Page 56 of The Ruby Dragon's Unconventional Mate

Lachlan glanced at Lars. “Have you told Logan yet?”

His cheeks heated. “Officially? No. But Dakota and Samuel were with me when I figured it out, so he knows. We decided that made it fair to officially tell you first.”

Lachlan did a little dance, which made Jarrel hiss when Lach almost stepped on him. “So when?”

“February. The coldest part of the year, of course.” Lars grinned at Lachlan, stroking his belly. “That will make for an amazing holiday season, though, won’t it?”

They would have Halloween, Christmas together as a couple, before they were parents. See how the other one handled presents and big meals and overbearing family and?—

He laughed. That was borrowing trouble.

“Lars, I think, is still a little panicky. I? Am so happy I don’t have time for that.”

“So, I’ve decided I need a child-friendly space for Uncle Lachlan to have visitors. I think I’ll co-opt your rooms for the space, Bry.” Lachlan grinned at Lars and wrapped one arm around him. “I cannotwaitto see the nursery plans.”

“Oh! Oh, wow. We hadn’t even talked about that.” Lars turned to Bryant, freaked right out.

“Not yet. We will.” Bryant grinned at him, then Lachlan. “So what? Like a playroom and a nap room?”

“I was thinking that, yes. When I need to keep them longer than a few hours. It would be nice to have a space all the kids are familiar with.” Lachlan beamed at Bryant. “I expect to be babysitting often. You’ll need date nights.”

Lars thought that Lachlan was way more functional than Bryant thought. “Of course. You’re going to be the baby’s beloved uncle.”

“I am.” Lachlan just danced him around, then stopped dead. “Oh. Are you having morning sickness? I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine as long as I only try to eat what the bean wants me to eat. If I go past that… Oh, bad. But motion isn’t bothering me at all.”

“We have to promise Lars at least half of the cheesecake,” Bryant said solemnly, his eyes twinkling.

“Of course! I would never deny my new brother’s pregnancy cravings.”

“So wait,” Lars blurted. “You never thought I was an alpha?”

“Oh, sweet Lars,” Lachlan said. “You might have fooled betas and omegas in your wing. Even alphas. But a guardian? No.”

“Oh.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “So do you think everyone in my wing is just pretending I’m an alpha so I can be a guardian without any weirdness?”

“Possibly. Isn’t that sweet?” That was Bryant, and Lars had to think on that one.

“I guess? I mean, it could be super sweet in theory, but I did worry about it for a very long time. About people finding out, and me getting Logan in trouble, and me not being allowed to mate with Bryan…”

Lachlan’s face took on a sympathetic expression. “Oh, Lars. That sounds awful. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He led Lars to the kitchen island, where he handed him a fork and then slid the cheesecake over.

Lars blushed hard, his cheeks just burning, but he dug in, because it tasted so damn good. Something about the cheesecake, it was really magical. The sweet, sour flavor. The creamy texture. The burnt-ish top…

“So we need to get you packed,” Lachlan told Bryant, tapping his fingers on the table. “It’s time.”

“Damn, just try to get rid of me, why don’t you?”

Lachlan chuckled and shook his head. “No. No, you need to be with your mate. You’ve got to find your familiar. You’ve got to find your Keeper of the Keys. You’ve?—”

Bryant shook his head, smoke pouring from his nostrils. “No. No, there won’t be any of those.”

Lars glanced at Bryant and offered him a small smile. “If you don’t want one, we won’t have one. But I’ve spoken to Simon and to Celeste, and they say it simply isn’t right. These dragons are called, bound to serve a family, to protect it. I’m not sure what happened, but I do know that when I spoke to Simon and Celeste, they were both horrified.”

“Of course they were horrified. One of their own tried to murder my brother.” Bryant snarled, making Lars draw back, stung. “Look, I love you. I honestly do.” Bryant shook his head. “But I don’t care. They can say that it doesn’t happen all they want. It did.”

It still didn’t make any sense at all. “Had she been with your family long?”

---