Baby Time （Aka Alric Freaks Out）
A Bonus Scales ‘n’ Spells Story by Jocelynn Drake
It was time.
Okay, it was almost time.
It was so fucking close that Cameron swore he could already feel the weight of his newborn son nestled in his arms.
After endless months of waiting—fine, fine, not endless; nine months—he was finally going to hold his sweet, precious son.
There was only one problem.
When Cameron arrived at the ballroom, ecstatic to share this moment with his husband, he was stunned to find Alric missing.
Alric, King of the Burkhardt Fire Dragon Clan, had spent most of his waking hours wrapped around their son’s incubator in his dragon form.
Yet today, the day Yuki had declared would be their child’s birthday, Alric wasn’t here?
How was this possible?
Yuki, running a diagnostic spell on the incubator, chuckled and murmured that it often happened to new parents.
What happened? What possible clan crisis could be drawing Alric away from this critical moment?
! In a fit of frustration and panic, Cameron exerted his consort powers and ordered every dragon and mage to scour the castle.
They were to look in every room, closet, garden, nook, and cranny.
He nearly stepped out onto the balcony, tossing his arms into the air, as he ordered the dragons into the sky to find their king. Fly! Fly, my pretties!
No, he was not the Wicked Witch. No, his consort powers had not gone to his head.
But he was going to strangle a dragon if he couldn’t locate Alric.
Cameron rushed to the one room the rest of the clan wouldn’t dare search. Jerking open the door, Cameron thrust his head into the royal chambers and listened. There weren’t any sounds, but he wasn’t convinced Alric wasn’t hiding somewhere in their rooms.
He quietly closed the door behind him and jogged through the opulent rooms that had become his little love nest with Alric.
The dragon had given him everything he could have possibly wished for in life, made every dream come true as if Alric were born to be Cameron’s personal genie.
His life had been filled with magic, wonder, adventure, laughter, and so much love Cameron could burst.
Now they stood on the cusp of a brand-new adventure that would make their lives even fuller…
and Alric was standing over the elegant, hand-carved wooden bassinette overflowing with white ruffles and super soft blankets, wearing a look of absolute terror.
Cameron’s irritation dissolved in a heartbeat.
He hesitated, trying to figure out the best approach because his strong, amazing, brilliant husband looked as if he were one word away from shattering into a million pieces.
“Alric, honey?” Cameron started gently, his voice barely above a whisper.
Alric jolted like Cameron had dropped an entire tray of dishes directly behind him. Wide blue eyes found him and Cameron’s stomach twisted at the sight of Alric’s pale cheeks.
“Cam?” He sounded as if he were waking from a nightmare.
Cameron flew the last few steps and wrapped Alric up in a tight hug, nuzzling his face against his mate’s shoulder as if he meant to burrow right into his chest. “I was looking everywhere for you. Aren’t you ready to meet our son?”
“I-I am.” Alric paused and cleared his rough throat.
His arms tightened around Cameron in a vise grip Cameron couldn’t have left even if he wanted to.
“I…I was just thinking that maybe it’s too early.
We haven’t had a baby born in this castle in four centuries, and Sasha was born the traditional way.
This way—with the incubator—it’s all new to us.
What if it’s too soon? Something…something could happen to our son.
He’s so tiny and fragile. If they take him out too soon—”
Cameron lifted his head from Alric’s shoulder to meet his frantic gaze while his hands tightened on Alric’s waist. “Alric, honey, you need to breathe. Yuki is a pro at this. She and the others have been raising incubator babies for centuries. She’s probably lost count of the number of dragon babies she’s ushered into the world. She knows what she’s doing.”
“But if there’s a problem—”
“She’ll be here. She’s not going to hand us the baby and then say, ‘See ya later!’ She’s going to stick around not only to make sure our child is safe, but she’s still got to help Sora and Ravi with their twins.
I have a feeling she and Ryu are going to be in Burkhard for another year at least.” Cameron flashed his husband a warm smile and cradled his jaw, forcing him to meet Cameron’s gaze when his eyes started to wander.
“And you seem to be forgetting Ha Na is here now. Trust me, my grandmother is going to have lots of opinions on how to raise this baby. It does not matter that he’s a fire dragon.
She’s going to know best and she will tell you about it. ”
Cameron had been sure his words would finally bring some sense of relief to Alric, but the stubborn man remained just as stiff and worried.
“Okay, but what about the baby’s room?”
Cameron blinked twice at his mate and his brain still refused to follow. “The baby’s room?”
Alric released Cameron enough to grab his wrist. He pulled Cameron from their bedroom to the adjoining nursery.
It was a small room painted the softest pale blue and covered in cartoon dragons.
They’d been painted on the walls and hung from the ceilings.
There were at least a hundred plush dragons stuffed in between the crib, rocking chair, and changing table.
They’d acquired every new gadget and gizmo that was supposed to make caring for a baby easier.
There were piles of stuff still in their original boxes, stored away for when their son grew a little older.
The heavens only knew what they’d need when he started to shift.
“What’s wrong with the room? Everything looks ready to me?”
“But what if he’s afraid of dragons?”
Cameron could only stare wordlessly at his normally rational husband. “I don’t understand.”
“Dragons are scary. We’ve surrounded our son with scary dragons.
How can he possibly sleep in here? We need to redo the entire thing.
We should have gone with something like kittens or puppies.
