“Fine,” I said honestly.
“Fine?” Thystle echoed beside me with a slight frown. “You don’t feel glowing and radiant and sexy?”
I grinned at him. “Sorry, it’s kind of hard to feel radiant and sexy with a beach-ball sized egg inside you.”
His eyes glinted mischievously. “Clearly I need to do a better job convincing you...”
“Can we save the flirting for later?” Taylor deadpanned. “This is a serious conversation.”
“Very serious. Utmost seriousness,” I agreed with a nod.
Taylor arched a brow. “Are you making fun of me while I give you advice?”
“I’d never dream of it.”
Before Taylor could respond, Ruby blew a big raspberry, robbing any last scraps of seriousness from the room. I chuckled as Taylor pulled his son into his lap.
“This here is a baby,” Taylor stated. “This is the end result of your hard work growing an egg inside you, then laying and incubating it.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Taylor, you know I’m an eagle shifter, right? This comes naturally to me.”
He almost seemed disappointed that he didn’t get to talk about it more. “Then why did Thystle beg me to talk to you?”
I turned to look at my mate. “Youbeggedhim?”
“No? Maybe?” Thystle squeaked.
Overcome with fondness for my mate, I chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”
Thystle blushed. “You’re welcome?”
I made a surprised sound as a sudden weight flopped into my lap. I glanced down to see Ruby using me as a jungle gym.
“Well, hello there,” I said, smiling at the infant. With his unusual striped hair, he was a sight to behold. It made me wonder what my future child would look like.
He made a growly noise akin to a dragon’s roar, although with his tiny size it was more of a kitten’s mewl, and he sank his half-grown teeth into my arm.
Taylor sighed as he pried his baby off. “Dragonets...”
When Ruby was safely contained in his dad’s lap, Taylor grabbed the bumpy pink soother off the coffee table and guided it to his son’s mouth. Ruby was happy to chomp on the soft plastic instead of my flesh.
“Gotta love them, though,” Taylor added fondly. His eyes flooded with warmth as he watched Ruby gnaw on the toy. “There’s nothing like having your own.”
A wellspring of feeling overflowed in my chest. Seeing the bond between parent and child fuelled my already raging hormones, the need to love and protect my unborn baby. I ran my hands over my belly, my heart skipping with excitement to meet the child who would hatch from it.
A couple weeks later, the nesting urge started.
Actually,startedmay have been an understatement. It hit me like a freight truck. I woke up one morning and it was all I could think about. Eating, drinking, sleeping... none of that mattered while I began my nest preparations.
“Rooftop,” I said suddenly, sitting upright in bed. “Does the castle have a rooftop?”
Thystle made a half-baked, sleepy noise next to me. “Huh?”
My skin felt itchy. Impatient.
“I have to go higher,” I muttered.
He blearily turned towards me and blinked. “What’re you talking about?”
