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  Topaz, still dazed from being asleep for so long, rubbed the back of his head.

  “Where are we going?” He sounded more annoyed now.

  “It appears one of my nightmare dragons is going to have offspring, and I think it’s about time my investment in those horrible creations finally paid off.” With that, Irial unceremoniously grabbed Topaz by the collar of his shirt and shoved him through, even though he stood much taller than her.

  In a flash, he disappeared, and the oracle watched with amazement that Irial could even create a portal in this place, let alone keep it open with the mountain’s magic-dampening powers.

  “Don’t think I won’t be back for you later. A promise is a promise, after all.” At that, she stepped through, and the doorway disappeared behind her into foggy mist. Beneath her, the mountain groaned from the energy, and the oracle prayed nothing else could get out before help arrived.

  Thankfully, a second later, she heard Marina’s voice in her mind.

  I’m coming for you! Hold on!

  But it was too late. Somewhere out there, the topaz dragon and her sister were loose. And perhaps even worse, against all odds, one of the nightmare dragons had procreated.

  If Irial got her hands on the child, it could be the end for them all.

  Chapter 17

  Ada didn’t know if it was the hormones or Theo’s awful reaction to her pregnancy, but she couldn’t seem to stop crying.

  Everything was moving so fast and had been the past week and a half.

  Now something was permanent, and she had no idea what to do about it.

  She would keep the baby, of that she was certain, but if Theo didn’t want to be a part of his child’s life, she would accept that since she didn’t want her child to grow up feeling unwanted.

  In general, she knew Theo was a very good person, hell bent on saving lives and bettering things for humanity.

  But on the other hand, he had real issues. Like thinking someone as beautiful as he was, inside and out, shouldn’t reproduce. That if he did, it would be some sort of disaster.

  Dear God, what had happened to him in his childhood?

  She’d had a good childhood, loving parents, warm siblings, and she knew her family would help her raise her child.

  She still couldn’t imagine Theo not being there, though. Once he had a chance to process it, he would probably be back to talk to her, wanting to take responsibility, even if in a distant manner.

  She supposed she would have to accept it, even if a cold, distant relationship while co-parenting with Theo seemed like the worst.

  She set aside the herbal tea she was drinking, since it wasn’t helping her nerves, and wondered where Theo was right now. She was still in the clothing she’d worn out of the house with him, a gray cardigan with a white tank underneath, casual black skinny jeans, and she’d let her hair loose, not minding the curls for once.

  But what should she do next?

  She didn’t know if she should call Theo or leave him alone, and she didn’t want to hear an angry rant about how he didn’t want their child.

  She didn’t really know what was on his mind, save for the quickly uttered, “Shit.”

  God, how that one word had broken her heart. Not that she’d really been expecting a happily ever after at the end of all this.

  She rested her cheek in her hand and had nearly dozed off when her front doorbell rang.

  She perked up, hope lighting her heart just slightly as she realized it could be Theo out there.

  She stood, wrapping her cardigan tighter around herself, and stopped as she got closer to the doorway. She wasn’t sure if she was just imagining it or if it was this odd new intuition she was having, but it didn’t feel the same as when Theo was there.

  It felt like… darkness.

  She’d never been one to feel scared of horror movies or worry about supernatural things, but if she could describe the feeling as she approached the door, she would say it felt like the creepy crawlies up the back of the neck that some people used to describe the presence of evil things.

  But why would something evil be on her doorstep?

  She stayed cautiously by the door and stepped up to the peephole to look outside and make sure it wasn’t really Theo.

  She gasped when she saw a woman there, unlike anyone she’d seen. Her eyes were deep purple with red flashes like amethysts gave off. Her inky black hair was streaked with gray at the sides, and she had a man with her.

  A very tall man with blond hair and warm brown eyes and a pleasant expression.

  Taller even than Theo maybe and a good deal taller than the woman beside him.

  So why did the woman, with her deep-purple dress and dark cloak, feel more dangerous?

  She took a step back from the door, feeling she maybe shouldn’t open it.

  “Hello, dear. Are you in there?” The woman’s voice was syrupy sweet yet made goosebumps rise on Ada’s forearms.

  Ada decided not to answer.

  “Because, well, I’m Theo’s mother, and when I found out about the situation, well, I thought maybe I could come help you. Give you some insight on the baby and its future.”

  Ada’s eyes narrowed. That creepy old woman on the porch was Theo’s mother? She put a protective hand over her stomach. For some reason, she didn’t want this woman anywhere near her baby.

  “Unlock the door, dear, and make this easier on all of us.”

  “I think I better wait for Theo to come,” Ada called back since the woman apparently already knew she was there.

  “No need for that. We’re going to be family, aren’t we? And you know Theo, so secretive. He hasn’t told you everything, has he? You get the feeling he is hiding something, don’t you? Let me in so I can shed some light on the situation.”

  If this woman shed anything, it was not going to be light.

  Ada grunted. “I don’t think so. I’m waiting for Theo to come.”

  “Is he your mate?” The woman dropped her sugary tone, and her voice was harsh now, raspy, intent. “Haven’t you mated him?”

