Page 12 of Matched By the Dragon

Baby Resin started wiggling around and managed to get down. He waddle-ran across the five feet of dirt and grass between us and tried to climb Durin’s leg to get to his brother. My mate scooped him up with a big hand and my heart melted right into my core. The cubs smelled so happy as they played with Durin’s beard. He looked so content too. What happened if I let my guard down? What if this was just the ‘matingmoon’ phase of our relationship and everything fell apart? Would they hate me later for letting them get their hearts broken too?

“Is this okay?” Durin asked.

I didn’t tell him every doubt running through my mind because I figured even if the perfect life fell into my lap those doubts would linger.

“It’s perfect,” I said instead, going with my heart instead of my head.

Together we walked back to the house. It was a slow walk because neither of us wanted it to end. Once we were back inside, the walls would close in on me again. There would be nowhere to run, and my brain would act up. So, I breathed in the fresh air and tried my best to stay right there in that moment. If I could stay in it forever maybe my brain would realize that it was safe to live again.

Once we were back inside, I took the cubs up for a bath and Durin cooked breakfast. Sure, maybe I should’ve watched to ensure he didn’t poison us, but even to me that thought seemed irrational. Poison was traditionally the weapon of omegas. Durin could just tear me apart if he wanted me dead. Hell, he could’ve probably killed all of us while I slept the night before.

After we all cleaned up and dressed for the day, we dined on the floor picnic style. The babies could eat a lot more in their little bear cub forms and it was easier than trying to put a squirming bear cub into a highchair. Growing bears needed all the food they could get. So, I’d have eaten grubs from under a rock with them if it meant they ate. Instead, we all enjoyed filling our bellies with a large spread of gravy, biscuits, fried potatoes and eggs, bacon, and sausage. Plus, lots of fruit for the cubs. They dug right in despite having picked at the berry bush outside.

When we had finished eating the cubs passed out with their little bellies full, I started to stand up intent on cleaning things up since Durin cooked.

“I got it,” he said.

“You don’t have to do everything,” I shook my head.

Did he think I was too feeble to wash dishes? Was that why he was offering?

“I’m not,” he grinned. “You can stay with the cubs. You’re happiest with them and I’m happiest when you’re happy and content. So, think of my doing dishes as a very selfish act. I don’t want the giant furball inside me to grumble the whole time you’re in the kitchen washing up that since we didn’t kill the meat ourselves the least that we could do was wash up afterwards.”

He kissed my forehead before heading into the kitchen. I was frozen for a solid minute after he left. He kissed me. Sure, it was only on my forehead, but he kissed me and I didn’t have a panic attack. Eventually, I stretched out on the blanket next to my bear cubs and watched them sleep. Durin was right. I was the happiest with them. Having them where I could see and smell them allowed me to relax more than anything else.

I dozed off to the sounds of their little beating hearts and the water running in the kitchen. I woke up under a heavy blanket with a big, furry paw resting against my bare foot. Durin had joined us for our nap after covering me up. He was in his giant bear form with his head resting on his paws. The cubs were still asleep. So I closed my eyes and slept for a little while longer until Baby Resin started nosing in my hair. I reached one hand up and ran it down his back before pulling him onto my chest. He nosed at my nipple through my shirt before shifting back into his little human baby form. Baby Oaklan scrambled to join him only half making it on top of me before he shifted. I caught him and fought with my buttons until my shirt was open. I fed them while watching Durin sleep. He was sleeping hard and he smelled so damn content. It was coming up on a week since he moved in with us. It both felt like forever and no time at all. Sooner or later, I had to ask if he liked living here. I had to make sure he wasn’t just staying out of some feeling of obligation.

“He needs a place to belong too,” my bear chimed into my thoughts with a yawn from inside his inner sanctum. “His home was haunted by the specter of the woman he loved.”

A thud on the front porch startled me and the cubs. I was upright gripping them to my chest about to head for the back door when Durin raised his big head and sniffed the air. I sniffed too. It was a tiger. Not Bennie but familiar.

“Slyvin!” My bear put it all together before I did.

“I knew I was forgetting something,” Durin said as soon as he was human again. “I asked Slyvin if he and Star could bring my stuff from storage over. I’m running out of clothes and o…”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly because he smelled guilty like he invaded my house and took over. “I.. I want you to feel comfortable here. The room on the other side of the nursery is just storage. We’d have to go through the stuff, but we could clear most of it out and it could be your room. You don’t have to sleep in there or anything, but you could if you wanted to. I just… You’ll need somewhere to keep your stuff, right?”

Shit! I was rambling like a virgin asking for a kiss.

“Thank you. I’d love that,” Durin said, grinning at me.

“Do you need some help bringing stuff in?” I asked.

“If you want to,” he said, standing up and offering me his hand.

The boys had already shifted back into their little cub forms because Slyvin was vastly more interesting than chest milk now that they ate solids too. Together we made our way to the front door and Durin had to open it up because the cubs were climbing up me. It was my own fault because in an attempt to teach them safety, I often held them up to the door when Alby knocked. I let them look out the peephole to learn that’s how we double-checked who had come to visit us.

Still, they got to peep out right before it was opened. Slyvin smiled his big friendly smile as he sat another huge crate down. The six wooden crates covering the porch all came up to Slyvin’s nipples. I wasn’t sure how the tiger alpha managed to get anything on the porch by himself but looking around I didn’t see Raziel or anyone else.

Baby Oaklan and Baby Resin sniffed the air like crazy. They were searching for their little tiger friends.

“The triplets are at home with their daddies, you two,” Slyvin said, greeting the boys before us. I had trusted the old Warrior of Frost before I ever really trusted Bennie or Raziel. I wasn’t too spiritual but he just radiated this energy that was half ‘I’ll save you, get behind me’ and half ‘I want a nap.’ For me, that was the perfect protector. He would rather nap than fight and that meant he wasn’t out there looking for random people to beat up.

“I’ll help you two bring them in,” Slyvin said. “Raziel was going to come but…”

“Is he okay?” I asked.

He sounded fine when I spoke with him over the pack link earlier, but things changed quickly.