Saving Cinder

by Maggie Hemlock

  “Let’s toss some scales into the incinerator and run away tonight. That way they’ll think we tossed ourselves inside rather than marry an Alpha we didn’t love.”

  “Sweetheart, are you still down here?” Dad came downstairs. “It’s awful late to be working. It’s almost one in the morning.”

  I sighed at my carrier’s voice. He meant well. He really did, but he didn’t know what he was missing out on. My parents never left Cornwall or met their true-mates. They settled for the lives their parents chose for them. Now, that Sivan was gone they expected me to do the same.

  “I always work late,” I tried to keep the anger out of my voice.

  “This is your wedding week. You should focus on getting plenty of sleep. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for pregnancy prospects. You need to be well rested to conceive.”

  I cringed at the word conceive.

  “Dad, I love you. You can make me marry Reggie. Supposedly that’s within your rights, but I’m not having sex with that overgrown hatchling. I don’t love him.”

  “Sweetheart, sex might not be the most pleasant part of marriage, but it is your obligation.”

  “It was one of the best parts with Sivan,” my dragon chuckled, but I swallowed the sound before it crawled out of my throat.

  “Was I conceived out of obligation?” I stood up and dusted the chocolate dust off my knees.

  “Of course not. By the time you were born I loved your father dearly.”

  “What about now?” I asked. “Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to meet your true-mate?”

  “It never mattered. Your father is a good man. He’s a good provider.”

  “Do you love him?” I crossed my arms.

  “I do,” he nodded.

  Crow’s feet lined the corners of his eyes. Over the last few years more signs of their years showed on my parents’ faces. Dad’s green eyes weren’t as vivid as they were when I was a child.

  “There’s something I should tell you, Cinder. Will you sit down with me?” He sat down on the stairs and patted the spot next to him.

  “It’s a little late to give me the drakes and pixies talk,” I laughed, but sat down next to him anyway.

  “I am aware of that. You and Sivan were so in love.”

  “We’re true-mates.”

  “Were true-mates, son,” Dad frowned.

  He ran his fingers through his short dark hair. Grays peeked out here and there around his crown. It was only natural for him to want grandchildren before his door showed up. Sivan’s death changed all our lives, but that didn’t mean I was an incubator for Reggie’s eggs.

  “We still are. True-mates defy death. Even a million lifetimes from now Sivan will be my true-mate.”

  “I admire your dedication to true love,” Dad flashed me a sad smile. “I can’t say I share that devotion. You know things were different when I was young. Omegas listened to their parents. We didn’t even question if we would or should. It was just the way things were. Your father wasn’t my first love. My first love was a beta named Carter. He was so handsome and sweet. He had the most adorable dimple right here,” he touched my cheek on the spot where a dimple showed when I smiled. “Carter was ambitious. Too ambitious of a beta for your grandparents.” Dad smiled, but he didn’t look at me. He stared into the distance seeing his past. “He was my first love and my first lover.”

  Dad never spoke about sex unless it was for conception. Even when he finally gave me the talk, he focused on the fact mating was for egg making.

  “Then I got pregnant with you.” He looked down at the wooden stairs.

  “You cheated on Father?” My mouth hung open in a wide O.

  Shock twisted my stomach. The dragon inside my stomach finally stopped his rambling and cocked his head to the side. Our perfect parents weren’t so perfect, after all.

  “No, love. After your grandparents discovered that I somehow ended up pregnant by a beta they scurried to find me a mate who wouldn’t mind. They found your father.”

  “What happened to Carter?” I stood up.

  The news swam around my brain, but I couldn’t put the pieces together. Was he telling the truth? How could he just walk away from a man he supposedly loved? How could I not be my father’s son?

  “I never found out. After our wedding he just disappeared. I had you to think about…” his words trailed off.

  “That’s why we don’t smell like Father. That’s why he never scooped us up on his knee like other hatchlings’ fathers did. That’s why he’s making us marry Reggie,” my dragon said.

  That’s not true. He’s not affectionate, but that’s just the way he is.

