Mated in the Stars (Starscale Mates #6)

Chapter Eight

Fred

When everything was said and done, I locked Izora out of his own clinic. Our tiny egg sat in an incubator meant for just this sort of occasion. Elio laid out on the table still naked with his stitches exposed to the air. He breathed easily, still dozing from whatever Izora used to help him relax. I watched his chest and belly rise and fall. His orange star scale glowed as he healed up. The stitches were the sort that draconic bodies gobbled up when they were no longer needed. Scales were already popping up around them.

The c-section was uneventful as all the best were. My then steady hands now shook like I’d just watched my mate be cut open on a ship on a planet that wasn’t home. Starscale 1 was Elio’s home, though. Wherever his head lay was my home too now. I stroked his blonde hair and glanced over at our red egg. The egg was completely formed, and if we were lucky, it had already absorbed enough nutrients to grow to its full potential. Since it was beginning, or trying to begin, its descent, Izora was hopeful.

The egg was larger than the average dragon egg upon laying. Two and half or three times larger. Dragon omegas were fully capable of live births. It was a scientific mystery why some eggs stopped their descent and caused such chaos. The why didn’t matter as much as the outcome.

“Still so tiny in that incubator,” my dragon muttered, just as worried as I was.

“Fred,” Izora whispered through the door.

“Yeah?” I answered softly, still not budging up to let him in.

“Liatris cast the door anyway,” he whispered. “Teddy was there. They haven’t made it back yet, but it seems that they took some guy hostage when he came through the door. One of the wild dragons just told Nycto about it. The guy has a yellow star on his chest. He’s not one of us. I mean, well, the star says he is, but you know what I mean. He wasn’t born here.”

My blood ran hot. Then cold. Then hot again as if I was some pop song melody.

“Thanks for letting me know, Iz,” I said, not budging up from my seat.

If the newcomer was Lotus, they’d have to wait. I loved Lotus and if she, as herself, waltzed through that door, I’d be torn. Only, the Lotus I knew was dead and gone. Elio was here with me – my mate, my air, my everything for now. My everything because Lotus – when she was still Lotus – chose him for us. I kissed his forehead and smoothed back his hair. I wouldn’t tell Elio about these developments for a few days at least. He needed time to recover, and we still had the very long walk across the yard and around the pool to carry our egg to the nest.

“We won’t tell the egg brat we know,” my dragon nodded. “We’ll let him keep the secret no matter how bad he is at lying about it.”

“Freddie?” Elio murmured.

“I’m here, mate,” I said, smoothing down his hair again. “It’s so itchy. I wanna scratch it.”

“No, mate,” I kissed his forehead.

“I know. I heard him tell you not to let me. I’m surprised he didn’t tie me up like he tied you up that time,” Elio managed a chuckle. “Is our egg alright?”

“It’s in the incubator. We’ll be able to take it back to the nest with us when the time comes.”

“I need to sit up.”

“Not yet,” I shook my head, hating to tell him no. “It’s red and big. Really big.”

“I need to see it,” Elio frowned.

“Just a little bit longer,” I said. “Just rest until the itching stops. By then you should be good to sit up.”

He cocked his head to the side and glanced at me.

“Did Minter just say Teddy and his friends killed someone?” Elio blinked at me.

Unwillingly to gaslight my mate, I gave him half the answer.

“Of course, they didn’t kill anyone. Xav probably used his favorite freeze out spell on someone who came through the door. They all got startled and the guy got startled and they took him somewhere to talk to him. You know how Selt’s temper is and how Xav is the most peaceful man ever to go looking for a fight.”

“You’re leaving something out but that’s okay. Minter’s okay. Teddy is okay but --- ugh. He’s sad about his mom. I want to go back in time and dangle the doctor out of the window until he has the epiphany for the cure for vulpine degenerative disease.”

“Me too. We’ll get someone to build that time machine as soon as Clarence gets over here.”

“Shit! They did the door without us,” Elio frowned.

“They did the door without everyone. Hush said to postpone it, but they didn’t,” I laughed.

“Good for them. Good for everyone if their mates are out there,” Elio said, licking his lips. “When can I have a drink?”

“Whenever you want,” Izora called through the door. “There’s water in there but if you want something more then that your mate is going to have to let me back in. He acts as if I didn’t just perform a surgery successfully.”

“My stuff’s out,” Elio said, looking down at his crotch. “You go away.”

“I’ll take it as a good sign that your modesty is coming back. Er… Wait. You’re Starscale. When did you get modesty?”

Elio laughed and I had to grab his hands to stop him from wrapping them over his belly. I grabbed one of Izora’s scrub tops from the cabinet and laid it over Elio’s midsection.

“Thank you. I’m not shy. It was just getting cold. I forgot he was out.”

“You’re high, babe,” I said.

“High like at the club,” he laughed. “Do you remember that time you and Ruben ate the shrooms? Hey! Who’s Ruben?”

“Someone I used to know,” I laughed. “And I do remember that. I was there.”

“What about when you and Feral crashed your granddad’s car because he was an idiot? Like you did it on purpose. Right through his new building. That’s what he got for tearing down housing to build his stupid bank ---”

“I remember that too,” I grinned.

“What about when you thought Canton was a drug lord before you figured out, he actually grew food and was just an eccentric rabbit farmer?”

“I know my life, mate,” I laughed. “I lived it.”

“Good. You haven’t forgotten. Minter is--- I don’t know. Something about pigs. F the pigs?” Elio blinked.

I laughed and covered my mouth. My kids – all of my egg brats – were too young to remember that human phrase. Something was getting lost in translation over the flight link and it didn’t help either of us that Elio was high as a kite.

“What did the pigs do? We eat the pigs! I bet the pigs on the farm are all like F the farmer and the dragons!” Elio giggled. “It still sorta hurts to laugh. I hate this! Fred! It itches. Itch me! Alpha!”

I kissed his forehead and grabbed his hands again before he could start scratching.

“I love you, Elio. I’m sorry it’s itchy and you’re sore but for now, I’m gonna keep ahold of these. You can’t scratch or squeeze yourself or whatever.”

“I’m not trying to scratch my balls, Fred,” he rolled his eyes. “It’s the cut that itches.”

I got him some water and helped him sip it. Not long afterwards he fell back asleep muttering about F-ing pigs and F-ing parasites. Whatever Teddy had gotten up to, I hoped he was having fun because when Elio felt better there would be hell to pay for teaching Minter the phrase ‘F the pigs.’