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“Because all of those males will be staring at you. Between your beautiful body and the baby in your arms, more than one is going to wish they could claim you.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I thought the possessiveness was supposed to ease after the birth of our daughter.”
He lightly slapped her arse. “With you, Evie Marshall, it’s never going to fade.”
Before his mate could say another word, Bram guided them into the hall. He’d taken a little bit of time for himself, but as leader, he also needed to think of the clan. There was no better way to celebrate the end of the year than with a new birth and a welcoming ceremony.
~~~
As Evie gently bounced Eleanor in her arms, she scanned the crowd for Alice’s face. But after a thorough search, she didn’t spot her friend. While Evie knew it’d been a long shot, she really had hoped Bram’s surprise had been finding her friend. Especially since Evie already had everything else she wanted at Stonefire—a family, friends, and a purpose.
While temporarily on leave from her duties to take care of her daughter, Evie had been working with the Department of Dragon Affairs more and more lately. The agency was still rebuilding after the bombing earlier in the year, but that didn’t mean Evie wasn’t going to tap her contacts to try and get Stonefire the best deals she could.
She also needed to keep an ear out for who was going to be the next Director of the DDA. One man in particular had the greatest chance, but Evie would walk through Hell barefoot before she allowed Jonathan Christie to take control. That man hated dragon-shifters and would be nothing but trouble.
Before her mind could wander further about how she could stop Christie, Bram’s voice boomed through the hall. “Thank you all for coming. I know tonight is all about the dual celebration of Christmas and the Winter Solstice. However, I’m adding on to the agenda to celebrate the birth of my daughter, Eleanor Rose.”
The crowd cheered. Evie smiled as Bram put an arm around her waist. He continued, “Before Evie takes wee Eleanor down to the main floor so each of you have the chance to touch the baby’s swaddling in welcome, let’s have Stonefire’s silversmith and chief artist, Dylan Turner, come to the stage so that he can present Eleanor Rose with her future tattoo design.”
The crowd parted as Dylan made his way toward Evie and Bram.
Evie had yet to witness a baby’s welcoming ceremony. However, she did know that the silversmith designed a unique tattoo design for each new child. Dylan had records going back hundreds of years and had created something original yet related to Evie and Bram for their daughter.
Dylan ascended the dais carrying a large placard covered with a cloth as well as a smaller package wrapped nearly in a baby’s blanket. The brown-haired man in his early forties presented the smaller one to Bram. As Bram took it, Dylan stated, “May your child grow and flourish so that she may receive the gift of my tattoo design on her sixteenth birthday.”
Bram gave the customary reply. “She will proudly display your work to the world.”
Dylan nodded, which signaled for Bram to untie the ribbon and remove the purple and blue blanket covering. Inside was a framed copy of Eleanor’s tattoo. While the curls in the design reminded Evie of Bram’s tattoo, there were also sharp, jagged points woven throughout. There was probably meaning in the design, but Evie would ask Bram about it later.
For now, Bram looked to Dylan again. “Thanks, friend. We will treasure this. Please share your gift with the clan.”
Dylan removed the cloth from the nearly five-foot placard, turned it around and held it up. The clan clapped and cheered. Evie could clearly hear, “Welcome, Eleanor!” from several of the louder clan members.
She half-expected Eleanor to start crying, but her daughter merely squirmed.
Bram finally raised a hand and the hall quieted again. “Now that we’ve welcomed my daughter, Evie and I will greet you all
on the floor so you can say hello.”
Bram nodded one last time at Dylan before placing his hand on Evie’s lower back. As they descended the stairs, he whispered, “Survive this, Evie Marie, and I can finally give you your present.”
Evie opened her mouth to reply, but the clan members were already lining up to welcome little Eleanor. Saving her questions for later, Evie smiled and played the role of a clan leader’s mate. The sooner she finished this task, the sooner she could find out what in the bloody hell Bram was lording over her.
Chapter Seven
An hour later, Bram finally managed to get Evie out of the great hall and into one of the side offices in the same building. Their hungry daughter was crying. Even though some of the clan had yet to give their official greetings, no one wanted to deny the baby her dinner.
The second Bram shut the door, Evie took out her left breast and rearranged Eleanor until the child latched onto her nipple. The sight of his child at Evie’s breast warmed both man and beast.
His dragon spoke up. Our young is healthy and growing fast. Eleanor will catch the eye of every dragon-shifter when she’s of age.
Let’s not think about our wee daughter’s teenage years just yet. I want to enjoy the present.
It will come faster than you think. We should prepare and have plans in place to chase off those unworthy of Eleanor.
Bram chuckled. I’m sure we can think of some interesting ways to scare off the males.
Evie’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “What did your dragon say to make you chuckle?”
