Mylo ducked his head, looking embarrassed. “Never mind, then.”
“C’mon, it’s all right.” Then I added, “Pancakes?”
“Huh?”
“You want pancakes for breakfast?” I asked.
Mylo made a thoughtful face. At first I was worried he’d refuse because he was self-conscious about his weight, but to my glee, he nodded and smiled.
“I haven’t had pancakes in forever,” Mylo said. “My mom stopped making them years ago because of... well.” He glanced down at his tummy. Lately it looked more rounded than usual. Combined with Mylo’s increased libido, he was definitely pregnant.
I snorted derisively. “Well, that’s stupid. If you’re pregnant with my egg, you’ll need the extra calories, trust me. It takes a lot of energy to grow a dragon egg.” I grabbed the milk carton from the fridge and waved it around as I made my point. “And even if you weren’t pregnant, pancakes every once in a while never hurt anybody.”
Mylo’s smile widened, his brown eyes warm with affection.
Saffron grinned like a nosy imp. “Pregnant, huh? I shouldn’t be surprised since I already caught you guys getting busy.”
“Shut up and grab the flour.”
Mylo wriggled in his seat. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Not unless you’re dying to,” I called over my shoulder. “Let me be the alpha and take care of my mate, all right?”
“Okay,” Mylo said, amused.
As Saffron and I worked together to prepare the batter, I kept seeing Mylo glance outside from the corner of my eye. There was definitely something on his mind that he wasn’t ready to share. Maybe a nice filling breakfast would unseal his lips.
Still, I didn’t sense anxiety or fear from my mate. That was the main reason I didn’t pry. He seemed more thoughtful, introspective. Whatever he was thinking, I was certain he’d share when he was ready.
Jade strolled into the kitchen with a book in one hand. He paused when he saw us busy in the kitchen. “What a surprise. You two rarely wake up this early.”
“Hey, I gotta feed my mate,” I said.
Jade leveled a look at Saffron. “And what’s your excuse?” he asked teasingly.
Saffron shrugged as he passed me the spatula. “Well, I dumped my wannabe boyfriend, so I’m not staying up until 3 AM talking to his ass anymore.”
Jade didn’t probe, but he sounded relieved at this turn of events. “Glad to hear it.”
“And I rescued a couple plushies, so they’ve been sleeping with me at night,” Saffron continued.
“A couple?” Mylo asked from the bar. “I thought Muzo took Blueberry 1.0 back.”
Saffron grew suspiciously quiet. “I may or may not have told him that he went missing again,” he mumbled.
“So, you lied,” Jade said.
“I’m gonna give him back eventually!” Saffron insisted. “I had to make sure thethiefdidn’t reappear at night.”
Jade smirked. “Ah, I see. Now the hero has become the villain. He cares not about Muzo or Lazuli’s desires to have their plushie safely returned home.”
Groaning loudly, Saffron gave up and trudged out of the kitchen. “Fine! I’ll go return him. Don’t gotta guilt me about making a kid sad...”
I snorted. “You’re real manipulative, you know that, Jade?”
Jade flashed a prim smile as he grabbed a cup of coffee. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I waved the spatula as the batter sizzled on the pan. “Mylo, tell him that omegas likehonestalphas. Like me.”
