Dragon Eggs Under the Tree (Starscale Mates #4)

Chapter Three

Stellan

Not all volunteers were made equal. At least that’s what I learned that morning when Brender called saying he’d even prepped the base of the gift eggs for me. Where had he been all these years I snuck up to the attic with glue, flour, and giant balloons to make the eggs? As a kid, I loved making the eggs once I figured out they weren’t magically hatched from wild dragons. As an adult, eh, I didn’t always have time for that. Still, I made time. Usually that meant losing some sleep.

“This year maybe we won’t lose as much sleep,” my dragon rambled inside my thoughts. “Just enough to paint and pack them. Maybe he’ll ask us out. We could do with a mate who knows how to make eggs.”

I bit my lip not to laugh at his pun as I headed to the side door. I didn’t need Saer to hear me and race out of his playroom to ask what was so funny. A second alone to get my thoughts together before I plunged into the world outside to do my holiday picking and trading would be nice.

“Knock, knock,” a voice came from the other side of the black door before I even reached the mudroom.

It was deep and friendly. I smiled to myself and shook off the thought. The last thing I needed was Saer getting attached to someone or someone’s belongings again. I wasn’t going to include any of my boyfriends in his life again for a long time and since most of the time I was with him, that meant not having boyfriends. I’d live. It wasn’t like Saer would be a kid forever.

“Hello,” I opened the door and nearly died on the spot.

My heart dropped into my stomach in confusion before launching back up to my throat as my brain wrapped itself around the situation. Brender smelled fucking delicious. There he stood all bare chested like most dragons in the flight with his deep green star-shaped scale barely visible behind the boxes smelling like everything I might want. His eyes lit up, brown and friendly.

“Hi,” he said after a pause that lingered in the air between us.

I had every instinct to smell myself to ensure I hadn’t sprayed pheromone blocker spray instead of cologne on while I got ready that morning. It wouldn’t be the first time I mixed them up while trying to get ready to leave and entertain Saer at the same time.

“I’m Stellan,” I said as if he didn’t have the little profile I filled out when I applied for a helper.

“Brender,” he nodded. “Where should I put these?”

“Inside me,” my dragon murmured but thankfully I snatched back his words before they hit the flight link.

“Umm….. Hi,” I said again, turning toward the corner of the room and pointing.

Brender squeezed past me and sat the boxes down. When he stood up and turned around, we were right there together. My nose only came up to his chin, but it was close enough to nose to nose. He grinned and everything inside me exploded. His eyes raked over me and for the first time, I was sure he felt the magic burning hot and alive between us. My own star tingled and I rubbed it, drawing his eyes to the lavender scale.

“Daddy? Are you okay? I can’t hear you anymore!” Saer roared running down the hallway, stomping with every step he took to sound bigger.

“I’m--- I’m fine! The helper’s here. Can you give us a minute to talk boring big people stuff, buddy?” I called out to him.

“Okay, but if he tries to be mean I’ll headbutt him in the back of the knee like Kevin taught me!” Saer called back.

“Kevin?” Brender asked, arching a brow as Saer’s footsteps reversed their path.

“My ex. He met his true-mate. It’s been a while. Mostly Saer liked his boat.”

“Most kids like boats,” he grinned and the fire raging inside me, trying to push me into his arms, soared higher.

He reached down and entwined his fingers with mine and I stepped closer. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The air refused to travel in and out of my lungs while staring into his brown eyes. A soft warmth radiated from his muscular body. If my hands were free, I’d have touched his sorta messy brown hair and found out if it was as soft and thick as it looked.

“It is,” he nodded, picking up my stray thoughts over the flight link.

“Good to know,” I laughed and then a second later said, “I think you broke my brain.”

“Let’s make a game plan. You still need to go present picking,” he said. “Yuletide is coming regardless of how we’re feeling right now.”

“If you weren’t thinking about my kiddo right now, I’d be offended that you were thinking about anything or anyone but me.”

“Comes with the territory, I think,” he shrugged. “It’s not easy to think but we’re the adults and as your mate, part of that is making his life better, not worse or more complicated. The world confuses hatchlings enough without messing with Yuletide.”

“Do you work with hatchlings?” I asked.

“I’m a teacher back on 2,” he nodded.

“Awww,” I said because I couldn’t swallow the word down before it tumbled off my lips.

“It’s a good job,” he grinned. “What about you? Something with books, right?”

“I work at the library down the street,” I nodded.

“Awesome!”

“It is. They let me bring Saer in with me on the days he doesn’t go to school. He doesn’t like school yet. The therapist calls it separation anxiety.”

