Mated in the Stars (Starscale Mates #6)

Chapter Two

Elio

My dragon tapped his massive forehead against my ribs. There was no way we were going to have that argument again. I didn’t want another yelling match that was mostly me yelling and Freddie falling silent before slinking off somewhere else and trying to take our hatchling with him.

“Are you sure this is a good time?” Selt asked. “We can come back. I won’t tell the others you’re arguing. Liatris will understand if you need more time.”

“If you’re mate ever asks who you’d save from a burning building say him.”

“Ummm…. No,” he asked. “Well, maybe. Remember you brought this up. I was trying to avoid the flight link and what you were arguing about with your mate. I’d save Selatris if he was there. Yes, even if he was as old as Teddy. Yes, even if he was as old as Fred. You’d save Minter, right?”

“Of course, I would!” I snapped.

“What? Did Fred say he’d save Teddy over Minter?” he arched a brow.

“No! He said he’d save Teddy or one of them over Lotus!” I growled.

“Oh, yeah. That too. I mean, Elio,” Selt sighed and let out a long, slow breath. “I mean, friend, she’s already gone. If Liatris could save Selatris or me, save my child any day. I’m sure Lotus would feel the same.”

“How do you think Teddy would feel if I told him what Fred said?”

“Like you betrayed his dad’s confidence. Look, Teddy’s not going anywhere. Even if he moves back to Earthside, he’s Fred’s kid and he’s not Fred’s only adult kid either. Fred is one of those lifetime fathers we all wish we had. Make up with him and move on. Life’s too short.”

“How’d you get so ---” I gestured at all of him.

“Therapy. Liatris. Xav. The latter loves to inform me if I’m an asshole but really, it’s mostly Selatris. I’d fly into death himself and fight him declawed if that was the only way to save him. I don’t foresee that changing.”

“You don’t get it.”

“Maybe I don’t. Anyway. Just let me know when you guys are ready,” Selt stood up to excuse himself. “And maybe don’t ask him if he’d love you if you were a worm or something, okay?”

“Jackass,” I swore under my breath.

Selt left but Fred lingered outside for hours with the baby and Teddy. He was an asshole too sometimes, but it was hard to stay mad at him watching him and Teddy run around with Minter. Fred had raised at least three of his adult children full time but that shouldn’t mean he got veto power on everything.

“I don’t,” he said, picking up on my thoughts over our mating link. “Being a parent is about choosing your battles. You’re fighting for a quiet evening. I’m fighting for family bonds. Duke didn’t grow up with the rest of his siblings for a number of reasons. Minter can’t meet his other siblings because we’re here. I want him and Teddy to be close. Sunny and his brother are close despite the age gap. And you saw how Teddy looked. He took it personally after what he just said.”

“We need to talk about that too.”

“And we will.”

“Today?”

“Yeah. Today. Tonight, after the baby goes to bed,” Fred said, glancing in my direction through the window.

***

That night after his bath, Fred rocked Minter to sleep. I was envious of how unbothered my alpha was by the baby’s cries. He was tired, cranky, and fighting sleep. His cries cut through me like a knife. Not to mention what they did to my nerves. Fred rocked him and hummed a club dance number under his breath.

“How can he be the same guy who tried to burn us alive when he thought we did something to Lotus in the Other World?” my dragon mused as Minter’s little eyes drifted closed.

I knew enough of Fred’s history to know that in many ways my mate was a loose cannon. He didn’t mind fighting. Part of him enjoyed it. He wasn’t shy about sex or emotions. The one place he seemed to level out and be almost a new dragon was with any of his kids. I didn’t begrudge him that. At least, I didn’t think I did.

Fred rose so gently from the rocking chair, still swaying, as he carried Minter to his bed. We’d done away with the crib a few weeks ago and moved him to his first big boy bed. The first week I lost Fred’s warmth in the bed to his sleeping on Minter’s floor because our hatchling feared he’d fall out of bed.

Once Minter was tucked in, he stayed there kneeling by the bed his hand resting on Minter’s little chest as it rose and fell with the easy breathing that came from sleep. He was memorizing the moment. Fred did that a lot. Everything was so fleeting to him. All the moments so short – good, bad, ugly. He knew they’d all pass and he’d miss them. So, I didn’t try to rush him out of the nursery no matter how exhausted I was. I was more ready for bed than Minter had been.

“Do I need to rock you to sleep?” Fred teased over our mating link. “I will and that’s not a joke.”

I knew it wasn’t a joke. I almost took him up on the offer but if we didn’t work this out now, I was afraid it would keep dividing us up more and more. I didn’t want to lose him. What would happen with Minter if I did? The council might say since he parented more than I had previously…

“Stop it,” Fred said aloud and shot me a dirty look.

Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms high above his head as he flashed me a dirty look and pointed down the hall.

“What is wrong with you? I don’t know what’s going on that you’re not telling me about, but I can’t fix anything if you don’t tell me. Why would we break up? How could we?” He gestured from my shoulder to his and back. “And if we did, why do you think I’d try to kick you out of the baby’s life? I co-parented my eldest for the whole of his life that I knew about. I was the one fighting not to be pushed out. I would never do that to you.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, I know you probably wouldn’t do that to me but sometimes I feel like I’m on the outside looking in at my own life or at least at your life!”

