Page 36 of The Dragon's Emberlinked Mate
My favorite part of the space so far was the way my mate decorated the walls. We had looked at murals and wall decals, all the typical nursery-type decor. And they were fine. But when Rhythe said he wanted to have our clutch surrounded by family, he suggested we use the space to display family photos.
There were pictures of us, his parents, his older siblings and their families, and of course, his twin. More than once Ioverheard my mate telling our young a story from one of the photos. It was the sweetest thing ever.
“Do you have any idea how amazing you are?” I stepped into the room.
He gave me a puzzled expression. “Amazing. How so?”
“Those two little kids you were entertaining today lost their parents about a year ago. Their uncle has been caring for them, and they were kicked out of their clan for not being dragons.”
His expression saddened and he gave a single nod. “The kids told me. Imagine losing your parents and having the people who should be helping you through it letting you down so fucking epically. I can’t believe clans like that exist. It’s such bullshit.”
“It is,” I agree. “We should’ve left that kind of thinking in our past.” There was a time when that kind of thinking had been the norm. I hated it then and I hated it now.
“Well, I’m glad they’ll be with us now and get much better treatment. Did they get all the paperwork done? When will the kids start classes?”
“Yes, they did. The oldest should start in two weeks when the new semester starts.” I fast-tracked it to the best of my abilities, but some steps in the process took time. “I was trying to explain to Gilbert when we were on our tour that our clan is very accepting. He didn’t trust me, though, nor should he.”
When everyone around you lets you down, how could you?
“He doesn’t know our clan from any other clan or pack, and he’s been on his own for the last year. He was about to walk out of the school without even taking the admission paperwork with him.”
My mate’s eyes went wide. “I’m glad that didn’t happen. That family needs the stability a clan can give them.”
“They really do.”
“We should invite him over to dinner. His kids can come meet some of the other clan members. Who do we know that have children the twins’ age? Ohhh, and Ash and Zayne could talk to the oldest about the teams.” His ideas were coming at him in succession. He still didn’t see it, but this was his gift… one of them, anyway.
I cupped his cheek. “And this, mate, is why you are amazing.”
“I’m just being friendly.” Him thinking it was no big deal was a good chunk of the reason why it was. He wasn’t inviting them because it was on a checklist of things you do in certain situations. No, he was doing it because his heart led the way.
“Your instincts are spot-on. You are the reason why he made the decision to stay, did you know that?”
“Really?”
I nodded, and Rhythe’s cheeks pinkened.
“Well, the twins are pretty cute. I wouldn’t mind spending more time with them. They remind me a bit of me and Pip.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of, since we’ll be having twins as well. I can only imagine the trouble they can get into.”
The way they wandered off and collected a new friend. It had all worked out for the best, but my mate wasn’t the only one they could’ve come across. The academy was a really safe place, at least we worked hard to keep it that way, but not all spaces were.
“Oh, they’ll get into trouble.” He rested his hands on his belly. “And we’ll have two others to keep them really going. It was just Pip and me when we were kids.”
I pulled Rhythe into my arms and kissed him. I put my hand over his swollen belly. “I love you, mate.”
“I love you, too, Emmen. So much.”
“You know this room is in need of a little something.” We had been picking up random things here and there, but a nest room without a nest was just a room.
“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”
“C’mon, I’ll show you.”
There was a dragon named Hamel who had started making family nests by hand for expectant families. Originally, he started with making one for his brother and then his cousin.They were masterpieces, and soon he found himself getting requests from clan members, and the business blew up from there. He was now one of the most requested artists in the dragon world, and he deserved every ounce of his fame.
There were plenty of options for an expectant family to get a nest. Family nests were passed down for generations, which was the most economical option. But when you had a clutch of more than one, the nests weren’t always available. You could also find them for sale at furniture or baby stores owned by dragons. And the second-hand market, while not strong, existed.