“From his sire?” he asked, and my heart dropped back into my stomach.

He hadn’t smelled Saer yet and thus had no way of knowing he was adopted. Adoption wasn’t all that common on any of the Starscale worlds but every once in a while, it was needed. I was the kid who played with dolls and pretended they were my kids until I was ten and everyone started picking on me for it. Even after that I planned out way too many baby names. I always knew I wanted to be a parent. When I hit my mid-twenties and still hadn’t met my alpha, I signed up to foster or adopt a hatchling who found themselves in that situation. It was nearly five years before I got the call.

Two barely adults had conceived an egg after a night of fun in the purple district. After weeks of counseling and considering, both young women decided they didn’t want to be mothers. They weren’t even a couple and neither had really began their life yet. They didn’t want to be mothers but decided against terminating the pregnancy. I only met with them once before Saer’s carrier came to my house where the nest pack was all set up for her to lay. She laid her egg – a big shiny blue one – took a nap and then departed. Saer knew he was adopted and that he had two mothers in addition to me. He’d met his carrier once or twice but that was it. He didn’t seem to notice they weren’t around. It was hard to miss someone you never had but I still wanted him to know where and who he came from. Besides, later that might be important for his medical history.

“That doesn’t make a difference,” Brender shook his head, still smiling, having picked up the information over the flight link. “He’s your kid. You’re the one here and the one he calls daddy.”

Relief flooded over me. Adoption wasn’t common but most dragons weren’t against it. Someone had to take care of every hatchling after all and without adoption that wouldn’t be possible. Still, others said it didn’t matter how long I sat on someone else’s egg, I wasn’t really a parent. I often told them to tell that to all the sleep I lost taking care of Saer and ensuring he had everything he ever needed and most of what he wanted.

“Eh, fuck them. Someone gives you trouble let me know.”

“Brender the Breaker,” I whispered the title under my breath. “You used to fight in the arena, didn’t you?”

“I’m retired now,” he chuckled, but the faintest blush dotted his cheeks. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell the kiddo any bloody stories. I’m not a meathead.”

“I used to watch you on television when I was a kid.”

“Wow! I’m old,” he laughed.

“I’ve always liked older guys,” I shrugged.

“DADDY!? Are you done talking about boring old people stuff yet?” Saer called from the hall again.

“Almost, baby!” I called back. “Can I have a few more minutes?”

“Okay, but I think I still want to go with you,” he groaned.

“We’ll talk about it in a minute,” I said.

“Okay,” he said and sat down in the hallway with a soft thud.

“We can talk about us later,” Brender said. “Sounds like he needs you.”

“Are you sure? I mean, my past boyfriends claimed not to mind but they did. Even Kevin,” I added the last part in a whisper.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not your boyfriend. I’m a grown ass man and your mate. My ego will survive a four-year-old needing his dad and you going out present picking.”

“He’s four, but are you sure?” I asked, tightening my grip on his hands. “It feels weird to go out now.”

“Yuletide is still coming. You gotta go present picking. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“I know but---” I said and took a deep breath.

“I’ll be here,” Brender grinned. “Kiddo and I will make a day of it. Got the stuff to make cookies in my bag.”

He patted a black messenger bag I hadn’t noticed before since I was all caught up in the fact that my true-mate actually existed.

“Want to introduce me? Are you going to tell him now or wait until you get back? Should I stay in here while you tell him?” Brender asked.

“You’re nervous!” I laughed.

“Well, yeah. I want my mate’s kid to like me! Not like I have a boat to show off on.”

“He doesn’t need a boat. It’s too cold to go out on the water right now,” I said. “He’ll like you. He’s an easy-going kid except for the separation anxiety. Which you’ll get to see firsthand today, unfortunately. Come on. I think I will tell him before I go, but you should be there too.”

“Lead the way,” he grinned.

I took a deep breath. Everything was happening so quickly. It was all surreal, but I dropped one of his hands, kept a tight grip on the other, and led him into the hallway where Saer waited tapping his fingers against the toes of his snow boots.

“Daddy!” he stood up and hugged my legs

“You alright, kiddo?”

“I was thinking about you leaving.”

“You know I’m just going to see the wild dragons about presents, right?” I dropped Brender’s hand and knelt down on one knee to be on his level.

“I know! It’s ---” he huffed and let out a long breath.

His wings came out and flapped with irritation.

“It’s what, buddy?” I asked, leaving his wings be for the moment.

“I don’t like when you’re gone! It’s harder to hear you because everyone is thinking so much!” he frowned.

