I heard a laugh. "Hey, big guy, I know you're hungry, but I didn't realize that hungry. Save some for the rest of us," Ben said.
Then he looked at me and touched my shoulder. "Are you all right?" he whispered sincerely.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's go eat. Perhaps you can help me with this mountain of eggs." I nodded and chuckled.
We made our way to the table and tucked in. The others joined us. Master Stephen and his wolf mate, Semais, Devin and Roarke, Cameron and Jackson, and finally, Basil. We ate for a bit, sating our initial hunger, and then it seemed like the reprieve was over.
"Hi. I'm Cameron, and this is my mate, Jackson. We're Kris' best friends," Cameron told Ben with a tiny glower at me. I knew I had hurt him by not telling him I was a dragon. I decided then and there that I needed to tell all of them the entire story, not just Ben, and hope they would all understand.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ben or Benny," Ben replied.
"I was born over five thousand years ago," I started.
The conversation stopped, and they looked at me. "I was the second son of Callum Adair, the Great King of High Garden. High Garden was the ancient capital city of Dragonkind, and at that time dragons, humans, and all paranormals lived in peace. Dragons could be seen flying across the sky in abundance." Ismiled at the memory. Seeing hundreds of my kind filling the skies and enjoying the world was a sight to behold.
"The peace ended nearly three thousand years ago when a mage found that dragon's blood could increase the power of his spells. It started with finding one dragon dead, then another. I was sent to investigate further. I found nothing. When I returned, my family—my parents, my brothers, my cousins, my uncles, my entire world—were dead. They died at the hands of the evil mage Zanic and my older brother Kenneth; together they sought to rule the world and take the throne."
I paused for a moment, closing my eyes, as I remembered that day, the carnage as I walked into the great hall—the mangled bodies of my family littering the floor. A hand touched me, bringing me out of the memory, and I saw tears in Ben's eyes. Through our mind link, I was sure he was seeing and feeling the images. I couldn’t have stopped them even if I’d tried.
"As I walked into the bloodbath, I let my rage break out and, using the power of the Sacred Flame, I destroyed the mage and my brother," I continued. "Even with their deaths, many dragons were still under threat; the secret of dragon blood was out. I ordered all dragons to leave High Garden and to live as humans, never revealing who they were, except to their mates."
I looked to my friend and prayed he now understood why I didn’t tell him I was a dragon. He nodded in understanding.
"If your brother was older, why would he kill everyone? He would be the next king, right?" Devin asked.
I shook my head. "Dragons come in all different colors. White, Red, Blue, Green, Black, Purple, and Gold. These are the different castes of a dragon. They represent what the dragon's affinity is. For example, the Red caste are the warriors and have fire magic, while the Purple caste are the healers and have healing magic."
I paused, taking a drink of my coffee. It seemed I had everyone's rapt attention.
"A dragon can be born to any caste, no matter their parentage. For example, a Red dragon can have a Blue dragon, and so on. I am a member of the Gold caste. It’s the ruling caste of dragons; it holds all the affinities the dragons possess and is the mark of a Dragon King. My brother, though older, was a member of the Green caste and would never have been king," I explained.
"Damn that fucking bastard! Besides your dad, were there any other Gold dragons, or were you the only one?" Jackson asked.
I laughed. "My dad was human; my father was Golden. Besides myself and my father, there were only three other Golden Dragons; an uncle, a cousin, and my baby brother Kendrick. He was only two years old."
"Wait. You had two fathers? Dragons can impregnate their male mates?" Master Stephen asked.
"Dragons are only ever male, and our mates are only male. We’re inherently gay. Since our mates are always male, yes, we can impregnate them but only during the mating heat," I said.
"Wait, wait! Didn't you just go through the mating heat?" Devin barked.
"Yes, we did, and Ben now carries our son."
Ben
Isatthereinsilence as my best friend started in on my Beloved. "What do you mean he's pregnant with your son? What the hell? You just mated for crying out loud!" he yelled.
"Devin, we don't know for sure I’m pregnant. Kris told me that the mating heat will likely lead to pregnancy, but nothing is set in stone, and if it so happens that I am pregnant, then I’ll deal with it. There is no need to freak out now," I tried to soothe, but my beloved had other plans.
"The mating heat will always lead to pregnancy. You are carrying our son," he stated matter-of-factly. I glared at him. Devin didn’t take to change well, and my mating was already changing things. I most likely would have to leave the coven; add in a baby, and that's a world of change.
"We don't know yet," I responded, daring Kris to contradict me. "The heat just ended. We probably won't know for a few weeks."
"You are pregnant. Your scent has changed, and I saw the conception mark," Kris said softly.
"Conception mark? What's that?" I asked.
"It’s a faint mark in the shape of a dragon right above your groin. It will grow more defined the closer it comes to giving birth. Finally, when it's time to deliver, the mark will glow bright, opening your abdomen, allowing for our son to be delivered. Once our son is out, your stomach will close, and it will be like you never even were pregnant, and the mark will be gone," he explained.
