“I don’t call him Mum. I’m not talking about Nelum. I’m talking about my mother. Theoretically, they’re the same personbut in reality, you and I are more of the same person than Lotus and Nelum.”
“Uh…. Your sire doesn’t seem to think so,” Marsin said.
“Let’s not talk about this right now, okay? We could go round and round about it and there really isn’t an answer. It’s different for everyone.”
“I wonder who our baby was before,” I pondered, entwining my fingers through Marsin’s.
Nelum/Lotus was a complicated subject for Marsin because he was going to be on the side of his brother no matter what. For Elio, Nelum and Lotus were the same but different.
“Teddy hasn’t met his mate yet,”I reminded my alpha.“He doesn’t get it. I don’t think he can get it. Before meeting you, if I thought two people were the same in two different lives…. I don’t know. Thinking about it makes my head hurt but he doesn’t get it. If I lost you, I’d wait and whatever you the next life turned you into, you’d still be you for me. It’s not fair, though. Fred got his mate back, but Teddy still doesn’t have his mum. Remember that.”
The topic was dropped as we walked into the clinic. This time we didn’t wait at all and I wondered if the doctor just wanted Marsin in and out as quickly as possible.
“I see you brought two of them today,” Doctor Leem chuckled in lieu of hello when he walked into the room to find a dragon standing on either side of me. Teddy moved to stand against the wall as the doctor made his way to the examination table.
“That’s Teddy. He’s Fred Moonscale’s son,” I introduced him.
Doctor Leem opened his mouth and shut it again. Did he have beef with the Moonscales or just Fred?
“We met briefly,” Teddy said. “Doctor Leem went to medical school at Moonscale Academy. He was an intern while my mum was still alive.”
“Oh my god! You hooked up with my doctor?!” My mouth dropped open and the doctor blushed.
“That was a long time ago and before my mate,” Doctor Leem said.
“You could’ve denied it, dude,” Teddy laughed. “They would’ve assumed you worked on Mum’s case.”
“Pack link,” the doctor shrugged. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I can refer you to one of my colleagues.”
“No,” I leaned back. “But now Marsin really can’t eat you. He likes Teddy too much.”
“Well, not too much,” Teddy laughed.
“I’ve never slept with Teddy,” Marsin announced.
“I’d hope not. You’re his uncle,” I teased him and tapped my free hand on my belly. “Let’s see my baby.”
“My baby,” Marsin teased.
A second later, the monitor was on, and our baby’s nose filled the screen. Our pup was all but developed enough to live in the solid world. There were ears where you’d expect a human baby to have ears but also wolf ears perched on top of the head.
“He’s starting to shift,” Doctor Leem announced. “You might have an easier delivery if he decides to go through with it?”
“He?” Teddy asked, arching his neck for a better look at the monitor.
“He,” Doctor Leem nodded and a second later I spotted what the doctor had seen.
“Now we can start thinking about baby names,” Marsin said, ignoring the doctor for a change with his eyes glued to the monitor.
“I’ve been thinking about baby names,” I laughed. “I’ve been thinking about baby names since I was a kid playing house.”
“And what have you been thinking about?” Marsin asked.
“When we have a girl, she will be Crowalin. For a boy, I’ve always liked Ravlen or Ether. We can use them both eventually of course.”
“I like them,” Marsin nodded after a moment of thoughtful consideration.
“Me too,” Teddy said, reminding us that he was still there. “Should I see myself back to the bed and breakfast?”