“Oh! That’s the flight link, baby,” I said.

“I know but they won’t be quiet!” he said and flopped back down on his bottom.

Brender sank onto the floor and leaned against the wall.

“You’re a giant,” Saer said, a ring of smoke escaping his nose.

I waved it away about to tell him to mind his manners when Brender laughed and called him ‘the tiniest lizard’ he ever saw. I started to scold them both, confused at Brender’s response when Saer laughed and slapped his own knee.

“You should see this one kid at school. Tiny as a toad!” Saer said.

“There’s a trick to not hearing the flight link but it only works sometimes,” Brender said.

I had tried to teach Saer how to close himself off from most of the noise of the flight link but he hadn’t caught on yet.

“Why only sometimes?” Saer asked.

“Because you can still hear your dad or anyone who’s around to help. They do it with a big person trick.”

“Big people are meanies.”

“Hey!” Brender laughed and then jerked his head in my direction. “He’s a big person.”

“He’s a meanie! He’s leaving me at home!”

“I’ll be here,” Brender shrugged.

“You’re not him,” Saer said as if he was imparting sage wisdom.

“No, I’m not, but I’ll be here so that he can go talk to the wild dragons about Yuletide.”

“Can’t you go?” Saer asked.

“Nope. Not this year anyway.”

“Why not?” Saer flashed him an untrusting look.

“Because the appointment is with your dad,” Brender said. “Besides, he knows all sorts of things about you that I don’t. I just met you.”

Saer thought about it for a long moment and I took advantage of the opening.

“Brender will be around a lot,” I said.

“Why?” Saer turned that suspicious gaze on me.

“Because he’s my mate,” I said, choosing not to mince my words and confuse the situation further.

“Like star mate?” Saer asked.

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Okay. So, he’s gonna be like my daddy too?” he asked, scrunching up his nose.

I nodded and we gave him a few minutes to think about it. He knew what true-mates were as much as any four year old could. He knew that souls knew a bunch of people before they were put into their eggs as babies and that sometimes if two souls loved each other very much they promised to be mates in every life if they could find each other.

“So, you won’t be lost at sea like Kevin?” Saer turned his attention to Brender.

“Nope. I’m not going to get lost at sea. I’m a teacher and I don’t teach on a boat.”

“That would be cool, though!” Saer’s eyes lit up at the idea. “I’d go to school every day then! I’d live at school!”

“Nah,” Brender shook his head. “It wouldn’t be as fun as you think. You’d have to do schoolwork all the time if you lived there.”

“But I’d be on a boat!”

Brender shot me a look I couldn’t quite read. There were plenty of boats that we could borrow from the flight’s fleet, but it wasn’t good weather to have a hatchling out on the water in. I opened my mouth to speak but Brender spoke before I did. Thankfully, it wasn’t about going out on a boat.

“What if we made boat-shaped cookies today?” Brender asked.

“How?” Saer blinked at him.

“I’ll show you. I brought the stuff to make cookies, but I think your dad has to go meet the dragons soon. We can wait until he gets back to make the cookies if you want.”

“Are you really going to be my dad too?” Saer asked.

“If you’ll have me. You don’t have to call me dad if you don’t want to, though.”

“Okay. I’ll call you Brender.”

“Sounds good. Most people do,” he nodded.

“Are you okay for me to go meet with the dragons now, buddy?” I asked, unsure if he was really relenting or only taking a slight break.

“I think so. Phone, though?”

“I will have my phone.”

“856-65302-123124? Right?”

“Right,” I nodded and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.

“Remember to tell them I want a boat!” He said as I made my way back through to the mudroom to exit through the side door.

Outside I took a deep breath and prayed to the ancestors who built Starscale 1 that Saer didn’t have a meltdown while I was gone. Brender might be my true-mate but he hadn’t been around nearly long enough to know how to soothe him or to be asked to deal with it. Sure, I ensured our profile mentioned his separation anxiety but Brender wasn’t a single day volunteer. Today was a peek into his life with me and I prayed he liked what he saw because if he didn’t it would be just me and Saer again. That kid was my whole world and mate or not, Brender would just have to get used to that.

Chapter Four

Brender

I didn’t rush Saer out of the hallway after Stellan left. Four-year-olds didn’t know the meaning of rush or slow down yet. So, it would’ve been pointless to try. Plus, I really did want the kid to like me.

“Did you really bring stuff to make cookies or did you say that to make Daddy feel better about leaving?” he asked after we stared at the wall for a few awkward seconds.

