Page 31 of Marked By His Alpha Dragon's Desire

Luca finished unwrapping the gifts. We would need a truck to carry it all back to our home. Thankfully we had started on the nursery and it was ready to be filled. I had painted the room while Luca had picked out the few decorations, and now it was ready to be filled with furniture. We had been waiting until the eggs were laid.

Along with the gifts, we had amassed quite a selection of stuffed animals—ranging from dragons to unicorns to wolves and bears. Each present was a testament to the thoughtfulness of our friends. Our pack.

Susette, the wife of the man whose barn had burned, had painted a lovely picture of the landscape of the town, with one green dragon flying overhead, followed by two smaller dragons. It was beautiful. When I first opened it, I hadn’t been able to find words to express my gratitude.

Luca faced the crowd. “Thank you. We’re so overwhelmed by all your kindness. Thank you for taking me in and welcoming me into your lives. I... I just love it here. Our children are going to be so happy here with all of you.”

Everyone applauded.

I held Luca’s hand.

“Truly. Thank you all. I’ve worried about how my young dragons will fit in, but not anymore. I know that you’ll accept them as they are, just as you’ve accepted Luca and me. We’re very blessed to have found this place, and we can’t wait to share our family with you all.”

There was more applause and cheers as our friends and neighbors—our family—celebrated the start of our family.

Chapter 17

Raphael

Levi lined up his pool cue and struck the ball, sending not one but two of the striped balls into a pocket. He grinned at me, holding out his hand. I coughed up the few dollars that we had bet on this game. It was all in fun, and in a few more rounds, I’d probably win my money back. The loss still stung. Competitiveness was strong with this group, and I wasn’t any different.

Apparently, the crew used to bet chores, but then they spent so much time playing pool to get rid of the chore responsibilities that the chores never got done. Now we bet with money.

“I’ll tell you one nice thing about a fireman’s hours and the random wake-up calls—it really prepares you for kids. There’s no rhyme or reason to a kid’s schedule. You’re not going to get a lot of sleep for a while, then suddenly they’ll start sleeping through the night, and you’ll find yourself waking up, missing being able to snuggle them,” Levi said.

I grinned. I couldn’t wait for those days. Sleepless nights or not, I was ready. And he was right—our random hours at the fire station would do well to prepare both Luca and me for it. We frequently had to be awake at the drop of a hat, ready to do battle. That wasn’t too far from what it would be like wrangling newborns in the middle of the night. Especially when there were two of them.

The alarm sounded, and our walkie-talkies started going off. It wasn’t a fire—something else. Tyler sprinted up the stairwell, his face white, his eyes wide as he looked at me. That’s when I knew something was wrong.

“We’re being called out to an accident on the highway. It’s a large pile-up, and they already have crews from surrounding towns out there.”

I had seen and heard over the radio that my mate was out on a call. He had left not thirty minutes ago.

“They need additional paramedic crews? Luca just left for there.”

We were already making our way down to the bays to get our gear and head out.

Levi grabbed his gear fist. I followed right behind him.

“We’re taking the pickup truck,” Tyler said.

“What?” That wasn’t protocol. If we were responding as an assisting crew, we would take one of the smaller tankers.

“Just get in. I’ll explain on the way. AJ, you stay here with the rest of the crew. Raphael, Levi, you’re with me.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Get in. I’ll explain on the way.”

My heart pounded, going a mile a minute. I searched through our bond, hoping to get something back from my mate. It was there. It was strong. But it wasn’t as if we could communicate with one another through it.

My dragon rumbled beneath my skin as if he sensed something. All I could do was follow Tyler’s lead.

I piled into the back while Levi drove and Tyler took the passenger seat.

Finally, once we pulled out onto the street, Tyler started talking. “There was an accident on the highway. We have multiple crews responding. Luca and Charlie made it there, but their ambulance was sideswiped by a—”

I sucked in a breath. “Sideswiped?” My mate had been hurt? It took everything in me not to shift immediately and fly out to where he was.

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