Chapter Six
Curran stared at his reflection in the mirror. What the fuck was he supposed to do?
He was showing. Maybe he was the only one who noticed because he knew his body better than anyone, but to him, his pregnancy was obvious. He wasn’t sure how no one else had noticed yet, but it wouldn’t be long before he had to give his mothers and everyone else an explanation.
The thought of doing that made him want to scream. The thought of Marlin finding out about the pregnancy made him want to puke.
Or maybe that was the hormones. He wasn’t sure.
It was his fault. He should have talked to Marlin weeks ago, but instead, he’d waited.
He’d told himself that he was waiting for the right moment, but he’d never found one, probably because there was no right moment to tell someone that their one-night stand had resulted in a pregnancy.
It meant he’d gotten out of talking to Marlin, but also that he was freaking out now.
Only two people knew he was pregnant. Deryn kept telling him to talk to Marlin, and Curran kept pushing back the moment until he absolutely had to.
He was pretty sure that moment was now.
Yet, instead of going to find Marlin after he left the rooms where he lived with his mothers, he headed to the dining hall. If he got there early, he’d be able to avoid everyone he was trying to avoid. It had worked until now, but he had to be quick.
He went to grab a tray as soon as he walked in, ignoring the few glances he got from other dragons, including the cooks.
He filled a plate, wincing when his stomach rumbled, and chose a table close to the door.
He slid onto the bench and started eating, glancing around a few times before he allowed himself to relax.
If Deryn could see him, he’d be disappointed and would try to convince him to choose a different path, but Curran wasn’t ready.
He didn’t think he ever would be. If he continued wasting time, the decision would be taken out of his hands.
He wouldn’t have a choice because Marlin would know just by looking at him.
He’d been doing what he could, avoiding Marlin, Birch, and his mothers, but he was starting to feel guilty about that.
There were only so many times he could spend the night at Deryn’s before his moms asked him what the fuck he was doing.
“There you are,” Birch said as he slipped onto the bench in front of Curran.
Curran had to resist the urge to reach for his stomach. It was hidden under the table, so hopefully, Birch wouldn’t notice it. Curran wasn’t sure what he’d do if his brother did. Probably scream and run away.
“You’re not at work,” Curran said.
“I asked Killian if I could take a break. I wanted to talk to you, and you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t,” Curran answered without thinking. It was pretty obvious that he was avoiding everyone, so telling his brother that he wasn’t wouldn’t help.
Birch arched a brow. “Really? When’s the last time we had lunch together?”
“You’re busy with work and Aaron. I don’t want to take you away from that.”
Birch looked at him like he was an idiot. “You’re my brother. Spending time with you isn’t taking time away from my job, my friends, or my boyfriend. You’re as important as all those other people.”
Curran needed to run, but he couldn’t. If he got up, Birch would see. “I’m fine.”
“You can’t be that fine if you’re avoiding me, Curran. Did something happen? Was it the night of the party? Because I told you to be careful and stop drinking.”
“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” Curran snapped. “I am fine, and that’s it. You might be my brother, but it doesn’t mean you have to hover and treat me like a child. If I want to talk to you, I’ll talk to you.”
“How can I stop treating you like a child when you snap at me like one?”
It was hard to resist the urge to get up and storm off. Curran would have if he had a choice. “Just leave me alone. I have nothing to say to you.”
“I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting! I can protect myself. I’m fine, and you should focus on Aaron and your job.”
The wounded expression on Birch’s face hurt, but Curran couldn’t reach for him. He hated that they were fighting and that it was his fault, but he couldn’t tell Birch what was happening. If he didn’t push Birch away, his brother would insist until Curran told him.
He couldn’t yet.
Thankfully, the phone Birch carried in a pouch around his neck started ringing. Birch looked like he was about to throw it against the wall, but instead, he sucked in a breath and took it out of the pouch. “I have to go.”
Curran looked down at his plate. He wasn’t hungry anymore. “Then go. I’ll be fine.”
Birch hesitated, then got to his feet. “This isn’t over, Curran. Eventually, I’ll find out what’s going on.”
“Or you could keep your nose out of my business.”
Birch didn’t answer. He turned around and left, and Curran had to watch him go.
His brother’s threat had been serious. He wouldn’t let Curran get away with this much longer. Curran was running out of time, and he wasn’t anywhere near ready to talk about the baby with anyone.
“Are you all right?” someone asked.
Curran turned, ready to snap at whoever it was to keep their nose out of his business, but he froze when he found Pearl standing next to his table.
Everyone knew who she was. She was one of Killian’s half-sisters, and she had her eye on the throne.
Curran didn’t have any details, but being Birch’s brother meant that he knew more than most clan members.
He definitely knew that he should stay away from her.
He swallowed. “It’s fine. We’re brothers. We fight sometimes.”
“I’m sure, but please, if you need anything, feel free to reach out to me. Just because he’s your brother doesn’t mean he should treat you like that.”
Curran wanted to ask what she meant, but he knew what she was insinuating.
He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t tell her to fuck off, no matter how much he wanted to.
He had no idea what her game plan was, but something told him he wouldn’t like it, and Killian would like it even less. “Thank you,” he said to be polite.
“I know how close Birch is to my brother, so I understand why you might be wary of speaking up about him. You don’t have to worry about that with me.”
