Page 19 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

And it wasn’t like he wouldn’t be back at the house again to fill it with his scent once more.

My heart constricted, making my chest hurt like my lungs refused to fill with air. If it hurt this much now, would the pain get worse or better with time? I thought I knew the answer, and I did not like it.

I wasn’t delusional. I wasn’t wrong. Malric and I were mates. I knew that in my heart of hearts. A mouse and a dragon might’ve been laughable, but I knew my truth. Malric was it for me. And I was for him, even if he didn’t want me.

And we had been together. We hadn’t used protection, but I was on birth control, like many omegas. But I also knew what biology was like, and it was more likely than not that I would be expecting. Fate always seemed to find a way to make that happen.

Fuck.

Malric already had two clutches with his previous mate. I doubted that he would want a third with me. If he wouldn’t claim me as his own, then fine. I would find a way to make this work on my own. He already made himself clear. He didn’t want anything to do with me. And that sucked, but I’d move past it, even if that meant being a single father.

No one had to know about Malric. Except me. While it hurt me to be rejected, I refused to hurt him in return. I couldn’t shut off my feelings for the dragon simply because he didn’t return them. That wasn’t how the heart worked. It would be so much easier if it did.

I’d definitely have to leave if I was expecting. Everyone would be very suspicious if a mouse shifter had a clutch of dragon eggs. It might reflect poorly on Tavian and Kier also. And it wasn’t like I could keep Malric out of my business if I was this close. He might not want me or the clutch, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have opinions on all of my choices.

Never one to wallow around in self-pity, I threw myself into getting ready for the day, grabbing a jacket and my trusty list of to-be-read books, then made my way to the bookstore. It was my happy place, and I needed to be happy or at least not so miserable.

If real life really sucked, then that was when it was the best time to immerse myself in another world. Plus, they had the best coffee in town. I needed to hold onto the small things now, because the big things were too much for me.

All of this was too much. In a perfect world, Malric would accept me as his mate, tell me how much he loved me and wanted me in his life, and hold like I was the most precious mouse on this entire planet.

But this wasn’t a perfect world, it was one where my mate either didn’t recognize me or refused to believe what was right before his eyes, a world where I was rejected by the one person who was meant for me, the world where my future was a hot mess in a way that I couldn’t fix.

Chapter 11

Malric

Ispentthewholemorning fighting with my dragon. He was in the pissiest mood I’d ever seen him in. He roared beneath the surface like a petulant child denied their favorite candy. I hadn’t lost control like this since I was a whelp learning to shift for the first time. If it continued, I was going to need to go someplace to be alone, someplace where I wouldn’t accidentally burn shit.

Scales erupted along my arms and refused to fade. My neck was covered too. Nothing I did calmed me down—and I knew nothing short of seeing Ollie again was going to help. My beast was stubborn, and he wanted the manny who’d stolen our heart. And he wanted him now.

There was no point denying it anymore. He was my mate. He was ours, and I’d nearly ruined it. Or maybe I did ruin it. If I were Ollie, I wouldn’t want to be around me after what I’d done. That was for sure. But the thought of him not in my life… it was unbearable.

The second I allowed myself to believe he was mine, to really feel it, everything changed. The desire for him hit me like a storm. Why had I been such a stubborn ass? Even when I said that there could only be one mate, I didn’t truly believe it. Not deep down, anyway. My dragon always recognized him, it was Malric the man who’d messed everything up and epically.

I heard laughter in my head. A voice I recognized but hadn’t heard in over a century echoed in my ears. I wasn’t sure if it was real or not, but it comforted me in the way I needed.I knew you’d find someone someday,Chastain’s voice echoed in my head as if he was actually here. And maybe he was. Maybe he had been watching over me, waiting for me to find happiness once again.

Chastain wanted me to move on. He’d said as much often enough before he passed. He wouldn’t have wanted me to be living a half-life, and I had been. I might not’ve realized it at the time, but before Ollie came into the picture, everything had a cloud over it, it was dark.

Moving on had once felt unfathomable. Losing him had torn me apart and stomped on the pieces. And until Ollie, I had remained that way. Now it was like I was being stitched back together.

My phone rang, and for a split second, I thought it might be my mate. It wasn’t, and the disappointment slammed into me. I loved my son, but I needed my mate, to hear his voice, to know that he was okay.

“Tavian?” I answered. “Have you and Kier returned from your trip?”

“Never mind that.” He didn’t sound pleased. Far from it. “Why does Ollie smell like you and also like sadness and despair? What happened?” Of course he picked up on everything. Ollie wouldn’t have told him, as was evident by the direction this conversation was heading. But hiding what happened? It was impossible.

A lecture from my son had not been on the agenda today, but here we were.

“I can explain.” I still didn’t know how, but I would figure it out and quick.

“Dad, if you broke his heart…” He sighed. “What the heck could’ve happened? You were only here a little while, right?”

I cleared my throat. “I stayed the night.” It wasn’t something I had meant to share and was probably equally something my son didn’t want to here, but it was too late to suck the words back inside.

“Oh.”

“Tavian,” I said, taking a breath. “It’s very possible… actually, I’m pretty damn sure of it. Ollie is my mate.” I’d wanted Ollie to be the first person to hear my acceptance, but it still felt good to hear them out loud.

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