Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
Isat on the stool, taking in the quiet morning. I’d made myself some tea and reheated two muffins from Candice’s leftover baked goods. She had gone off for a flight meeting yesterday, and I got to reap the benefits of the leftovers or slightly askew ones. They were delicious.
“Colt!” I jumped as Beau threw open the side door of the kitchen. “Happy birthday!”
Blinking, I cocked my head to the side. “Is it my birthday?”
Beau stopped, her mouth open. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“I just know that Eva is supposed to do my thirty-seven week checkup today. I’ve got nothing else going on in my head.”
Laughing, I shrugged. It wasn’t wrong. I was barely sleeping anymore.
My little hatchling thought that nighttime was her playtime, and she decided to be very abusive.
Nothing was comfortable, and I had reached the point of being ready to try remedies that old wolf women said could start labor.
Yes, it was three weeks early, but it didn’t matter.
My body was not built for having dragons.
“Colt, you’re finally twenty! You are officially no longer a teen.”
I let out a long sigh. “I don’t think anyone else has said I’m a teenager as much as you have. With my fake ID, I haven’t been a teen for four years.”
“Oh my god, Colt! Can we not celebrate it?”
“No.”
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Why not? You are no fun. You have to at least be fun on your birthday.”
“I’m a whale shifter right now, Beau. I don’t have to be any fun.”
She laughed, squatting down and rubbing my sweatshirt-covered stomach. “My little niece is growing nice and big! What are you talking about? You’re not a whale. You’re right on track.”
I groaned, putting my arms down on the marble and resting my head in them. “I hate everything. I’m never doing this again. If I ever say otherwise, I’ve lost my mind and I’m delusional and you need to have me committed.”
Lauren came in, rubbing my ears before attacking my tail. “You will forget all this discomfort in the face of that little hatchling. You’ll do it again. I know you will.”
“Not with how things are going, I won’t.” I snorted.
The two of them looked at me, horrified. I realized what I had said. My hope was waning. Even with my promise to Mike. If I had our little girl, and I survived, what then? The longer we weren’t able to find Marcus, the greater the chance there was that I would never see him again. I knew that.
I spoke to Sabrina and Mike about my fears. What it meant for me to survive this and actually do this alone. Part of me knew I needed to accept it. Mike still had hope. Last week Ebony had gone dark for a few hours. Her trail disappeared until she showed up back in the Dark Night pack.
He thought it meant she was visiting him somewhere. Marcus was still alive. If we could track her, we could get to him. We just needed to wait for them to slip up and track Ebony. It would not be easy, and there was little hope that I wasn’t going to give birth alone.
“Colt, no. You can’t think like that. Dad and a bunch of other dragons are trying to find him, and so is Mike…don’t give up yet.”
“I’m sorry. Lately, I just…”
Lauren put her chin between my ears. “I know it’s hard right now, Colt. You and Marcus are mates, though. You guys have this connection that most don’t. He fought for you, and we will fight for him too. Don’t forget that.”
“Good morning, birthday boy,” Candice came into the kitchen, kissing my cheek before turning on the coffee machine and flicking the oven on. “I’m surprised you’re up so early.”
“Couldn’t sleep.” I snorted. “I got kicked in the ribs one too many times.”
She chuckled and nodded to the half-eaten muffin in front of me. “Do you have room for breakfast? I thought I would make your favorite.” Her voice rose. “If Ty gets up, then he can start on some smoked bologna too.”
“I’m up, woman! Gods. I can hear you from across the house.”
I shook my head. “You really don’t need to do anything. I don’t normally celebrate my birthday.”
“Did your parents not even do anything for you on your birthday?” Lauren asked, growling a little.
Shrugging, I took a sip of my tea before answering.
“My birthday fell on the days we were off from school. So, they would go on trips. My gift was usually five grand in cash on the counter and a note saying they would be back in a week. Which, in a way, was the best present they could give me. I didn’t need to deal with them for a week. ”
“You know…when we meet your parents officially, I don’t know if I’m going to hold back from tearing into them.” Candice grumbled.
