Chapter Eleven
Marcus
I woke with the worst taste in my mouth and smacked my lips—well, what constituted lips for a dragon. I stretched amid gold and remnants of shed skin—my own and my mate’s.
Whisper, all pale scales and kind eyes, blinked up at me with a purr of delight. Not a trace of the freckling remained on him, the marks of a young dragon. He preened against me and insinuated himself in such a way that had me rumbling until our baser halves made lazy tail-swishing love.
When we finished, I dared to shift, disgusted by what I’d smell like, what we’d smell like.
Sheds were not instant things, not an overnight event.
Winter had likely passed already, and I sniffed myself and wasn’t too offended.
Whisper shifted as well, and when he did, my inner monster preened.
Low in his belly was the gentle swell of life.
He rested a hand on it and gave me bedroom eyes that I had to will myself not to act upon.
“Good morning, Whisper.” I stretched as he gave me a thumbs-up, which I took to mean the same.
Wordlessly, he followed me to the shower, all lazy smiles and nuzzles as we cleaned one another and sought out clothes. Dust had accumulated, and we stretched with wide yawns and brought ourselves back to the rest of the keep, searching for others.
Under the gentle billow of one of my sweatshirts, Whisper hid his little bump, and we peeped into the playroom, giving Aster and Nula a little smile and wave.
We found Brae in his office, poring over paperwork, while Father and Baba were probably up in the tower already.
Spring had sprung, and with it came nosy humans getting lost and hillsides full of buried dragon remains and treasures to protect.
And there they’d stay until a new dragon born reached the correct age and searched a fortune out to build their own.
I’d dug mine up beneath an ancient maple tree, coins literally embedded in roots, and paid homage to the dragoness that had accumulated it.
We left the keep and walked out to the tower, climbing the stairs as Whisper panted with the new strain of his body. I’d hunt for him soon and feed him a fresh kill. A deer or a bear would be good.
“Lyphus!” Father’s voice piped up and the hatch to the tower opened, and two faces stared down at us with wide grins. “And there’s our sons, a good shed later.”
“Sorry I missed the start of spring.” Marcus smiled, his face a beautiful thing in the sunlight.
“It’s excusable. You two mated. You haven’t shed in years, and your mate needed his first.” Malkim offered a hand down to help Whisper climb the last few steps.
Drifting eyes landed on him and locked tight, a wide, bright smile stretching his lips.
Baba always said Father’s smile could brighten a room, and it did.
Baba, likely seeing the same thing, lifted Whisper off his feet and twirled once. “You are so very blessed. And you’ve done no small favor for me, too.”
Father laid a hand on Baba’s shoulder, as if to tell him to think less of the bad days.
“T-tank you.” Whisper fought the words and was a beautiful thing to see. His struggle to learn the difference between the way a consonant looked and sounded in his mouth.
Baba squealed and clapped his hands. “Don’t stress yourself, dear. This is wonderful.”
“L-learn to normal talk. Try.” Whisper enunciated each syllable and Baba gave him a sad smile.
“Honey, you’ve grown up not knowing how. Your mouth and muscles are shaped in the wrong ways, now. It may never be normal.” Baba made air quotes with his fingers. “But you don’t have to be normal for us. Your voice is beautiful. It’s you. And if you never want to learn to speak, that is fine, too.”
Whisper twisted his lips as if the thought of not learning was shitty. “Sound bad in head.”
He pointed to his ear and rubbed at it, and I could imagine that after a lifetime of being unable to speak, the vibrations would itch and feel odd.
Whisper, giving his brightest smile, flinched as his stomach gave a great growl and Malkim waved them off. “Go feed our grandbaby before our new son starves to death.”
I couldn’t help but snicker and back down the steps first, helping Whisper down as if he were frail.
He seemed to enjoy the attention, though.
I loved fawning over him so dearly. And because he was letting me, I hefted him in my arms and marched down the ringing metal tower, my steps heavy.
And to my utter delight, he laughed, a wheezy little chuckle that caught a few squeaks of his voice that I rewarded with a kiss.
I strode through the keep to the laundry room where Atkin was bent over, head in the dryer removing clothes. I sat Whisper down and clapped Atkin on the rump, making him give a fake moan. “Oh, no! What are you doooiiinnng, step-dragon?”
Whisper gave me a confused look that I hesitated and offered to explain later.
“It gets old, those two.” A nasally voice perked up, and I whipped around to see a rather plump young woman with vividly green hair knotted atop her head with a flower tucked into the shape of it. She offered a hand to Whisper. “So, you’re Marcus’s mate.”
Whisper nodded, and her eyes trailed down to his belly with a soft smile. “Eventually, Atkin and I will get around to that…”
“I’m game whenever you are, babe.” Atkin whipped by with a basket of laundry and plopped it onto a counter before folding.
She sneered. “I’m just glad it’s not me this round. I’m happy being an auntie for the time being. A baby right now would really put a damper on my career.”
Atkin snickered. “That and the ability to fuck anywhere in our hoard we please.”
“That, too.” She reached into the basket to pull out some rather racy underwear and folded them. “And I’d probably have to stop wearing things like this, or walking around in my undies.”
“You can’t walk around them now with Nula about!” Atkin sighed heavily.
“Point… But I’m young. I want my freedom for the time being.” She stuck her tongue out, and Atkin shook his head.
“Which reminds me. Go find Cirue and have him sit down and give Whisper some advice. He’s nesting.” Atkin gave me a bright smile, and my heart lifted.
“He’s laid already? All is well?” I grabbed for Whisper’s wrist.
“Oh yeah. Few days ago.” I tugged Whisper to follow me and waved goodbye, off to find our clan’s patriarch and his mate. Whisper had a lot to learn in a very short period of time.