Page 39 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

"Uncle Mac?"

Shit. I couldn't tell their voices apart, but I didn't want to strand one of Punky and Lark's kids in the hallway waiting for us. I hopped out of bed, magicked some sleep pants to cover my nakedness, and opened the door.

"I had a nightmare about Galen," Robin said. "Are they all right?"

"I'm fine, little one."

Galen sat up in bed. They'd magicked a t-shirt to cover their delectable chest. When they held their arms open, Robin launched himself on our bed and fell against them, sobbing.

"It was so real," he cried. "You were chained up and these other dragons were so mean to you." He sniffled. "Weld was supposed to save you, but no one knows where he is."

"Oh, Robin." Galen propped themself up with pillows and smoothed the blankets between them before cuddling Robin in their lap. "I know where Weld is. If I needed him, I could reach out to him, and he would be here in time."

I'd expected my dragon to think they were the center of the nightmare, but they'd instinctively understood Robin's fear.

"Weld didn't leave to hurt you," Galen continued. "He wanted to give you the same chance Ernie and Grover have of growing up without their fated mates."

"But why? If I know he's mine, why can't I spend all my time with him?"

"Sometimes, when mates spend too much time together, especially when they're young, they stop developing as an individual and only know themselves as part of the relationship. He wants you to know who you are first."

"I don't want to know who I am without him."

Galen snorted. "I didn't say that. You are never without him. He's your mate."

Robin frowned up at him. "He's not here now! Of course I'm without him!"

"He's in here." Galen tapped Robin's chest. "Always. You can feel him there, yes?"

Tears filled Robin's eyes, and he nodded. "Yeah."

"I know you're sad because you can't see him, but he's always with you, even now while you're on another plane. You can still feel him."

Robin nodded. "But why?"

Galen shook their head. "That is a secret between you and Weld. You forged a connection so deep nothing can break it, not even the distance between planes. I don't know of any other kobold pair who has a bond like that, not even your parents."

Robin's eyes grew round. "Really? Not even Papa and Dad?"

I felt my own longing for Galen deep in my chest. I hoped he wasn't gaslighting the little kobold into thinking their bond was special.

Galen's words did the trick, though. Robin flashed his sweet smile at Galen and hopped off the bed. He gave me a quick hug and ran past a worried Lark in the hallway.

"Hi Dad! Weld is always with me!" He slipped through their room door and left Lark staring after him in the hallway.

"I've told him that a million times." Lark yawned, then waved. He pulled our door shut, leaving us blissfully alone and painfully awake. The sun wasn't even up yet.

"Come back to bed," Galen said.

"No. Might as well get up and face the day."

"If you're too tired for sex later, I will set this building on fire." Their purple eyes flashed red for a moment, and a hint of smoke ghosted from their nostrils.

I laughed. "Point taken."

I set an alarm on my phone this time. We still had a good two hours before we needed to be awake.

Once I curled around Galen, the conversation with Robin wouldn't let me sleep. "Can you sense the bond between them, or were you only filling his head with stories so he would go back to sleep?"

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