Page 2 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
“Maybe you should put out an ad like Duke did,” Hassel said sagely. “He found Nat that way.”
“And what would mine say?” Raptor asked dryly. “‘Crazy alpha needs a guy to hang off his knot whenever’?”
Hassel shook his head. “You should make yours rhyme. ‘You bring the hot, I’ll bring the knot, we’ll make out lots, just don’t get caught!’”
“Hmmm. That could work.”
“Told ya!” Hassel gave him finger guns and flounced away. “I’ll put it in all the papers immediately.”
2
A TOTALLY ACCIDENTAL BREAK-IN
“I’m hungry.Oh, gods, I’m so hungry.” Walren clutched his stomach and rolled around on the floor, coming face to face with eleven-month-old Zebbie. “Hey, Zeb. I’m starving.”
Zebbie smiled innocently and shoved a toy orange into Walren’s face. “Wa!”
Walren couldn’t help his snort. “Oh, hon. No. I can’t eat that.”
He set it aside, but Zebbie picked it up and tried to stuff the toy into Walren’s mouth again.
“Hon,” Walren said patiently. “This is what it feels like.”
He took the toy from his baby and bopped his little nose with it, only to have Zebbie squeal with laughter.
“Lucky you,” Walren said. “When you’re hungry, all you gotta do is suck your food out of me. But I have no one to suck food out of.”
He paused. “Not that I’m a vampire or anything. I don’t eat people.”
Zebbie kicked his legs and shuffled around, sticking his pudgy hand under the couch. A colorful brochure came out with his fist—a menu.
For a restaurant named Nood’s Good.
Walren drooled at the glossy pictures. “You’re trying to kill me.”
He took the menu and stared hungrily at the bowls of noodles and broth. Veggie-filled dumplings. Fried bread and stewed mushrooms. A fluffy mound of mashed potatoes.
Why did an Asian-themed noodle restaurant have mashed potatoes on its menu?
Walren didn’t care. It all sounded so good. So much better than the boxes of uncooked pasta in the safe house’s kitchen. Or the meaty lasagnas in the fridge.
“If only I could eat meat,” he said miserably.
He reached for his wallet and counted the cash he had left. It wasn’t much, but... He could afford a bowl of noodles.
Nood’s Good was near the safe house, too.
It all sounded too good to be true. But Walren wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“C’mon, Zeb. Let’s go get me some food.”
At the back of his mind, Walren knew he wasn’t supposed to leave the safe house by himself.
There had been a rash of kidnappers lurking around Cartfalls lately, looking to steal dual-species babies. Walren and Zebbie had already been kidnapped once.
But he was starving. The restaurant was nearby. His friends had all left the apartment to do something; he couldn’t remember what.
He strapped Zebbie into his chest carrier and wrapped a hoodie around them both, so no one would notice Zebbie at first glance.
