Page 4 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

"You said it was Galena," I said, sensing their earlier hesitation over the name. "Has it changed?"

"Now, I prefer Galen. I have molted several times since then and have grown accustomed to my body. Galen suits me better."

"It's nice to meet you, Galen."

"Thank you."

They stared at me for several long moments. I didn't mind silence most of the time, but I couldn't tell if Galen was trying to think of something to say, or maybe they were wondering if I would taste better roasted or smoked.

"My name is Mac," I added when they didn't ask for it.

"It is wonderful to meet you as well, Mac." They said the hard "C," like it was its own syllable. "You look uncomfortable." They nodded and pointed to the narrow bench seat. "I will steal you a new chair. I have seen the benches they have on the cabin porches. The chains are weak."

I laughed at their serious tone. "No, please. I will bring my own folding chair next time."

"Next time?" They pressed closer to me and sniffed my chest. "You will not go back. You are mine now."

Magic swirled around us, and a rocking chair my size appeared beside the fireplace.

"I have to go back," I said, unable to resist raising my hand to touch the delicate skin of their snout. They were soft, warm, and smelled of wood smoke. I'd been expecting something like coal or the harsh factory smells on Earth.

"I raise dragonets," I said. "We're about to have a clutch of hatchlings." I needed to be there, to be the first person the dragonets bonded. I was the only kobold in recent memory who could bond an entire clutch and then pass off those bonds to new riders when the time came.

"But you agreed to serve me!" Galen sounded petulant, which reminded me of their whining to Coz and Lark earlier. They must have been a very young dragon when they were abandoned.

They snapped their teeth, and I pulled my hand away from their snout.

"I did, and I will, but you can't keep me prisoner here. I need to return to my job, my cave, my life."

"This is your cave now," they insisted. "I want you to live with me."

"Yes." I bowed my head slightly. I didn't want to break my agreement, but I needed to return to my cave for supplies. "I want that, too, but I have amenities that would make this space more comfortable, like some camping gear and a cook stove." Not to mention a few hundred scented candles to overcome the stench of decay. I would stop by the cathedral to borrow as many as Alma would let me. I added a shovel to my growing list.

"Cook stove," they said. I thought that would get their attention. They'd mentioned they missed cooked meat. "Yes. I will take you back to your village so you can get your things."

They hunkered down on the floor of their cave the way they'd done in the field. I had an easier time climbing up their scales, and then I was seated above their shoulder blades. Their long neck allowed them to turn and stare at me even while I was seated on their back.

"Is it rude to ask a dragon their age?" I wondered aloud.

"I am less than a decade over two hundred years old."

"You've been alone since the village burned?"

"Yes," they answered. "I was a youngling then. Now, I am a full adult, one molt shy of mating." Something in their gaze shifted, and I couldn't deny my attraction to them.

"What do you mean, a full adult?" Kobolds weren't adults until we lost our tails. Then, we were ready to mate, or have sex, at least. I'd bedded my share of unmated alphas, but the instant attraction I had to Galen was new.

"I am an adult capable of impregnating another dragon, if I chose, but I won't be able to claim my mate until my final molt."

I tried to hide my disappointment at their words. They expected to mate with another dragon, but the irrational part of my brain that had always desired someone larger than an alpha kobold wished I could be their mate.

"We know so little about dragon aging and anatomy," I told them. "Was it unusual for your family to leave you behind?"

"No. They said they would return when I reach full maturity. Until then, they are searching for a portal to another plane where kobolds haven't combined their fate with the humans."

"I'm sorry the kobolds of old hurt your feelings by splicing genes with humans," I said, remembering another of Priestess Alma's lessons.

"They didn't hurt my feelings." Galen shook their neck and shoulders, and the spell holding me on their back settled over me like a warm blanket. "I am grateful for creatures your size. Otherwise, I think I might crush you when we copulate."

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