Page 26 of Marked By His Alpha Dragon's Desire

My phone pinged with a text, and I opened it up. It was Theo.

Theo:Any special requests? I’m stopping by for a visit.

As far as I could tell, Theo worked whatever hours he wanted to, and apparently, today was one of thenot-want-todays. On those days, he tended to visit—which I loved. He was the bestest best friend I could’ve ever asked for. It must have been agonizing for him not to be able to share his full self with me. But now he could.

Me:Ginger ale?

He replied with a question mark.

I sent back: Yes.

Twenty minutes later, Theo walked in the door. He held a large thermos and a brown paper sack. The smell that wafted off of the thermos was sweet, and my mouth watered.

“That is not ginger ale,” I said.

“It’s something better.” He hesitated. “Now, this is not an appropriate question, so slap me if you’d rather I not ask… but—”

“Yes, I do suspect I’m pregnant.”

He squealed and jumped on his toes, running in place while he clapped happily. “Oh, I’m so happy! Listen, ginger ale is not going to do jack shit for a shifter pregnancy. Especially a dragon pregnancy or whatever it’s called when you are carrying eggs.”

I raised a brow.

“So I brought you some of the stuff my mom swears by. You know she runs that little apothecary shop, right?”

“The place that sells the special teas?”

“Exactly. Everyone comes to her when they’re expecting because she’s got the best stuff for morning sickness. She even has good stuff if your blood pressure goes wonky later on.”

“Fingers crossed that won’t happen.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that for you, sweetheart. You’re carryingdragons. You’ll be laying eggs, not little cubs or pups, right?”

That was terrifying to think about.

Any time I had thought about having children before, it was always a baby, a nine-month pregnancy. But now, I was havingeggs. And how long was that gestation, exactly? I had no fucking clue.

“Here.” He set the thermos down, then grabbed a coffee mug from the little kitchenette. “I told her you like sweet things and cinnamon, so this should taste almost like a cinnamon roll.”

It sure smelled like one.

“Now, you can only have a cup in the morning. You don’t want to overdo it, or it won’t work as well. It’s meant to ease the suffering, not take it completely away—which sucks, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I’ll take it,” I said. “I can’t imagine doing a few months of this.”

“Oh, dragon pregnancies are way shorter. You’re going to lay eggs in a couple of weeks.”

“How do you know all this?”

He shrugged. “My dad’s a historian. I started asking some questions right after you and Raphael mated. I had to pass the time somehow since my best friend was occupied.”

“Maybe I should ask him some questions.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea. Or talk to your mate. Perhaps his family can clue you in.”

“I will,” I said. “We’ve just been busy.”

Theo smirked. “Busy? I know what it means for mates to be busy. Ya’ll just couldn’t keep it in your pants.”

---