Without speaking, I took off my messenger bag and opened it just enough to pull out the grocery bag. Inside were all the fixings for either peanut butter or chocolate chip cookies. I sat the bag between us and opened it up.

“You came with food. I like you.”

“Well, food that needs cooked,” I smiled.

“Cookies with jammie in the middle?”

“We can make those,” I nodded. “If there’s jam here.”

“Always jam. Pear jam,” he nodded. “Come on. Daddy didn’t show you where the kitchen was so you’re lucky that I know where it is, or you might spend all day looking for it.”

“You’re right,” I shrugged, pushing myself to my feet. “This is definitely my lucky day.”

In the kitchen, we set to work on gathering all the dishes we needed to make cookies. This wasn’t Saer’s first time helping out in the kitchen. He was a great little helper who knew where everything was.

“I’m a pro at stirring,” he said, mixing the wet ingredients up and only spilling a little as he looked over at me. “I always help. I’m good at it.”

“Seems like it,” I nodded. “What’s your favorite sort of cookie?”

“The jammie ones,” he said. “All cookies should have jam. We can use the chocolate chips too.”

“Peanut butter, chocolate chip, jammie cookies it is then,” I nodded and opened the bag up.

I popped one into my mouth and Saer opened his own like a baby bird waiting for a worm. Gently, I placed one on his tongue and his eyes drifted half closed as if the chocolate touched his tiny soul.

“Thank you,” he said after he’d eaten it.

The dough with chocolate chips presented more of a problem than I thought when it came time to carve them into little boats. Thankfully, dragons naturally excelled at geometry, or we might’ve never made them into proper boats.

“Kevin wouldn’t cook. Said it was for omegas,” he told me.

“Eh, I like to eat. I think cooking is for anyone who likes to eat,” I shrugged.

“I like to eat too. Maybe it was a good thing Kevin got lost at sea.”

I almost asked if he really knew why Kevin wasn’t around anymore but wasn’t sure it was my place to explain anything like that to him. I’d leave that explanation up to Stellan if he decided to make it.

“Hmmm,” I nodded along.

“He’d have been sad. I think.”

“Not as sad as he’d be if he were really lost at sea,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts.

The big scaley guy was right but I wasn’t about to point that out to the eager kid waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven. Saer yawned and I almost broke the cardinal rule of getting a little kid to like having you around. I almost suggested a nap. Instead, I held my tongue and asked him what he’d like to do while his dad was visiting the dragons. Into the living room we went for him to watch a show about a group of dotters who helped the dragons find all the houses where the gift eggs needed to go.

He was out cold ten minutes into the movie, and I scrolled my phone almost texting Stellan every other second. He’d just left but I missed him. I didn’t even know this dragon and I missed him like a chopped off limb. Still, I didn’t text him. He needed to focus on making Yuletide as great as he could for Saer. He didn’t need me distracting him.

I beat the timer and turned it off before it rattled its little bell and woke up Saer. After pulling the cookies out of the oven and putting them on the cooling rack, I went back to the living room where a single little dotter was balancing a giant gift egg on her back on the television screen. Not long after that, I dozed off too. My dreams were a mash up of Oliver eating the Yuletide tree and Stellan saying my name over and over. I woke up to a tiny whimper across the room. My heart skipped over itself as I jumped out of the chair.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” I asked, rubbing the nap out of my eyes.

“I miss Daddy!” he said, his little bottom lip quivering and his wings flapping around.

“Me too, kiddo,” I said, dropping down to sit on the other end of the sofa.

“Why’s he gone so long? It’s not fair!” he whined.

“Hey, now,” I patted his leg. “There’s probably a long line of grownups waiting to talk to the wild dragons today. How about we test out the cookies.”

“Can we have milk too?”

“We can,” I nodded. “I think we have to. It might be a Yuletide rule.”

“Carry me? Daddy carries me sometimes,” he yawned.

“Come on, buddy,” I said, standing to scoop him up.

“I wish Daddy was always home.”

“I bet he wishes that too,” I nodded, carrying him into the kitchen.

The cookies had cooled, and the milk was easy enough to find in the fridge. Saer insisted on using the red and green glasses to match the holiday occasion. Then changed his mind and said we should use blue ones because boats belong on the water. After the switch over, he tore the sail off a boat and dunked it, nodding approvingly as he ate the cookie.

“Not bad,” he grinned.

“Not bad at all,” I agreed. “So, besides a boat what do you want the wild dragons to bring you this year?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you like to fish?” I asked him.

“No.”

“Did you just like Kevin?” I asked, hoping that wasn’t the answer.

“No,” he shook his head.

