27. Pregnancy #3
Raeburn came skidding into the living room, looking flustered. “Sorry I’m late. Did I miss anything?”
“Just the pissing match,” Nether said smugly. “They peed everywhere.”
Raeburn looked around disappointedly. “Damn it.”
“No one peed anywhere,” Zenith grumbled. “They’re lying to you.”
“Boys. Children.” Zenith’s omega dad, Sen, rolled his eyes. “Are the lot of you still dragonets, making piss jokes?”
“Raptor started it,” Ace said, only for Raptor to flip him off.
“You only say that because you wish you had my handsome face.” Raptor struck a pose.
Ace rolled his eyes just like his dad. “We have the same face.”
Sen ignored them all and turned to Emre, smiling warmly. “Zenith says you haven’t tried a spicy pepper. Would you like to have one now?”
After that ill-fated attempt at buying a pepper, Emre and Zenith hadn’t tried again. But Emre had seen Zenith and Abbie breathing fire a lot more since then, so the idea didn’t make him as nervous as it did before.
He straightened his shoulders and looked Sen in the eye. “I’m ready.”
Next to him, Zenith sucked in a sharp breath. “Sweetheart.”
Emre blushed. “It’s the last chance I’m going to get for a while, since I won’t be pregnant again anytime soon. Not that I’m giving birth today or anything,” he added hurriedly.
“Of course not,” Thiago said sagely.
“Definitely not.” Nether bobbed his head.
Zenith narrowed his eyes.
“Someone make some popcorn,” Raeburn whispered over his shoulder.
Sen cleared his throat loudly and called, “Thomas! Bring me the platter!”
Zenith’s alpha dad emerged from the kitchen, looking like an older version of Zenith. Thomas bustled over to them with a large plate, presenting it to Emre. “A selection of our finest peppers.”
Emre picked one that looked innocent—yellow and round, almost like a bell pepper. He bit into it and chewed; heat spread through his mouth. Around him, all the dragon brothers held their breath.
Emre swallowed. The pepper tingled on its way down. Moments later, his stomach grew warmer, and heat pushed back up his throat, emerging as a tiny lick of orange flame.
As soon as it appeared, the fire vanished, leaving nothing but a hint of smoke. Emre’s eyes grew round.
“That’s one of our milder varieties,” Sen said cheerily. “Why don’t you try another?”
The next one was a bright red pepper, thin and long, smooth all around. This one tingled more in Emre’s mouth. If he weren’t pregnant right now, it would’ve burned his tongue off.
He chewed it up and swallowed, expecting the heat that pushed back up.
What he didn’t expect were the fluttering ribbons of flame that exploded out of his mouth.
“Woohoo!” the brothers cheered.
Emre’s heart thumped. But nothing hurt, and soon enough, the flames faded away.
Zenith grinned and squeezed Emre’s waist. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Good,” Emre said.
“Another, another!” the brothers chanted.
Emre picked up the scariest-looking pepper—dark red and wrinkled, almost evil-looking.
“Oooh,” the dragons murmured. And they fell silent.
Emre nibbled the very end of it. When it didn’t send alarm bells ringing through his head, he took a bigger bite, his mouth watering at the tingles bursting across his tongue. He swallowed. The tingles went down his gullet and into his stomach, spreading through his body.
Further south, his pup wriggled in his belly, like it felt the heat from the pepper too.
All at once, the pressure built in his stomach, and it rushed back up. This time, the flames burst out of him in a roar, white-gold with orange at the edges, and it reached the ceiling.
Emre would’ve yelped if the flames had let him breathe for a second.
He stared wide-eyed at the spectacle. The dragons whooped. Abbie squirmed in Zenith’s other arm and tried to reach for the flames.
Emre remembered an old fire from long ago. But he also remembered plenty of other fires he’d seen since, fires that did no harm because Zenith was around to keep him safe.
When the flames died out, Emre leaned into Zenith, who looked so awestruck, Emre wanted to kiss him.
“I think we should do the ceremony now,” Emre said.
“You heard him!” Thiago said, waving everyone along. “To the Circle!”
As one, they all moved. The flight’s Circle was at the very back of the mansion, in a large cavern lit by wall sconces.
In the middle of the floor was a set of large concentric circles, their carved stone edges worn smooth over the centuries.
Simple drawings and Roman numerals filled the spaces between each circle; Emre couldn’t take his eyes off them.
“Our ancestors carved the Circle,” Zenith said quietly, setting Emre on his feet. “It has been here for generations.”
Emre could imagine the dragonets playing in this chamber, chasing each other around. He rubbed his swollen belly and hoped their pup stayed put.
“Keep at least one foot on the circle at all times,” Zenith said. “We have to hold hands through all three laps of walking the Circle. After that, the bonding ceremony will be complete.”
“Okay,” Emre said.
“I have a song for you,” Griff announced.
“Oh gods,” Zenith groaned. “Maybe another time—”
He was too late. Griff’s voice rang out through the cavern.
“There was once a dragon
Who was big of balls and thick of cock
He would fuck his omega at sex o’clock
Till both of them could not walk
Then one day
His trouser snake came out to play
And it got lost in a hole.”
Griff bowed. The brothers clapped. Zenith put his head in his hands. Emre snickered and leaned into his alpha’s chest.
“That’s such a terrible song,” Zenith muttered.
“It made me smile,” Emre pointed out. “C’mon, let’s get this bonding started.”
Zenith helped him to the middle of the chamber and took the outermost circle, positioning Emre on the second-largest circle. Emre wriggled his toes against the groove on the ground—the grooves helped because he couldn’t see past his swollen belly.
“Ready?” Zenith whispered, firelight reflecting in his eager gaze.
Emre’s heart thumped. “Ready.”
Around them, the whispers hushed.
In a deep, booming voice, Zenith announced, “Once for luck.”
They began walking around the Circle, slowly so Emre could feel his way forward with his toes. Zenith held his hand and kept him steady, his heartbeat loud in Emre’s ears.
They were almost done with the first lap when Emre’s belly squeezed. He tensed.
“Sweetheart?” Zenith paused, looking over in concern.
“I, um.” Emre rubbed his belly. “A contraction, maybe?”
A collective gasp went through the cavern.
Zenith’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you want to postpone the bonding, or continue?”
Emre bit his lip. “It’s just a practice contraction, right? I think we have enough time for two more laps.”
Zenith nodded, straightening his shoulders.
As they crossed into their second lap, the circles lit up with a faint blue glow, and a gentle breeze picked up around them.
“Twice as a promise,” Zenith rumbled.