Page 22 of Stripped to the Scales

“It’s an important question. I haven’t seen anyone except dragons on this world and we’re pretty sure our baby is going to be a wolf.”

“Well, mostly a wolf,” Izora interjected. “In the past, we’ve seen a lot of hybrids. Dragon genes like passing on some scales and wings even if the primary gene is furry.”

“Is that okay?” Castor asked.

I didn’t realize he was asking me and not the doctor until they both looked at me.

“Is our baby okay? Will a wolf pregnancy hurt him?” I asked the doctor.

“Your baby is perfectly healthy at this stage of development, and I happen to know the captain is in exceptional health. He can handle a full-term wolf pregnancy. That’s about three moon cycles give or take,” Izora said, and I let out a long sigh of relief.

Castor laughed, relief flooded over his scent.

“Not every dragon would be okay with this.”

“With a baby?” I blinked.

“Well, I didn’t know how you’d handle it,” Castor admitted.

“This is our baby,” I said, almost putting my hand on his belly.

“Will the flight accept them?”

“Why wouldn’t they? They’re our kid. They’re one of them already. I bet their star scale has already popped up over in the Star Room.”

A sob tore from Castor and I hugged him despite the doctor’s presence and all the stuff hooked up to him.

“Are you upset?” I asked.

“No, I’m just relieved. I thought the baby would be a hatchling. I didn’t even consider this possibility.”

“They’ll be the first wolf born on world,” I whispered to him. “That’s an incredible thing! We never warred with any wolves. It was the stupid humans that made it impossible to live on Earthside.”

Izora let out a soft chuckle before excusing himself and leaving me to tend to Castor’s emotions. He cried out his relief against my bare chest while I thought of all the stuff I didn’t know about wolves or wolf pups. I’m sure someone had a book somewhere. It was probably in the storage area at the Star Room. I’d probably need to learn to howl too, so that our babywould know how to do that. Fred was married to a fox before. Did they howl? Did he know how to howl? Would he teach me if he did?

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, babe,” Castor laughed, pulling back. “I know how to howl. It’s a sound most dragons can make as far as I know. Babies are babies. Ours will come out without a shell, but they’re still a baby. Hell, before their born we’ll be able to tell what they’ll come out as too.”

“Everyone is going to want to see our baby photos,” I grinned and stole a kiss as I wiped away his leftover tears.

Chapter Eleven

Castor

Axlin was right. Everyone did want to see our sonograms. The Council of Healthy Hatchlings had put up a website where flight members could submit theirs and they posted them on a website for everyone to see. It wasn’t as private as things were back home on Earthside, but I gave Axlin the go ahead to submit ours too. Mostly, because I figured it would stop them from asking us on the street to see it.

A member of the Council of Healthy Hatchlings stopped by the Medwin 2 three days after the sonogram went up on the website. They were at a loss for what support we’d need to raise a wolf, but they were bound and determined to get to the bottom of it. The council member was tall and broad. He introduced himself as Hansel and told us that he had twelve children of his own, most of which were grown and had given him a total of forty grandchildren so far. He and his mate were expecting their next egg within the next few days. He was mostly concerned about the live birthing part and was visibly relieved when Izora assured him that he delivered over a thousand live births back on Earthside.

Together with Hansel and Izora we made a list of what we thought we’d need before Hansel took his leave. He made sure to tell us that if we kept careful notes, we could help the next flight member who gave birth to a live baby. He didn’t say it was our duty, but as he handed Axlin the notebook I knew it was. If more folks came from the outside, more live births would occur, and Izora couldn’t be on three worlds at once. He walked with Hansel outside and from the murmuring I knew they were discussing who else might learn to deliver a baby. Izora was awilling teacher as long as it didn’t compromise my comfort as his patient and captain.

Our nesting pack arrived the following day. We could have probably gotten by without it, but Axlin looked so damn excited to put the thing together that I didn’t mention that most wolves didn’t live in nests as far as I knew. Axlin finally got his tour of the whole ship as we decided the best place to put a nest. In the end, we moved the dining room tables into one of the spare bedrooms and took over the area. It gave me a chance to ramble on about how the floors are all made to hold everything into place and not allow items and furniture to slide all around outer space. We left the one small table and a chair for Casimir. Sure, we were fine eating at the nest or in the actual kitchen, but I didn’t want to take away his ability to eat comfortably in his own home.

He'd moved back into his bedroom shortly before we found out I was pregnant. He took the news well and teared up in his own way when I told him he was about to be a godfather. Some nights Casimir didn’t come home at all and despite requiring the rest of them to check in often, I let him have his fun with Melon. They weren’t true-mates but they weren’t hurting anyone either.

Axlin insisted on setting me up on a comfy pile of pillows to watch him build the nest. I would’ve been more than happy to help. I built the Medwin 2 after all with minimal help, but sometimes it’s nice to put your feet up and watch your alpha’s ass as he plays cave dragon. Axlin turned out to be a natural nest builder and didn’t bother to glance at the instruction that came neatly folded in the pack. By that evening we had a fully functional nest that was both secure and soft and cozy. We spent as much time as possible in it over the next few days making it smell as much like us as possible. Part of that was the instinct that every dragon had to mark and claim their territory. The other part was that Izora informed us, while a dragon eggwouldn’t have a nose to smell with before it hatched, that live born babies often wanted to be in safe spaces that smelled like their parents. The shell of an egg provided that as a built-in experience for those who hatched.

Climbing into the nest every evening to hang out before bed became part of our routine. No matter how late he stayed out for work, I always waited up for him. He mostly worked days or evenings, but sometimes liked working the night crowds. We both agreed those days would be over for a while once the baby came, but for now I was happy to let him have the world at his fingertips. Hell, until I got too pregnant, I was happy to go with him.

As my belly grew so did my love for Starscale 1 and the purple district it housed. I came to know the regulars of Sprinkles and some of the other spots in town. After word got around that I was pregnant, the staff made my drinks virgin without my asking. Everyone asked about the baby and if I needed anything. I worried that once I started showing the world would want to rub my belly. That happened all too often to pregnant carriers back on Earthside. Only, I needn’t have worried. Their concept of personal space extended to my belly and the only one to even ask was Melon.

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