Page 28 of Dragon Prince of New York

“I’m sure Jeslyn is fine,” I say.

Her due date was actually yesterday. She only told her sister it was later so that she wouldn’t worry about their “babymoon.”

Jethro steps inside and puts his arm around Finley’s shoulders, guiding her into the living room. “Midas has the best doctors money can buy. She’s in excellent hands.”

Finley sighs and leans against Jethro. It hurts to see someone else giving her the comfort I want to offer, but seeing her relax, even slightly, eases something in my chest.

“Okay… alright…” Finley seems to gather her thoughtsafter the shock of the unexpected news. She sits down on the couch, pulls out her phone, and starts typing something. “This is fine. I’ll just get a ticket on the first flight out.”

Jethro and I share another look.

“Finley.” I sit next to her, but she pointedly keeps her face to the screen, frantically searching flights to Northern California, where she thinks Midas and Jeslyn are.

“Midas said they don’t want anyone flying out. They’re fine. Jeslyn is doing great.” Jethro sits on Finley’s other side, flashing a quick glance at me that immediately lets me know he’s downplaying this. I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the labor, but Jeslyn is most definitely not doing great. They just don’t want Finley to know that.

My friend rubs Finley’s back in soothing circles. “They just want you to know what’s going on.” His gaze shifts to me again. “And to pray to the goddess for a safe delivery.”

“I’ll pray to whatever the hell you want,” Finley says. “But I’m not staying here when my sister is in labor on the other side of the country.” She stands up. “I’m going to pack. I expect one of you to drive me to the airport. There aren’t any flights available, but I know I can get on standby if I just show up and annoy someone enough.”

We both try to argue against her going, but she’s undeterred. It’s irritating as hell, but it’s alsocaptivating. Her passion. Her loyalty to her sister. Her fire. It all makes me love her even more.

Fuck.I love her.

It shouldn’t be surprising. She’s my mate. I knew I would love her. I knew it was growing with each day we spent together, but I didn’t realize until this moment that I’m already there.

I love her more than anything or anyone in the world.

While I’m internally glowing with the realization, she skirts past me and up the stairs.

“What are we going to do about that?” Jethro says, still looking after her.

I’ve already got my phone in my hand, calling Midas. If I know anything about Finley, there’s only one person who can talk her out of getting on a plane, and it’s Jeslyn. I just have to hope she’s not in too much pain to talk to her sister.

“I doubt he’ll pick up. He barely barked out a few words when he called me. They were already on their way to the goddess’s hot springs. They won’t get any service that deep in the High Temple.”

Jethro is right. The phone goes immediately to voicemail.

“How bad is it, really?” I ask quietly with my eye on the stairs.

Jethro sighs and sinks back onto the couch. “The baby is currently in dragon form.” He looks down at his hands. “The priests think it might be possible for Jeslyn to shift too, since the baby can. They think trying will give her a better chance than just doing nothing and hoping the baby shifts before heavy labor begins, but…”

He doesn’t need to finish. I drop my head against the back of the couch and look up at the ceiling. Somewhere up there, Finley is packing. Worried about her sister. Hurting because of me.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on between you two?” There’s the slightest bit of playfulness back in Jethro’s voice.

I want to deny there’s anything going on, but I can’t. I’m so tired of keeping this secret. “She’s my mate.”

He tilts his head. “She’s not twenty-three yet.”

“Yeah, well, apparently, things don’t work the same when your mate is human. I’ve known since she was seventeen.”

He whistles. “You’ve known that long and haven’t done anything? You’re a stronger man than me. I barely lasted forty-eight hours.”

“You…?” I study my friend. “And Sora?”

His chin bobs. “Doesn’t matter. She rejected me.”

I place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “Don’t give up yet.”

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