There was a tiny dragon sitting on Titan’s chest, struggling against her clothes.
“Jannie!” Mathlin squawked. “Let me get those clothes off before you break something.”
“She’s adorable,” Titan murmured, completely charmed.
Mathlin freed Jannie from her clothes. Jannie gave a happy little roar, flapping her tiny wings.
Titan could’ve melted. “How many people have had a dragonet sit on their chest? I feel like I’ve been blessed.”
“Just hope she doesn’t poop on you,” Mathlin said. Then he groaned, hiding his face. “I make everything sound terrible.”
“No, you don’t.” Titan grinned. “It’s a valid warning.”
Jannie belched a tiny cloud of smoke. She thumped her tail and crawled onto Titan’s face, her little paws squishing his eyes.
“Ugh,” Titan said, laughing.
Mathlin yelped and moved Jannie’s paws so she was bracing her weight on Titan’s forehead instead. “At least she won’t set your hair on fire, if she’s sitting on your head.”
“Has she done that to you?” Titan’s yelp was muffled by Jannie’s foot.
“Yes... I had to run for the faucet. I didn’t get burned too badly.”
“I’m glad.” Titan breathed a sigh of relief. He hated the thought of Mathlin being injured. “Your clothes are fireproof, right?”
Mathlin nodded. “I got some from the safehouse. They fireproofed that place, too.”
“Good.” Titan sniffed at Jannie—she carried a faint smokiness that was almost undetectable, which was perfect. There wereterrible people out there looking to kidnap dual-species babies, especially ones belonging to rare species.
Titan would protect her with everything he had.
Jannie babbled and tugged on Titan’s hair. She grabbed his ears and tried to stick her fingers into them, chirping when Titan blew a raspberry against her scales.
Need to provide.
The urge gnawed at Titan’s bones. He wanted to prove to Mathlin that he could be useful, that he could be a good alpha.
“I’m really enjoying this,” Titan said restlessly. “But I need to take off for a few minutes.”
Mathlin frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Just looking around on the pack territory. There are some things I need to grab.”
“Okay.” Mathlin scooped Jannie into his arms; Jannie whined and reached for Titan. “Aww, she likes you.”
“A raspberry machine she can stick her fingers into? I can’t tell why she would,” Titan said dryly, grinning when Mathlin laughed. “Yell if you need me. I’ll be nearby.”
He waited for Mathlin to nod, before slipping out of his cabin.
The pack stored its unused childcare supplies in a few places. Titan went to the first of these; an old but well-maintained shed on the outskirts of the cabins. This shed was filled with things he didn’t need—cribs, rocking horses, high stools. He checked the second shed next.Thatwas full of clothes and school supplies, but still no stroller.
On his way to the third shed, Titan found a lone shopping cart stuck on the tall roots of a tree, rolling back and forth but unable to climb off by itself. It squeaked its wheels when he approached.
“Hey,” Titan said, lifting the cart off the tree roots and placing it on the forest floor. “You shouldn’t be climbing trees. That’s not what your wheels are for.”
The cart flipped its wheels and butted up against him, wriggling like a happy dog.
“Do you belong to anyone? Or are you lost?”
