Chapter 3
“Wait!” Fionn called out before Oracle could begin. Turning to Quin, he said, “I’m sorry, Q…I forgot to ask if you’d rather not hear this. My father was a really bad person so I know it won’t be good.”
“That’s okay,” Quin said, “I know about him…Ki gave me a PG version on the plane but it doesn’t matter, you’re my friend. I don’t know how much I can help, but if it’s all right with you, I’ll stay.”
Grateful for his friend’s support, Fionn smiled at Quin before sighing softly and turning his attention back to Oracle. “Okay, please continue.”
Nodding, she began. “Your father’s tale began long before he was born, yet it defined his life choices. After years of peaceful co-existence among dragons, discontent caused by greed began to poison their world which led to war.”
“But that ended,” Hunter said.
“Yes, it did, but the stress lingered on. Suspicion and distrust of other dragons remained, even within each clan, which eventually affected the entire dragon population.”
“In what way?” asked Kieran.
“Dragons are both emotionally and physically connected to their hoards,” explained Oracle. “Emotionally, they are compelled to protect their riches against all threats, but there’s a physical toll to pay. Since most of their energy is expended protecting their treasure, their sex drives suffer causing them to shut down.” This is because nothing is more important to a dragon than its gold.”
“What about love?” asked Quin, softly.
“Ahh…yes…love. Did you know dragons were once the only paranormals not given Fated Mates?” asked Oracle. Pausing at the expressions of doubt and disbelief on their faces, she then continued. “It is true. The Fates decided dragons could never appreciate a mate since nothing would ever surpass their first true love…gold. And though it may sound harsh, they were right to do so. A Fated Mate deserves to be first in their mate’s heart, mind and soul. When that fails to happen, one of them will most likely die from a broken heart.”
“But, obviously, the Fates must have changed their minds,” Hunter said.
“Yes, eventually, but not in time to prevent the enactment of certain laws.”
“And are you saying those laws guided my father’s life choices?” Fionn murmured.
Nodding, Oracle continued. “Eventually. No one realized what was happening at the time simply because dragons were only focused on guarding their hoards from imagined enemies which made taking a mate unlikely, since trust was lacking. That…and the number of dragons killed during the wars…”
“Resulted in very few dragonlets being born,” Logan concluded.
“Exactly. The dragon population fell…but because they live so long, it wasn’t until the heads of each clan noticed a substantial drop in members. Finally, putting aside their distrust, a meeting was convened to discuss how to save the dragon population from dying out. The solution, agreed to by the clan leaders, was that it would be incumbent on every male dragon to impregnate a female. Following the High Council’s precedent regarding gay wolf shifters, laws were passed forbidding homosexuality among male dragons. These laws were eventually repealed, but until then gay dragons were forced to mate with females or face losing a large portion of their hoard.
“Mating became less about love and compatibility and more like a business deal. Losing part of their hoard by not having sex with a female was inconceivable to male dragons, even if they were gay, which is exactly what the Clan leaders counted on to repopulate the dragon world. But this policy also had consequences. Without love, dragons saw no reason to stay together once the female dragon was pregnant. Many dragon couples set up dual households—coming together only to satisfy the law regarding the procreation of dragonlets.”
“That sounds awful,” Quin murmured, sniffling.
“It was,” Oracle agreed. “The ones that suffered most were the dragonlets who were brought into the world only as a fulfillment of a duty. Once they were born, many parents simply hired nannies to raise them, rarely visiting them or caring if they had an environment in which they could thrive. Many dragonlets never survived their childhoods.”
“Is that what happened to all the children my mother had before me?” asked Fionn.
“No,” said Oracle. “Your mother was the exception. She would not allow your father to hire anyone, insisting she would take care of them herself. But more of that in a minute. Your father was gay and the law requiring universal male-female dragon mating was in effect when he took your mother as his mate.”
“You’re wrong!” Fionn burst out, angrily. “My father didn’t take my mother as his mate, he bought her. She was at his mercy during their entire marriage and he made her pay dearly.”
“Not in the beginning,” Oracle replied. “And, regarding the purchase of your mother…that is true, but what you do not know is it was common practice back then. Even though female dragons possessed their own hoards, the clan leaders thought a tighter bond would be formed if the male purchased his mate since dragons take very good care of anything they pay for.”
“Well, somehow my father didn’t get the memo on that,” Fionn snarled.
“Pet, please,” Hunter murmured, pulling his mate tight against his side. “Let Oracle continue.”
“I understand how you feel, Fionn,” Oracle said, softly. “But, the truth of the matter is your father did take very good care of your mother in the beginning and cared deeply for her. But the deaths of every child she bore, affected each of them in different ways. Your mother would retreat into herself, inconsolable for weeks on end and your father, feeling rejected and unable to do anything to help her, escaped the only way he knew how–by going on business trips. It was during one of these trips to France that he found his Fated Mate.”
“Why did the Fates change their minds about dragons having Fated Mates?” Kieran asked.
“Regardless of the laws, the dragon numbers continued to dwindle due to parental neglect, much to the Fates’ dismay. So they changed their position, decreeing that every paranormal would have a Fated Mate, hoping dragonlets would then be conceived in love rather than as a duty. When the word of the Fates’ decision came down from the Goddess of the Moon, the leaders of the clans revoked the procreation law. For the first time in your father’s life, he was free to love a man.”
“So that’s why he cheated on my mother?”
