Page 55 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

A pile of books greeted us at the mouth of our cave. I'd spelled the entrance so my nosy family members couldn't venture inside. I was glad it hadn't rained.

"What's this?" Mac asked as he stacked the six books in his arms and carried them inside.

"My paragon hoards information of all sorts. They will be pleased to learn of kobold advances from the last few years. For now, we must resort to their books." My paragon's hoard had been locked away from me when they left. This set contained information about pregnancy and egg laying, from the looks of them. One had the image of a tiny kobold on the cover.

Mac flipped it open to the first chapter and frowned. "What language is this?" he asked. "I can't read it."

"Draconic. I'll read it to you."

I curled around Mac in my bed, my neck angled so I could see the book page over his shoulder. When I got to the bottom of the first page, I waited for him to turn it, but he was already sound asleep. It was a good thing, too. The first chapter was all about omegas, which wouldn't help us at all.

I carefully hooked my claw under the book and scooted it off Mac's legs and along the floor until it was well out of reach. "Tomorrow," I whispered. We still had plenty of time before we needed the information, I hoped.

ChapterNineteen

Mac

My returnto the dragonet barn the morning after our visit to The Grid caused quite a stir. Many of my coworkers hadn't seen the other three dragons the day we returned. They'd only learned about them when Alma called everyone to the cathedral to warn them while we were gone.

"Are you sure the new dragons won't kill us?" Sunny asked.

How could I lie to his cute little face? "I don't know, but I don't think so."

Sunny snorted. "I knew it. They're here to kill us."

I laughed. "That is not what I said."

"I know." He grinned up at me and offered his clawed hand. "I like messing with you." He led me to the dragonet enclosure where the two wild dragonets he'd bonded shared the enclosure. Rapture was in the pen behind them. He flew to the gate and banged his snout on the bar, begging for a treat.

"Are you going to bond him for real?" Sunny asked.

"It doesn't seem fair," I said. "I'm bonded to a dragon. I don't want to keep Rapture from finding a family who needs transportation."

I still held the temporary bond with the dragonet. Through it, I could feel his disappointment, even after I gave him a sizeable chunk of dried meat from the bin by his gate.

Together, Sunny and I put the two juveniles he'd bonded through their paces. Sunny couldn't ride because his tail would get in the way, but he gave the instructions while I guided them in the saddle.

Afterward, we met with Han, the beta I'd recruited to help at the dragonet barn while I visited other kobold villages with Galen.

Both Han and Sunny took my pregnancy news in stride. Sunny wandered off to groom his bonded dragonets while I shared some additional instructions with Han.

Once I'd checked each dragonet's chart to confirm they were up to date on their magical shots and deworming and that Han was aware of their special eating instructions, I drew a blank. "You have my cell phone number. Text me if anything strange happens?"

"You got it, boss." He patted my shoulder. "Congratulations. You're going to be a great dad."

"You're taking this really well."

"Hey, you're mated to a dragon. If that isn't life goals, I don't know what is." He frowned. "One question, though."

I still felt like I was forgetting something, so I hoped Han jogged my memory.

"Should we be worried about feeding these new dragons?"

Sunny glanced at the wild dragonets he'd bonded and blanched. "No!"

"They prefer to hunt bovinji," I said. Their cave to the northeast had reeked of fresh kills when Galen and I had visited before our trip to The Grid.

"They can't have my dragonets!"

---