After another crack, a small piece of shell fell away, and I caught a glimpse of a tiny clawed foot.
Pax awed and then sobbed. “That’s our baby.”
More of the shell cracked as our firstborn made their way from inside. It was slow, and like my mate, I too wanted to rip the protective layer away and gaze at our little dragon.
Pax pointed at our second egg and slapped a hand over his mouth. Our second baby was fighting their way into the world too. And the third was also making an effort.
“They’re all working hard.” Pax was on his tummy, keeping an eye on all three babies.
“They can sense one another, so when one starts, the others usually follow.”
We waited for over an hour, watching our children on their journey into the world. Pax held my hand so tight, he would have broken a bone if I were a human. Not that I cared.
Our firstborn broke through and a tiny snout pushed through the opening. That was followed by a head and then the rest of the body, before they tumbled out of the shell into the nest.
Pax clung to me as we gazed at our little dragon with greeny-blue scales. The dragon was small, about the size of a kitten. The scales were soft, but when they reappeared in a few years, they’d be as hard as my beast’s. Their wings were folded against their back, and when they opened their eyes, they were a brilliant green.
Our baby dragon is so beautiful. My beast produced dragon tears and sobbed.
Seconds later, the dragon vanished and a little girl was lying in the nest kicking her legs. Garrett was on hand to help, but I wanted our babies to scent us first.
With our daughter wrapped in a blanket in Pax’s arms, the second egg opened and another baby dragon emerged. This one was smaller, with scales that had a more golden tint, and their eyes were brown like my mate’s.
“Awww, they have my eyes.”
The dragon vanished. “A boy. We have a son.” I scooped him up
Our third little one was having a harder time, and Pax tensed and dug his nails into my palm. They were the smallest of the three, with green and gold scales, and we had a second daughter, also with green eyes.
With Garrett’s help, we settled in the nest and put the babies between us. He brought us tea and food, and the babies slept.
“I thought they’d want to feed first.” Pax was already anxious that our children weren’t eating enough.
But I explained they were tired and they’d be ravenous when they woke up.
“Can we go home soon?” my mate asked. “The nest has done its job, but I want to be in our house with the babies in their cribs. And I need a warm shower.”
I asked if he could wait until morning because a dragon baby’s first sunrise was special.
“Of course. I’d forgotten.”
Neither of us closed our eyes before dawn. We examined our children’s fingers and toes and expected them to wake whenever they stirred. But they slept until just before the sun rose, and we gathered them up and took them into the clearing.
All three of them gazed at the horizon as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the trees. They blinked as our family was bathed in light. The sun and the rest of the universerecognized our little ones, and I kissed Pax, and we held our children close.
As we strolled toward the car, the family arrived en masse with more food and the car seats we’d forgotten. They offered to babysit at home while we showered and took a nap, but neither Pax nor I wanted to be separated from our children, so after bathing and getting into clean clothes, we brought the cribs into our room.
“Now I can sleep.” Pax climbed into bed beside me.
“I love you.’
“Love you right back.”
EIGHTEEN
PAX
I stood at the kitchen window watching Dray chase two squealing children around the backyard. Our daughter Malinda had partially shifted, and she was using her tail to swat her brother Brenton who was trying to grab it.
