Little Lords (The Dragon Demigods Book 3)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Okay…whatever,” Night growls, still half smiling. I can see he’s tense. “Let’s go and do this thing.” He puts a hand on my lower back.

  We say our goodbyes and go inside. Lyre tells us to sit across from him at a small, round table. He opens a file and takes a pen out of his pocket, clicking it open. “What was the date of your last menstruation? Roughly?” he dives straight in.

  I open and close my mouth, my mind working. “Do you want the first day or the last day?” I’ve worked everything out. “I’m sure we even know the day this baby was conceived since we only had unprotected sex once. Well, at least up until we found out I was pregnant. After that, we…” I pull in a deep breath. “You don’t need to know all of this, do you?”

  Lyre’s eyes crinkle around the edges. “Not all of it. You can give me the date for the last day of the last period you had. We start counting a pregnancy from then, which is roughly two weeks longer than from the actual ovulation.”

  “Oh! That means I’m further along than I thought.” I give him the date.

  “That should make you around seven, seven and a half weeks pregnant, then,” Lyre notes. He writes in my file.

  I look at Night, who smiles at me reassuringly.

  “How are you feeling otherwise? Any nausea yet?”

  I shake my head. “Not really…although, last night at dinner, I felt ill at the thought of eating meat. I ended up having the vegetables and salad with a handful of nuts.”

  “Aversion to meat is not uncommon. You’ll find it might stick around until the end of the first trimester, or longer.” He shrugs. “The nut substitution was a perfect solution. Make sure you find other healthy alternatives, like soya, beans, grains, and eggs. Let me know if you end up feeling ill more often, and I’ll prescribe something. Otherwise, any other symptoms?” He pauses, waiting for me to answer. “What about heartburn?” He raises his brows.

  “No.” I shake my head. “Thankfully not. My breasts are tender, and they’re already quite a bit bigger. I read that’s normal, even at this early stage.”

  Lyre nods. “Perfectly normal. You could go up as much as two cup sizes.”

  Night chuckles. “There are a couple of fantastic pros to having a gorgeous pregnant girlfriend.” He’s so sweet, trying to make me feel sexy. “Big boobs are definitely one of them.” He winks at me.

  I give him a light slap on the arm, pretending to be annoyed.

  Night chuckles some more, eyes still on me. “Oh, and a higher sex drive…another definite perk.” He turns serious as soon as those words leave his mouth, his gaze moving back to Lyre. “What other symptoms are you referring to? You asked earlier. Is there something we should be worried about?” He’s already so protective. Night won’t let me lift anything. He doesn’t like me standing for too long. It’s comical.

  Lyre shakes his head. “Just checking in general. I’m not troubled at this stage, everything sounds normal.” He looks my way, giving me a chance to voice a concern.

  “I want to see my baby. I know there won’t be much to see, but I can’t wait. It will put my mind at ease, knowing that he or she is thriving.”

  Lyre nods once. “Absolutely. From here, I’m going to ask that you change into a gown. We’ll weigh you, take your blood pressure, and then have a sonographer perform an ultrasound.”

  “Okay.” My voice is high-pitched. I can’t wait to see what’s going on inside, but I’m also crapping myself a little.

  Night must feel my anxiety because he reaches over and squeezes my hand.

  “There is a gown hanging behind that door,” Lyre tells me. “You can leave on your bra, but otherwise, you should be completely naked.”

  Night frowns. I see him bristle. He doesn’t like that idea. I clutch his arm and give him a reassuring smile before turning my attention back to Lyre. “One thing I need to check before we proceed…” He looks nervous all of a sudden. He rubs his face and shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

  “What’s up?” Night asks, looking even more on edge than before. I can feel that he is tense.

  “It’s up to you, but I recommend a transvaginal ultrasound at this stage of your pregnancy.” After Night’s bristling response to instructing me to undress, Lyre seems anxious about suggesting such an intimate procedure, but Night holds his reaction in check. Relieved, Lyre starts walking into a separate room that runs off to the side. We follow. I keep my arm threaded through Night’s. In the room is a slightly raised bed beside what looks like an ultrasound machine. “I want to be able to confirm this pregnancy is on track. At seven or eight weeks, we should be able to pick up a heartbeat.”

