Page 194 of Smoke and Lure

A lot was happening across all the territories.Kai couldn’t wait to leave the room and witness it all firsthand.More importantly, she wanted to see her sister and introduce Morlie to her new nephew.

She and her sister had begun to exchange letters weekly, which Kai looked forward to hearing all the things her Alpha female sister was doing within the Lupine territory alongside her mate, Chanin.

Wiggling her hips back and closer to Aodh, she smiled when she heard his low growl.

Mate-wife, be still, you know we both can’t leave this nest at the same time.It has been weeks since I’ve had you, and it is torture for me not to drag you to the floor or the wall and take you.

Kai laughed.She knew that was their only option since the day after she’d delivered their baby and was moved to the nest with the dragon egg, Tana had arranged for the bed to be hauled away and a sturdy crib brought into the space.

I wasn’t trying to start anything, just get closer.

Any closer and I’ll be inside you, little flame.

She sighed.Aodh wasn’t the only one suffering.Her need for him had begun to return with a vengeance since her body had healed a week ago from the delivery.Aodh blowing his healing smoke over her and the child’s dragon egg played a large part in her speedy recovery.

Why are you awake at this hour?

I don’t know—

Before she could finish her thought, she felt it, the jostling of the egg in her arms.

She realized that was what pulled her from her slumber.

Aodh.Aodh.

Yes, love—

Crack.

Kai gasped at the sound.

“What was that?”Aodh sat up, fully awake.

He glanced toward the door and then around the room as if he expected them to be attacked.

“No.Look.”She tapped his forearms, then pointed down to the fissure in the shell.

Crack.The sound of a breaking shell echoed in the room again followed by a small foot poking out the hole.

“Great Spirit...“ Aodh reached over and cupped the tiny foot in his massive hand.

Tears filled Kai’s eyes as she watched father and son connect.

She wanted to dig at the edges and rip open the shell, but Brenna had strongly advised her to allow the offspring to emerge on their own.It was a sign of a strong, healthy Drahk.

There was more cracking, and the teeny foot pressed against Aodh’s palm extended a leg.

The tears Kai was barely holding at bay were flowing freely down her face as she saw the black markings on the delicate skin.She reached over and traced the lines.She knew what the lines meant.

“Our son and his dragon are one,” Aodh’s voice came out thick and husky, revealing his emotions.

Overwhelmed, they lay there, Aodh’s big arms still holding her as they whispered encouraging words to their little one as he fought, determined to deliver himself out of the shell.

It was a slow progress, with the babe pausing for long hours as if it had given up on emerging or fallen back to sleep.Finally, right before dawn, two small fists broke off a large chunk of the dragon’s egg at the front, splitting the shell in half, revealing a pair of turquoise-opal eyes staring at them, a mirror of the child’s father’s.

Kai could not resist reaching in and pulling her child into her arms for long.“He’s beautiful, Aodh.”

“He is.”Aodh brushed his knuckles over the cherub cheeks.“Eion Bandr, Son of the God of Fire, welcome to the world.”

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