Chapter Eight
One month later, a lawyer had taken Braden's case. Things were looking up in that regards, although the cops back at the coven were still insisting that he turn himself over for jail time. The three of them had also found a temporary new apartment, although it only had one bedroom that Braden and Jessica shared. Stafford slept in the living room. Things were crowded, but at least there weren't suspicious black stains on the walls.
Jessica faithfully obeyed the doctor's recommendation that she stay in bed resting, but at times she thought she was going to go crazy with boredom. It wasn't as bad as it had been back in the dorms since now she could actually enjoy her romance novels again, but it still grated on her nerves. So one day, while Stafford was out looking for work, she convinced Braden that it wouldn't hurt to take a little walk in a nearby park.
"Where are the other members of your flock?" she asked, her hand tucked into the crook of his arm as they strolled around a small pond.
Braden chuckled. "Did I ever tell you that I love how you call us a flock? Some of the others hate it, but I think it's adorable."
Jessica ducked her head and smiled up at him. "It sounds better than 'gang.' So where are they?"
"They've all stopped by to show their solidarity. I sent them back to their homes and families. I'm sure we could take the witch police force if we all got together, but I didn't want them to get mixed up in all this. But Jacob, that's the one that the witch attacked, he's been out a few times bringing food and stuff. I think he's got a bit of hero worship going on, if I'm honest. Even started to mimic my actions. It's damn annoying."
Jessica laughed. "Can you really blame him?"
Braden shook his head. "Nope. I certainly can't."
"Can we sit for a moment? My back is really hurting for some reason." Jessica frowned. "Maybe I'm overdoing it."
The dragon scooped her into his arms, carrying her briskly to the nearest bench. He settled her down before taking a spot next to her. "Jessica, there's been something that I've been meaning to ask you. Well, more like a promise to make you. I know it's not possible right now, but someday I am going to build you a house with everything you love in it."
Jessica's heart fluttered. "Really?"
A cold, angry voice from came behind them. "What do you want from her?"
Jessica jumped to her feet, ignoring the jolt of pain in her abdomen that it caused, and turned. Pearl stood only a few feet away, her hands brimming with purple sparks, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. She trembled, her gaze focused on Braden. The dragon snarled under his breath, quickly stepping between the headmistress and his mate.
Braden tensed. "What are you doing here?"
"I came for Jessica. I'm not going to let your lies put her in jeopardy."
"I'm not in any danger," Jessica spat. "Except from you and your lies!"
"He's the one who is lying to you. Do you think he really loves you? He'll take your babies and leave you with nothing!" Pearl's voice rose in pitch.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Jessica put her arms around Braden, afraid his protective streak would get the best of him and that he'd attack the headmistress. His tense muscles relaxed minutely at her touch, but he still remained coiled and ready to strike. "Braden and I love each other. Why can't you see that?"
"Dragons lie. They all lie!" The sparks around Pearl's hands died. A hollow look came to her eyes and she stared at Jessica with a raw, tortured expression. "You think he loves you? That's what Owen told me. But he lied. All he wanted was for me to have his child, and then after the baby was born he took her and I never saw either of them again."
Jessica's eyes widened. Pearl said herself that she’d never had any children… but she had been impregnated by a dragon? And then to have that dragon steal the baby away? Had she thought she was going to have a happily ever after as well, only to lose it?
A shiver ran up Jessica's spine, and she put a hand on Braden's arm, giving him a significant look before she approached the headmistress. Braden growled, but let her go. Her stomach was feeling heavier than normal, and the pain in her back was getting worse. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew what it meant, but she stamped on the thought, focusing on the situation at hand.
"Braden isn't Owen. He's not lying to me. I was the one to seek him out. He told me to stay home during the spring equinox." Jessica cautiously touched Pearl's hand. "What happened to you was horrible, but that's not what is happening to me. You can't paint all dragons with one brushstroke."
Pearl continued to stare at her with that hollow look. Her hand came up, brushing against Jessica's cheek. "You look just like him," she whispered.
Jessica's heart twisted as pain wrapped around her belly. Her breathing was shallow as she searched Pearl's eyes. Did she look like Owen? "What do you mean?"
Was she staring at her birth mother? She always knew she was adopted, but had never given any thought to who had given birth to her. Was it Pearl?
The headmistress shook her head. "I thought you might be when I first saw you. You're the right age. But when you were being tested for entrance to the university, it was clear that you have no dragon heritage."
Jessica let out a pent-up breath. "But?"
"But from the first time I saw you, I thought that maybe I could pretend, and watch over you as if you were my daughter. And I couldn't help but think that Owen must have done to other girls what he did to me, and I swore I would protect you, especially knowing what your parents did to you."
Braden stepped up beside Jessica, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You don't need to protect her anymore. That's my job now. I will rend anybody who tries to hurt her limb from limb."
Pearl's gaze shifted to him again and her lips thinned in disapproval. "You need to learn how to temper that violent streak of yours. I understand that you're the alpha of your gang of dragons, but it's not a healthy environment to bring up babies in."
"He's not violent, just protective," Jessica argued. "He's—"
Another pain curled around her belly and she couldn't stifle a gasp, leaning against Braden for strength as her knees buckled. He grabbed her, holding her upright, and Pearl reached out, though she withdrew at Braden's snarl.
"I think I need to go to the hospital," Jessica whispered. "But they're still three weeks early—"
"The babies will be fine," Braden told her, scooping her into his strong arms. The leather of his jacket brushed against her skin and she pressed a trembling hand to the tattoo of a sparrow above his heart. The steady thump against her palm helped soothe her. A little.
