A warm glow of approval spread through Matthieu.
“Perfect,” Ian said.
Lucian sighed and rested his head on Matthieu’s shoulder. After letting out a very soft honk, he settled into sleep. Matthieu, after a few minutes, did the same.
* * *
The sun was nearing the horizon when Ian pulled the Pininfarina Sergio into the driveway of their Beverly Park estate. They passed through the gate then followed the long drive to the garage, which held Ian’s collection of cars.
Bishop met them at the door. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
“Is our brood in the conservatory?” Ian asked.
“Indeed, sir.” Bishop inclined his head.
Matthieu didn’t need the affirmation. He felt his lover and his children call out to him, their affection drawing him to them more surely than iron filings to a magnet.
“Honk honk HONK,” Lucian insisted, so Matthieu put him down. He trotted off to the conservatory, where no doubt his brothers decorated the trees and statuary. Lucian’s tail feathers swept the marble floor of the hallway majestically. “Honk,” he added as a sort of avian afterthought.
Matthieu and Ian walked more sedately behind the bird. Their home was still new enough that Matthieu drew great pleasure from noticing its details and embellishments. Geoffrey had largely overseen its decoration, and everything was elegant and subtle, but warm and inviting at the same time. Matthieu felt such joy in the house. It was his first real home, and he loved it.
Walking into the conservatory was very much like walking outdoors, but into a tropical paradise and not the Californian desert. The perfect blue sky stretched endlessly beyond the glass ceiling, and at the very back of the conservatory stretched the rocky terrain of Franklin Canyon Park, which in comparison looked nearly like a barren alien landscape. Instead of hot and dry, the air inside was humid and smelled of sweet flowers, rich earth, and green growing plants.
It was Matthieu’s favorite part of the house.
They followed the stone path to a clearing in the middle of the huge room. Behind it was a small waterfall that tumbled into a shallow pool the whelps liked to splash about in. There was a party of sorts going on. Harry and Everard had traveled to Central America so Harry could see some special sort of lizard species, so Darwin was staying with them. Naturally, that meant Julius was there as well, following Darwin around like a dark purple shadow and directing the other whelps like the six-year-old tyrant he was. Madhav was there as well. He and the twins had been close since the day of their hatching.
Sure enough, Alain, Andre, and Madhav sat together trying to blow smoke rings. Darwin and Julius splashed in the pool. Henri, Luc, Pierre, and Maxime used Geoffrey, who lay in his dragon form in a sunny spot, like he was a jungle gym, swinging on his tail, climbing up his spiny back, and hanging off his partially furled wings. Geoffrey rested on his side and looked resigned, but Matthieu could feel the waves of contentment that poured off him.
Maxime noticed them first and popped into human form. “Daddy, Papa, you’re home!” He was followed closely by Bellamy. “Did you bring me home candy? You said you would!”
“We brought candy for everyone,” Ian announced.
Maxime gasped in delight. Bellamy poised to pick up fallen goodies.
“But it’s for after dinner,” Matthieu admonished.
A disappointed Maxime turned into a burgundy whelp and sulked back to his brothers. Bellamy followed him, still hopeful.
Ian and Matthieu went to their dragony love. Matthieu sat down beside him and rested his head against Geoffrey’s flank. Ian stooped to kiss Geoffrey’s snout. “We missed you, my heart,” he said.
“Every day,” added Matthieu. “Every minute. Every second.”
Geoffrey snorted, then he changed, and instead of a dragon behind Matthieu, he felt the warm, firm flesh of a man. “Even with all this company,” Geoffrey said, “I missed you, too. I’m glad you’re home.” He kissed Matthieu’s neck.
Ian knelt down, heedless of grass stains to the knees of his trousers. “The last Topaz cloister is closed and places have been found for all the omegas.”
That hadn’t been an easy task. Some of the families had been overjoyed to get their children back, but others had not. It had taken several days to either find families or rehabilitation centers for the omegas who had no one to claim them. It saddened Matthieu, and he had noted all their names, vowing to check in on them and make sure all were taken care of, both financially and mentally. It would be a long process, but closing the cloisters was the first step in his lifelong dream: destroying the Pedigree. Today they had come one step closer. Still, he felt compelled to add, “There are still so many cloisters that exist. Our work isn’t done.”
Geoffrey kissed his neck again. “We’ve taken the first step. That alone is worth celebrating.”
“Will you tell us now which school you plan on attending?” Ian asked.
Matthieu chuckled. “Oui, monsieur dragon impatient. I’ve decided that I’ll attend none of them.”
Behind him and beside him, Geoffrey and Ian stilled. “Excuse me?” Geoffrey asked.
“I’ve thought about it long and hard, and the human law degree won’t help me learn the things I need to know. At one time it was my dream because it was all I could envision. What dragon would teach an omega like me draconian law? I’d thought one day to expose dragons to the world and tear down the Pedigree in a bloody tumble, but I know now that would only bring war, and war is the last thing I want. So, I want you to teach me, Geoffrey. Until Sargon took your place, you were the oldest dragon acting as legal counsel. You can teach me everything you know.”
