"You did it!" Quinn said. "See, I knew you could!"
"Really thought that egg was never coming out for a minute there," I mumbled.
Quinn leaned in close to the egg, his expression gentle. "Oh, wow... It's beautiful. I didn't know finch eggs were so gorgeous."
My heart swelled with joy the second I saw my egg. It was a matte light blue color streaked with tiny star-like pinpricks of brown. Sure enough, it really was the size of a bowling ball. Now that it wasn't stuffed inside me anymore, I was weirdly proud of my giant egg. Figures my kid would have an attitude even before hatching.
My instincts took over. My finch soul was screaming at me to warm the egg. I shuffled closer, but human bodies weren't meant for brooding something as delicate as an egg and my finch was too tiny to cover the whole thing.
I glanced at Quinn. "It's your fault this thing is so big, you know," I teased. "A little help?"
He grinned. "Sorry that fate made you fall in love with a fox."
He shifted in a flash, then, with great care, he curled his warm, furry body around the egg. He tucked his nose over his tail so he was in a perfect circle with the egg in the center. There was just a tiny spot on top that wasn't covered, so I shifted to finch form and sat on top of it.
"There," I said proudly. "Every inch accounted for."
Quinn chuckled, tickling my chest with his whiskers. "We make a great team."
I nuzzled his snout. I thought what my past self would think if he saw me now, rubbing my little finch face against a fox's mouth. Then I decided I didn't give a fuck what my past self thought because my current self was happier than ever.
20
Quinn
After the egg was laid,it only took a few weeks to approach its hatch date. The process happened so fast. It was like I'd blinked and suddenly I was days away from being a father.
I'd spent most of my time helping Farley brood the egg, thanking the gods every day that my fur was helpful to my baby. Even though I was a fox and the baby was an egg, the process came naturally to me. Maybe it had something to do with Dad being a raven after all.
"Good thing you have a laid back personality," Farley said with an amused snort as he sat on the bed next to me. "What other fox would be happy to spend all day curled up with an egg?"
"None. That's why I'm your fated mate and not some other stupid fox," I teased, slapping him with my tail.
He snorted and stroked my back, making my fur bristle pleasantly. "I don't have eyes for anyone else," he said. "You know that. I only love you."
"I know." I smiled, feeling smug with my catch.
A sudden movement jostled me. I raised my head, blinking. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"I felt a—" I stopped when I realized what happened. "Oh. The egg!"
It moved once, twice. Then stopped.
My heart began to race with excitement. "It's hatching, isn't it?"
Farley's eyes were glued to the egg. He nodded. Then he started, as if suddenly distracted, he faced me. "Wait. What was it Animus said? Birth of a child? Hatching counts, doesn't it?"
It took me a second to remember what he was talking about. "You're thinking about that now when our baby's about to hatch?" I asked.
"Yes!" Farley growled. "Where the hell is he?"
I laughed, impressed by my mate's dedication. "How about we think about thatafterthe egg hatches? This is more important to me than being able to fly."
Farley blinked. "It is?"
I licked his hand, which was the closest approximation of a kiss I could give him as a fox. "Yes. You and our baby are the two most important things in my life. Don't you know that by now?"