“Don’t bother. They aren’t worth it. Neither of them are.
According to Mike, my mother has already separated from my father.
She’s living back at the main Fisher estate.
My father…well…” I glanced at Tyson. “He wouldn’t care.
So it’s not even worth meeting anyone. You all have been more of a family to me than I ever have had. They don’t know the meaning of it.”
Suddenly, I was in the middle of a cuddle pile. Lauren, Beau, and Candice were all hugging me. Even more, they were scenting me. Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at my tea, smiling. Putting my hand on Candice’s arm, I tried to stop myself from shaking.
“Thank you.” My voice was quiet.
“Oh sweetheart, you are the best son-in-law I could ever ask for. You are our family. You fit perfectly in, and we will always be your family.” Candice broke from me first, opening up the fridge and breaking out all the ingredients for her French toast.
Lauren and Beau hung on until Laila and Peter showed up. I didn’t realize everyone was coming until we were digging into breakfast and Eva showed up with her mate. She was holding a wrapped gift, and my eyes widened.
“Wait, wait. We aren’t doing gifts.”
“Oh, yes, we are.” Candice pointed into the living room. “You can put it there, Eva. There is a pile on the table.”
I squeaked, looking from Eva to Candice. “Pile? What do you mean pile? I don’t need anything!”
“Yeah, but you can’t have a birthday without presents.”
Beau chimed in. “And you might not need anything, but that’s not the point of the gift. It’s having something you want or would think is cool.”
“If there were someone who could, it’s me! Plus…I…”
I was already being outvoted. No one was going to back me up. Instead, they just looked at me as if they were waiting for me to say something stupid. My shoulders fell, and I pushed the stuff around on my plate. Laila rubbed my hair, the only one holding back laughter.
“It’s okay, Colt. You’ll get used to it. Mike and Rin even had their gifts delivered here.”
“You guys suck.”
Eva patted me on the shoulder. “Happy to be of service. Now, after breakfast, you need to get out of the house and into some fresh air. It will do you some good.”
“I thought it was my birthday…” I grumbled, but everyone heard me.
“You can take a book?” Beau offered, and I sighed.
I would like to read in the forest, but I stopped because I couldn’t get myself up off the ground. If someone wasn’t sitting with me, I was stuck. It wasn’t the best feeling, being helpless like that. That stopped me from going outside lately, except to the porch.
“Maybe we should open my gift first then.” Tyson winked at me. “It might help.”
Shaking my head, I finished my food, giving up the fight.
Everyone was so bright, and I couldn’t sulk for long.
Tyson and Dean got into an argument over something that happened around two hundred years ago to the factions of dragons.
Apparently, the Council wasn’t the only ones the dragons needed to appease.
Though Tyson didn’t think highly of either of them.
I was listening to them when the door opened. We all turned, and my eyes widened as Mason, Ellen, and Audrey ran into the house. I hadn’t seen them in months. Moving my chair back, Ellen and Audrey squealed, throwing themselves into my arms.
It was hard not to cry. Keith had stopped bringing them around the house, and I knew it was because of me. I missed them. Pulling them closer, I nuzzled their cheeks.
“Hey you two. Long time no see.”
Ellen was the first to speak, nuzzling me right back. “We missed you, Uncle Colt!”
“Missed you lots!” Audrey chimed up, her face bright.
Looking up, Mason was standing a little way from me. I smiled at him and held out my arm. His eyes filled with tears, and he raced to me, throwing himself into me as his head buried into my shoulder. He sobbed, and I held them all tight.
“I feel like…I never got to thank you.”
“Mas, you never needed to thank me.” I ran my hands through his hair. “I’m just glad you made it back home safe. I knew Mike and Rin would get you there, but I was still worried.”
He leaned back and smiled. “They were nice. I did as you asked, too.”
“I know you did. You did incredible.” I wiped away the tears on his cheeks. “No crying. Everyone is good now.”