“What was your favorite thing about the boat?”

“Going out on the water. It was like flying but on water.”

“Do you and your dad go flying a lot?” I asked him.

“Sometimes. My wings are flappy.”

“Flappy?” I arched a brow.

“Sometimes they just do whatever they want and don’t listen to me and fly right. The doctors say it’ll get better as I grow up.”

“So, all you want for Yuletide is a boat?” I asked not wanting to poke at something Saer might be embarrassed about.

“Yeah. One big thing is enough to ask for, I think. I mean they have to fit a boat into an egg!” he grinned.

“True,” I nodded, trying not to laugh. “Do you think they can?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “If they don’t maybe we’ll go for a boat ride when it warms up.”

“But you don’t have a boat.”

“The flight does, though.”

“True!” his eyes lit up. “But we have to wait until it warms up. Your daddy might get cold otherwise.”

He thought about it for a minute and nodded. Little kids usually had very little concerns about their own safety but were still empathetic enough when it came to others. He’d swear up and down he would never get cold but would accept without a trace of doubt that his dad might be cold and uncomfortable.

“When do you think he’ll be back?” Saer asked, tearing the sail off another cookie.

“When he’s finished talking to the dragons.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I almost ignored it but had second thoughts. It might have been Stellan, but I should’ve known better. It was a text from Oliver.

OLIVER: Tree is here. It’s stuck, though.

“Daddy?” Saer asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Not Daddy,” I shook my head, trying my best not to smell annoyed. “My baby brother.”

“Baby brother? A baby can use a phone? Daddy won’t get me one!” his voice went up in complaint.

“Eh, he’s a grownup. At least he’s supposed to be.”

“What’s that mean?”

“What does what mean?” I asked, trying to ignore my phone for a second.

“Supposed to be.”

“He should act like his age, but he acts younger.”

“OH! Is he playing pretend?”

“I wish, kiddo,” I laughed and handed him another cookie.

“Is he being naughty?”

“He’s acting dumb. He’s not dumb. So, he’s just playing dumb,” I explained.

“That’s not a fun game.”

“No, it’s not,” I chuckled.

ME: What do you mean it’s stuck?

OLIVER: I was in the middle of a boss fight and couldn’t answer the door. So they just left it on the porch. When I was finished, I tried to get it inside, but it’s stuck in the doorway,

and I can’t get it all the way out or in. I’m about to start hacking off limbs.

He followed up with a photo of the poor tree stuck in the doorway because he hadn’t turned it far enough on its side before pushing it through. And--- he was a fucking idiot!

ME: Did you unwrap it before trying to take it inside?

OLIVER: DUH! I wanted to make sure it was the sort of pine you ordered! I didn’t want you to bitch at me because I let them deliver the wrong tree!

OLIVER: It’s not my fault! It only took me like twenty-seven minutes! They could’ve waited!

I swallowed hard and let out a long, slow breath as I laid my phone down. A smoke ring escaped my nose, and Saer rose up in his chair and waved it away like Stellan had done for him earlier.

“What’s he gone and done?” Saer asked and I wondered where he picked the line up from.

“Almost broken our tree,” I sighed.

“Our tree doesn’t come until two more days,” he said, holding up two fingers. “But Daddy said it’ll be here before Yuletide and the eggs and that’s all that matters.”

“He’s right,” I nodded. “Is it a live tree?”

“I think so. It has all its little fingers. At least it did last year.”

“Roots,” I said.

“I’m rooting for it too,” he nodded, and I laughed despite how hard I wanted to slap my brother in the back of the head.

My phone buzzed again.

OLIVER: So can I cut it or not?!!!!!!!?!

OLIVER: I’m stuck outside!!!??!

ME: NO! Do not hurt the tree. We’re supposed to return it healthy and not hacked to pieces by a lazy gamer.

OLIVER: I AM NOT LAZY!

I resisted the urge to switch over to our family link and cuss him out. Saer might not hear it but I didn’t want my scent to scare him. Instead, I bit a boat in half.

“Buddy, I think we have to go save a tree,” I said. “Will you go put your snow boots back on?”

“What about Daddy?”

“We’ll call him on the way.”

“Let’s save your brother!” Saer cheered and ran off to find his boots.

I cleared off the table and wiped it down before texting Oliver. Those few seconds stopped the text from being hostile. He was a dumbass but fighting with him over the phone wasn’t going to save the tree or make him magically start acting his age. Still, my fingertips tingled from my dragon claws trying to slip out as I sent him another text.

ME: We’re on our way.