"We can take my car," Pearl said at once, but Braden shook his head.
"Flying is faster."
"I need to call Stafford." Jessica fished Braden's cell phone from his pocket as his jacket crumpled upwards, pushed aside by his magnificent black wings.
Stafford answered quickly, but they were already airborne at that point, and Jessica had to shout to make herself heard over the wind. Braden cradled her against his chest, wrapping her in his strength, and she closed her eyes. The pains kept coming, more rapidly now, and Jessica bit her tongue, holding in her whimpers. Her heart raced–what if it was too early? What if their twins were still too little to survive?
They arrived at the hospital within seconds, and this time the nurses knew to immediately show them to a room. The doctor came to them quickly and confirmed Jessica was in labor. Within moments they were transferred to the maternity ward, and Jessica was sucking in deep breaths to get through the contractions.
"Your water hasn't broken yet," the obstetrician told her after checking her. "I expect it will be another few hours yet. But seeing as it’s dragon twins, we'll keep you here."
He gave Braden a few instructions on how to help her through this, then left the two alone. Jessica forced a smile at her dragon, trying not to show how worried she was. "We never talked about names."
"Yeah," he said, a little breathless as he sat on the bed beside her. "I thought we could wait to see if they're girls or boys first."
"If they're boys, let's name them after your father and Stafford. And if they're girls—"
"My mother and you?"
"My middle name."
Braden smiled and kissed her forehead. "That sounds perfect."
Another contraction came and went, and Jessica turned on her side so that Braden could massage her lower back. Just knowing he was there helped, but she still shook as fears crowded her brain. If it was too early…
Pearl and Stafford arrived at the same time. Stafford blocked the headmistress from coming near Jessica until Braden told him it was okay, then hurried to his sister's side and held her hand. Jessica smiled gratefully at him, then winced as another contraction came.
"You really do love her." Pearl's voice was shocked as she stared at Braden, who continued to massage Jessica's back.
The dragon met the witch's eye. "Of course I do. And I will fight for her to my last breath."
"Don't talk about dying right now," Jessica moaned.
Braden kissed her shoulder. "I'm sorry. But it's true."
Pearl approached slowly, her brow furrowed. After a moment of silence, she nodded. "The witch you attacked is one of my students. I've been hearing rumors that you were defending another dragon after she attacked him for refusing her on the spring equinox. I'll have a little talk with her and get her to tell the truth. And…" She twisted her hands. "I'm sorry for what I did. I thought that…"
"You thought that I was going to steal our babies and leave Jessica." Braden's voice was carefully controlled.
"I did. And I'm sorry. Jessica, I hope you'll come back to university. You have great potential as a witch, and you need more training to get a good position."
Going back to school wasn't appealing, but now didn't seem like the time to make a decision. Not when she was in labor! "I'll think about it."
Jessica cried out as another contraction took her. They were so quick now; she didn't think it was possible for labor to set in so quickly. There was a sudden rush of fluid between her legs and she knew her water had broken.
"Get the doctor," she gasped as pressure built in her pelvis. "They're coming."
***
Erick and Stafford Clampett came into the world two healthy, screaming little boys. Within hours of their birth, smoke was puffing out of their nostrils, though Braden assured her that they wouldn’t start to breathe fire until their first shift. Both looked like their father—golden skin, black eyes—but they had Jessica's curls in their surprisingly thick hair.
When Jessica and the twins were released from the hospital two days later, she returned to the apartment to find it absolutely brimming with baby toys and diapers.
"The flock has been stopping by with gifts," Braden explained, shifting a giant bunny out of the way of the entrance. He carried both twins in their car seats. "They may have been a little over the top. Oh, and Pearl sent a message. She's going to buy us a house if we move back to the coven. I suppose it's her way of apologizing."
He didn't sound very forgiving, but Jessica only smiled as they waded through toys to the bedroom. "At least she got that witch who attacked Jacob to say what really happened. We have the option to move back if we want."
The witch rubbed her belly. It was soft again, and still ached a little from giving birth, but the magic really helped to speed up the healing process. It felt strange not to have her babies kicking from the inside anymore, but gazing at their sweet little faces made her beam.
"My flock wants me to come back, so maybe it's worth thinking about." Braden shrugged. He set the twins down and unbuckled Erick while Jessica took little Stafford to the crib.
Big Stafford was back in the coven, having gotten his job back from Pearl. There wasn't enough room for him in the apartment right now, anyway, and Jessica was grateful that he recognized that she and Braden needed some time to connect to the babies, just the four of them.
After the twins were in their cribs, Braden picked her up and settled her in bed. He kissed her gently. "So. I have something for you."
Jessica leaned forward eagerly as he produced something from his pocket. It was a ring with an emerald set into a gold band. The metal was a little scratched up, indicating that it was very old. As Braden slid it onto her finger–the third finger on her left hand–Jessica's heart sped up and a smile bloomed over her face.
"It was my mother's ring, given to her by my father. It was his mother's ring, too. I want you to wear it… and be my wife."
"Yes!" Jessica hardly let him finish before she blurted out her answer. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Braden looked taken aback by her enthusiasm but smiled. "I take it you're happy."
"Of course I am." She pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his lips. "This is what I've wanted my whole life. Now I finally have it. My dragon. My twins. My happily ever after."
*****
THE END