Page 63 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
He was right; by the sound of it, this bonding ritual was more serious than a wedding—and if you didn't like it, there was no way to get a divorce. I understood why my dragon hadn't mentioned this to me. Marrying someone so early into a relationship was insane.
And yet, I couldn't help but picture it, wonder what it would be like to share that kind of bond with Lowen. My thoughts kept going back to it, even long after my guest had left.
I was still thinking about it when Lowen finally came out of his room, rubbing his eyes and looking exhausted—looking like he'd seen something he didn't want to. It happened far too often lately. Lowen hated his ability because the visions he had usually weren't pleasant. All his life, he'd tried to avoid them. Only now he was seeking them out, all because of me.
It warmed my heart at the same time that it broke for him. He'd started out vanishing for an hour or so at a time, but this week, he spent almost all day every day in his search for the miracle cure that would help me. I could tell that it was getting to him. Not only all the things he was seeing but also all the magic he was expending to activate his abilities.
We didn't even have sex anymore. He was too tired. Each night, he crawled into bed and slept like a stone the moment his head hit the pillow. I couldn't blame him, but I hated seeing him like this. Watching him make his way down the hallway toward the kitchen now, I almost feared he was going to fall over and hurt himself.
I'd reduced my dragon to this. Could I really ask him to go on when there might be another option?
"I've made dinner," I said, going to him so I could direct him to the dining room.
"You did?"
"Yeah." I took him by the arm, walking with him. He still smelled of that horrible plant he'd burned. Objectively speaking, the scent was probably not as bad as I was making it out to be, but I hated it for all I associated with it. "It's just a quick meat and potato stew, but it'll fill you up." Or so I hoped, anyway.
"You really didn't have to."
Yeah, I did. He'd been neglecting to eat. "It's okay. Just eat your dinner." The table was ready. I'd prepared it so he only needed to sit and eat. Taking care of him while he tried to save me was the least I could do.
"The doctor said you need to rest," he complained, but he sat and loaded dinner on his plate.
"Don't worry. I had some help from your mom."
"Where is she?" He glanced around the room, noticing her absence.
"She already ate. You took a long time today." I didn't mean for those words to sound judgmental, but that was how they came out, anyway.
"I'm sorry." Lowen stared down at his plate as if half his thoughts were still stuck on whatever vision he'd had last.
"It's fine." I couldn't really be mad at him. "I just worry about you."
That made him look up. "I'm the one worrying about you." His eyes traveled to my belly. Unconsciously, I laid my hand on top of it. Sometimes, I thought I could feel the babies move. It was the weirdest kind of feeling, knowing there was something alive and growing inside of me. The doctor said both of the twins were growing rapidly, just as they should. I was glad about that—but Iwasstarting to feel the drain.
"I'll be okay," I tried to convince Lowen in spite of this, while I put some dinner on my own plate. My second helping, I'd also eaten with his mom earlier. The doctor wanted me to eat more, after all. The twins were hungry. "Actually, I had a visitor today." I hoped the change of topic could help take Lowen's mind off whatever visions he'd had today.
"A visitor?"
"Yeah, an omega called Adrian. I guess he's a friend of yours?"
"Oh, yeah. He lives close to Zed's place. I didn't know that he wanted to come by." He squinted, as if thinking hard. "Or maybe I forgot."
I waved him off. "Doesn't matter. I was a little surprised, but it was nice getting to know him."
"Adrian's all right," Lowen said with a nod.
"He told me he had twins too."
My dragon nodded again. "He had them before I got to know him. Now I can't think of Adrian without thinking of all his kids. They're a handful."
"Sounds like it." I chewed a piece of beef and swallowed, thinking maybe the stew was missing a little bit of salt, but I couldn't really focus on that thought. My stomach clenched, but not because it wanted more food. "Adrian told me some other things too."
"What sort of things?"
"About how he survived his pregnancy with his twins."
I had all of Lowen's attention now. "He told you about the bonding ritual."
