Page 43 of Matched By the Dragon

SILAS: I’ll send you a date and time closer to our meeting. Don’t stand me up, dragon man.

RAZIEL: I’ll be there.

“Do you need to talk or time alone?” I asked when he put his phone down on the dash.

“Time to think,” he said, rubbing his palm against his forehead.

“Either call your dad or wake me up before you do anything stupid. I’m going to eat leftover lasagna from last night. Are you hungry?”

“Not right now,” he shook his head.

I left him alone and went inside. I’d done all I could for him and now whatever happened was up to Raziel and his mates. I didn’t envy his complicated situation, but we weren’t that close. I was in that sweet spot where I could tell him what I thought without being ‘nice’ because I adored him.

“It’s only fair that we meddle,” my bear yawned inside his inner sanctum. “He meddled in our true-mate response. Now we’re even. We meddled in his.”

Chapter 15

Brad

The Hemlock Wolf Pack, Star’s Territory

We didn’t leave the house for the next week. I was more grateful than ever that I had made Omega Ward a joint community effort. I got reports all week of resources being handed out and two omegas being freed from less-than-ideal circumstances by alphas from the Temple of Frost. I’d started something that allowed me to help but also others and we had the space, grace, and community to weave in and out of actively volunteering as our lives allowed. Omega Ward was a living, breathing organism the same way we were – in a constant state of change.

The morning after we got home from the hospital, I woke up before Durin. He’d stayed up late trying to help Raziel sort out his love life or lack thereof or something like that. I watched him sleep. He was stretched out on his back with one arm flung over his head and one leg bent so that together his legs almost made the number four. His breathing was easy and his face relaxed. He was still here. Yesterday, I’d come face-to-face with one of my biggest fears: Losing Durin the way I lost Jac.

So, I did the only thing that made sense. I got on my phone and sent an email to Bennie asking for a recommendation for someone who worked with wills and adoption. I wasn’t sure how mateship laws actually worked if there was no paperwork to back things up, but if something happened to me I wanted to ensure that Resin and Oaklan could stay with Durin and that the house would go to my boys. It didn’t take Bennie long to email me back.

“Hey Brad,

Don’t take my word for it and I’ve listed several estate managers who work with the temple along with their contact info below, but I’m about 85% sure that unless specified in a will that in the case of true-mates, the surviving mate inherits child custody and property. Especially in a case like yours where the biological sire is deceased. But don’t take my word on that because I only know it by word of mouth. Get some rest!

-Bennie

P.S. This is in response to Durin’s accident, right? Nothing new has happened?”

I emailed Bennie back thanking him and letting him know that no new dangers had emerged overnight. That afternoon an estate manager came by the house, and I worked out my will. With my parents dead, I had considerable assets and wanted Durin and all our future kids to have considerations. Also, with Alby’s permission, I made him the defacto guardian for Resin and Oaklan in the case that something happened to Durin and me at the same time. Then as soon as the paperwork for our deaths were done, he’d be the legal guardian too.

Then I sat on the porch with Durin while Raziel played ‘roll down the hill’ with the kids. I couldn’t believe they were going to be a year-old next month. It was crazy. They were growing up so fast and soon there would be three of them.

“How are you holding up?” Durin asked, cutting through my thoughts.

“I should be asking you that,” I chuckled. “But I’m okay. Just… Pensive? Reflective? Planning?”

“I noticed the will being drawn up,” Durin said.

“I didn’t hide it. I mean, technically, it should happen the way it was in the will anyway, but I don’t trust things to go right,” I said. “I don’t plan on dying, but no one does.”

“That’s what I was telling Raziel last night but we need to shake the gloom and doom attitude,” he sighed. “The boys are about to be one. We’re only a few months out from having another little boy and while we have to plan for their futures, I don’t think dwelling on death will get us anywhere.”

“Baby names? I was thinking another tree name. I know eventually I’ll run out of them, but we can manage one more,” I smiled, watching Resin tumble down the hill as happy as could be.

“What about Linden after the linden tree? In a lot of old traditions, it’s said to have properties of love and protection?” Durin said after thinking about it for a few seconds.

“I like that. Oaklan, Resin, Linden. They go together,” I grinned and squeezed his hand.

“Hey, maybe it’s the head injury talking, but the kids are being watched by someone we both trust. They’re not due to eat again for over an hour…”

“Help me up!” I said, kicking my feet like I was helpless.