Page 35 of The Dragon's Stormwoven Bond

The last of the visitors had left, and it was just Pep and me alone in our house. It felt way smaller than it had before. We had filled it to the brim with people in the last few hours after Pep had laid the eggs. It hadn’t been our plan, but when Pep learned a C-section was in his future, he did the right thing and surrounded himself with love.

His brother was the reason our eggs were here. We owed him so much. He managed to give my mate the comfort and support I couldn’t as I helped Vexus perform the C-section. I had no ideawhat I was doing at the time, allowing the doctor’s words and instinct to lead me. They say that fate gives you the right mate for you, and I leaned heavily into that, refusing to allow myself to fail my mate.

There had been blood, so much blood. It wasn’t as if I’d never made a dragon bleed before, but there was a vast difference between battle where the goal was death, or at a minimum submission, and slicing your own mate open. If his brother hadn’t worked his magic, if I’d been able to see my mate’s eyes, to hear his pain, to see him suffering… I didn’t think I could’ve done it.

Vexus got the eggs out in record time, and I saw the second he was worried for the first time. When he said my mate needed to shift, I raced out with him as quickly as I could manage. And that was when I did something I swore that I would never do—I used my power on my mate.

If I could’ve thought of another way, I’d have done it, but my dragon refused to give me time to collect myself. He was all action. Our mate’s survival was his top priority.

And now the guilt lay heavy on me. Had I broken his trust irreparably so?

He was resting now, his stomach completely healed. He lay in the nest with each of our eggs surrounding him as he caressed them gently and whispered to them. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. He was fighting sleep.

“Do you need anything, mate?” I asked.

“I’m fine for now,” he said.

A while ago, he had gotten up and showered. I had wanted to help, but he didn’t feel that the nest should be without both of its parents, so his mother had supervised. His brother, father, and I cleaned up the last of the mess left by his C-section. I never wanted to go through that again… to see him open like that, closer to death than I’d ever seen someone who survived.

Eryx reassured me that he was proud of me and grateful I was the one watching out for Pep. It meant a lot coming from him, especially when he arrived just as the first slice was made.

By the time Katrina came back with Pep, the nest was clean and ready for him.

Our fridge was stocked with foods and snacks, some we’d bought and many which had already been delivered. Good news traveled quickly around here. We needed to be careful when we opened the fridge so nothing fell out. It was a good problem to have.

The two of us had the next few days off work to enjoy our time with our newly laid eggs. I planned to use that time to its fullest. Since we’d been mated, we hadn’t taken any real time off. This was going to be good for us.

“Is it weird that I miss carrying them? They are just so perfect,” Pep said. “I feel empty.”

I brushed the hair from his face, still wet from his shower. “You are perfect. You were amazing.”

He scoffed. “Me? You’re the one who performed surgery on a whim.”

I laughed. The alternative was to cry, because the whole thing had been slightly traumatic for me, and I had not yet processed all of it.

“Indeed, I did. Let’s never do that one again, though.” I held back tears that were quickly building.

“Oh, I can’t promise that,” Pep said as he touched each one of the eggs. “I definitely want to do this again.”

“Not this way.” I took both his hands in mine. “I don’t know what I’d have done if your bother wasn’t here.”

The confession broke the wall I’d been erecting, and I allowed myself to cry.

“I was so scared. If you had looked at me or winced, I’d have frozen and then what? You wouldn’t be here.”

“I am here, though. I’m safe. Our babies are safe. And it’s all because of you.” He took his hands from mine and wiped some tears from my cheek.

“I broke your trust.” And my own vow.

“You broke nothing, mate. Nothing.”

“I used my power against you.” It came out so softly, at first I wondered if he had even heard me.

“And if you were the one hurt, you better bet your ass my dragon would be a bossy pants.” His finger came under my chin and guided it up until my eyes met his. “I love you, Valen, and our babies are here because of you. I’m here safe because of you. I love you.”

His lips were on mine in a sweet kiss, and then he moved to my mating mark where he kissed me once again and then settled his head on my shoulder. We laid like that for a long time, our dragons close to the surface, communicating in the way only they could through our bond.

My mate forgave me completely, and it was time for me to forgive myself. Allowing my guilt to taint this beautiful time wasn’t going to give us the memories we deserved, the memories we’d share with our dragonets as they grew up.

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