“Ah! Not so hard babe. Goddess!” Dominic pulled his hand back a minute.
“Sorry baby. I don’t know my own strength at times.” And he didn’t. Considering half of his body was already solid rock and the rest of it was getting there, it wasn’t a mystery as to why his playfulness hurt his mate. He was probably ten times stronger as a pregnant Gargoyle but still vulnerable.
“Yeah you do. Doc, you wanna explain what happens to my lover again when the baby comes?”
“We shift to solid rock. As you can see, from the waist down, his human parts have already become hard.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s hard.” Renard laughed. He grimaced when his hand started to change in front of his eyes.
“Not now, sweetie.” Dominic said, patting his shoulder. “Even though I gotta say…”
Doctor Erickson held up his hands. “Hey, hey, enough you two. I’d rather not hear about your bedroom adventures.”
“Hah! Aw Doc. Since when did you become a prude?”
“I’m not. I’ve got six littles of my own, but I still don’t wish to hear it.”
Renard nodded. “Ah, okay, well, I’m not sorry. Gotta keep the humor going.”
“Yeah. Sitting here, watching him turn like this gives me the creeps.” Dominic complained.
“Well, you’ll have to get used to it. He’s gonna do it a lot and when the baby is ready to appear, he’ll change completely. It’s how we handle our birth.”
“It’s fine. My kind have assbabies, so we don’t have to compare whose method is better.”
Renard chuckled and held his middle. “I still can’t believe that either. That has to be uncomfortable as hell!”
“It is, but I’d still go through it so you won’t have to endure this again.”
“Babe, it’s fine. No question, it’s uncomfortable, but I’d do it a million times for you and our family.”
“Aww. That’s so sweet. Be prepared Dominic, because we gargoyles are fertile creatures. The more you have sex and knot him, the more chances that he’ll get pregnant. Unless you’d rather use birth control.” Doctor Erickson smirked at both of them.
“Nah, we’re good.” Renard lifted Dominic’s hand to his lips while he peered into his blue eyes. “I want him to knot me each and every time we make love.”
Dominic forced a smile and nodded. He didn’t have a response.
“Baby? You’re in favor of that right?”
“I just hate seeing you in pain, that’s all.” Dominic leaned in and kissed him softly. “You’re everything to me and as much as I love knotting you, I hate the process of what you have to go through to have the baby.”
“It isn’t the worst thing, baby.” Renard winced from the baby’s kick. His skin tightened up every second.
“Shit. There goes your arm.” Dominic let it go and placed it at Renard’s side.
“It’s making it’s way up my chest.” Renard grimaced and gritted his teeth. He turned his head to face the wall in front of him. The doctors always recommended to lie straight, because transforming with your body parts curved might hamper the birth or cause pain afterwards. “Fuck it kinda hurts.”
“See? This is why I don’t want you to go through this. You’re changing colors and… dammit.” Dominic sounded worried.
“I…I know.” Renard closed his eyes and reopened them quickly. If he closed them too long, they’d stay that way until the baby was born. All the eye solution in the universe wouldn’t make them more comfortable. “Kiss me, baby bear. I… I think I’m going into labor now.”
“Oh Goddess. I hate this.” Dominic bent over and kissed his lips hard. “I fucking love you, Captain. We’re not going through this shit again. I don’t care what you say!”
“Ca…l…m down, baby.” Renard sensed his skin turning as he spoke. His throat was now fully incased in rock. “I love you too.” He said quickly and closed his mouth so it wouldn’t stay open.
“Shh… it’s okay, Dominic. He’s gonna be fine. All his and the babies vital signs are excellent. Very soon now you’re going to have a beautiful little one crying for you both.”
Dominic continued to wail on Renard’s shoulder, but he couldn’t move his arms or say anything to comfort him.
Despite the hardship this event had on his lover, Renard would go through it many more times to have as many babies as he wanted. Although he hadn’t thought of it before Dominic, he wished to have four children, an equal amount for them to play together.
Dominic
“How long does this go on?” Dominic griped, watching the stone cover Renard’s entire face.
“We don’t know. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, other times a couple of weeks.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Dominic snapped and rose from the chair, glaring at Doctor Erickson.
Erickson held up his hands. “Calm down, now. He’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think this could last a couple of weeks! We’ve already been in this ward that long and you’re telling me you have no idea when he’ll change?”
“No. Only Renard and the baby know. When you start seeing the cracks form around his midsection, almost like a human’s water breaking, you’ll know he’s ready to deliver.”
“What the flying fuck?” Dominic gripped his head and, huffing air in and out. If Doctor Erickson weren’t a friend of Renard’s, he’d tear this guy apart limb from limb.
“Now, now, don’t get hostile, Dominic. No need for violence.”
“Easy for you to say! You’re not watching your fucking mate turn to stone in front of your eyes.”
“But I have. Remember, I have six children?”
“And you went through this six times?”
“We both went through it three times a piece. Listen, I know this is hard for you not being a gargoyle, but it is one of the safest births I’ve studied. The little one won’t cause Renard any pain once it’s ready. Think of it like, I don’t know the food being ready after going through meal ready machine.”
