Page 1 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

1

NO ONE MEETS THEIR MATE AT A GLORY HOLE

Eight-month-old Mary burped,sending a shower of sparks into Ivo’s mouth.

“Ugh!” Ivo made a face and spat, trying to get the spots of heat off his tongue. “Mary!”

Mary giggled.

“You,” he growled, his insides melting at her smile. “I can never stay mad at you.”

In fact, Ivo could only be grateful; they were no longer at the mercy of their kidnappers. Not that they were guaranteed safety—Mary was a rare species, and there would always be bad guys on the lookout for her kind.

It was also why he was reluctant to leave the apartment, even though his bodyhurtwith how long he’d been in heat.

Two more days.

Just two more days, and Ivo’s heat would be over.

He gritted his teeth, forcing a smile when she patted his face with her little hands. “Hey, at least you have some friends to play with.”

He set her on the floor with his friends’ babies, trying to ignore the squirming heat in his belly. It raked through his bones and made his limbs as heavy as lead. All he really wanted was a big, strong alpha to hold him down, and make him feel good.

Except that wasn’t the only problem with his heat. He didn’t trust anyone enough to bring them back to this apartment.

And most alphas recoiled at the sight of his face.

Well, there was one alpha who wouldn’t do that. Ivo twisted his fingers together.

Next to him on the floor, his friends watched him warily. They looked up when someone knocked on the door.

“It’s Uriel,” said chubby Nat. “Should I...?”

Ivo nodded quickly and turned to his other friends, Killian and Walren. “Hey, could you watch Mary for a second?”

“Of course,” they said.

The moment Uriel stepped into the apartment, Ivo picked himself up and stumbled over.

Uriel frowned. “Ivo?”

Ivo carefully took Uriel’s scarred wrist and tugged him over to the far side of the room. “I’m in heat. I need someone to—Is it okay if you give me your knot?”

Uriel froze. He adjusted the straps of his baby carrier and looked apologetic. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Ivo stared at the muscular alpha before him, his hopes fizzling out. “Wh-why not?”

Uriel shook his scarred head. Of all the alphas Ivo had met over the past two weeks, Uriel had seemed... the safest bet.

Like Ivo, Uriel had scars all over his body. Pale, ugly scars that Ivo didn’t ask about, because no one wanted to relive their traumas. But Uriel lactated and nursed his own baby. He had broad shoulders, but he was smaller than the other alphas who had rescued Ivo and his friends.

In that way, Uriel seemed less scary. More approachable. He probably wouldn’t mind helping Ivo with his heat.

Uriel glanced at their friends on the other side of the apartment. “No one knows this, but... I don’t have a knot.”

“You don’t?” Ivo had been so sure he did.

Uriel wet his lips. Almost inaudibly, he said, “I’m not actually an alpha.”

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