Fred nodded and walked into the kitchen. He was going for the bourbon. I’d irritated his dragon again. I gave him a second and then followed him. He wasn’t pouring bourbon. He was filling up sippy cups for the next day and sticking them in the fridge.

“I had a long life before we met,” he said, studying the contents of the fridge and making a mental list of what we needed to pick up soon. “I’m not going to lie – it was fucking fantastic a lot of the time. I tamed a city, started a legacy club. Had the egg brats – met the love of my life. Raised those kids. Had friends and accomplices. So much life that if I started talking now, we’d never get to go to bed because it would literally be impossible to tell you everything. I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“I don’t want you to apologize for that!” I growled.

“Shh!! Minter is asleep!” he scolded me.

“That! Right there! That!”

“Wanting the kid to sleep?” Fred crossed his arms. “I’m missing something, Elio. If I’m being dense tell me because outside of wanting Teddy and Minter to spend time together and telling you I’d save Teddy from a fire I haven’t done anything!”

“What about her?” I snapped.

“She’s dead,” he narrowed his eyes on me. “Whoever she was is gone now. Sure, she’s back around now. She’s living somewhere but she might not even be a she. If she were alive now, she’d box my ears for saying anything else. She would want me to save Teddy and leave her! He’d say that the other way around! I told you I’d get them both out and I think I could, but you said that wasn’t an option in your little game! Do you realize how ridiculous this is to argue over?”

“I don’t want to be left because you’re saving someone else!” I spat the words out, tears stinging my eyes.

Where in the fuck had these stupid tears came from? I wiped at my eyes. My vision blurred with tears when Fred appeared in front of me wiping them away with a cloth napkin. I slapped at his hand to stop him, but he kept at it. Then he cupped my chin and kissed the tip of my nose.

“We’ll get you a sonic in the morning, mate,” he said.

“What?” I blinked at him, sure I misheard what he said.

“I think,” he said, trying not to smile, but the expression tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I think your emotional state is probably half my fault. Half your own, though.”

“What?” I snapped at him again. “What do you mean? I didn’t –”

“Mate, I think you’re pregnant,” Fred said, and I stumbled back a step.

His big, strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me in close to him. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.

“What are you afraid of?” he asked.

“If I need saved and you’re out or with---” I stopped because I sounded like an idiot. I could save myself. I was a fucking dragon. With my brother’s help I sent out thousands of scrolls to get Fred here. I wasn’t helpless. “Okay,” I nodded. “A sonic tomorrow.”

“And just so you know, if you and Teddy were locked in a burning building, he’d toss you out a window if that was the only way to save you. He wouldn’t let what happened to him and his siblings happen to Minter if he could help it.”

I nodded because Fred was right. Teddy and I were a bit at odds over his dead carrier, but he had a point that I’d know the ‘new’ Lotus but never would know his carrier like they did. That hurt. It stung somewhere deep inside me.

“And he’s not trying to steal Minter,” Fred said. “Part of it is he’s trying to be helpful. Part of it is he chased after his own older brother whenever he was around when they were kids. Teddy’s the sort to heal his own hurts by ensuring that he does his best not to pass them on to anyone else. Does Minter need naps? Yes. Absolutely. Is he going to nap every day? Only if we resort to slipping him sleeping pills or some other monstrous shit. That’s the ironic part of parenting. Kids thrive on schedules but can’t follow them to save their lives even when you do your best. I’m not vetoing you on everything. Did you really want to try to put him down for a nap while he yelled for Teddy the whole time?”

“No, I just---”

“He’s your first. He’s your baby. You’re protective and territorial. I get it. I fought a wolf and an elf over Duke, and I’d do it again if I had to,” he smirked. “I’d fight every dragon who ever lived if that was the only way to keep them safe and happy.”

“I know that,” I sighed. “I really wanted a nap, though, and I only get them if he naps.”

“Hey,” he cupped my chin. “If you need a nap and he’s not going down, let me know. I’ll take him out and let you sleep for a while. I can’t make him go to sleep any more than you can, but I can give you a break.”

“I shouldn’t need a break from my own kid,” I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face. “If I need a break now what’s going to happen when we have two of them?”

“You’re going to have to let me know more often. I could assume on some days but what if you don’t want to nap or to have a break and I whisk him away. That feels like something we’d fight over. So, you’re going to have to speak up,” Fred said and kissed my forehead. “Seriously. Everyone needs a break. It’s not about how much you love them. It’s about staying sane with it. Things might even get crazier when we find Lotus again or if Teddy’s mate shows up and he runs off with him.”

“That’s going to break Minter’s heart. Maybe they’ll stay here. They can even live with us and---” I said, tearing up again.

“Teddy’s too much like me in some ways,” Fred sighed. “When he meets his mate, he’ll follow them to the end of time itself. I know that. So, I’m letting Minter have as much of him as he can now. That’s the problem with having kids so far apart. There are good things too, but I don’t need the Omega Sight to know that Teddy’s probably going to move away one day.”

“Can I have that nap now?” I asked. “I’m too tired to go around in circles with this one. I’ll get a sonic in the morning or even a photo shoot with Izora if you want. I think I just need some sleep and –--” my words were cut short as Fred scooped me up and carried me off to the bedroom. Once upon a time, he carried me off to romp, but now, I really did want to conk out for the night all wrapped up in his arms with his heartbeat thrumming against my back. It was the place I was the safest that I had ever been.