  “Really?” I clasp my hands together, beaming. My heart beats fast all over again.

  Night is smiling too, but he still looks tense. He’s still frowning.

  “I want to make sure there aren’t any multiples.”

  “What?” Night chuckles, some of the tension draining. “Can you imagine, Shannon?”

  It’s not something I even thought of. “Is that a possibility? I suppose it is,” I answer my own question. I’m not sure how I would feel about twins…or more.

  “It’s a small chance. It’s doubtful, but you never know. The only way to get a good look is if the sonographer does a transvaginal scan,” he picks up a long, thin device attached to a wire, which is, in turn, attached to the machine, “with this. It’s called a transducer and would need to be inserted into your vagina.”

  Night shifts his weight.

  “I found a fantastic sonographer to help us out with that. Her name is Lucy.”

  “Okay.” Night nods, then pulls in a breath. “What is a sono— Whatever her title is.”

  Lyre folds his arms. “That’s the person who operates the ultrasound machine. When Shannon comes back in a month, she’ll be far enough along to perform a regular abdominal ultrasound. I still recommend that Lucy stay on board. She comes highly recommended.”

  “Sounds good. Will she help us with birthing plans?” I ask, feeling like a bit of an idiot.

  “No, I can help you guys with that. Or we can bring in a midwife. We still have time, but you ultimately need to decide on things like pain relief and who you plan on having present at the birth.”

  “I’m going to be there,” Night growls.

  “That might not be such a good idea,” I blurt, out of the blue. “I’ve heard of guys being put off for life after witnessing the birth of their child. It’s just that,” I blush, “aside from a baby squeezing out of there, there’ll be amniotic fluid, blood, mucus… Anything I’m missing, doc?” I ask Lyre.

  He lifts his eyes in thought. “You might have a bowel movement.”

  I choke out a laugh, and Night looks horrified. I can’t say I blame him.

  “Come to think of it,” I say to Night, “I really don’t want you there.” I touch the side of his arm. “You’ll never look at me the same way.” I don’t mean a word of it, but I can’t help being self-conscious.

  “I will be there!” he snaps, sounding fierce. “And you’re right, I wouldn’t look at you the same way. You’d be the woman who birthed my child. I’ll only be able to look at you with admiration and respect and love, and fuck, Shan…” He trails off, overwhelmed, then presses his lips to mine, and for a moment, we forget about Lyre. We forget about everything but one another.

  The sound of someone clearing their throat brings us back, and we break the kiss. “Sorry,” I mutter sheepishly. It’s in moments like this that I realize I don’t need flowery words from Night. I don’t need any of that bull. He shows me every day how much he loves me. That he wants to spend forever with me.

  Night keeps his arm around me.

  “One other thing to mention,” Lyre adds, “is that shifter dragons have slightly shorter pregnancies than humans do. Meanwhile, our mothers had longer than ‘normal’ human pregnancies. They carried for an average of forty-four weeks. Who knows what will happen with the two of you. We run the risk of outing ourselves if we run into
such anomalies.”

  “What other anomalies could there be?” I ask, watching as he mulls it over.

  “That’s the problem. There’s no telling,” Lyre says. “The further this pregnancy progresses, the more apparent they could become.”

  Night’s eyes soften. “I’m so glad you have healing powers.” He looks at Lyre. “You’ll be able to help out if…” He doesn’t finish the sentence. “You’ll keep Shannon safe. If anything happens to my girl…” He pulls me close, looking me in the eyes as he says it.

  “I’ll be fine,” I say. “It’s the baby. Lyre needs to…”

  Night cups my cheeks for a moment. “He’ll keep both of you safe.”

  “I definitely will. I’m going to call in the sonographer now,” Lyre asks. “You can go and change, Shannon.”

  I nod.

  I’m worried!

  It’s completely irrational. I realize that, but I can’t help it. I need to try to keep my emotions under control. They’re not helping anything.

  I’m so glad we have Lyre in our corner. We need him now more than ever. He’ll keep Shannon healthy. If anyone can bring our baby safely into this world, it’s him.

