Tasha’s POV:

I hummed and gently nuzzled the two eggs that were nestled together on the soft sand. Small movements from within caused both of them to rock, which was one of several signs that they were getting close to hatching.

I curled around them in the shallow indentation and lowered my chin onto the warm sand. It wasn’t much of a nest, but it was what they needed. Despite the urge to cover the eggs with my wing, I resisted; they needed the warmth from the heat lamp above more than extra protection.

My head faced the opening of the small dome hut that Taureen had built. I could hear the light clinking of a knife on a cutting board as he diced up fruit for Keegan and me.

My mate, Keegan, was out with Aeria as they inspected incoming spaceships. It was only lunchtime, but they would be coming back soon. He was also getting more temperamental as the eggs got closer to hatching, so his shifts had been shortened. I had been taken off the work rotation as soon as I had started digging out the nest.

I hadn’t realized just how much all the instincts and hormones would affect me during the nesting phase. The drive to protect the nest was strong, and even my normally timid mate discovered that he had a fierce side hidden somewhere underneath those silver scales of his.

I could barely leave the room without constantly worrying, even if Keegan and Aeria were guarding the nest. The nest was inside the house, so it wasn’t as if anyone could get inside without it sending an alert to Taureen’s wrist comm. It was also on a corner end table, so I didn’t have to worry about bugs or anything on the floor.

With a gusty sigh, I got to my feet and left the hut. Hovering wasn’t going to make them hatch any faster. The entrance was small enough that I had to tightly fold my wings to fit through, which was exactly the way I wanted it.

Spreading my wings in a stretch, I looked back at the hut that looked like a tree stump. The entrance was close to the wall, so anyone entering the room wouldn’t be able to see the red light from the small heat lamp inside, nor the two small, pearly white eggs resting on the sand.

On the same end table, there was a second tray of sand with a larger heat lamp where Keegan and I could lay while keeping close to the nest. I curled up underneath the heat lamp and spread my wings to catch the warmth.

Keegan’s soft mindvoice entered my mind. “We’re almost there.”

He had included Taureen in the telepathic heads-up, so I didn’t have to relay the information. While I waited for them to arrive, I rested my chin on the edge of the sand tray facing the hallway. I couldn’t see the door from this corner of the living room, but I didn’t want to leave the nest just yet. 

The sound of the door quietly opening made me sit up with my wings half-unfurled. Aeria walked into the room with Keegan on her shoulder. He didn’t even wait for her to remove his harness before he jumped into the air and flew toward me with a joyful cry. My own wings bit into the air as they sent me forward to greet him. Our wings brushed as we spun around one another in a complex acrobatic greeting, happy to see each other again.

It felt good to stretch my muscles and give my wings a bit of exercise. I hadn’t gone out much lately, simply too paranoid that something could happen while I was gone.

We settled on the end table, and Aeria approached once we folded our wings.

She smiled at me as she removed Keegan’s harness. “How is your day going so far, Tasha?”

I snorted faintly, still somewhat irritated with my own overprotective instincts. I let her feel how my dragonet motherly hormones were having a heyday with my emotions as I replied,“I’m doing well enough, but these eggs had better hatch soon or guests won’t even be able to stop by.”

Taureen came out of the kitchen with two bowls of mixed fruit. “Are you sure that having them hatch is going to help? Personally, I think that having nestlings is only going to amplify your protectiveness.”

Keegan chimed in, “I think Taureen is right. I spoke with Drake and Charlotte, and they said that the intense protectiveness doesn’t really start to fade until after the little ones are able to fly.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I hope not,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I feel like shredding something, and we already have to replace the scratching post.”

Aeria glanced over at the piece of wood that had practically been reduced to shavings. “You really did a number on that log. Tkael and Soranto are bringing a replacement over tonight.” She moved her gaze to me and smiled. “I think Soranto is hoping you’ll let him into the house if he comes bearing gifts.”

Keegan snickered, clearly remembering when Soranto had tried to enter the living room the other day, only for me to immediately dive-bomb him.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You were barely a wingbeat behind me.”