  What did that even mean? She and Theo weren’t animals. They weren’t married, if that’s what the woman was talking about.

  There was silence for a moment, adding to the eeriness of the night.

  “I see, so he hasn’t given you any promise, hasn’t said he will stand by you and the baby.” The woman sounded almost hopeful now. If she was truly Theo’s mother, she was an utterly awful creature.

  “No, but he will,” Ada said. “He needs time to adjust to it.”

  “No, he will never adjust to it,” the woman said. “That child will be special. And you want to move on, right? I can sense that about you.” A moment of silence. “A move, to another area. You want a future. Family. Normality. I can give that to you if you give me the child.”

  What the fuck kind of twisted fairy tale was this, where a creepy old woman offered to take her child? Even if she happened to be the child’s grandmother, this was more than odd.

  “No,” Ada said. “And I think you’d better be going. I don’t think Theo would want you here.”

  Perhaps this was why he’d never mentioned his family. Because they were total creeps. And who was that standing on the porch with the old woman?

  “I’m not that old, dear, and besides, the baby can help with that,” the woman said. “Babies have a way of… keeping us young, you know.”

  Ada just shuddered at that, not even knowing why.

  “As to the man with me, well, he is of no concern to you… unless you do not open this door the next time I ask you.”

  Ada looked at the kitchen, where her phone sat unattended at the table. If she reached it, could she even call Theo in time?

  “She isn’t going to cooperate. Open the door,” the woman rasped at her partner.

  Blue and yellow sparks burst the edges of the door, and Ada felt the ground begin to rumble.

  Dear heavens, what had she gotten herself into?

  She ran
for her back door just as she heard her front door crash open and knew she wouldn’t make it outside before she was caught.

  * * *

  Theo was surprised by how quickly help from the shifter world showed up.

  Only a half hour after Dare had gone to make calls, a portal had opened in front of the mansion and figures had begun to step out.

  The first man was someone Dare apparently recognized and greeted with a quick pat on the shoulder. He had shoulder-length brown hair and hawkish yellow eyes.

  The next man looked like a clean-cut superhero with blond hair and clear blue eyes and a tall, muscular physique.

  With him was a shorter woman with a soft figure, kind gray eyes, and long, dark hair.

  She was holding hands with a child. He had the soft blond hair of his father and the gray eyes of his mother. An interesting combination.

  But not as interesting as the small dragon wings sprouting out of his back.

  He couldn’t have been older than two or three, and he currently had his thumb in his mouth as he looked around curiously.

  It was getting late, and this was a new environment, so it would make sense for a kid of his age to be nervous.

  The last figure to come through the portal was a tall blond woman who looked like a Valkyrie with her height and sense of power.

  She smiled at him as she came through, and Theo felt a cooling, calming presence throughout the environment.

  She walked straight to Theo, past all the others, and took him by the hands. “I can sense your nervousness. It’s going to be okay. We are all here to help you.”

  Theo just gaped at her. Who was this woman, and why did she think she could somehow help?

  “I’m Marina, and I will be the next oracle. I’m here on the current oracle’s behalf. She is currently out doing research on your kind, so she sent me. What is the problem?”

  “I think we had better talk inside,” Dare said, looking around them.

  Marina shrugged. “It is beautiful out here, but fine.” She walked regally up the front steps, casting a reluctant look at the night air before leading the way inside the house.

  The rest of the small party followed, and Theo took them to a small dining room with a table perfect for conferencing.

  Before they sat, each of the guests introduced themselves to him.

  “I’m Lead,” the hawkish, warrior-looking one said, shaking Theo’s hand firmly. “I’m a dragon, but not from this planet. I’m settled here now with a human mate.”

  “And I’m Luc,” the blond man said, and even his handshake was gentle for such a big man. “This is my mate, Hallie. I’m a dragon, and I am from this planet. This is my son, Luc Jr.” He picked up the boy and held him against his hip. “I love him a lot. He has been only a blessing.”

  For a moment, just a tiny one, Theo could imagine a child of his own. One he could raise with Ada, who would have traits of them both. Would it look like this little child?

  Luc Jr.’s wings weren’t currently out, so that was something.

  Hallie shook Theo’s hand shyly, then took her son from her husband and sat down.

  Husband or mate? The entire thing was confusing.

  “The reason we came is Sapphire has incredible healing powers,” Lead said. “According the oracle, he has assisted on several births where dragons were born to humans. He and another dragon by the name of Aegis.”

  “Yes,” Hallie said. “Without Aegis, we would have had trouble. But others have not. Either way, we will have the right people to help you.” She put a hand over Theo’s, shocking him. “No matter what, you won’t be alone.”

  He pulled his hand back, not knowing how to handle her kindness and not wanting to anger her mate. “I don’t know. I don’t know any of you. What if you’re evil?”

  “The woman who created you was evil, if she’s who we think she is,” Marina said, sitting back in her chair with folded arms. Her golden hair was at least waist length, and she would have reminded him of a princess if there wasn’t that aura of power around her. “We’ll find out soon. Until then, we just wanted to reassure there are resources for dragons in this world.”