ME: Stay where you are. You’re a dragon for the love of the three worlds! You can handle a bit of snow and cold! The fresh air will do you some good!

He texted back almost instantly.

OLIVER: My guild is waiting for me! We have another raid to do! I can’t just leave them hanging! Some of us have loyalty!

ME: TOUGH SHIT!

ME: AND I’M brINGING MY NEW KID WITH ME SO SHUT THE HELL UP AND PUT ON A SMILE WHEN WE GET THERE.

OLIVER: Huh? What sort of joke is that? You’re finally going senile.

ME : I’ve met my mate. So, get your head out of your ass!

OLVIER: HUH?

OLIVER: Like your mate-mate?????!????!

ME: Yes. So, sit tight and grow up while we get there. This isn’t the day to test my patience. Kill that tree and you can move back in with our parents or have your own house that you have to take care of.

Oliver kept texting but I shoved my phone into my pocket and went to check on Saer. He was an adorable abominable snowman all bundled up to go outside. While adult dragons usually didn’t need much protection from the cold, the fires burning within the bellies of little dragons needed extra help to stay lit. I double checked that he had all his fingers covered and tied his boots an extra time. Then asked if he knew where Stellan kept the spare key.

“My key is in my pocket,” he laughed. “I don’t know where the rest are. I have one just in case.”

“Good,” I nodded. “Now, buddy, can you walk in that getup, or do I need to carry you?”

In answer, he raised his arms above his head, and I scooped him up. After the house was locked up, I headed back to the station and sent Stellan a quick text explaining the situation with my brother and giving him the address where we’d be, if he got back from present picking before we did. I could’ve poked him over the flight link but didn’t want to distract him too much.

“We should wait. He might be our mate but he’s still a dragon and this is his hatchling that we’re taking from the proverbial nest,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts as I shoved my phone back into my pocket.

The scaley guy was probably right but needs must.

Chapter Five

Stellan

I was soaked to the scales and bones by the time I got back to our street. I sniffed the air searching out Saer’s scent. Why was it out here? Had Brender taken him for a walk? Sometimes a walk calmed him down but if that was the case I prayed that Brender remembered that hatchlings didn’t have the same cold resistance we did as grown dragons.

“We can trust him. He probably even texted us about it. It’s not his fault we forgot to charge the phone,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts. “Can’t blame him for not telling us when that happened, and the flight link is so busy today. We’d have to bellow to hear each other and then Saer would probably hear us and know we weren’t out knee deep in mushies and talking to wild dragons.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. He was right. It wasn’t like Brender would drag Saer that far from the house. He had plans to bake cookies. That meant staying at the house. I crept silently in through the side entrance into a house that smelled like the weirdest cookies I’d ever encountered. Chocolate chips, jam, and peanut butter? That was probably a concoction thought up by Saer.

I tucked all the boxes away in the mud room and shut the door behind me. I sniffed the house, but it was too quiet. Way too damn quiet.

“Saer? Brender? I’m home,” I kept my voice mellow, praying that perhaps they had just fallen asleep watching something in the living room. “Guys? My loves? Buddy?”

I kicked my boots off and sprinted into the living room in my socked feet. It was as empty as the kitchen had been. I patted my pockets until I found my phone. My heart pounded against my ribs, playing them like a xylophone. I placed it on the charging crystal on the side table and it lit up with multiple texts from an unknown number that I’d only seen once before.

STELLAN: Hey. Everything’s good here. Saer is wonderful. I’m having a little tree emergency back home. My brother has nearly killed our just delivered still alive tree. We’re on our way to save the tree and hopefully will get back before you do. Hope your present picking is going well.

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach! Who did he think he was to just run off with my kid like that? True-mate or not, this isn’t how life worked! You couldn’t just drag a hatchling out of their nest and take them to a whole different freaking planet!

I glanced at the rest of the text messages. Updates on his home address and where they were along their journey. They’d just made it to Brender’s house. I cursed under my breath and went back for my shoes. Mate or not, I was giving this fucker a piece of my mind! I fumed and smoke rings shot out of my nose one after another. My dragon paced inside his inner sanctum. If not for the constant snow clouds, he’d have shifted and flown to 2 all on his own but freezing to death or falling from a frozen wing wouldn’t help bring Saer home safely! If Brender wasn’t my mate I’d have called the guards!

Anger gnawed at my insides and my scales as I walked back to the station. I squeezed my fingers tight inside my pockets not to fight off the cold but to hold back every bellowing growl my dragon tried to send up. With the crystal and the phone in my pocket, I’d know if they decided to go anywhere else.

