Artie disappeared back around the corner and they followed. He gestured to the nursery as he passed it.
They went into the nursery where a young woman in a lab coat was waiting.
“Put the baby on the mat,” Alex said, kneeling beside what looked like a yoga mat.
Kurt knelt across from her and gently laid the baby down.
Alex pulled out a pen light and shined it into the baby’s mouth. “How old is she?”
“One day,” Kurt said. “I thought she was a dragon. I saw scales. It wasn’t until we got to the pediatrician’s office that we found out she was a basilisk. The doctor wouldn’t touch her after he saw the venom glands.”
While they continued talking, Jess stood with Wrath in the doorway. The nursery wasn’t like any she’d seen before. There were no beds, just mats on the floor. One of them had a railing around it, presumably to keep a baby from wandering. The light was dim and there were no windows. Other than that, there were cabinets and the usual baby supplies.
Alex was explaining basic infant care and suggesting that the parents take turns going outside while the other laid with the baby on the mat.
“We’re going back to the house,” Wrath said. “Text me if my little brother causes any trouble.”
They walked out in the cool early spring air. The sky was turning grey with the sun’s approach to the horizon, and it was easier to see the path than it had been minutes earlier.
“How did they have a basilisk?” Jess asked.
“It’s down to magic. Draconids aren’t susceptible to most magic, but when they mate with someone who has magic they are susceptible to, they might have a basilisk. Apparently, we can add sirens to that list.”
“So, not all basilisks are descended from you?”
“Right. We take in basilisks whose families can’t care for them and the rest intermarry with my family. So most basilisks are still related to me.”
“Do you think Etel predicted this might happen? I mean, it’s unusual for him to contact you, right?”
“Maybe. Even Kurt was taken off guard, though. His mate can shift into a dragon. It would stand to reason that they could have dragon offspring. But the siren magic won out.”
“It’s another thing Etel can use as an excuse to make you keep in contact with dragons.”
“It is. If he’d visited Kurt and his mate while she was pregnant, he may have figured out what the baby was based on the feel of her magic. That would mean that he willfully endangered the child by not telling them. That seems harsh, even for him. I suppose I have some questions for my big brother.”
The air was refreshingly cool at first, but it was getting uncomfortable. Jess shivered and Wrath put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his warmth and inhaled his smoky scent.
“I could just warm the air around you, but I think I like this better,” Wrath said.
“Me too.”
Chapter 20
It took another two cups of coffee for Jess to feel awake. She considered going back to bed, but she was just alert enough that she knew she wouldn’t fall asleep.
Wrath kept her company while she ate her breakfast of cereal and toast with strawberry jam. He admitted he kept the jam on hand for Lily since she raided his pantry whenever she came over.
Jess felt her affection for the dragon growing. She thought he might feel the same for her. It was in the little things he did. The solicitous way he kept her coffee mug full and made sure her toast didn’t overcook. He’d touch her frequently, putting his hand on her back or letting their knees touch under the table.
After breakfast, when she should really have been working, he took her back to bed for a session of slow easy lovemaking.
When she finally sat down to work, her mind was filled with thoughts of him. Having him in the same house, within shouting distance, didn’t seem close enough. Maybe a nooner would calm her down. It was annoying how needy she felt.
He’d said he might not be able to love her, but her silly heart was hoping he already did.
~
Wrath knew what was coming. He felt Kurt’s approach. He too had been a father expecting a baby dragon and was at a loss when he wound up with something different. For Kurt it was worse, though. Basilisks were now hated by dragons. They were a novelty when Wrath had his.
He got up and went downstairs. Jess was down there working, and he’d rather not have her act the part of the maid answering the door for him.
Kurt’s fist was just about to knock on the door when Wrath opened it.
“Brother,” Wrath said. “Come to my office.”
Wrath led Kurt up the stairs and then sat at his desk. Kurt politely waited for Wrath to gesture for him to sit before taking one of the chairs across from him.
“What’s on your mind?” Wrath asked.
“I’m out of my depth,” Kurt said, predictably. “I don’t want to worry my mate over it, but I don’t know how to raise a basilisk. Will she get over her fear of heights?”
“She will never want to fly,” Wrath said. “In fact, she might have to be sedated to ride on a plane. That’s why basilisks have a fleet of private planes and a team of nurses. That way they can be heavily sedated without a chance that they may wake mid-flight and shift out of panic. You’ll have to help her learn to do things like walk down a flight of stairs without getting sick.”
“What about doctors? The one wouldn’t touch her. Is she really that dangerous?”
“She is. The only doctors who can treat her properly are other basilisks. Putting a needle in her arm could kill a human or another shifter because the toxin in her blood is magic and travels up any weapon or medical instrument. Teach her early not to
