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“No, we have babies to be with,” Niko reminded me. My cheeks heated at the reminder, and I felt like an awful mom. I was doing this for them, but I was abandoning them in the process.
“Don’t let your mind go there. You're a protective mother fighting for their safety. We've done our part, and now it’s time to lean on Emberwood,” Kane said firmly. “Maxon and Nolan will both be ready to throw down over the sheriff.”
“You’re right,” I agreed.
We wound our way back through the empty halls and up the stairs. I half expected to run into the imposter mayor when we reached the foyer, but it was still and silent inside, just as when we’d entered.
“What about upstairs?” Levi reminded us.
“Again, We’re putting the others on it,” Kane said quickly. He pulled out his phone and gave a quick rundown to the wolves. He hadn’t even hung up before Maxon was sprinting down the road to us.
“I’ll help you clear upstairs then hit the houses you mentioned on the phone,” he promised. “But I saw the sheriff yesterday. How is this possible?” The alpha was struggling to wrap his head around this mess, and I couldn’t blame him.
“No, you didn’t,” I said sadly. “That body wasdaysold. Apparently, shifting appearances means mimicking their scent, appearance, and if he observes well enough, their personality.” That was a sobering thought. He was hiding out somewhere; we just had to find him. But right now, my babies were waiting for me.
We trudged back through the hotel and the snow to get to my cabin beyond. West was exactly where we’d left him, and I rushed over to take my eggs back, sinking next to him as I pulled them close.
“Mommy’s back,” I promised. A brush of magic ran over my skin where I was touching them, and I somehow knew they were already close to hatching. From what I knew, this shouldn’t have been happening so soon, but of course that's the way things would go. Life wasn’t afraid to throw more challenges at us, and we’d have to just keep doing what we already were—pushing forward as a united family.
While I was reuniting with the babies, the guys had filled West in on everything we found. His frown deepened as he finally turned to me.
“Oh! The picture… I almost forgot,” I gasped, readjusting the babies so I could pull out my phone and hand it over.
“Damn, this is crazy. That’s an old group that formed when supernaturals exposed themselves. It was an extremist group of humans who worried that they were at the bottom of the hierarchy. They tried to fight back before they lost whatever power they thought they had. I’d wager those books in there were full of accounts of slaughters and small wars. I have an inkling they even played a part in the fall of the dragons. But I thought they had dissipated years ago.”
“You’re right,” I said as the awful memory flashed in my head. “The night my brood fell... The soldiers prowling the halls of the castle had that crest on their chests!”
“Maybe they went into hiding afterward to protect themselves from any backlash from the magic community,” Niko guessed.
“I wonder if the mayor knew about them,” West countered. “I never fully trusted him even as we formed a shaky friendship.”
“So we wait until the coven scours the house,” Levi summarized with a sigh. “I could use a rest anyway. My mind is a mess.” He took one of the eggs then pulled me up by my free hand, leading me toward the nest. West let himself out as we got comfortable and snuggled in with our eggs.
“They’re feisty,” Levi muttered sleepily, his drowsy eyes focused on the eggs. They were shaking with the movements of the tiny dragons inside.
My eyes were already closed, sleep pulling me under, so I didn’t respond. Instead, I let out a small hum as I gave in to sleep.
* * *
The feelof something moving along my arm roused me from sleep. Small, light movements continued over my torso until something nudged my face. I blinked open my eyes and gasped at the baby dragon crawling on my chest.
“Hello, sweet baby,” I whispered in awe.
“They’re amazing,” Niko said softly. I glanced over to see one walking along his shoulders and nuzzling into his neck.
All of the guys were awake except Levi. Knowing he’d never forgive us if he missed this moment, I nudged him awake. He mumbled for a second, then stilled. Seeing our babies for the first time, he was just as in love as I was if the reverence on his face was anything to go by.
“Oh my gods,” he whispered.
“What do we name them? How do we know what they are?” Avi asked quietly. “I already feel like I’m failing dadhood by not knowing.”
“They’re girls,” I said with a smile as I studied the babies. My mother’s intuition had been strong enough to know there were two of them, so I trusted it now.
Kane reached out, and the one on my chest hopped into his hand, scurrying up his arm to nuzzle into his cheek. With a smoky puff, it fell asleep there in the crook of his neck, seeking out the warmth of his skin. “You know, this entire time I’ve been excited to be a dad, but I was afraid there’d be some kind of missing connection when they weren’t in human form. I was so wrong,” he breathed out.
“It’s different,” I agreed. “But they’re amazing.” They weren’t any bigger than a kitten right now, but they were already so strong and steady on their feet. It’d be a strange contrast to the crying baby that would replace them when they shifted, though I had a feeling they wouldn’t be ‘normal’ babies either. Their small jewel-like eyes were full of intelligence. Their midnight purple scales glinted in the warm light, and their little tiny horns were adorable. My babies were mirror images of my dragon, but with their own unique twists.
“How do they eat?” Levi asked. There was such panic in his voice that it surprised a chuckle out of me.