  “We aren’t exactly dragons,” Dare said. “Not like the rest of you.”

  Luc cocked his head. “How so?”

  “They were an experiment,” Marina said. “We still need to find out more. But I sense dragon in them. Much dragon. Hidden, but there and roaring. Something else in them, too, equally powerful but dark. It’s almost as if…” She shook her head, eyes closed. “No, that wouldn’t be possible. That would be a disaster.”

  “As if what?” Lead asked.

  “I’m glad you can’t read minds,” Marina said softly.

  “I can,” Luc said.

  “Dammit,” Marina said. “Well, I’d appreciate if you could just forget what I thought until we find out more to confirm it.”

  Luc simply nodded, putting an arm around his mate’s chair and pulling her close.

  “So where is your mate?” Hallie asked. “Why isn’t she here with us?” She looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost midnight. She can’t still be working, can she?”

  Theo’s back went rigidly straight, a sudden awareness of how he’d treated Ada coming over him. “She’s… not with me. Oh, damn.” He’d been so worried, so caught in the moment, so desperate to run for help that he’d left without giving her any reassurance at all that he would support her.

  But he couldn’t just bring her to this mansion now, either. She didn’t know anything about what he was or the supernatural world.

  He’d been too damn afraid to tell her everything, hoping he could just stay in his pathetic fantasy where he pretended to be a human.

  “She… doesn’t know about me. I didn’t know I could get her pregnant. When she told me tonight, I freaked out.”

  Both Hallie’s and Marina’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?” Marina asked.

  “Did you just run from her when she told you she was pregnant?”

  Theo put his head in his hands. “I thought I had killed her. I had to find out if I had. I didn’t want her to see the grief on my face and misinterpret it, and I didn’t want to tell her everything when she is already pregnant with my baby. What if it upset her? What if—”

  Hallie shook her head. “But just leaving her like that is the worst thing you could have done. She’ll think you don’t want her. Or the baby.”

  “Of course I want her. I want her more than life. If it’s really possible for us to have a family together, then a baby with her is more than I could ever deserve. Something I would have wanted with all my heart if I thought it possible. But I’m not like Luc or the other dragons. I’m… an abomination.”

  “I don’t think so,” Marina said, shaking her head back and forth slowly. “I can see into your heart, Theo. You are a good man. Your first worry was for your mate. Ada, is that her name?”

  Theo nodded.

  “You don’t know if you can give her everything, so you’ve been holding back. But the dragon inside you has long ago chosen his mate, and he acted on it.”

  “But…”

  “I’m not sure how, because dragons have varying mating practices, but you must already be mated to Ada because she is carrying your child. I like to think things happen for a reason, and I like to think this will bring you much joy, once you overcome the danger before you. But you will have all of us here to do so.”

  “What danger?” Theo asked, the hairs on the back of his neck pricking.

  Marina put a finger to her temple. “One second. Hold on. I hear the oracle… I…” She stood from the table. “Her voice is weak. I need to go. Something awful has happened.” She left the table and gave Theo an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. My master needs me.”

  Then she held a chain around her neck and murmured something urgently to it as she waved a hand in front of her, making a portal appear. She stepped through it, and then the portal was gone, swirling light eva
porating to nothing, leaving the entire room stunned.

  Nathan leaned back, biting his lip. “Does she do that… regularly?”

  Lead shook his head. “Not like that. Something has definitely happened.” He turned to Theo. “But there is a lot going on in the shifter world, and we are here to focus on you and your mate. To support you.”

  Theo felt an odd warmth from having these people here, these other people who didn’t fit into the human world and who weren’t people at all.

  Who accepted that he might be different than them yet still wanted to lend him support.

  It meant a lot to him.

  If he could have a cute little kid, like Luc, he felt his heart would always be soaring. But he remembered Marina’s words about there being danger ahead.

  He wished she could have explained before she went.

  “First things first, you need to go find your mate,” Lead said. “You need to make things right with her, get her to see the truth. Take someone with you if you need to.”

  “I think I will take my family home, if no longer needed,” Luc said.

  “Without a portal?” Lead said.

  “I can fly,” Luc said, standing up and ushering out his family. “We’ll take off out front. It’s Luc Jr.’s bedtime.”

  Lead nodded. “I’ll stay here until things are worked out.”

  And then it was just Theo, Dare, Nathan, and Lead alone in the dining room, so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

  “Where are your mates?” Lead asked, looking at Dare and Nathan.

  “We didn’t want them in on this meeting,” Nathan said. “Just in case there was bad news.”

  “Understandable,” Lead said. “Protective of your mates, as expected of a dragon.” His face was serious, but there was a smile in the twinkle of his hawkish golden eyes. “So do you want backup for picking your mate up?”

  “No,” Theo said. “I’ll be fine. I just need to buck up the courage to tell her I’m a monster.”

  “Not a monster, just something different. If she’s been around you long enough, she already knows.”

  “I assure you I’ve kept all evidence of not being human away from her,” Theo said.