Pearl gave him a smile and turned to leave. Curran watched her go, wondering what the fuck was happening. He needed to tell someone about Pearl, but he couldn’t talk to Birch. Who did that leave?
Curran pushed away from the table. He had to talk to Marlin.
* * * *
MARLIN WAS ABOUT TO leave his rooms to get lunch when frantic knocking gave him pause. He frowned and strode to the door, flinging it open with a question already on his lips.
It died there when Curran pushed past him.
It wasn’t the first time Curran was in Marlin’s rooms. Even the night they’d spent together hadn’t been the first time he visited. It wasn’t something that happened often, though, and Marlin had no idea what could have brought him here after he’d carefully avoided him since the night of the party.
“I need to tell someone what happened with Pearl, and I can’t go to Birch,” Curran said as he turned to face Marlin.
Something caught Marlin’s attention. He’d known Curran for most of his life, and he’d been interested in him for close to a decade.
He’d kept his distance because of Birch and because Curran was a bit younger, but that had flown right out the window the night of the party. Marlin remembered Curran’s body that night. He knew what Curran looked like—what he felt like.
“Curran?” he asked.
Curran shook his head. “I was sitting there eating lunch when she came up to me. I’m sure she heard that I was fighting with Birch, but it’s still weird, right?
I’m pretty sure she insinuated that she understood if I was afraid of Birch because of who he is to Killian.
She said I could come to her and that I didn’t have to worry about that. ”
Marlin’s mind was being pulled between two important places. He needed to focus on what Curran was saying about Pearl, but he couldn’t stop staring at him.
Curran snapped his fingers in front of Marlin’s face. “Are you listening to me?”
“You look different,” Marlin blurted out.
Curran’s eyes widened, and his hands flew to his stomach. Marlin swallowed, still unable to look away. There could only be one reason for Curran’s behavior.
He was clearly trying to hide his stomach, and that could only be because it was more rounded than it had been a few weeks ago. Marlin remembered every moment of the night they’d shared.
“I don’t look like anything,” Curran said. “Are you listening to me? Did you hear what I said about Pearl?”
“I did. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Curran.”
Curran shook his head. “Can we not do this now? Look, I don’t know everything that happens to Killian, but I know Pearl has been a problem for a while now.
Why would she approach me, of all people?
It has to be because she saw me fighting with Birch, and she knows I’m his brother. I’m sure she’s planning something.”
Marlin agreed, but he couldn’t focus on anything that wasn’t Curran. “Please tell me,” he begged.
Curran paused. He was very carefully avoiding looking at Marlin. That was enough to tell Marlin something really was going on.
“Curran, please,” he repeated.
Curran huffed. “Fine. Yes, I’m pregnant. Can we go back to what’s important now?”
As far as Marlin was concerned, Curran’s pregnancy was extremely important.
“Is the baby mine?” It had to be. He knew Curran.
He wasn’t the kind of person who slept around.
It wouldn’t have mattered if he had been, but it just wasn’t like him.
Marlin had always hoped it meant that Curran had feelings for someone—for him—but that didn’t matter right now.
Curran was pregnant with Marlin’s baby.
How had they not noticed that Curran was fertile the other night?
Well, that was easy. They’d been half drunk and too busy to even think about using protection.
It hadn’t crossed Marlin’s mind, and now, the result was right there in front of him.
Was this why Curran had been avoiding him? It had to be.
Curran groaned. “Do we really have to do this now?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Fine. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out, but yes. You’re the only person I was with recently. The baby is yours. Can we go back to Pearl now? This is really important, Marlin. I’m sure she’s plotting something against Killian, and she wants to use me. I can’t let her do that.”
Marlin rubbed his face with both of his hands. Curran was right. He needed to focus. “It does sound like that’s what she’s trying to do,” he confirmed. “What did she say exactly? Also, why were you fighting with Birch?”
“I was fighting with Birch because he’s an overprotective asshole. You both are. Unfortunately, we were doing it in the dining hall, and while it was almost empty, it’s clear that Pearl heard us.”
“What did the two of you say to each other?”
“Nothing different than what we usually say when we fight. He told me he was worried. I told him he needed to stop being overprotective and to fuck off.”
“Does he know about the baby?”
“Can you think about something that’s not the baby?”
Marlin wasn’t sure he could. He was going to try, but his mind couldn’t seem to focus.
He was going to be a father.
Curran grabbed both of Marlin’s shoulders and gave him a good shake.
“You have to stop this. I need you to be focused. I’m sure that if Pearl has her way, there will be no baby to give birth to because there will be no me.
She might have made it sound like she was worried about me, but she only wants to use me.
Is that what you want? Will you allow her to do that? ”
“We’re going to talk about this,” Marlin insisted.
“Eventually, sure, but the baby isn’t going anywhere. They’re not the most important thing right now.”
Marlin disagreed, but he understood where Curran was coming from. He couldn’t say Curran was completely wrong. If Pearl succeeded in whatever she was trying to do, Marlin was sure that he and Curran would never have the opportunity to meet their child.
Marlin needed to protect his child and Curran, and that meant focusing on Pearl and what she was up to. It meant letting go of talking about the child and everything else, but just for now.
Marlin would find out what the fuck was going on with Curran and why he hadn’t come to him earlier. First, though, he’d take care of Pearl.