Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Isat nestled between the roots of the trees with a book open in my lap.
It was quieter over on this side of the house, and I was happy to hide away from all the people.
Candice was running a charity function out on the lawn today, and it looked incredible.
I’d heard about her skills as the head of the children’s charity that worked with, but seeing them in person was impressive.
Mushrooms and flowers had transformed the entire landing zone into a wonderland, making them appear giant. A very Alice and Wonderland themed maze that had dragons flying in and other shifters pulling into the driveway.
Unfortunately, they planned the function months in advance.
I didn’t want her to have the chance the entire venue simply because I was here.
Candice kept checking with me, but I told her it was fine.
Really, I thought I could hide out in the Archives, but no one would take me.
I’d been grounded for the foreseeable future.
Looking down at the book in my hand, I sighed.
This one would not help me find Marcus. This one was about how dragons used magic before it was even called magic.
They created dragon lairs using giant magic circles.
They would channel their magic and pull magic from around them in order to create a haven like this. It was fascinating.
The book itself was written a thousand years after the full dragons had become obsolete; it gave some interesting diagrams and guesstimates on how much magic it actually took to create a lair.
It also went into the details about how the lairs got passed down through the families, but I hadn’t gotten there yet.
Today was the perfect day to be out. The wind was a cool breeze, while the temperature inside the lair was perfect.
I toddled out here earlier, and while I found a comfortable spot to sit that supported me; I didn’t know if I could get up.
My phone was sitting on the root next to me, in case I needed to have Laila come, but for now, I was fine.
I don’t know how long had passed, but my head rose when I heard someone stomping through the trees.
“Colt? You over here?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Beau popped into view, a smile on her face, wearing a 1950s-style dress. I knew she was helping Candice today, along with Lauren and Laila. They all got roped into it, and I’d seen Laila this morning looking adorable all dressed up. She complained the entire morning about it, but she looked good.
Falling in front of me, I chuckled as she spread out as if she were planning on making a snow angel in the grass.
“I don’t know how Mom does these things.
It’s exhausting. I’m exhausted. My face hurts from plastering a smile on it.
My feet hurt from trying not to sink into the grass with these heels. I’m so done.”
“Are your nose and ears cold too?”
Pouting, Beau turned her head to me. “Are you making fun of me, Colton Alford?”
“Maybe a little.” I smirked. “I’m so comfortable that I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s not like I can’t get up from this spot on my own.”
She sat up, brushing off the front of her dress. “You’re so sassy. I came over because Mom thought you might not have had lunch. You not being able to get up to get it makes sense.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
“Of course you aren’t.” Beau gave me a deadpanned look. “You doing okay? You seemed extra tired this morning.”
I nodded. “I am exhausted. It’s normal though, or so they tell me.”
She laughed. “You make me want to have Lauren have our hatchlings.”
My eyebrow rose, and she put her hands up. “Nope. Not anytime soon. Not happening. I just don’t know if I could go through everything you’re going through. I know I am not that strong.”
“I don’t know. I think you are. I’m not a good example of what is normal with everything going on.” My lips pursed before I looked up at her, serious. “Can I ask you something, Beau?”
“Yes?” She looked hesitant, but she turned, kneeling in front of me.
I looked down at my book. “If…if something happens to me…”
“Colt…”
Putting my hand up, I cut her off. “I’m serious, Beau. I said I would get through birth and I intend to, but…anything after that…or if…my mark disappears…”
“Colton, no…we will find him. We will find my brother.”
“If we don’t, or if it’s too late, I want you and Lauren to take her.”
Tears spilled over as Beau’s jaw hung open. “Colt…that’s…”
“Rin and Mike are her godparents, but they aren’t dragons. They aren’t her actual family.” I rubbed my bump. “I want you and Lauren…to take her. Raise her as your daughter. If you are okay with that.”
Beau crawled closer to me and wrapped me up in her arms. I put my hand on her back, but I had started crying too.
She nuzzled my neck, letting her scent out.
She was the closest person to smell like Marcus.
I don’t know why Keith smelled completely opposite.
He smelled like the diner Marcus frequented in the city.
The greasy, slightly burnt smell that turned my stomach early in my pregnancy.
Beau, though, had mostly a citrus scent, but it had a wisp of the birch wood I loved so much.
“We will get him back, Colt. Don’t worry. They won’t win. We won’t let them.”
I leaned my head against hers. “I don’t know if I believe that anymore. I just want her to be safe and have a family, Beau. I want her to grow up and be happy, and I trust you and Lauren to do that.”
“Colt, I…I don’t know if I can agree. You can’t die. We won’t let you. You need to be here for your little girl. She might half Mar, but she’s half you too. I don’t know if we can raise someone as wonderful as you.”
Chuckling, I shook my head, holding her tighter. “All I want is for her to be loved. That’s all.”
“I love you, though, and that means you can’t die. I won’t let you. No matter what. You are going to be the best dad to your little girl. I refuse anything else.”
I smiled into her shoulder. “I love you too, Beau. I just…want to make sure she will be okay. I know you said you weren’t ready, but…”
“I’m not ready to push out a hatchling from my vagina. Not…damn it, Colt. You’re going to freak Lauren out.”
She leaned back, wiping her tears. “No matter what happens, we will be here for you. If something…fuck…if something happens to you, we will take care of her. I promise.”
“That’s all I ask.” I kissed her cheek. “It’s a lot to ask like this. I planned on sitting you both down; I just hadn’t found the right time.”
“Well, there is no right time. So I guess this was as good as any.”
Clearing my throat, I closed the book and set it next to my phone. “Do you mind helping me up? I think if I sit anymore like this, I’m going to be absorbed into the tree.”
