Page 22 of I Ain't Lyin'
“They are definitely fucking Jeffries,” Leo stated as soon as he saw I’d returned. “And something odd is going on.”
“That’s their story to tell and figure out.” Shaking my head, I wrapped my mate in my arms. “I’m more concerned about our own happily ever after.”
“Ooh.” Leo leaned in and kissed me. “I heard our next chapter happens in the bedroom. Wanna go see?”
“I think you’re right. Let’s go.” I picked up my omega and carried him to our room.
We had a sex scene to act out.
Epilogue
Leo
“I think it’s time for the egg to hatch.” I tapped Ashton on the shoulder and woke him up from his nap in our nest. “The crack has gotten bigger.”
“Sometimes, it still takes a few days.” Ashton yawned and sat up in the pile of blankets and pillows I had amassed over the last several weeks. “The doctor thought we had another week.”
“I know.” I kissed his cheek and gestured toward our precious egg. “But we all know that babies decide on their own time, and this little one seems to be determined to be born quite soon if all that rocking and cracking is a sign.”
“I think you might be right.” Ashton leaned closer and examined the large olive-colored egg that held our child. I appreciated the way the light in the room shone off the metal-like scales, but was more fascinated by the tiny cracks that had appeared on the surface. “I do see quite a lot more cracking than I noticed previously. Are you ready to be a papa?”
“I am more than ready.” I sighed and lay back on the pillows. “I loved every step of this process. Carrying the egg and then nesting with it was beautiful for me. But I want to hold our baby in my arms, look at their little features, and figure out if they have your eyes or mine. I can’t wait to count little toes and fingers and smell that newborn smell. I can’t wait to see if our little one is a lion or a dragon—”
“Or a hybrid.” Ashton ran a finger down my arm, still looking at the egg. “More and more children have been born with the ability to shift into two forms.”
“I know.” I had heard all the stories from some of the GSC members on Ashton’s team. “And if that is our child’s gift, I’ll strut around like a proud papa, just like Ollie.”
“We both will show off our child no matter what ability they may or may not have.” Ashton kissed the hand that he was holding. “I’m happy, Leo. I am really, truly happy.”
“Me, too, babe.” I squeezed our clasped fingers. “I’m glad we moved here and that you still work for GSC. I am glad that my writing career allows me to stay home or travel with you when needed. I can stay home with our children and couldn’t be more excited about it. I feel like my life has changed so much in the last year, and I wouldn’t change anything. It all led us to this moment, which means everything.”
“Babe.” Ashton leaned up and nudged me. “Look.”
On the side of the cracked egg, a little green eye appeared. My heart melted. This was our baby.
Silently, Ashton and I watched as our child rocked around and knocked the shell about in an attempt to fracture it enough that they would gain their freedom. It was important that we let the baby do it themselves unless it became a safety issue or emergency. They had to break out themselves. We just sat back and waited.
When the first piece cracked off, and our little lion’s leg poked out, I wanted to laugh but held back. “This is so adorable.”
“It’s amazing,” Ashton whispered and pulled me closer.
It wasn’t long before the rest of the shell was broken away, and our shifted little cub tumbled toward us. I shifted into my lion and cuddled up with our son, nudging Ashton to follow suit. Luckily, the bedroom we built our nest in was large enough to hold my lion, our cub, and the large dragon my mate became.
Suddenly, a tiny dragon flitted around us, tumbling over the pillows and puffing tiny halos of smoke out of his nose. We were going to have our hands full with this little one. Shifting back to our human forms, Ashton and I laughed at the tiny beast staring at us with his head tilted to the side.
“Brady, you can do it. Shift like Daddy and Papa,” I cooed to our son. We had finally agreed on the name the night before, liking that it would work for a son or daughter.
“Has a baby ever gotten stuck in a shifted form?” Ashton whispered. “Because he looks quite confused.”
“Shush.” I nudged my mate in the ribs. “He’ll figure it out. And no, I have never heard of a baby being stuck in their shifted form. A few have chosen to stay in their animal shape for a few months because they realized they could move more freely though.”
“I’m sure.” Ashton held out his arms to our child, who jumped into them and rested his head on his papa’s chest. “Maybe he will shift later.”
“When he falls to sleep, he will shift. I know my friends’ kids all shifted during naps.” I ran my finger down Brady’s back, fascinated by the beauty of his wings and scales. “He is absolutely gorgeous.”
“With you as his daddy, of course he is.” Ashton kissed Brady’s head and smiled at our hatchling’s little snore. “I guess we should lay him down in his crib.”
“Probably safer than leaving him in the nest and finding him exploring freely in a few hours.” I followed Ashton into the nursery and turned on the white noise machine and nightlight. “He will probably be up in a bit and want to eat, but until then, he should be safe in here.”