Page 42 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
“But it’s never been this big! From, um. From...” Walren wet his lips in embarrassment.
Raptor grinned. “What can I say? You make me so eager to fill you up, babe.”
Walren couldn’t think of a reply. Then he did. “Why do you call me things like ‘sweetheart’ and ‘babe’? We’re not... We don’t even know each other that well!”
Raptor hummed. “But youarea sweetheart.”
“I am?” Incredulous, Walren turned to look him in the eye. His own eyes ended up crossing.
“Of course. You care so much for Zebbie, and you try so hard to be a good dad. That’s what makes you a sweetheart.”
So Walren wasasweetheart,and notRaptor’ssweetheart.
That left a strange, empty feeling in his chest. “Oh.”
I’m here on a contract. We’re not actually dating. The nicknames shouldn’t mean anything!
His shoulders slumped anyway.
I must be really lonely, if I’m already needing to be his sweetheart on the first day.
“Pumpkin?” Raptor nuzzled his ear. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m—” Walren suddenly remembered that Raptor could hear his heartbeat. And Raptor would know if he lied, because his heart would skip. “I’m... I don’t think I’m a hundred percent okay.”
Raptor’s face fell. Then he wrapped his arms around Walren in a big, warm hug, and nuzzled his cheek. “If you tell me what’s wrong, I can try to make it better.”
No, Walren wasnotgoing to be Raptor’s sweetheart because Raptor felt sorry for him.
Instead, he gave the alpha a different truth. “I... Sometimes I have nightmares at night. Our bedrooms are really close together—what if I accidentally wake you up in the middle of the night?”
Raptor’s brow furrowed. “You can always come to me if you’re feeling scared. It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
He seemed so sincere that Walren swallowed hard. “That’s... a lot to promise someone. What if I have nightmares every night? What if I start keeping you awake and you become sleep deprived, and you make mistakes in the restaurant—”
“Shh, shh.” Raptor pressed a musky finger to Walren’s lips. “One day at a time. We’ll figure out something that works, so it doesn’t put us in a terrible position.”
Walren had been having nightmares for years, so he wasn’t sure Raptor could fix it easily. But he wasn’t about to burst Raptor’s bubble, either. “Okay. Thank you.”
Raptor smiled and nuzzled him again.
They lay together in the grass, the rise and fall of Raptor’s chest lulling Walren into a doze.
Then alarm raced down Walren’s spine, snapping him awake.
“Did something happen?” Walren yelped.
He found Raptor stiff behind him, his gaze on the mansion. “Sounds like Hassel’s hurt.”
Walren froze. Surely it wasn’t because of Zebbie?
12
THE “EMERGENCY”
Walren was aboutto leap to his feet, when Raptor grabbed him by the waist and shoved him back down.
“We’re still knotted,” the alpha growled. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
