch,” I said. The thought of a burger turned my stomach. I put a hand on my stomach.

Broderick narrowed his eyes at me. “Maybe ice cream isn't a good idea for you either.”

“No, ice cream sounds delicious, burgers sound gross.”

He chuckled. “Alright, we'll get ice cream.”

Just as I was about to turn around and walk forward again, I felt a presence behind me and Broderick immediately pulled me to his side, pushing me behind him. He growled, low in his throat.

Peter stood before us. My blood ran cold and panic set in.

“What are you doing here?” I said.

“Oh, I just came in to check on the dragon mates, see how they're doing.” Peter looked from Broderick and then back to me. “Molpe and I were just arguing the other day whether or not you'd actually mate with this brute. Seems I was wrong. You've disappointed me, Mason.”

I opened my mouth to shout at him, to tell him he knew nothing of me and Broderick, but Broderick spoke first.

“Get the fuck away from my mate, vampire, before I tear you limb from limb.”

Peter laughed out loud and maniacally. “You'd have to catch me first.”

Broderick lunged, and Peter disappeared, only to reappear again behind us.

I looked around the street nervously. Thankfully, it didn't appear that anyone was taking any notice of us. Another trick of his, perhaps? It seemed as though his powers were limitless. How in the hell were we going to fight against that?

“Leave us alone, Peter.” I grabbed Broderick's hand, pulling him toward the car. The only way we were going to be safe was if we got back to headquarters.

“Come on, Mason. You know you can do better than that dragon. Just say the word and I'll take you for my own mate. You could live an eternal life just like me, as a vampire.”

The thought of drinking blood for the rest of my life really made my stomach roll, and I held a hand over my stomach again, the blood draining from my face.

Peter’s eyes widened, like he just realized something. “Ah, I see,” Peter said. “So, the prophecy is going to come to fruition. The stone dragon’s mate carries a baby.”

That was news to me. Broderick stiffened beside me, wrapping his arms around me protectively. “Leave vampire.”

“Oh,” Peter said. “You two didn't know yet.” He folded his hands together. “I'm delighted to inform you that you two are going to be parents or a least Mason will. If I have anything to say about it, you'll be long gone before the baby gets here.” Peter reached a hand out and tried to stroke my face, but I flinched away from him, curling in next to Broderick. “I'll be seeing you, Mason. Don’t worry, you and I can raise your child together.” And then suddenly, he was gone.

“Motherfucker.” Broderick’s fists clenched to his side.

“Come on.” I tugged his arm. “Let's go home. We need to figure out how to stop this guy.”

***

 

 

When we got back to the house, Broderick hopped out of the truck, ran to the other side, and lifted me out before I could even open my own door. He cradled me against him, walking into the house with purpose.

“I can walk,” I said.

“I know,” he said curtly. “But I'm not putting you down ever.”

“That seems like it might get a little tiresome, especially as I get bigger.” I smiled.

His face went stark white and a sweat broke out on his forehead.

I wiggled out of his arms and stood in front of him. “Broderick, look at me. Look. At. Me,” I said. He finally did. “We're having a baby. A little dragon baby. We're starting our family. I need you to be happy about this.”

He closed his eyes, the tension in his shoulders softening. “I am. I swear, I am,” he said. “I'm just terrified.”

“Me too. I've never done this before, either. I've been around omega wolves giving birth for what feels like my whole life. but I'm still terrified. I think that's part of the adventure.”

“It's a really shitty part,” he said.

I laughed. “I know, but we're going to be great at this. Gale and Leonidas can do it. I think you can, too.”

He rolled his shoulders back and scoffed. “I'll be a better father than them any day of the week.”

I rolled my eyes, but if an alpha chest-thumping competition was what it took to snap him out of his funk, I'd take it.

Broderick’s phone beeped, and he pulled it from his pocket.

“Everyone’s in the library,” he said. “Armant’s back.” The tension in his shoulders returned. “Good, we can tell them about that damn vampire.”

This time, I let Broderick pick me up and carry me. I could talk later about how he would need to process his emotions into something more productive. For right now, I was still running on a high knowing that I was carrying my dragon’s baby.

In the library, we found Armant sitting on the couch, the piece of paper I’d drawn the amulet on in his hand.

He stared at it, rotated it, stared at it some more, then rotated it back.

Broderick set me down and Armant stood and rushed over. “This is the amulet you saw?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I didn't see it today, though. Did you, Broderick?”

“No. Bastard wore a turtleneck, like he's Steve-fucking-Jobs or something.”

I almost laughed at the macho alpha behavior that Broderick displayed, but the situation didn't call for laughter. “Do you know what it is?” I asked.

“It's not supposed to exist.” Armant said. “It's just a myth.”

“Mythical creatures have myths and legends of their own?” Frost asked. He sat on the floor with Crispin, the little guy finally enjoying tummy-time, instead of screaming his little head off.

I sat down next to him, wanting to observe, knowing that in a few short months I'd have one of these creatures of my own to take care of. I had a lot to learn.

“What's it used for?” Broderick asked.

“It captures magic,” Armant said.