“Not the fucking same, Doc. I’ll never get used to this shit.” Dominic spat.
“You’re gonna have to. Shifting to solid rock is part of our lives. Renard may do it when you’re at work, which is fine, but we also shift to heal any ailments. Our partners must understand how necessary it is.”
“I do, but… I… it’s fucking scary.” Dominic exhaled. Look, I’m sorry for snapping, but it’s quite a freaking shock to turn over and your lover is rock solid. That’s all.”
Doctor Erickson smiled. “I know, but just think of it as a healing process. You need to shift for your mental state and so does he.”
“True.” Dominic said, while he rubbed Renard’s stone arm.
Although the conversation calmed Dominic’s fears, he didn’t like this one bit. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before his baby and his mate would be human flesh once again.
* * * *
A full week had passed. Dominic was at wits end, still waiting for Renard to have the baby. The candles Renard had the hospital staff place had long gone out. Whimpsy brought fragrant flowers as a replacement, but they hadn’t calmed Dominic down. Very soon, Dominic would say to hell with this and ask the doctors to crack open the rock themselves.
“That’s not possible.” General Kirk said, speaking to him from across the room.
Dominic didn’t bother looking at his father-in-law. The general had been in the room with him and Renard for the past three sun lights, giving Dominic the evil eye and chastising him for complaining to medical staff. For once Dominic wished Renard and his father were still on the outs.
Dominic ran his hand through his hair. “Why? I mean, he’s rock. Why can’t they speed the process along by breaking it?”
“It endangers the baby.”
“How?”
“It stuns the birthing process. They will only do it in extreme emergencies. Since they’re fine, there’s no reason to speed the birthing along. Kirk turned to him and folded his arms.
“Calm down. The doctors assure us he and baby are well.”
“I get it, but I’m scared as hell that he’ll be stuck like this for a lot longer.”
“You silly bear, he’ll come out of it. My labor with Renard lasted almost three weeks.”
“Three? Erickson said for as long as two.” Dominic sneered.
“Erickson might be too young to know that births actually lasted longer than this. Also, he gave Renard medicine to speed up the process. We didn’t have that when I had him. We waited weeks, sometimes a couple of months many moons ago.”
“Ugh. This is…” Dominic got up from his chair and thrust his hands into his pockets. Worrying about Renard he’d barely slept or ate. He was afraid doing either would cause him to miss the birth of his first born.
“You need to get rest. I’ll keep watch over him.”
“I’m fine.” Dominic grabbed the cup of coffee Renard’s father brought earlier.
“It’s cold now. It might not help.” He laughed.
“It will. The caffeine high will keep me awake a little longer.”
“Mhmm. When you don’t need to be. When he finally does begin cracking, you’ll probably pass out from exhaustion.”
“No, I—”
“Shh.” Renard rushed over to the bed and pulled up the cover. “He’s cracking, Dominic!” He said with a smile.
“Seriously?” Dominic practically tripped trying to get over to Renard’s bedside. “Baby?”
“Hush. He still can’t hear you. Just watch this miracle, Dominic. It is why we gargoyles are the most mightiest beast in the universe.”
Dominic didn’t pay attention to Renard’s father’s grandstanding. He only wished to see his lover, finally walking up form his rock hard state with the baby alongside.
In seconds the cracks started breaking away from Renard’s flesh. Each piece of rock either fell helplessly on the bed or floor.
“Finally, ready hmm?” Erickson rushed in with two other medics. “Prepare the warm water as well as the blankets.
“How did they know he was ready?”
“The machines attached to his belly. Erickson has a monitor on his hip.”
“So, he could tell that the baby was ready, just not how long it would take?”
“Yes.” Both Erickson and the general spoke in unison.
“That just seems so silly, when someone should be able to develop a machine to tell us when the baby will be crowning.”
“This is how we tell.” General Kirk said.
“No but there should be something more.” Dominic said, then eyed his mate again. “Maybe I can come up with an idea after the baby’s a little older.”
“That would be good.” General Kirk commented, also observing the stone falling away from Renard’s body.
Undeniably, General Kirk’s statement about the gargoyles birth being an astonishing event was true. The medics worked around Dominic and Renard to clear the floor of the stone and Erickson continued to check on bother their vital signs.
“Almost ready.” Erickson placed his hand that was covered with something that resembled an oven mitt atop Renard’s stomach. “Pressure in the midsection dropping.” Erickson glanced at Dominic. “Put your hand on his stomach.”
Dominic did, gently and continued to eye his lover. After only a few seconds, he noticed Renard’s chest rising and falling. Right after, the stone attached to his side fell away, revealing another being.
“Good goddess!” Dominic gasped, not believing what he was seeing. The baby that was in Renard’s stomach was no longer there. Instead, it lay nestled against his side, sucking his thumb.
“Look at that.” Erickson removed the baby from Renard’s arm and held it up. “It’s a boy!”
The medics in the room cheered as did Renard’s father.
“Wow, that… that was amazing.” Dominic couldn’t help but be stunned. “Can I hold him?”
“Yes, as soon as we detach, bathe, and check his vitals.” After he cut the cord running from Renard’s navel to the baby’s, Erickson rushed the baby over to the side where other medics waited to tend to him.