“You are having a baby?” Ellen asked, clearly eyeing my stomach. “Is it Uncle Mar’s?”
I nodded. “You are going to have a cousin soon. So I hope you’ll teach her all kinds of things.”
“Does she like pink?” Audrey asked, and I chuckled.
“I don’t know yet. We will have to wait and see. I’m sure, whatever she likes, you guys can have fun together.” I pushed them back. “Now go say hi to everyone else before everyone becomes jealous.”
Laughter filled the room, and the kids made the rounds, finishing with Candice and Tyson at the head of the table. I looked back at Keith, who shut the door quietly and slunk in. Flashing him a smile, he seemed surprised. Turning back to my plate, I reached out for Laila’s hand and held it tight.
Her head cocked to the side, but I shook my head.
How could I explain how much it hurt to look at Keith?
The two of them were mirrors, and my heart broke just looking at him.
Like my wolf was begging Keith to acknowledge us, even though they were two separate people.
Even though we knew they smelled nothing alike.
“Keith, dear, did you eat? We still have breakfast left.” Candice had Audrey in her lap, who was now stealing all the cut strawberries from the bowl of fruit.
“I’m good, Mom. Thanks though. I just…wanted to bring the kids by. They wanted to see you.”
Tyson narrowed his eyes for a second. “It has been a while since we’ve seen you around here. You staying?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’ll…stick around for a couple of hours.”
“Good. I’m sure the kids would love to run around in the forest.”
Everyone perked up, and I laughed. Apparently, it was going to be a whole excursion for everyone today.
We took a couple more minutes finishing everything up and cleaning up.
Peter was talking with Keith while Ellen and Audrey ran between us and the kitchen, helping clean up.
Mason seemed to have taken up post near me, and Laila seemed to notice as well.
“Kid, this one is mine to protect. You don’t need to be standing guard.”
“You weren’t even around! Who even are you?” Mason snapped back.
I snorted and covered my mouth with my hand. Lauren also barked out a laugh, shaking her head. A present appeared in my arms after I finished drying my hands on a towel. Looking up, Tyson winked. It was definitely a book; there was do doubt about that.
“Open it. You can head out with everyone and read while the kids get their energy out.”
Peeling back the paper, I flipped the book around. There was no title and even the spine was clear. It was old; the threads of the cover starting to wear down. My hand ran over the cover softly before I opened it.
There was no title on the inside either. My eyes narrowed as I flipped the first two pages, which were blank. The next one had a small paragraph of writing. It was all in Ancient Draconic, and it was harder to read simply because the handwriting wasn’t the neatest.
It seems silly to start a journal like this. I am no one special. I am not anything. However, seeing that my life is about to change, I thought I would start one. While my life seems to have started ordinarily, that will not be how it ends, I’m sure.
So, to whoever is reading this in the future, I apologize. This might be something truly terrible to read. You know dragons, though. We must write down everything that happens since we live far too long to remember anything.
There was a signature at the bottom of the page, and my eyes widened. Looking up at Tyson, I shook my head.
“I can’t take this. Ty…this is…”
He glanced around the room for a moment before stepping up to me. “You’re the only one who should have it now, Colt.”
My hands brushed the signature: Rafael Spiritus Domingo. The dragon that I’d come from even after passing away over a thousand years ago. This was his very first journal. I didn’t think it existed, since there were the other journals in the Archive, but not this one.
I swallowed, looking up at Tyson. “How?”
“Pulled a few strings and found some of his old ancestors who had been keeping it. It’s supposed to be in your hands now. You’re the most direct descendant of him.”
Descendant, but really, he was my birth father. He was the last perfect Omega, or so everyone thought. Beau came up behind me and leaned over my shoulder. She snorted and shook her head.
“Old history books again? Come on, Colt, be a little more exciting.”
Holding the book to my chest, I shook my head. “Thank you, Ty. This means so much to me.”
“You’re welcome, son. Now, off you go to read. Take everyone with you from the house and get out. Go enjoy the sunshine!”