That would have been safer.” Alric nodded firmly.
“Yes, that’s it. We’ll tell Yuki our baby needs to stay in the incubator another few days.
That will give us enough time to redecorate the room. ”
Amusement and fond exasperation wound through him. Apparently his dragon needed to be saved from himself.
Cameron stepped in front of Alric and took both of his hands in his. “Alric, honey, this needs to stop.”
“What?”
“Alric, the room is fine. Yuki and the other mages know what they are doing with the incubator and babies. He is going to be fine. You, on the other hand, need help. Please, tell me what’s actually wrong. What has you so panicked?”
Lines of pain and fear cut across Alric’s handsome face and Cameron’s heart squeezed. He never wanted anything to hurt his mate, but he needed to face this.
“I’m afraid…I’m going to be a terrible father,” Alric admitted slowly.
“What?” Cameron just barely caught the laugh that leapt up his throat. How was that even possible? Up until today, Alric had been nothing but enthusiastic about having a baby.
“I have no memories of my father from when I was young. All my memories are of our last years together, and they were all war-torn nightmares. He was a strong, powerful, intimidating figure who commanded respect for the clan. I want to be all those things for our clan, but for our son…I…I want to be more. Yet, I don’t know how. ”
Cameron wrapped his dragon up in a tight hug.
“Alric, you are going to be an amazing father. Yes, you’re strong and powerful for your clan, but more importantly, you’re thoughtful, compassionate, and thoughtful as well.
You are going to shower our child with love because you already love him deeply and passionately.
And that is enough. Our baby is going to adore his fathers because he will always know that we love and support him. ”
Alric’s eyes watered, his expression crumpling. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, love, I know it. You don’t have to have all the answers now.
We will figure it out together. Every step of the way, every day.
” Cameron reached up and gently wiped away a stray tear while he swallowed past the sudden lump in his own throat.
“Besides, we have a very large clan of dragons and mages who are just waiting to spoil the little prince. They are going to be right there for first steps, first colds, and first shifts.” Cameron choked out a laugh.
“I’m going to need you to help me. I’ve been around human babies a bit.
Never dragon babies. How am I supposed to handle our child when he shifts into a dragon for the first time?
Breathes fire? Or flies? How am I supposed to keep him safe when he’s flying? ”
Oh fuck.
What was he supposed to do when their child started flying? What if he flew right out the window?
Cameron’s knees trembled and threatened to give out as the very scary image flashed through his brain.
Suddenly strong arms wrapped around him and held him up. “It will be fine. Flying is easy. And I’ll be right there. We all will.”
Yes. There. There was his strong confident dragon.
Cameron rested his head on Alric’s shoulder, releasing a sigh of relief. It was going to be okay. They could handle this. Somehow.
“There is one thing we haven’t decided on yet that we really need to,” Cameron said slowly, his words slightly muffled against Alric’s chest.
“What’s that?”
Cameron lifted his head and stared into his lover’s brilliant blue eyes. “The baby’s name.”
Alric’s eyebrows lifted and his lips parted, but no sound came out. They’d spent months discussing possible names. Made lists and lists. But they’d never landed on one.
“I was thinking that we should name him after your father,” Cameron said.
“Are you sure? What about your father? Or even your grandfather? You always said you were quite fond of him.”
Cameron shook his head. “Nah. We can name the second one after my dad if we want. I was thinking that maybe we should honor your father with the first baby of the new generation. A fresh start for all those mages and dragons who gave their lives to protect our clan.”
“Thank you, liebling. I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
A dozen mages circled the incubator, hands linked, chanting a soft, melodious spell that spread a feeling of warmth and love in the crowded ballroom.
Every mage and dragon, whether it was a member of the Burkhard Clan or a visitor, had gathered in the ballroom.
Cameron had come far in his magic knowledge, but the spells used on the incubator and protecting the baby were far beyond his skill levels.
He was grateful for every mage who lent their skill and strength to help their son finally enter the world.
A bright yellow glow enveloped the incubator, rising in intensity until Cameron had to finally shield his eyes. It lasted only a second before it faded down to nothing. At last, the mages released hands and Yuki turned toward Cameron and Alric.
“Come and greet your son.”
With their fingers threaded together, Alric and Cameron stepped into the circle together.
For the first time, they saw their precious son without the protective magic barrier.
Another mage had used magic to place him in an adorable set of footsie pajamas with a dragon on the front.
He was also wearing a little matching knit hat that Yuki had made for him.
A tear slipped free as Cameron reached down and picked up his son.
His weight and warmth instantly felt familiar as if he’d already spent months holding his child.
He was perfect. Absolutely perfect in every way.
Cameron sniffed and pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead before placing their son into Alric’s waiting arms, already covered with a blanket to wrap around him.
“Oh gods, he’s perfect,” Alric choked out, making Cameron laugh wetly.
The baby yawned and stretched in Alric’s arms before blinking big blue eyes up at them. Yes, he even had his father’s perfect blue eyes.
Alric drew in a deep breath through his nose and tipped his head up. “Everyone,” he called out, his deep voice filling the ballroom. “I would like to introduce you to Prince Leopold Burkhard the Second. May he bring us all great joy and be the first of many new lives to fill these halls.”
A great deafening cheer went up, and Leopold instantly answered it with a shrill cry.
It was a new day for the dragon.
And yes, this was Cameron’s new favorite day ever.