The general followed.
“Congrats, baby. We’ve gotta boy.” Dominic continued holding his hand which had finally transformed from stone to flesh.
The rock around Dominic’s face fell away and he shook his head. “Fuck.”
Dominic laughed with tears in his eyes and kissed his lover. “I missed you, babe.”
“Missed you too. Where’s our baby?”
“They’re bathing and checking him now.”
“It’s a boy?” Renard’s eyes widened. The lump in his throat soon disappeared.
“Yeah, babes. A gorgeous baby boy.” Dominic kissed him again and rubbed his head.
“And here he is.” General Kirk walked over with the child and placed it in Dominic’s arms. “Good job, both of you. He’s gorgeous and strong.”
Dominic looked down at his son, still not able to control his emotions. The tanned being with a full head of curly brown hair and blue eyes, reached out for him. “Hey little guy.” He leaned over the bed, showing him to Renard. “Baby, what should we name him?”
“Can we name him Wyatt?” Renard said with a grin.
“How’s Wyatt Denman?”
“Perfect.” Renard said, raising his arms to take the boy.
“Very.” Dominic pressed his lips to Renard’s head, then to his baby boy’s. “You’re a really lucky boy to have such awesome grandparents.”
“And parents.” General Kirk added. “I’m proud of you son. Very happy for the both of you.”
“Aww. That’s what I like to see.” Erickson grinned at all of them, while the other medics continued cleaning.
“Let’s leave the new parents alone, Erickson. I’ll see you both later on.” General Kirk patted Erickson’s back, leading him out the room.
Dominic watched the two of them leave and shook his head. “Wow. That was a moment.”
“What, babe?”
“The birth. One minute I’m complaining about how long it takes and the next you start… well hatching.”
Renard chuckled. “That’s basically what happens, yeah. I can’t wait to get him home.”
“Same here. The nursery is all done, too. Whimpsy should be here any minute since I sent him a message saying the baby was here.”
“Mhmm. Well, before he comes, I need a kiss, because just in case I don’t wanna stop, I don’t want to get caught.”
“Oh really?” Dominic scooted on the bed next to Renard, and immediately pressed his mouth atop his mates. As soon as they made contact, Dominic’s breath hitched, and his pants became uncomfortably tight. He threw his hands around Renard’s shoulders, and kissed him passionately.
“Ooh Goddess. Isn’t that what got you guys in this predicament to begin with? Calm down the face eating in front of the little one.”
Dominic and Renard laughed, then eyed Jared and Whimpsy coming in with balloons.
Whimpsy wrestled Wyatt out of Renard’s arms and held it close. “He’s lovely. Thank goodness he took Dominic’s good looks and not yours, Renard.” Whimpsy joked.
“Haha.” Renard shook his head. “Well, so much for time alone.” Renard said, planting a quick kiss on Dominic’s lips.
Dominic smirked and moved in closer to Renard. “Don’t worry. Once we get out of here, we’ll be able to make up for it.”
“And get ready to make another.” Renard whispered in his ear and kissed it.
“Nah, let’s wait a little while…unless you want me to be the carrier.” Dominic waggled his eyebrows.
“Oh, that can be arranged baby bear. Just you wait.” Renard grabbed Dominic again, hugging him close. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Dominic returned the gesture, while watching Whimpsy and Jared fuss over his newborn. Though he wasn’t initially ready for the first child, he absolutely wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to have a second.
Just not now. Not when they had
their lives and the entire universe ahead of them.
Author’s Personal Note
In June of 2011, my cousin Scottie Collins took his own life. After his death, my uncle informed me he did it because he was gay and felt he had no one to turn to. When I learned this, my writing took on a whole new meaning. It was no longer about writing hot, sexy stories or making lots of money. It was about letting people know they could be happy with who they are and be loved for it.
One thing I stress in every book is that it’s okay to be different, and you’re never alone. If no one understands, or you feel you need some help, don’t hesitate to ask. Reach out to your local GLBTQIA+ organizations to talk to someone about how you feel. Here is a short list of organizations that can help with your feelings as well as supporting you through life.
The Trevor Project
It Gets Better
Point Foundation
GLAAD
GLBT Hotline
Task Force
Want more MPREG from RM Durand?
Then take a look at these titles! Click on each one to preview the Amazon page. All books are in Kindle Unlimited.
Breakable Faith
Renewed Faith
Unforgettable Faith
Death’s Angel
Taken and Crowned
Michael Mandrake Bio
Michael Mandrake writes romance with an edge. A fictional character who enjoys thrilling people with complex worlds, filled with intense feelings, and steamy love scenes.
To find out more please visit
Michael Mandrake at Wordpress
Michael Mandrake on Facebook
Michael Mandrake on Bookbub
As Michael Mandrake
Books With Evernight Publishing
Reconnection
Love at the Right Tempo with Remmy Duchene
Books With Triad Literary
My Demon, My Vampire
Mon Frere, My True Love N’awlins Exotica Paranormal Book #1
Mon Amour, Forever More N’awlins Exotica Paranormal Book #2
Dominic's Star Page 19