Page 102 of Dragon's Secret Baby

Danna laughed, and I noticed her eyes were misty.

“You’re a bird too, sweetheart.” Danna kissed her. “You’re our little bird.”

Emmie nodded, satisfied.

“Okay,” she said again. “I think I like it.”

“Do you?” I asked.

Emmie nodded. “Yeah, you’re fun, and nice to me, and the house is nice, and my friends are jealous we live here.” She pursed her lips, offering a pleased smile. “And now, you’re my dad and the alpha. So… I’m a princess!”

She jumped up, suddenly excited.

“Am I a princess, Mom?”

“You are,” Danna laughed.

Emmie squealed with delight and spun in a circle, her dark blonde hair streaming all around her before she threw herself into my arms. She nearly knocked my breath out, but I caught her, and I held on tightly.

“This issocool,” she said again and wriggled out of my arms. “Can we bake now?”

She tilted her head at Danna, who took the sudden topic change in her stride much more than I did.

“Sure. What do you want to bake?”

“A cake,” Emmie said. She looked at me and took my hand, wriggling her little fingers in between my large ones. “Come bake with us,Dad.”

The sound of her calling me that sent shivers down my spine, and I was suddenly emotional. I bit back tears. This was what I’d been fighting to avoid my whole life, because I didn’t think I was worthy of it.

Now, I realized that as hard as I’d tried to pretend it wasn’t important, it was all I’d wanted all along. A family, love, people who thought I meant more than just being an alpha or being powerful or having something to offer.

I wanted a home, and Danna and Emmie were just that.

With them, I was home.

28

DANNA

ONE YEAR LATER

“Mom?” Emmie called from somewhere in the house.

I curled against Wesley where we were pretzeled together under the sheets and squinted my eyes against the bright light that fell through the window.

“Yeah?” I answered in a husky voice.

“I can’t find my unicorn bag,” Emmie called again.

I sighed. I’d thought it was an emergency. It was the first day of summer, and already, Emmie got up earlier than she had the whole year for school when I’d had to beg her to get out of bed some mornings.

“I’ll go,” Wesley muttered.

“You’re my hero,” I said.

He planted a kiss on my lips, and I smiled. He curled his body tightly against mine, and I shivered at the warmth that came with it.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. “And then maybe we’ll take a shower together.”

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