Page 31 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah, thanks. I don’t know what I could have eaten.”

“It isn’t something you ate.” I placed my hand on his belly.

“Oh... that’s what you meant. You think I’m really...?” He placed his hand on mine.

“Really.”

“Is... is that okay?” He looked up at me, his eyes filled with worry.

“No, it’s not okay. It’s amazing.” I hugged him close. “I love you, Ollie. I can’t wait to start a family with you.”

“I love you, Mal. More than words can express.”

Chapter 17

Malric

Olliewasexpecting...hewas going to have my clutch. There was no test necessary, no ultrasound or any such thing that we needed to do. His symptoms were the only verification we needed. And truthfully, it would’ve been shocking if he hadn’t been. We had been enjoying each other’s bodies pretty much nonstop. A clutch was inevitable given that we were mates.

We’d only been mated for a short amount of time, but as was typical for newly mated dragons, my seed took, and with it came a clutch of eggs. That had to be a lot for him to take in. He was a mouse, and mice didn’t lay eggs, but there was something about the genetics of a dragon that turned that impossible into the possible.

How many eggs would be a mystery until a few weeks from now when Ollie laid his clutch. But until then, we were in the throes of a fierce nesting storm. It came on quickly, and at first, Ollie didn’t even see what was happening. He thought he was just on a cleaning kick. It was so much more than that. And after the cleaning came the building.

I watched helplessly as Ollie gathered blankets, pillows, and bits of cloth—anything he could get his hands on that was soft. Unlike with cleaning, this part was very personal, and the omega was the one who made all the decisions. It was their body, the clutch they grew, and biology gave them intense possessiveness over the nest itself. All I could do was be there to get anything he wanted, to bring him food, and to assure him he was doing a great job.

He used empty boxes, books, and other things to prop up the blankets and make a nest-like structure out of it. He was determined for this to be perfect, and despite his mouse biology, he had done a really good job of creating a nest from nothing, but it wasn’t necessary.

“We’ll get a new nest, mate. I promise.” The nest that I had used for my first two clutches, and that had been in the family for generations, was still at Tavian’s home. The kids used it for naps and as a reading nook. More than once I had found Ollie curled up in the nest with the three kids reading and cuddling.

Not once had Ollie asked for it or for me to get another. He had been determined to make his own, to provide for his own clutch. While I appreciated his desire to be the best, it was hard not to take over and make it simpler for him.

“Are you sure?” Ollie said. “I thought you’d only want to use the family nest.” He didn’t look away from his work at hand. He fluffed and adjusted the blankets and pillows to his liking, then did it all over again until it was perfect.

“I would love that, but Tavian’s children still need it.”

“They do.” He paused his work, studying his nest intently. “That’s why I was doing this. I didn’t want you to feel like the family nest was our only option.”

He was such a sweet mate.

“With a clutch being born this close to one another in a family, it’s not uncommon to have multiple nests. The new one can be ours,” I said. “Having another in the family will come in handy in case Eryndor or Thalric find their mates.”

“Do you think…” Ollie trailed off, his hand caressing the sides of the makeshift nest, “that we could have another clutch after this one?”

“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility,” I said. “I never thought I would have another clutch. Yet here we are.” Perhaps the lesson there was never say never.

“You’re happy, though, right? About this?” Ollie’s face was pensive and unsure.

“Yes, mate,” I said, and I went to him. I climbed into his beautiful nest he had put together and then pulled him to my side. “I am so very happy. I never thought I would feel this way again. Not after…” The pain of my loss still burned deep within me. Who knew that grief and happiness could live so close to one another. “I never thought I could be this lucky again, and if another clutch comes along, I’ll be luckier still.

“Please tell me about him, tell me about your first love, the one who helped you become the alpha you are, the one who was and will always own a part of your heart. Let me know and love him too.”

I looked at my beautiful mate, smiling up at me, his eyes glistening with emotion.

“He’s such an important part of your past, Mal, and I know next to nothing about him. I didn’t want to ask Tavian or Eryndor. That’s not fair to them, and it’s awkward.”

I sighed and relaxed into the comfort of the nest. Ollie clung to my side. “Chastain was amazing. Believe it or not, he was the stern one among us. I was the fun dad, and he had us all on a schedule.”

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