  I wonder who the sonographer is.

  “Being nervous and unsure is perfectly understandable,” Lyre says, leaning against the desk. “You need to know that I’ll take good care of your family, Night.” Lyre widens his eyes, giving a small headshake. “I honestly never thought I’d be saying those words in the same sentence. Night and family. It’s good to see you happy.” He gives me a light slap on the side of the arm. “Bolt will come around.”

  I feel a sting. I shake my head. “I don’t think so. He won’t take me calls or reply to my texts.”

  “Give him time.”

  I nod. “Yeah, you’re right.” I need to back off. It’s not something I’m good at. I can be like a dog with a bone sometimes. It’s a few more minutes before Shannon comes out. It takes everything in me to stop from going over to her when I see her in the green gown. She looks small and fragile. So beautiful. The gown comes down to just above her knees, and she’s totally covered.

  She throws me a sweet smile. I can see how nervous she is by how she is wringing her hands.

  I go over to reassure her.

  “Let’s weigh you while we wait for Lucy,” Lyre says, gesturing to a scale. Shannon steps on, and Lyre writes her weight in the file. “You can take a seat, over there.” He nods at the bed.

  Next, he puts a cuff on her arm. “I need your blood pressure, as well. This is going to inflate,” he explains as he works. Before long, the machine beeps, and Lyre writes down the findings. “That’s great,” he says.

  He’s about to remove the cuff when there is a knock. “Can I come in?” someone shouts.

  “Yes,” Lyre responds. “Perfect timing,” he adds, removing the cuff. “This is your sonographer, Lucy.”

  A woman walks in. She looks like she is not a day over sixteen. “I know I look young.” She smiles. “I qualified five years ago. I just have good genes,” she quips, obviously accustomed to people’s reaction.

  “Good to meet you,” Shannon says. I nod and attempt a smile.

  Lyre removes the cuff from Shannon’s arm. The Velcro makes a tearing noise.

  “Okay,” Lucy says. “Are you guys ready?” Her eyes are bright. “I understand that this is your first scan?” She lifts her brows, addressing Shannon, who nods. “How exciting! You can lie down for me, Shannon.”

  “I’ll stand on this side.” Lyre gestures to the head of the bed.

  I’m glad he’s giving us room. I nod once and go to take Shannon’s hand.

  “I’ll put this over your lap,” Lucy says, placing a large towel over Shannon to protect her modesty.

  I’m grateful for the gesture. I focus on the screen, which is still black, and take big, deep breaths. Shannon is gripping my hand.

  Lyre and Lucy exchange a few words. Lucy talks to Shannon about what’s about to happen. I hear her doing something with the instruments.

  “Open your legs a little for me,” Lucy instructs. “That’s it. Ready?” she asks.

  “Yes,” Shannon replies, sounding tense.

  I squeeze her hand, wishing I could do something…anything.

  Then there’s an image on the screen. It’s blurry for a few seconds before it clears. “Oh, my god!” Shannon says. “Is that the baby?” she asks in awe.

  “Yep,” Lucy says.

  My heart beats wildly. The screen is mostly a snowy-white, with darker and lighter patches. There’s a distinct, dark oval with something in it. That ‘something’ is our child. “Looks like a blob.” I sound animated, saying the first thing that comes to my head.

  “Not a blob,” Shannon corrects me. “Our baby.”

  “At this stage, there isn’t a whole lot to see. That part of the…blob...” I can hear that Lucy’s smiling, “that’s a touch wider, is the head.”

  Shannon makes a little noise.

  I feel my throat close, and my chest tighten. “Are those legs?”

  “They are, indeed. Arm and leg buds have started sprouting. The baby is already forming a mouth and tongue, and has kidneys.”

  “Oh, my god!”

  I glance at Shannon. Her smile is radiant. Her eyes are shimmering with unshed tears. We lock eyes.

  “Baby is about the size of a blueberry. I will note the exact measurement for you, doctor,” she addresses Lyre. The screen changes. They talk about the cervix, placenta, and the uterus in general before the baby comes back into focus. Our forming child. I can barely breathe.