“Interesting,” Merek said.

“Barbaric,” Armant countered. “If the wearer of the amulet kills a witch, their magic is then transferred to the amulet. That witch’s power becomes theirs.”

“That explains how he has his blinking ability, and how he was able to trick Gale into believing Frost had been kidnapped with some sort of illusion. What other powers are in there?” Merek asked.

“Old ones,” Armant said. “In ancient times, magic was a lot stronger. My guess is he hasn't been able to harness the more powerful abilities inside of it. Or perhaps he doesn't know they are there. And the two powers we know that he has, he may have acquired himself by killing a witch.”

“That's terrifying,” I said.

“No kidding. How can we destroy it? How can we destroy that vampire? He threatened my mate today.” Broderick’s fist clenched at his sides, like he was ready to fight right now.

“There is no way to destroy it,” Armant said. “This amulet and its counterpart, the myth says that they were passed down from generation to generation, and that the guardians of them were never supposed to disclose their location.”

“What does the other amulet do?”

“I don't know,” Armant said. “It's supposed to be a counterpart to the other amulet.”

“What do we know about the prophecy surrounding my mate?” Broderick asked.

I rolled my eyes at that. “Oh, please. It is not a prophecy. It’s just a feeling that my mom had. And we’ve all pretty much decided it’s just something she made up so that she could convince the wolf pack that it was perfectly okay to adopt a human.”

Broderick’s voice softened when he addressed me. “Then how did the vampire know about it?’

I shrugged. “Rumors. How does he know about anything?”

Broderick sat down beside me and grabbed my hand. “Mason. I don't feel like you're taking this very seriously right now.”

At that moment, I seriously regretted ever talking to Broderick about how to effectively express his feelings using “I” statements.

“I am,” I said, then I smiled. “I'm just too damn excited about having a baby.”

“You're pregnant?” Frost asked.

I nodded.

“Oh, that's so exciting!” He launched himself at me and wrapped me in a hug.

“That has not been confirmed,” Broderick said. “That's what the vampire said, but what the fuck does he know? How in the hell would he know that you're pregnant? You've never even gone into heat.”

“What was the prophecy, exactly?” Leonidas asked me.

“It wasn't a prophecy,” I said. “My mother saw me at some charity event that she was working. It was for foster kids in the area. She shook my hand and when she did, she had a vision that I would do something─she couldn't tell what─that would change the world as we know it. That’s it.”

“Who's ‘we’?” Armant asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, is ‘we’ like humans? Is magic going to be exposed to the world or is ‘we’ paranormal creatures? Wolves, dragons, or some subset of that community?”

“Look, at the time when I was adopted, I was just so happy to have a family and a bed that I could sleep in for longer than a month or two. I didn’t care about the vision my mother had seen at the time. I barely believed in all that supernatural stuff. Obviously, after living with a wolf pack, my skepticism had been effectively stamped down to nothing. We can ask her,” I said.

“I did,” Armant replied. “When I was visiting with the wolf pack. She said the same thing you did.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, then, why in the hell were you asking me about it?”

“I’d hoped that you might have some idea what it could mean.”

“Well, I don't,” I said. “I don't even believe it's true.”

“Well, the vampire does and that's all that matters. If he has his sights set on Mason, we need to stop him,” Gale interjected.

“No shit,” Broderick said. “Armant, were you able to find out anything about him?”

“Not much. I spoke with two covens. Vampires don't generally live in large groups, but they do cluster together in families of three to five. Peter has never done that. He's always been a loner, and he also has a bad reputation for turning individuals without their consent.”

“Oh, god. So, he's just been turning random people into vampires? And what, let’s them wreak havoc?”

“No,” Armant said. “He keeps them for a while, wherever he lives. And then no one knows what happens to them.”

I sucked in a breath. “He kills them?”

“If they're lucky,” Armant said.

My stomach turned at that. Broderick must have sensed my revulsion because he scooped me up into his arms. “You need to rest,” he said.

“Oh, for god's sake. I'm just barely pregnant.”

“We have no idea how far along you are. I don't recall you actually having a heat,” he said.

I searched my memory for anything that could’ve remotely felt like what Flint and Frost had described to me when they were first mated to their dragons. “I can't think of anything either,” I said.

Merek snorted. “Well, it's no wonder. The two of you haven't gone more than twenty minutes without fucking like rabbits for the past month. How would you ever notice if you were in heat?”

“So, we have no way of knowing how far along I am?”

We all looked to Armant.

“Why are you all looking at me?”

“Because you're the most knowledgeable,” Frost said.

“Well, I don't know a damn thing about babies and heats. You and Flint or Valerie should know. Valerie will want to do a check up on him anyway.”

I yawned and Broderick carried me out of the room. I would have protested, except a nap really did sound good right now.

“There is no prophecy,” I told Broderick as we entered our suite.

He kissed my forehead. “We’ll see. I want to ask your mom about it. And I’ll call Valerie, so she can visit to give you an examination.”

I grinned. “Mom’s going to be pretty excited to be a grandma.”

“I’m pretty excited to be a dad.”

“Me, too.”