Sitting still on the ship was impossible. I bounced my leg, fighting off the urge to get up and pace the length of the ship that carried dragons between the worlds.

“Alright, friend?” A tall blonde woman asked.

“I’m fine. Mate’s dumb as a sack of shit,” I muttered.

“Most alphas are,” she patted my shoulder.

That didn’t make me feel any better. I thought meeting my true-mate meant I was done with stupid guys. If true-mates were truly matched, Brender would’ve known better. Was I stupid too? Did I lack the understanding of basic social construction of the society that raised me? Of the laws of the wild? His dragon should know better than this!

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, ready to text Brender back and give him a piece of my mind. Instead, I melted a tiny bit but not for Brender. On my screen was a photo of Saer and a teenager I’d never seen before who looked a lot like Brender standing in front of a half-built snowman.

“His brother,” my dragon huffed out the word, sending out another ring of smoke from my nose.

The blonde dragoness handed me a smokeproof hanky and flashed me a knowing smile.

“The holidays can be hard,” she said and flashed me a sad smile.

I nodded my thanks and let out a long, steady breath, holding the hanky over my nose to catch any smoke that might’ve tried to fling itself free from my sinuses.

ME: I appreciate all the updates but what were you thinking?

His answer was nearly instant. How fast could this fucker type?

brENDER: I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what else to do. I couldn’t leave Saer alone, of course, and I couldn’t ask you to come back early from your important mission. I figured when you didn’t text back you weren’t mad about it or you’d have said something. I mean, it’s not like a random person just picked him up and ran off – we’re mates after all.

I took another long, deep breath and let it out before answering him.

ME: That’s exactly what you are. We might be mates, but I don’t know you. All I know is I have a magical and biological reaction to you. The fact that our flight trusts you enough to be a teacher is the only reason I haven’t called the guards!

brENDER: I’d never let anything happen to Saer or any other kid for that matter! I thought it was the best solution for everyone. Plus, he’s having fun!

I took another deep breath through the hanky. It was clear that Saer was having fun. It wasn’t like him to go off anywhere with a stranger, but Brender wasn’t technically a stranger. If things worked out like fate wanted, he would be his other dad.

“But he’s not yet,” my dragon pointed out.

ME: He might be having fun, but he should’ve been at home. Couldn’t you have waited another hour?

brENDER: I’m sorry.

ME: That’s all you have to say for yourself?

brENDER: I’m sorry is all I can say. You’re right. I should’ve waited. Old habits die hard.

ME: What old habits? That doesn’t sound good, Brender.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I watched the little dots blink at me, indicating that he was typing.

brENDER: Chasing after my brother after believing I can trust him to adult through one thing. It’s not his fault. Well, the tree is totally his fault. My leaving isn’t. Though, to be fair, it was more about saving the tree than him. I made sure he was bundled up. He didn’t touch anything on the ship. He didn’t use any public bathrooms, and he ate some carrot sticks while I got the tree inside. Unlike my brother, I knew to go through the back door if the front door was blocked. I’ve ordered some pizzas, figuring you’d be hungry too. Maybe we could make a decorating party of it? That could mean 2 this year for Saer. This one and one when your tree comes too. I promise I won’t let Oliver anywhere near your tree.

brENDER: Oliver is my brother. My younger brother.

ME: We’re not done talking about this.

ME: But okay.

ME: Just know my agreeing doesn’t mean that this was okay. This isn’t okay. I need to know where Saer is at all times. I need to know he’s safe. You can’t whisk him away on adventures or to save the day or whatever without telling me. I know I didn’t say not to leave the house with him, but I didn’t think I needed to.

brENDER: I’m sorry, mate. I really am. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t have a good excuse if that’s what you’re looking for. I had a problem, and it was a kid friendly problem. So, I figured it’d be okay.

ME: I’m almost there. Don’t tell Saer I’m upset, okay? Let him have fun.

brENDER: I hope you have fun too, though.

brENDER: I miss you.

I took a deep breath and tried not to think too hard about his deep brown eyes. I missed him too but wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him that right now. Could I let him off the hook with just telling him what he did wasn’t cool? Would that stop it from happening again? How much could I trust him? Would it be better or easier after we exchanged the claiming vows?

“Everyone says they act a little out of sorts in that time after they meet their mate but before they exchange claiming vows. It’s like you told him. Until we exchange those vows, he’s just a random guy that we really want to screw,” my dragon put his two scents in.

“I want more than to screw him.”

“What? To spank him?” my dragon laughed. “Oh. I forgot. You’d rather be spanked.”

