Page 104 of Ronen
Let’s just say I had made my feelings known–loudly–about that and it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. At least not for another few years.
Mason was convinced that Colton was going to be a honey badger shifter, especially after we had talked to his omega father about his birth experience with both Connor and Mason. Cord had first delivered an egg, which had needed nurturing to grow before the baby dragons had hatched. They had stayed in their dragon form for less than a week, before shifting to their human side.
But both Cord and Andrew were dragon shifters; we had no way to know if I would ever give birth to an egg, or if it would be determined by what kind of shifter our child turned out to be.
I wasn’t convinced of what exactly our son would shift into when he was old enough. Until last week, I had been sure he was one hundred percent a honey badger. At least until I hadn’t gotten his bottle to him fast enough, and I’d seen the tendrils of smoke trailing from his nose in his fit of anger. He might fool us all and be a mixture of both of us. A honey badger with some dragon tendencies? A truly frightening thought that I didn’t want to dwell on too long, until I was forced to.
Now, excitement had me bouncing in my seat. Today was the day! It had seemed to take forever for the moon to come up and the sky to darken.
We all exited the vehicle–me, Mason, and Connor–and I waited impatiently while Connor got the contraption he had made out of the bed of the truck.
It was pitch black, but the Colorado sky twinkled with stars. It really was breathtaking here, even if it was cold enough to make my teeth chatter.
“It was nice of your parents to watch the baby,” I told Mason, while he paced the length of the truck.
He snorted, “Like they haven’t been itching to get some alone time with the baby.”
“Okay,” Connor told us, holding what looked like a wicker basket and a bunch of intricate leather straps fastened to it. “Mason, you get in your dragon form, and I’ll saddle you up. Ronen, once you’ve shifted, I’ll get you strapped into the basket and make sure it’s all secure.”
Rubbing my hands together in glee, I grinned at Mason. “I’m so excited!”
He shook his head, nibbling on his thumb nail. “We aren’t going high. Barely off the ground.”
“We’re halfway up the side of a mountain,” I peered at him with narrowed eyes. “We’re already pretty high.”
“This is as high as we get,” he waved a finger at me. “We are flying down, not up.”
“Fine, fine, whatever. Flying is flying.” Snapping my fingers at him, I ordered, “Let’s get those clothes off.”
Twenty minutes later, my badger was securely strapped into the basket that was also strapped to Mason in several places. Connor had checked them, checked them again, then a third time, before he was satisfied.
Lightly slapping Mason on the back, he told us, “You’re good to go.”
Mason snorted, puffs of smoke billowing up from his nostrils, and stamped his foot. Chattering at him, I hoped he understood my tone. Which clearly said, let’s go!
Then we were flying!
Soaring out over the mountain, then dipping down, closer to the ground. The wind blew my fur back from my body, and I dug my nails into the bottom of the basket, barely even feeling the cold as adrenaline flooded my body.
We were barely above the ground when Mason was satisfied with where he wanted to fly, but I didn’t even care. I knew he wouldn’t risk me, and he wasn’t one hundred percent sure of Connor’s contraption. But it was working splendidly.
My stomach swooped as Mason made a sharp turn, flying a bit higher, and I let him know I approved.
This was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced.
Finally, Mason flew us back up to where Connor waited patiently, leaning casually against his truck. He landed with a soft thud and a jolt, and Connor unstrapped me. I scurried out of the basket and down Mason’s back and tail, before shifting back to my human skin.
Pulling on my clothes, I watched as Connor unstrapped Mason, and he shifted back.
“That was amazing!” I jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him off balance.
“Oof!” He grunted, catching us both before we tumbled on the ground.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He pulled his shirt over his head.
“Didn’t you?”
“I was more worried I was going to dump you, or the straps were going to break,” he admitted. “We can’t do that all the time. My heart can’t take it.”
