Page 61 of Warwick

“He was due three days ago,” I said absently.

Alpha Sergei froze. “What?”

“His due date was moved, and Dr. King said he estimated November sixteenth.”

Alpha Sergei sighed and shook his head. “Go home, Warwick. Your mate is overdue. Why did we not realize that?”

I shrugged. “It’s an estimate. His omega line isn’t even pink, so we’re not sure when he’ll go into labor. If his omega line had changed, I would not have come into work.”

“Then why is it that you said you thought your mate was in labor?”

“My beast. He’s anxious about the arrival of our babies, but more so today. I can’t really explain it beyond that.”

Alpha Sergei patted me on the shoulder again. “You should always trust your beast. If he’s saying your babies are arriving soon, I’d listen to him. His intuition is probably better than yours and mine combined. I always listen to my dragon, and he’s never once led me wrong.”

I’d heard that before, and I’d always trusted my beast. But Cecil hadn’t reached out to me. He had said he would, and he and Lev were just going to spend the day baking. Today was going to be bread.

“I thank you for the time off,” I told Alpha Sergei. “I’ll go spend the rest of the day with my mate.”

“You do that. And please let us know when the twins arrive. I know it can be uncomfortable because of how invested everyone is, but Cecil is the first to have hellhound babies. This is something entirely new and has never happened before.”

“I will,” I said and nodded. I understood that. It was just as big of an event as Master Ambrosius giving birth to the first female dragon. It was a moment in history, and Cecil would be doing the exact same thing. Just as Chin was the only golden dragon, aside from their offspring. I knew they had at least one child who also had his omega father’s gold-colored scales but was unsure if there were others.

I left Alpha Sergei at the entrance of the hallway we’d come from and crossed the large entryway. “Hey, Slater,” I said as I stopped at the desk.

“Warwick. You seem like you’re in a good mood.”

I shrugged. “Just checking out. I’m going on leave.”

“Yeah? Got vacation planned again or something?”

I shook my head. There was nothing about dealing with newborn twins that would ever be considered vacation. “No. Cecil is due to give birth. Alpha Sergei just put me on leave until after the babies are born.”

Slater’s face was comical. “How did I not know your mate was pregnant? I had heard that you had found your mate, but nobody mentioned who it was. I just assumed you had an alpha mate like the others.”

“Nope. The fates thought Alpha Vitomir’s great-grandson was perfect for me.”

Slater’s eyes widened more. “That Cecil is your mate?”

I chuckled and took my badge back. “Have a good afternoon,” I told him. I left the council building to dark, heavy clouds in the sky. The air was humid, telling me that those clouds were going to dump snow on us soon. It wouldn’t matter to anyone on the mountain. We could all get home without issue. Even those that didn’t have magical powers, they were shifters and could shift and run home. But there were enough magic wielders that could get everyone home safely.

I happened to be one of those, and with a thought, I was standing in front of my house. Cecil had put a mat in front of the door and hung a wreath on it. It didn’t look bad, but it wasn’t something I would have ever thought about doing.

I opened the door and instantly smelled the wonderous scent of fresh-baked bread. “Cecil?” I called out, letting him know I was home. I heard a squeak, and moments later, my mate came toward me with his arms held out. I smiled, opened my arms for him, and closed them around his shoulders.

“You’re home early. I didn’t expect you until lunchtime.”

“Alpha Sergei put me on leave until after the babies are born. We were just going over plans going forward with the Venice assignment. They also discussed having to drop in and check things out in a pack in Colorado. Other than that, I had a rather boring morning.” Cecil stepped back. “How was your morning?”

“Good. We made bread. It’s cooling.”

“Is Lev still here?”

“I am,” Lev said as he came around the corner.

“How’s he doing?” I asked. “I’d ask him, but he doesn’t necessarily tell me when he feels pains or anything of that sort.”

Lev chuckled. “He’s doing well. I did check his omega line about an hour ago. It’s pink now but still very light.”

---