Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Samantha
I limp my way around the base, grateful for some fresh air. It has been three days since Malikay and his dragons kidnapped me, and the healing process has been slow. I’d shifted twice, but Zane had cautioned about shifting too many times. He’d said that our bodies need to do some of the healing on their own to get it right.
“Should we take a break?” Aydan asks.
All four of them stop and regard me with those gentle eyes of theirs. They’d been looking at me like that every second since they brought me back. Like if they brush me, I might break into pieces.
“I’m okay. Really, I am.” I smile, trying my best to reassure them, but they don’t look any more relaxed.
The beta dragons are spread out all around us. Some are flying in the air overhead. Some are walking on the ground. Aydan and Granger had taught them how to play football, which is now their new thing. Half-dressed men are constantly running around after the ball, laughing. It feels like being at a frat house.
“Meow.”
I glance down to see our ridiculous cat. Zane has taken to walking her on a leash. And to my surprise, she loves the damn thing. After her baths and her good food, she’s actually very pretty, with long orange fur and big blue eyes. She trots a little when he takes her out, stopping to sniff things or to rub against Zane’s leg.
He said he’d get the cat to be his friend, and he was right. Zane’s patience and love definitely paid off. With the cat, and with all of us.
A dragon soars low overhead, and I sigh as he passes.
Aydan takes my hand. “You’ll be back flying in no time.”
After my first two shifts, Zane had inspected me and then had me try flying. I’d been able to, even though it caused pain. He’d reassured me that the fact that I could fly meant that, after my healing, I’d be fine. I’d been relieved to know I’d be okay.
A couple male dragons walk close to us on the sidewalk, they start sniffing in my direction, but then they pull a strange face. Zane notices it and moves to step in front of them, effectively stopping them.
“Are you smelling our female?”
The betas look panicked, but the taller one answers, “Yes.”
Zane cocks his head. “Does she not smell good to you?”
It takes the taller one a painfully long minute to answer. “Not any longer. She smells like a male now.” With that, both betas take off, as if afraid of what my men might do to them.
Like I care that I don’t smell good to them any longer. Hell, this is all I’ve ever wanted.
Evander turns to me and says, “Why do you think they don’t like your smell now?”
Granger frowns and shakes his head. “Could it be something the scientists are doing? Did one of their experiments actually work?”
Zane turns very slowly to face the rest of us. There’s shock in his face as his cat sniffs at a flower near us. He walks back to me and collapses onto his knees, reaching out to touch my stomach.
“Sam,” he whispers.
Every muscle in my body tenses. “Zane…”
It can’t be.
Zane begins to sniff rapidly, and the look of absolute wonder on his face takes my breath away. “When females get pregnant, their scent takes a little while to change, getting stronger as the baby grows. Before, you were injured, so you smelled differently, of blood and all the things the doctors put on you, and the pregnancy must have been in the early stages. I was too distracted to realize…” He’s babbling.
“What’s happening here, buddy?” Aydan says, but there’s excitement in his voice.
Zane looks up, holding my gaze. “She is with child.”
I knew it was coming. At least I thought I knew it was coming. Even so, I’m shocked. This can’t be possible, can it?
“But I thought pregnancies were really rare with dragons,” I say, heart racing.
Zane nods, a tear rolling down his cheek. “They are.”
My heartbeat fills my ears. “And that we’ve gone lifetimes without children.”
“We have.”
I stare at him, needing to be certain. “Are you sure?”
He nods again and then presses his forehead to my stomach.
“You’re pregnant!” Granger exclaims, hugging me the best he can while Zane clings to me.
Aydan looks amazed. “Pregnant.” Then he kisses me.
Evander pushes past all of them and pulls me into his arms. “You’re going to be an amazing mom.”
I’m going to be a mom. Me! A mother!
Tears catch in my throat. “And you’re going to be amazing dads.”
Zane stands and exclaims, “There is so much to do. So much to prepare.” Then he bounces a little on his feet laughing.
Which makes all of us laugh too.
Pregnant! I’m going to have a baby! And the thing is, as much as I’ve been through lately, I’m more than ready for this next adventure.
“I guess we’ll have to move up our proposal plans, guys,” Evander says, grinning.
“Proposal plans?” I ask, lifting a brow. “And when should I expect that to happen?”
Evander kisses my neck. “It’s a surprise.”
I’m practically glowing. There’s a little baby dragon inside of me. I’m going to be marrying four amazing men, and life is absolutely amazing.
How did I get this lucky?
Zane looks at the other men with those big blue eyes of his. “I know we have a whole plan, but what better moment could we have than this?”
It’s like a ripple moves through them, a silent exchange. One after another they fall to their knees, and Evander pulls a ring box out of his pocket.
“Samantha Callaway…” Evander begins, visibly swallowing as my heart races.
“Marry us!” Zane shouts.
Before I can even think, I say, “Yes!”
Evander blinks slowly. “But we had a whole speech planned, and–”
“No one says you can’t still do it,” I tease, laughing and waiting.
Evander gives a sharp nod, looking nervous. “Since the moment you came into our lives, you’ve changed us for the better.”
He glances at Aydan, and Aydan continues. “Every moment, every day, is better because we have you.”
Granger’s eyes are filled with tears. “We could never imagine being without you. We want to be with you forever. Not just for this lifetime, but for all your lifetimes.”
Zane smiles. “So, will you marry us? Will you be with us forever?”
I laugh and answer again. “Yes!”
Evander opens the box, where my perfect wedding ring sits beside their four rings. He picks it up and slides it onto my finger.
“And Evander says we can wear our rings too now, even though it doesn’t normally work this way,” Zane tells me excitedly.
Smiling, I kneel down in front of him and put his giant, gaudy ring on. It’s covered in light blue stones. Then, one after another, I put their rings on before finally standing back up.
“It’s official,” Aydan says. “We have a wedding to plan.”
Suddenly, the betas all around us stop moving. They look at the sky, and then one after another begins to shift and take flight. Granger hurries up to one of them, and says, “What’s going on?”
My insides twist. It can’t be Malikay and his group. They’ve been dumped on an island in the middle of nowhere, with no ability to fly and no way to escape. So, what’s wrong?
The beta, still looking at the sky, says simply, “Another female dragon.”
Granger barely has time to leap back before he shifts and takes off. I look at my men. They stare back in confusion. Another female?
Fuck. We’ll need to get there quickly to offer her protection. But where is she? Can my guys scent her?
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text from Dahlia and decide to check it before we figure this whole mess out. There are just two sentences.
I shifted. Holy fuck, I’m a dragon.