  “Everything looks good,” Lyre says.

  “Thank god!” Shannon sounds relieved.

  “It’s still early days, but I’m happy,” he goes on. “Would you like to hear the heartbeat?”

  “Yes,” we say in unison.

  When the sound comes over the speakers, I choke out a laugh. I can’t believe it. My baby. The heartbeat is strong and true. My eyes are stinging. I look over at Shannon and see that she is crying. I hug her awkwardly from beside the bed. “Everything looks good.” I pull back. “I mean, everything is good, right, Lyre?”

  Lyre is smiling. “All good.” He gives us two thumbs-up.

  Shannon laughs. “I’m so happy!” she says, wiping away tears.

  “Me too.” I sniff, holding back my own tears. “This is amazing.”

  The sonographer hands Shannon a black and white strip of pictures of the baby. “Thanks so much.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Yes, thank you,” I say, finally able to breathe. I can’t believe how nervous I was. I’m sure the rest of the pregnancy will go smoothly. Shannon has been through so much. I don’t want her to have to go through anything else. “Thank you,” I turn to Lyre, “I’m glad you’re here and a part of this.”

  He smiles and nods once.

  Lucy pulls off her latex gloves, throwing them in the bin. She’s telling Lyre that she’ll email him the images for his records. Then we say our goodbyes, and she leaves.

  Lyre is smiling. “Unless there are any problems or concerns, I want to see you back in a month. I’ll schedule for you to have bloodwork done, Shannon.” He puts up a hand before either one of us can say anything. “It’s routine. We’ll check for things such as your Rh factor, for anemia, and for various other things. It’s nothing to worry about.”

  I have no idea what a Rh factor is, but I don’t ask.

  “Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

  When Shannon doesn’t reply, I step forward. I do have something on my mind. “Is sex okay? I wouldn’t want to do anything that might hurt the baby.” It’s something that’s been worrying me. I Googled it and got mixed messages.

  “Night…” Shannon widens her eyes at me to tell me to be quiet. “This isn’t something we need to discuss with Lyre.”

  “Actually, it’s a question many expectant fathers – and mothers – have.” Lyre responds. I could kiss him.
/>   “Can we carry on like we normally would?” I ask. “We have a healthy sex life. Things can get…hot and heavy. They can get fairly… Rough is probably the wrong word to use. Are multiple orgasms okay? Can we—”

  Shannon covers her face and groans, clearly mortified. Humans can be so touchy.

  “What?” I ask. “It’s important. I’m seriously fucking attracted to you. Almost more than before, which is insane since—”

  “Night!” she yells. “TMI!”

  Lyre chuckles. “As long as you feel comfortable at all times, Shannon. That’s the most important thing.”

  I chuckle. “Comfortable isn’t the right word, Lyre. I hope the women you sometimes entertain feel a whole lot more than ‘comfortable’ when you’re with them.”

  “Night!” Shannon exclaims again, still looking mortified. Her face is bright red.

  I grin.

  “You know what I mean, asshole,” Lyre throws back at me before turning back to Shannon. “Listen to your body, Shannon. If it feels good, it’s fine. You’ll know if things need to be dialed back. Sex is absolutely fine. As long as everything is on track, it’s even encouraged. It releases endorphins.”

  “That’s great news.” I wasn’t exaggerating when I said my attraction to Shannon had increased.

  She nods, her face burning up, which is incredibly cute.

  “Okay, then,” Lyre says. “Anything else?”

  We both shake our heads.

  “You’d better get changed, Shannon. Dr. Flanagan will be here any second.” He looks at his watch. “Call me anytime and about anything.”

  “Thank you.” My girl is beaming. She’s looking at the printout.

  “Our little, blobby baby,” I murmur, feeling my heart swell.

  She turns to smile at me. Then she hands me the printout and heads for the changing rooms. I look at the printout. All I want to do is snap a pic and send it to Bolt. I even take out my phone. We share everything. He’s my best fucking friend. I think about Lyre’s advice to give Bolt space and put my phone in my pocket. I’ve never been happier than I am right now, and yet there’s this void.