“Her magic is healthy, though not purely dragon. She won’t need an exam,” the mage said.
Shifter babies had magic and were more durable than humans. Having the mage there for the birth was overkill. Of course the baby was healthy. The only strange thing was that she was female.
Girls had been born to dragon parents, but they weren’t shifters. His daughter’s teal and copper scales were proof that she was a shifter.
My treasure, his dragon commented.
She was his and he’d always protect her. It was hard to hand the baby girl with blue eyes and a mop of dark hair on her head over to Faith, but with some prodding from the mage, he managed it. He still stayed close, lying beside the two of them on the bed, keeping his hand on his new daughter as though she’d disappear if he wasn’t touching her.
He wanted more of them. He’d thought it before, but now he was sure. He wanted a house full of little dragons.
Not that he could tell Faith that. She’d spent quite some time screaming about how Kurt was never touching her again. The mage had eased the pain, but Faith was still panicked about the whole thing. The next one would be easier, he assumed. Maybe it got easier every time. He’d look it up and present his case later.
“She’s perfect,” Faith said, tears running down her face.
As usual, the tears agitated his dragon.
Kill the mage, it suggested. It clearly blamed the mage for Faith’s emotional state.
“She is perfect. Just like her mommy,” Kurt said, ignoring his inner beast.
“I should tell my parents,” Faith said.
“I’ll tell everyone. You just enjoy this moment, angel.”
As much as he wanted to enjoy the moment as his baby girl latched to Faith’s breast for the first time, he sensed his mate was still emotional. He’d do anything to make her feel better, so he pulled out his phone. He had messages but ignored them at first. He sent a text to his father, Kur, and to Faith’s parents letting them know they were grandparents of a yet unnamed little girl. Kurt and Faith had focused on boy names. They’d have to bring out the books again.
It was still strange for Kurt to have a father he could report to. Kur had been asleep for most of Kurt’s life. Even after Kur woke, they’d barely had contact. Kurt almost preferred not to know his father.
He sent a message to his best friend and nephew, Talon, who was also expecting a child soon.
Only then did he notice the increasingly panicked messages from Clarence that ended with a picture of Jess with a familiar face. Kurt had never seen Ezzu before, but it was almost like looking in a mirror. If Kurt cut his hair and grew a beard, he’d look almost exactly like the dragon in the picture. He was unmistakably a first-generation dragon. Kurt could almost feel his power through the screen.
He’d done this. He put an innocent woman in the path of a monster.
“Did my parents respond?” Faith asked.
There were new messages, but Kurt had to help Jess. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about her until that moment.
“Give me just a second,” Kurt said.
He sent a message to Clarence: Sorry for leaving you hanging. My last message must have scared the shit out of you. I was in a bit of a panic because my wife went into labor. I overreacted. Jess will be fine.
He was lying, of course. Because Jess was now in contact with a dragon, Clarence had to be cut out of the loop. There was nothing he could do to help Jess get away from Ezzu. Even Kurt, a first-generation dragon himself, couldn’t stand up to the most powerful firedrake on the planet. Ezzu’s magic was too old and too strong. Only Etel could help her now.
Kurt forwarded the picture of Jess and Ezzu to Etel with the message: Now what?
Etel replied: I’ll handle it. You have enough on your plate. Kur told me the news. Congratulations. You’re about to be inundated with arranged marriage proposals for your little girl. Enjoy.
Kurt: Fuck.
Kurt would have to come out with a fair, blanket response to interested dragons. Some would contact him on behalf of their sons, but others might contact him on their own behalf. Dragons older than Kurt would want to mate his daughter when she came of age.
There was no way he’d force her into a mating at sexual maturity, a mere two and a half decades of age. He might allow some dragons to meet her, but only if she was interested in meeting them. For all he knew, she may grow up to prefer females. It wasn’t unheard for dragons to be uninterested in the opposite sex.
No dragon would be alone with her lest they get tempted to try to kidnap her. That would be a fatal error on their part and one Kurt would rather avoid.
“What are you growling about?” Faith asked.
“There might not be an equivalent to a nunnery for our little drakaina, but I’ll try to make one,” Kurt said.
“You have a protective daddy,” Faith whispered to the baby.
He switched over to messages from friends and family and read them to Faith as their daughter fed eagerly like a healthy shifter newborn.
His protective instincts in high gear, he couldn’t help but feel a crushing guilt over failing to protect his employee. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Aegidius that the woman he’d recommended for a job at Kurt’s firm had been handed over to an enemy.
Chapter 8
Wrath pulled his truck beside Brad’s in the bistro’s parking lot. He’d been watching the bistro for any unusual activity. It was a few minutes before 2 o’clock so Wrath