I blushed and pushed the thought out of my head as I got off the shuttle and headed in the direction my and Saer’s connection pulled me. It didn’t take me long to find Brender’s two story, blue brick home with a big front yard and a garden off to the side.

“DADDY!” Saer’s voice came from across the yard filled with thick purple and white snowflakes. “We built a snow person! This is Uncle Oliver! He’s lazy but he’s fun!”

“I’m not lazy!” Oliver laughed.

“Dumb is more like it,” my dragon said.

He’d have some choice words for Brender’s little brother if I gave him the chance. That was something that I didn’t plan on doing any time soon.

“Daddy!” Saer crashed into my legs. “You found us! Brender said you said we could stay and have pizza and help with the tree!”

“We are! They’re our family too now. So we should spend some time with them!” I picked him up for a real hug.

“Want to go inside and warm up the baby?” Brender asked.

“Good idea,” I smiled at him, and he led the way into the house through the back door.

He led us through the kitchen and down a long hallway with soft blue carpet into a room with a massive fireplace, some bookshelves, a sofa, and a few chairs. Saer squirmed out of my arms and stripped out of all his snow-covered outerwear. I bit my lip. I should’ve undressed him in the kitchen where there wasn’t any carpet to wet.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brender laughed as Saer kicked off his boots and flopped down on his back by the fireplace to warm up. “He can make himself at home.”

“Don’t worry. I already had my nap,” Saer yawned, grinning up at me.

“I’m impressed. How’d Brender manage that?” I asked him.

“It was a long morning. I kept trying to figure out how to go with you.”

“Oh,” I grinned. “Well, my meeting with the wild dragons went fantastically.”

“Good. So, are they bringing me a boat?”

“We’ll see about that,” I grinned.

There would be no life-sized fishing boat under the tree, but a four-year-old boy didn’t need his very own boat. He’d find lots of water friendly and fun presents come Yuletide morning, instead.

“I’m not getting a boat,” he sighed. “I know that voice. It’s the same voice when you said you’d think about getting a dotter.”

I opened my mouth but before I could remind him that dotters were a lot of work Oliver came through with his arms stacked high with pizza. Brender grabbed the topmost boxes and the brothers sat them down on the coffee table. I was about to volunteer to grab some plates but Brender opened the top box and told us to dig in. Before I could remind my hatchling of his manners, he did exactly what my new mate had invited him to do.

Brender disappeared through the house before I could give him a what the hell look and came back with some napkins and water bottles. It was better than nothing, at least.

“Aren’t you hungry after all that picking?” Brender asked, as Oliver and helped Saer onto the sofa with his pizza.

“I am but I’m worried your sofa isn’t going to survive the pizza in Saer’s hands.”

“It will. Before I let the kid move in I had them come in and spray all the important stuff with that stain resistant magic.”

“Move in?”

“Oh, yeah. Oliver lives with me. Oh!” he laughed. “No, I haven’t invited your four-year-old to move in with me. I figured we’d actually have to talk about the living arrangements before I did that.”

I blushed. Could I give up the comforts of home and live here? My house hadn’t been in my family for generations. It was a recently built two story. I bet this one had been in his family for a while. Then again, it wouldn’t be nice to kick his brother out but then maybe Brender would want Oliver to live with us.

“Daddy?” Saer’s little voice broke through my anxious inner monologue.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“You’re thinking in circles again. It makes my dragon dizzy.”

“Sorry, kiddo. I guess I’m just hungry.”

Avoiding Brender’s eye, I picked up a slice of pineapple and pig pizza and dug in. It wasn’t half bad and I did feel a bit better after I ate. After a few slices of pizza, Brender and Oliver disappeared into the attic to retrieve the decorations for the tree.

“So, what do you think of him, kiddo?” I asked Saer, who was on his third slice of pizza.

“He let me put jammie in the cookies,” he said. “He missed you too. Then he brought me to play in the snow.”

I opened my mouth to tell him how worried I’d been but stopped short. My little hatchling with separation anxiety had his first good day without me around. My heart ached for better and worse. I wanted him to enjoy life but I’d miss being his only favorite person.

“You’re still my favorite person,” he said, picking up traces of my thoughts over the family link.

“It’s okay if you like hanging out with Brender too.”

“I do. Even if he has no boat.”

“He has pizza.”

“And a brother,” Saer reminded me.

“A brother that nearly broke the tree.”

“Accidents happen. I like him. I have an uncle now.”

“That you do. I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I grinned at him and wiped the tomato sauce from his little mouth.

“Thanks, Daddy.”