  “The man forcing me to marry Reggie isn’t even my father?” I finally asked.

  “He is your father. He helped me raise you. He took care of us and he really believes in his heart Reggie is your best option for not being alone when our doors come.”

  “Doors in the plural, because unlike true-mates who share a single door if they both survive into old age you’ll go separately.” I spat out the information like acid.

  Shock rattled my teeth and squeezed my guts. I paced the half-scrubbed floor.

  “Please, lower your voice, Cinder, before you wake up your father.”

  Fiery anger cut through my belly. My dragon roared. Smoke puffed out of my nose.

  “I couldn’t wake up my father if I wanted to! I don’t know where he is!” I growled. “So, unless he’s asleep in the garden there’s no chance of waking him up, is there?”

  “It’s better this way. I know you don’t see it now, but you will one day. Betas are meant to mate with other betas. They can’t protect children like Alphas can.”

  “They aren’t even supposed to be able to get a male omega pregnant!” I roared. “So, either society lies, or you do. Which is it?”

  “Betas can too. Why doesn’t anyone ask me about these things? I know biology. I’m a dragon. If one can produce semen, they can impregnate someone else. It’s not as quick as with Alphas. They have super sperm or something. Dad must have been with this beta a lot to…”

  SHUT UP! I’M NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT!

  “It’s rare, but it happens. Male omegas can conceive with betas just like a woman could.” Dad said.

  “I’m leaving! I can’t stay here a moment longer. You lied to me my whole life. You said I didn’t smell like Father because your genes were stronger! Why? Then why let him go through with his marriage? I’m not doing it! I’m not fucking up someone else’s life like you did! Reggie’s true-mate is waiting for him somewhere! Just like yours! Just like…” I couldn’t bring myself to say Father’s. “Like his.”

  I pushed past Dad and marched up the stairs straight into Father’s chest. He narrowed his eyes on me. My dragon cowered. Alpha dragons could eat us if they wanted to, but I didn’t care. Let him swallow me whole. Even that would be better than staying here and marrying a man I didn’t love! Roasting alive in a dragon’s stomach would be better than remaining in a house where everyone lied to me. Where my whole life was a lie.

  “Get out of my way!” I growled.

  My dragon reared up in my chest ready to fight. This time I didn’t push him down. My life was a lie and the one person I wanted to run to was dead. Sivan’s strong safe arms were stolen from me by some centuries old war I wanted no part in. It wasn’t my fight. I was at an elven resort for the love of Juda and all his hatchlings! Sivan! My soul shattered as I tried to push past the man who held me at arm’s length while I helped build his business.

  Damn it all to Frost’s Pit! Damn them and damn society! Damn weddings and eggs and damn the creator of them all too.

  “You’re not leaving in the middle of the night.” He said matter-of-factly. “Go to bed, son. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  “Get out of my way!” I tried to squeeze past him, but his broad shoulders took up most of the doorway at the top of the steps. He puffed up and stuck his chest out in the peacock pose he always used
when meeting with business associates.

  “Cinder,” he said in the same warning voice he used when I was a child.

  “Why did you lie to me about being my father?” I growled when I couldn’t push past him.

  His mouth dropped open. I squeezed by him, but he grabbed the back of my shirt. I wiggled out of it and stomped through the house.

  “I am your father. I raised you! Who flew you to the hospital in the middle of the damn night when you had a fever of a hundred and five? Who taught you to ride a bike and was around to take you to the father-omega dances? Me. Not some beta who has never lain eyes on you, Cinder. I’m your father!”

  “My real father wasn’t given the chance! I get it now! It all makes sense you can throw me away so easily into an unhappy marriage because I’m not your flesh and blood! You’ve never had a child! You’re a childless lout selling other people’s children!” I stomped into my bedroom to grab my car keys.

  It wasn’t my real bedroom. That was back at the home I shared with Sivan. This was where I slept throughout the week, because my so-called father worried, I’d be late to work otherwise. The door slammed shut behind me and a key turned into the lock. I slammed into the door, but the dragon steel held strong. Bile rose in my throat and I swallowed a whimper. I’d not show him an ounce of weakness. I wouldn’t give the lying S.O.B. the satisfaction.

