Page 26 of Mated in the Stars

“Yep. They’re sorta like sheep.”

“Nice,” I nodded.

This was so not going great. What had we talked about in the Other World? We’d fallen in love then. Were my expectations too high? Had Teddy been right that I hadn’t really known Lotus at all?

“No,” Fred said walking into the bedroom, picking up my thoughts. “He wasn’t right about that at all. It’s always awkward when you want to devour a stranger whole.”

Nelum blushed again and I bit my lip. He was so fucking beautiful when he was flustered like that.

“Add in some expectations and everything is a clusterfuck,” Fred said. “Teddy is taking Minter to his house. He smells off but that’s to be expected. I didn’t ask. Maybe I should’ve but if he wants to talk about it with me he knows he can.”

Fred ran his fingers through his hair in the way he always did when one of his egg brats had him stressed out.

“What can we do to make you feel better?” I asked him.

“I honestly don’t know. Part of me wants to call Clarence and tell him to get my house ready over there,” Fred said.

“For us or to run away from us?”

“For us,” Fred said quick and flashed me an apologetic smile. “But the egg. I know. I don’t want to move it either. It doesn’t feel like a good time to do that.”

“What are you trying to get away from?” Nelum asked.

“More so, what I want to go to,” Fred crossed his arms and leaned against the shut door. “My dragon wants to whisk you back to our house and make all the egg brats come over for dinner. He wants to make Duke gather up his kids and grandkids and bring them all. I want to hold Clarence at the wrong endof a fireball until he declares this day a Moonscale holiday to be celebrated every year until the sun burns out and Earthside withers away and even then, those who survive would have to celebrate it.”

Nelum’s mouth fell open.

“Guess he doesn’t remember Fred’s declarations of love,”my dragon chuckled into my thoughts.

“Maybe we can talk a bit before you introduce me to every person you ever met and make them celebrate the fact we’re horny for each other,” Nelum said, his voice raising in pitch again.

“It’s more than horny for each other,” Fred said, and I held my breath.

For Fred it definitely was. Even if Nelum recovered all of Lotus’s memories he might never feel all the things she felt.

“It is,” Nelum nodded. “It’s fate. It’s destiny. It’s overwhelming.”

“Before you get upset. You called me dude while we were about to have sex for the first time, Fred,” I reminded him as gently as I could.

Nelum laughed and Fred smiled. The latter was handling this better than I thought he would, honestly.

“Did Laken and Sunny feed you?” Fred asked, changing the subject.

“Today or in general?” Nelum blinked. “They didn’t starve me, if that’s what you’re asking. I wasn’t a prisoner.”

“Today, smart ass.”

“I can eat. I’m always hungry. That’s a dragon thing. If you’re not hungry, you should go to the healer,” Nelum laughed, his nervous scent spreading throughout the bedroom.

Chapter Fifteen

Nelum

Most people where I come from meet their true-mates. It was something we all took for granted. We had long lifespans and perhaps unusually good luck. I didn’t know a single mated pair who weren’t true-mates. Maybe they made some pact with whoever doles out fates or where souls are born. I’d probably never know but I never doubted that I’d meet my true-mate. I didn’t know there would be two of them. I didn’t know they’d know who I used to be. I didn’t expect to meet them while hunting a boar or that I’d meet their children first. I expected to meet them under the blue moon. The giant rock out in space orbited so slowly that only once every twenty-three years did it pass by each location on our world and stick around. The first night it was visible was always a celebration. Most people met their true-mates at that celebration. Since they didn’t happen often people would travel from all around the planet to be there. Sometimes visitors from other planets came to see what all the fuss was about.

While we didn’t romp like newly met mates or singles mingling might have, I swore we ate better than if we had been at the feast. Fred cooked every bite of food in the house and insisted on bringing it to Elio and I while we lounged around inside the nest with their egg.

“Do you have any kids?” Elio asked while Fred was off in the kitchen cooking.

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