Page 41 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

Large swathes of Ivo’s fur were gone, leaving his skin bare. These scars weren’t ragged from an animal attack. Instead, they were made of clean, sharp lines, as though someone had sliced off his fur on purpose.

Rage and sadness flooded Ace in equal measure.

“Who hurt you?” The words were a low snarl.

The mink turned his head away, the scruff of Mary’s neck clamped tight between his teeth. Unlike Ivo, Mary’s black coat was shiny and unmarred. She squirmed against Ivo, turning to sniff at Ace when he cradled them against his chest.

“We’re going home,” Ace said. “Unless you want to shift back into a human and keep shopping with me.”

Ivo hid his face with his paws.

Ace looked at Harvey. “Get dressed, call Blade about the bodies, and deal with the cleanup.”

Harvey saluted with one huge wing. He had to leave the store first, though; he’d abandoned his clothes in the parking lot when Ace called for backup.

Ace stuck around to assure the harried store manager that he would pay for the damages. While the employees checked the inventory, Ace walked around with Ivo, Mary, and their shopping cart. He added some baby clothes and toys to the cart, several snacks, and a few more pillows.

“Stay with Harvey, okay?” Ace said to the cart when Harvey swept back into the store, smartly dressed in his butler uniform.

The cart flipped its wheels, following easily when Ace brought it over to Harvey.

“We’ll be in the car,” Ace said.

Harvey waved them off with a frilly handkerchief. Before he stepped out of the store, Ace glanced around to make sure no one was following them. Then he hurried through the parking lot and slipped into the backseat of the SUV, Ivo and Mary still in his arms.

For a long while, Ace just breathed. He let go of the adrenaline pumping in his veins. He stroked his fingertips down Ivo’s patchy back, tracing his hairless scars.

“It was you,” he said eventually. “Back at the bar.”

Ivo stiffened. Then he peeked out from behind his paws, watching Ace warily.

“I was trying to track you down to tell you that I’d fucked up,” Ace said. “The condom broke. I don’t know if you knew.”

Ivo shook his head. He and Ace watched each other for a long while, Mary wriggling between them.

With a sigh, Ivo shifted back into a man, hunching over on himself as though he was expecting to be hurt. “It wasn’t supposed to break.”

Softly, Ace said, “Hey.”

Ivo flinched again. Ace’s instincts roared to make him feel safe.

“Sweetheart. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”

Ivo glanced over, confused and wary. “Y-you’re not mad?”

Ace’s heart almost broke. “No.” He cupped Ivo’s face in his hands, tipping his head back to look him in the eye. “I’m not mad at you. Did you think I was?”

Ivo drew a shuddering breath and nodded. “I’ve been keeping this a secret from you.”

“I’m not mad,” Ace said firmly. “But I want to know why you hid the truth from me.”

“I thought you would kick me out,” Ivo admitted quietly. “I thought you’d think... that I had tricked you so I could have your baby.”

“Well... That would make me mad,” Ace agreed. “But that’s not what you did, is it?”

Ivo began to shake his head, then he shrugged. “I didn’t tamper with the condom or anything. But... I knew it was you, before we...”

“How?”

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