  “LET ME OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” I roared.

  “I’m your father. Not some beta who took off with his head between his wings! I’m the man who raised you and you will marry Reginald. He will be a good provider for you and your eggs!”

  “You take his dick up the ass and carry his eggs then! I’ll bite it off if he tries to touch me!” I roared and rammed the door again. Pain shot through my shoulder down my arm. My dragon yelped and reared up. Fire shot out of my mouth, but the door didn’t as much as blacken.

  “Don’t talk to your father like that!” Dad said on the other side of the door.

  I didn’t need to see him to know his face was drained of all color.

  “You’ve upset your carrier now, Cinder! I hope you’re happy with yourself!”

  I slid to the floor and held my shoulder tight. It would heal soon, but until it did, I couldn’t go anywhere. My dragon sat down on his haunches and tucked his wings close to his body as he did when he was miffed. It was easy to miff a dragon. Omega dragons were famous for their insistent tempers. Only he wasn’t miffed. He was shocked.

  “Father isn’t our father. He’s just Augustus. Dad is still our carrier. Our father’s name is Carter. He’s a beta,” my dragon said.

  That’s right. Now shut up. My shoulder hurts.

  “Hold on before you write off my thoughts. If all else fails, we must find this father we’ve yet to meet. If we prove Augustus is not our father and we find the man who is Clarence may change his mind and side with us against this marriage.”

  Perhaps. Likely not.

  “Why not?”

  Because Carter is a beta and carriers’ rights is spoken of all through Moonscale law. The carrier has the rights to their children.

  “We are no longer hatchlings.”

  No, we’re something worse than children: omegas.

  “Shush up,” he growled. “I will not have you insulting our ancestors like that! Without omegas there would be no Moonscales! No Hemlocks! If we all tucked our tails over our omegaholes and told them to fuck off there would be no one here.”

  We don’t even know Carter’s last name or if he’s a dragon.

  “Shush up. Sleep and let me think.”

  Gladly. Keep your damn thoughts to yourself. I don’t want to dream in spinning circles like I do when you try to talk to me while I sleep.

  “Fine. I’ll solve the problem. I always do.”

  Chapter Four

  Seth

  “No more treats for you, little lady,” I laughed.

  The little dog sat on her haunches and locked her big brown eyes on me. Then she tucked her head and hunched her shoulders into the most pathetic pout ever witnessed on the high seas. Sighing, I tossed her another treat and warned her it would be the last one for tonight.

  Cookie and I had been at sea for three hours. She’d eaten her way through one whole bag of treats I picked up. Before stopping at the shelter, I bought some necessities a dog would need: a collar, a leash, a bed, some food and bowls, treats, and a few toys. All of which were meant for a much larger dog than Cookie.

  I walked into Zennie’s Animal Baby Adoption Center with every intent of coming out with a real dog. A large dog who could keep up with two dragon hatchlings. The lady behind the desk showed me to a kennel of retired hunting dogs and large strays. I was admiring the build and dignity of an Australian Shepard when a curly fuzzball darted into the room. She spun out on the tile and crashed headlong into my boot. She shook her curly head. Her too big ears flopped around like living helicopter blades. Then she looked up at me happy as could be. The dogs in the kennels barked and growled raising hell but she stuck up her tail and paid them no mind.

  “Sorry, Mr. Warren. Cookie only arrived yesterday. Her owner’s door arrived, and she had nowhere else to go. She hasn’t adjusted to life in the kennel yet.”

  “Cookie?” I arched a brow at the dog. “They named you Cookie? You really drew the short straw on that one didn’t you.”

  She jumped up and rested her furry little paws on the top of my boot.

  “You think I’m going to fall for that look?” I laughed. “I don’t think you could keep up with Rhett’s hatchlings.”

  I scooped her up intent on handing her back to the worker. She grabbed my arm with her little paws and didn’t let go. She trembled as the other dogs barking grew louder.

