Page 24 of Alpha Dragon's Wings of Love

“I get that, love. Don’t worry—I’ll call my brothers. One of them has to know how to make a decent stew.”

I learned the hard way that neither of them did. Or, if they did, he couldn’t translate their recipes to save his life.

But that was okay.

I didn’t need gourmet food. I didn’t need anything fancy.

What I needed was Nolan.

And I had him.

Forever.

Chapter Seventeen

Nolan

I wasn’t sure how we’d survived the whole time my mate was sitting with our eggs because he was definitely not leaving them alone for more than a minute or two at a time. Honestly, having grown up with other dragons, I wasn’t surprised, but I’d never been the alpha dealing with the whole thing, so there was that.

But in the dragon world, an omega who behaved like Casey was admired and considered the best kind of dad. I’d heard the older alphas bragging about their mates and how long they sat without even leaving to use the restroom. Frankly, I’d been skeptical then, but it was the culture. Or maybe it was something more because there were no dragons around to tell my mate what to do once he’d laid the eggs. Yet he’d built a nest like a boss and settled in to guard those eggs against all dangers foreign and domestic.

Now that I was the alpha dad, watching him give everything to our children-to-be, I learned what a tremendous sacrifice it was, and my respect for my omega grew even more. But also, my concern because as the time for the eggs to hatch drew near, the strain had begun to show on him, even though I did everything I could think of to help him keep up his strength. No wonder dragons were so rare. The act of reproduction was so hard on the omega dad.

I was also spending most of my time beside the nest, letting my hoard take care of itself at this most precious and important time of our lives. The eggs were close. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did, and the only time I left was to shower, change clothes, prepare food and drink for my hardworking omega, and do any task he asked of me.

“Alpha, look.” The wonder in his tone had me turning from where I was folding freshly washed baby clothes and stacking them in the new dresser. “I think one of them is starting to hatch.”

I darted to his side, leaving baby jumpers piled in the laundry basket, and fell to my knees. “Which one?”

He pointed, finger shaking. “That one.”

“Yes. It’s pipping.” A little bump appeared on the shell, indicating the inhabitant was breaking through the internal membrane. “They’re coming.”

Casey grabbed for my hand and squeezed my fingers. “Four children. I’m not ready.”

“Omega, you were born ready. No dragon could have done a better job in nesting. These will be the luckiest hatchlings ever…hatched.”

“That means so much. I was so worried because my parents were wolves, I’m a beagle, with throwback genetics, and none of those people produce eggs.”

“And yet you knew just what to do.”

We fell silent then, watching as the shell on the first egg developed a crack and our moment had arrived. Or our hour. It took a while for that first baby dragon to make her way out of the shell, and by the time her beak appeared, two more eggs were pipping. It all moved so fast, I didn’t know where to look or what to do. We couldn’t help; they had to do this themselves, even though every instinct told me that they were ready to be born, and I could have them out of there in a second or two.

But my mate, in his wisdom, held my hand tight and kept me from doing something that could cost our children big. The beagle knew how to care for our babies better than the dragon. I wondered if my brothers would feel the same as I did. The second beak burst through, and then the third was working their way out and we had three baby dragons, all amethyst winged, and all girls. They stole my breath as they wobbled around the nest. They would not be dragons again until they were fully adult, so this was our one time to see their other forms until then, and I soaked up every detail of their beauty. Once we picked them up, they’d be babies. But the fourth egg, the one that matched my fur, wobbled and bounced, failing to pip.

This was not good, but I couldn’t do anything. If I tried, I was likely to cause harm. I wanted to scream, to beg, to ask Fate for one more favor, but then the most extraordinary thing happened. Our three little girl dragons made their wobbly way over to the fourth egg and, while their omega father and I watched, breathless, they tapped their beaks on the shell.

“What are they doing?” Casey asked. “Is this all right?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but my dragon says that it is fine.” And I prayed that they could get the other hatchling out of their shell.

They might be tiny and adorable, but our daughters were also fierce. I’d heard that hatchlings were likely to be tired after working their way out of their shells, but you’d never know it from watching Alicia, Bettina, and Coralee at work. In much less time than it had taken each of them to escape their own egg, they cracked the shell of their sibling and then stepped back in a cluster as a floppy, soft puppy, the miniature image of his omega dad, tumbled out into the cushions and comforters that made up the nest.

“He’s a beagle,” Casey marveled. “I thought only dragons came out of dragon eggs.”

“Technically, they were laid by a beagle,” I pointed out, struggling to resist going in to pick up our children. I wanted them in my arms, even if we weren’t going to see their dragons for another twenty-five years. I wasn’t sure how old beagles were when they shifted, but it would be a good long while either way. “Who do you want first?”

“All of them.” My mate sat down on the nest and held out his arms. “First, second, third, and fourth.” He had earned the honor, and watching the three dragons herd their little brother over to their dad was the most precious thing ever. Poor little guy couldn’t walk yet, so they almost rolled him there. As he hugged each one to his chest, the dragon turned into a little blonde-haired girl, and he passed them over to me to wrap up and tuck back in the nest.

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