He grinned unrepentantly; neither of us were willing to let anyone other than Taureen or Aeria into the living room at this point. Keegan had mostly bonded with Aeria, but he didn’t have a problem accompanying Taureen and me while we inspected incoming spaceships for the troublesome—and detested—crawlers and sicora.

Taureen put the two bowls on the edge of the table before sitting on the couch. Aeria sat on the chair on the other side of the end table, picking the closest seat available.

I nibbled on a piece of strawberry as Keegan investigated his own bowl. Taureen put a few gadgets on the edge of the end table, and I flattened my ear tufts in dislike.

“Mind if I weigh and scan the eggs again?”

Even though we did this every day, he knew I was touchy about the eggs.

I shook myself hard until my scales tinkled, but still told him, “Go ahead...”

I watched as Taureen lifted the fake stump and set it to the side, revealing the two eggs in the sandy depression. I promptly forgot about my lunch and walked to the edge of the now-exposed nest, watching as Taureen reached over and gently picked up one of the eggs.

My eyes followed it as he put it on the scale and noted its weight. Next, he picked up the scanner and held it over the egg, producing an image of a tiny, curled-up dragonet on the screen. The two eggs had developed a lot over the last three weeks, and I was pretty sure they would hatch in the next day or so.

I shifted my weight anxiously; the images the scanner produced may have been interesting, but all I wanted to do was hide the eggs from any prying eyes.

Apparently, I was going to be one of those paranoid mothers...

Taureen was keeping detailed notes and records of the scans and measurements. The Kymari Elders weren’t aware of our intelligence and wanted him to track every detail since we were the first pair of dragonets to nest in captivity. 

Even though it had been five years since Taureen had patched up my wing, there were only two other dragonet pairs in the care of the Kymari. A dozen other individuals had chosen to leave the wild to hunt sicora and crawlers with a Kymari handler, but none of the mated pairs had decided to raise a family.

Taureen returned the egg to the warm sand and picked up the other one with surprising care and gentleness. The egg almost disappeared in his large hand. It wasn’t much bigger than my head, so it seemed particularly tiny and fragile in the hand of a ten-foot-tall alien.

The Kymari weren’t the only ones keeping tabs on our growing family. The dragonets in the park were also requesting frequent updates. Most of them were not in favor of the idea, but we really wanted a family.

Keegan and I had debated for a couple of years about this. Our biggest concern was about what would happen to them since the majority of the Kymari were under the impression that we were just clever animals with a penchant for tracking deadly sicora and crawlers.

Taureen had made some careful inquiries, and word came back saying that any hatchlings would remain with us until they bonded to another Kymari, who would then become their handler.

Taureen had also promised that he would quietly arrange some sort of distraction to allow the youngsters to ‘escape’ if they wanted to go into the wild. They would have to hide for a few months, but those in the park had already agreed to protect and raise any who didn’t want to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

Most Kymari found it difficult to tell individual dragonets apart, so it wouldn’t be long before they couldn’t tell the rapidly growing youngster apart from the wild fledglings.

Keegan left his bowl of fruit to walk over and nuzzle me reassuringly, although I knew he wasn’t entirely happy about the eggs being touched either. I nuzzled my mate in return and turned my head to watch Taureen scan the second egg. 

The scanners were sophisticated enough that I knew I had both a son and a daughter on the way. I was relieved to see that they were developing properly. None of the dragonets had seen any deformities yet—and that was saying something considering that most of us hadn’t started out life as a miniature dragon.

That little detail was also something none of the Kymari were aware of, and we had no intention of telling them either. Our trusted handlers knew that most of the adult dragonet population had hatched in a human lab, but nothing before that, and they probably assumed our eggs had been stolen from our parents.

Our former human past was a historic detail known only to the dragonets. It would slowly disappear since it had no relevance to today’s world or to the new additions to the dragonet population.

Taureen placed the egg back in the nest and put the fake tree stump above them once more. I sighed and shook myself yet again as Keegan draped his wing over me sympathetically.

These kids were stressing me out, and they hadn’t even hatched yet.

* * *

The polished version of this story may be purchased on Amazon, Kobo, or B&N. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B089WGV7Z7/allbooks

The rough draft is left free for others to enjoy.