  “I didn’t think I was in a bakery, but I guess I’m leaving with a Cookie.”

  “Really?” The worker’s blue eyes lit up.

  She was pretty with shoulder length blonde hair and a friendly smile, but nothing compared to Stacy. I’d never love another woman like I loved that gal.

  “Yeah. Fine.”

  “Thank you!” She started to hug me and stopped short. “Sorry, Mr. Warren.”

  Since news leaked out about my brother marrying the lost Moonscale heir I was suddenly Mr. Warren everywhere instead of ‘Mr. Wipe your feet. I don’t want you dragging fish guts in here.’

  “At least Rhett’s finally useful for something,” my wolf rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it.” I said and repositioned Cookie closer to my chest. If she was anything like a wolf pup a steady heartbeat would settle her down. She finally stopped trembling, but her tail wagged like a windshield wiper in a hurricane.

  “Her people died in a fire. She lived with two old omegas. Poor Cookie barely escaped with her life. They found her laying in front of her dead owners’ doors. The men on the scene said the door didn’t disappear until the fireman fed and watered her.”

  “Well, Cookie, I hope you like kiddos.”

  “I’m sure she’ll love your niece and nephew, Mr. Warren. She loves everyone. I’m so happy she’s going to a loving home. Everyone seems to want these big guys recently,” she petted the Australian Shepherds head.

  “He any good on boats?” I asked.

  “You’re not changing your mind, are you?” She bit her lip.

  “I know a guy. He just bought a big fishing boat and is looking for a dog to keep the rats off it. Fella’s allergic to cats.”

  “Could I have his number?” She asked hopefully.

  “I’ll do you one better.” I pulled out my phone and sent him a text.

  After assuring the Australian Shepard was hired and would be picked up the next day Cookie and I filled out her adoption paperwork.

  “You know with a name like Cookie they might try to eat her,” my wolf laughed.

  Not a chance. All kids love dogs.

  “Thank you so much for adopting Cookie today, Mr. Warren and for finding Gogi a home too. They don’t make many lik
e you anymore. Would it be too out of line to ask you if you’d like to meet up for coffee sometime?” She asked.

  “It wouldn’t be if I were straight,” I smiled at her.

  “Oh, sorry.” She blushed.

  Over the years I learned it was easier to say that line than to disclose the widower fact. It wasn’t exactly a lie. I wasn’t straight. Before I met Stacy, I dated a fair number of men and women. Didn’t have a preference really. Just whoever I connected with. Bisexuality confused others, but that was part of the fun. Now, that the boyband sensation, Micah, of the Grim Howlers came out as bi, everyone was a lot cooler about it.

  “The fact you keep up with boy bands embarrasses me,” my wolf rolled his eyes.

  I don’t keep up with boybands. I keep up with sexuality headlines. Better than listening to whose fighting over the Alps or which vampire is terrorizing the stateside packs this week.

  “Ugh. We need to get laid before I find you whacking it to a broadcast about a new gay bar or something.”

  Shut your mouth, furball.

  The moon hung high in the sky. This far out at sea every star shined like it was the only one in the sky. Cookie and I settled down on the main deck of the boat. I had already programed the magical navigation system and it was smooth sailing for the next few hours. The boat housed a sleeping cabin downstairs, but the night was warm. Besides, I didn’t know the next time it would be me alone on the open sea. Cookie licked my nose as if to remind me I wasn’t alone.

  “Okay, girl. I don’t know when the next time we will be alone on the open sea. You wake me up if you smell anything strange, okay, and if a storm comes don’t play the hero. Take your gray curly tail down those stairs and hide under the bed until I give the all clear.”

  I wasn’t aware I fell asleep until Cookie growled. My phone vibrated in my pocket. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she snarled at the ungodly noise.

  “Chill your teats. It’s a phone,” I rolled my eyes and sat up.

  “It’s late. What do you want?” I groaned into the phone.

  “It’s my turn to ask you to go on a rescue mission,” my brother’s voice came from the other end of the line.