Page 61 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

"The egg," Galen said.

I glanced up and saw two beautiful eggs. The larger dragon egg glistened in the sunlight, as though its surface was still wet.

Even in their pain and lust-filled state, Galen had placed us in the center of the nest, depositing the larger dragon egg beside our kobold egg.

I lowered the barrier around our kobold egg. One of the pregnancy books said the eggs could talk to each other, though their register was beyond our hearing.

I rested my head on my arms and tried to catch my breath. A body draped over me, alpha kobold in size.

"That was magnificent," Galen whispered in my ear. "Thank you."

"They're beautiful." I pointed to our eggs. "So perfect." They'd already drained the remainder of my magic. I wouldn't have any reserves until they hatched and could eat on their own. I'd never been dependent on my magic, but I wondered how Galen would handle it.

"How are you in your alpha kobold form?" I asked.

"I have a tiny bit of magic in reserve, and it feels more comfortable." They turned me around and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. "Unless you'd prefer me to be a dragon."

"Do we need to keep the eggs warm?"

Galen waved a hand toward the eggs and covered them with a warming spell. "This was the only useful part of the dragon parenting book," Galen said. A line of blush spread across their snout and over their cheeks. "I think I need to re-read the part about egg laying. Either it didn't mention the sexual component, or I didn't know what it meant."

I laughed. "Was it all right?"

"Gods, yes," they pulled me to their chest in a tight hug. "I would rather be inside you as a kobold alpha, but as far as dragon sex goes, that was wonderful."

"Glad I could help." I leaned back so I could smile up at them. Their eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked, leading them to sit beside our eggs. We lay facing each other with our eggs between us.

"Everything is right," they whispered. "Everything."

Tears leaked from the corners of their eyes when they closed them. I didn't press for an explanation. They looked exhausted, and I remembered how bone tired I'd felt after laying our kobold egg, even though it had been more like working an extensive magic spell than having a baby.

Their breath evened out, and soon they were asleep.

Gods, I loved them, all three of them. I'd never imagined I would have a mate and a family. Now, I feared losing them. My heart ached when I remembered we still weren't free of the curse.

Even after our baby girl reached her first molt, I doubted I would ever stop worrying about the curse. She would forever be my baby.

So was our little dragon, who would outgrow me in a matter of months. Would they still love me when they could toss me around like a toy?

I wished I knew more about Galen's kobold father. Why had he left, and when? Galen had few memories before their paragon burned the villages and left Ignitas. Was that common for dragons or was Galen's memory loss due to trauma? I had so many questions, and I didn't want to hurt them when seeking answers. Their paragon hadn't been forthcoming, either.

With the eggs still nestled in the warmth spell, I crawled to my bag to snag my tablet. After a few clicks, I sent an email to all the villages I had visited, asking if Goff lived there. I brought the tablet back to the nest to wait for their responses. It would be months before our eggs hatched, but I wanted to be ready.

ChapterTwenty-Two

Galen

I'd never experiencedpain like the pressure of our dragon egg entering my ovipositor. I'd read every book they gave us about dragon eggs, but nothing said to stock up on organs, and none had mentioned sex as a method to stimulate my ovipositor so the egg would slide out.

Mac had helped me lay my egg, and he did it in such a delightful way, I'd forgotten about my pain until the end. Then, the pressure along the rim of my ovipositor had pushed me over the edge. My vision had whited out with relief and bliss, and the egg dropped out as I came. When my senses returned, we had two eggs in our nest, and Mac looked like he'd run a marathon.

The books had been clear on one point. I could conserve magic by assuming a kobold shape until the egg hatched. I loved this form almost as much as my dragon form. With it, I could hold Mac in my arms. Wings were great most of the time, but my wing claws were not as effective as hands. I wondered if I could partially shift between the two forms. It would probably look ridiculous, and the other dragons would laugh, but that had never stopped me.

When I roused myself from daydreams, I found Mac on his tablet. I'd almost left the device behind at my cave, thinking we wouldn't need it.

We didn'tneedit, but it was nice to have. It ate up the hours while we kept our eggs warm.

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