Page 7 of Dragon Daddy Protector

Evan paused as we made eye contact, but instead of the panic I expected to see, there was nothing but warmth and love. “Absolutely. You better believe I’m going to spoil you just like you deserve.”

My lips curved, and I relaxed again. “I could get used to that.”

“I made a call to the family doctor today.” Evan switched to the other foot. “They can get us in right away for an appointment.”

It was as if my very blood chilled. My throat went dry as I dug my fingers into the bed.

Evan moved closer and took my hand. “Mariah?”

I licked my lips, the memory of Tomas’s clinic flashing in my mind. The doctor. The tests. It was all I could see, and I started shaking.

“Mariah?” Evan was right in front of me now, gripping my shoulders. “What’s going on?”

I blinked, shaking off the unwanted memory as I stared at Evan, focusing on him, and shoving everything else away. But his mouth tightened when he searched my face, and I wondered just how much he saw.

“Dr. Patel is one of the best shifter physicians I know. We can trust him to keep our secrets. In fact, I’ve already updated him on the situation, so he’s prepared, but we shouldn't delay seeing a doctor, for both your sake and the baby’s.”

My heart swelled. He was right—of course, he was—and I loved him even more for thinking of the health and safety of our baby. But the idea of seeing a doctor made my memories feel so fresh.

“Okay, yeah,” I told him with a fixed smile. “Thank you for taking care of that.”

“I may not have reacted the way I should have when you told me about this baby.” He reached out, laying a hand on my stomach. “But I’m all in on this, Mariah. You carrying my child?” He shook his head. “It’s more than I could’ve hoped for.”

Evan bent and pressed a kiss to my lower belly, and my throat constricted, tears pricking at my eyes. Warmth pulsed through my body once more.

Jax didn’t come home that day. Or the next.

My initial excitement was replaced by an unsettling anxiety that gnawed at my insides. I tried to ignore it, focusing on Sofia and the life growing within me instead, but the worry remained.

“Mariah,” Evan said gently on the third night, his eyes searching mine. “Are you sure everything is okay?” He’d been more than attentive the last couple days, certainly hoping he'd make up for his initial reaction to the pregnancy.

I hesitated for a moment. “I’m just worried about Jax. I thought he'd be back by now.”

“Jax is fine,” Evan said, his thumb gently rubbing circles on my arm. “He'll come back when he's ready. But I understand your concern, and I share it, too.”

I shrugged. “I guess I just expected it to be right after he told you."

The next morning, I stared blankly at my laptop from where I sat at the kitchen island. My online courses had held my interest until now, but today was different. The words on the screen seemed to blur together with my dragon stirring restlessly within me. It was an unfamiliar sensation—one that I’d only experienced a handful of times—and it was still hard to comprehend that I had another being inside me. There was a tightness in my chest, as if my human and dragon halves were in a tug-of-war, and I felt so exhausted and tense.

“Mariah? Are you okay?” Abi's voice broke through as she leaned against the kitchen counter with a spatula hanging from her hand.

For a moment, I thought about brushing her concern aside, then realized how silly that was. Abi could help me understand what was going on. I hadn’t had that same surge of jealousy from a few days ago, yet I still felt this sense of possession. It was unsettling to say the least.

“It’s, um, my dragon.”

She circled around the island to sit beside me. “Your dragon is making her presence known.”

She said it more as a statement than a question, and I nodded, relieved she seemed to understand. “It’s getting stronger…I’ve never felt like this before. It's like I'm being pulled in two different directions, and I can't find my center.”

It was all internal, and not even so much of a physical feeling as it was just this…intensity. I rubbed my temples in frustration. Abi didn’t press, but I suddenly found myself pouring out all the crazy emotions I’d had the other day, and the slight twinges since.

She smiled knowingly. “Your dragon is possessive by nature. With the strong emotions you were already feeling, everything else that's been going on, then hearing about Jaxon on top of the hormonal changes also happening with your pregnancy…it's just reacting to all the changes.” Abi rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I huffed out a laugh. “Well, when you put it like that.” Then I grew serious. “Is there anything I can do to help calm it down?”

“Focus on your breathing and relax,” she said, demonstrating slow, deep breaths. “Accept its presence rather than fighting against it.”

Was that what I’d been doing? I was definitely resistant to the idea of becoming a dragon, even though I didn’t have much of a choice. Part of me was still in denial. The trauma of what’d been done to me hovered in my subconscious, threatening to consume me if I let it. It was much easier to sit with the denial.

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