Beau laughed and nodded, wiping away any last tears.
She got up easily and then grabbed my hand.
Pulling me up, I swayed before finding my balance.
My center of gravity didn’t exist anymore.
Not with how heavy I was. I reached down, barely able to pick up my phone and books.
Behind me, Beau was snickering, and when I finally righted myself, I slapped her arm with my book.
Laughing even more, she walked with me back to the house. I took the steps up into the kitchen and quietly made my through the house. They weren’t using the house for anything, so it stayed empty and locked while everyone was outside. It made the house unusually quiet.
Closing my door, I placed my book on the desk before stepping into the bathroom.
I peed only to realize I wouldn’t mind a shower.
Turning on the hot water, I stripped down and got under the stream.
My tail and ears were now soaked, and I would need to wash them along with everything else.
Sometimes that had become far more of a pain since they were permanent fixtures now.
Outside of that, it felt incredible as my muscles relaxed in the water. I tried to stretch my back, but it was almost impossible. Nothing felt better. It was just too much now. Still, I stayed in the shower as long as I dared, trying to let my body relax as much as it could.
When I got up, I wiped myself off because there was no towel large enough to wrap around me.
Walking into the bedroom, I opened the closet.
Stepping in, I grabbed what should have been an oversized shirt and some sweats.
I stood in front of the bed just in case I lost balance.
Leaning down, I awkwardly pulled on my sweats, but standing up, I tipped forward and brushed my chest against the edge of the blanket.
I couldn’t help the yelp that left me. My nipples had been so sensitive lately that it hurt sometimes to even put shirts over my head.
Looking down, my eyes widened. Liquid was beading up from the edge of my right nipple.
Reaching up, I pressed against my chest. Slightly white liquid shot out of me, and I looked at the bed in horror.
Checking the other side, it didn’t shoot out like the right, but it trickled down my front. Grabbing my phone, I sent off a quick text to Eva. I stared down at our messages, willing her to look at them. She was usually pretty quick to answer.
Eva
Give me a second.
I nodded, even though I didn’t text or say anything, praying she would understand. Was I supposed to be leaking like this? She said that my chest was going to be more sore and stuff was going to happen to my nipples that I tuned out. Maybe Mike had said something about leaking?
Swapping to our text chats, I scrolled through his Thursday updates.
Week thirty-four popped up, and he said something about leaking colostrum, but I didn’t know what that was.
Was that what was coming out? I sat on the edge of the bed, starting to deep dive into leaking colostrum when there was a knock on my door.
“Colt?”
“Yeah, I’m in here.”
I hadn’t put on a shirt, but I didn’t really mind around Eva.
She had seen every part of me at this point.
She had styled her hair, and she wore a beautiful black dress with chains hanging from different places.
It made sense that she was coming to the charity event, most likely with her mate Dean, who was a pediatrician for not just this flight but for others as well.
She had a smirk on her face as she shut the door behind her. Eva took my head in her hands and shook her head. I gave her a smile, probably looking more like a fish with her hands squeezing me.
“I’m pretty sure I explained to you that there was a chance you would start leaking. You’ve been extra sensitive and you’ve been much larger than you have been in the past.”
“Yeah, but…isn’t it early? Isn’t that like…I’m supposed to be feeding her? Does that mean she’s coming soon? Or now? Eva…” I whined, hyperventilating.
Squatting down, Eva took my hands in hers. “Colton, listen to me.”
She waited, and I nodded, keeping my mouth shut.
“I don’t know if you know this, but you are going to have a hatchling.”
I snorted.
“I know, it’s shocking. Your body is working its way to being able to have her.
All of this is a process. Your body is adjusting.
This all happens as we lead up to the final moment.
” I opened my mouth, but she squeezed my hands.
“You haven’t dropped. She’s in a slightly angled position where she’s supposed to be, but you still have some time.
I’m surprised this is actually the first time you have leaked considering how small you were. ”
“But…this...”
Her smile was soft. “You have a little over four weeks until your due date, Colt. That’s around thirty days. One month. That’s it. Your body is ready. Everything that is happening is going to be readying you. You might even start feeling contractions. Your body gearing up to have this little girl.”
Eva placed her hand on my belly, rubbing softly.
I nodded, trying not to cry for the second time today.
My emotions were haywire, and I was on a hair trigger.
Even sometimes just bursting out in tears for no reason other than I couldn’t unscrew my water bottle the first try or a book was too high for me to reach.
“Can I check?”
I nodded, rolling my shoulders back. She reached up and touched around each side of my chest. Both were pouring out the milky-white when she got close enough to the center.
“Does it hurt?”
“No. It’s a little sore, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Eva nodded this time. “If it hurts, we might start you on pumping, just to relieve some of the pressure.” She stood up, placing her hands on her hips. “You are ready to have this hatchling, Colt.”
Snorting, I groaned. “She can walk out any time.”
She laughed. “I know how you feel. My middle decided she didn’t want to leave. I was forty-two weeks when we finally had to kick her out. Two extra weeks of doing everything I could to get her out while feeling horrible. So, I get it. Trust me. You are on the right track.”
“Sorry for freaking out.”
“Don’t apologize, Colt.” She rubbed my head between my ears. “Sometimes I forget how young you are.”
My lips pursed. “I’m going to be twenty next week.”
“Exactly. You’re just a baby. Going through all this on your own. I’m here for whatever you need. Even if it’s freaking out over small things.”
I nodded, my eyes closing as I reveled in her touch. “Thank you.”
“No problem, sweetheart. Did you eat?”
Rolling my eyes, I watched her soft demeanor completely change.
“Colton Alford. Are you serious right now?”