Page 33 of Miles's Pact
"Five of them. Veron hatched a few months ago, so they're older than the rest."
"They?" Duckie asked, curious, and I jumped in to explain.
"Dragons aren’t born with a physical sex. When Veron grows up, they might or might not identify with a binary gender, but until then, their pronouns are they/them."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Duckie said, and I wondered what other things he hadn't gotten a chance to learn about after being separated from his family and the supe world. I'd learned most of what I knew after our dads adopted us, so I could relate to him on some level.
"I'd like to see them. Would their parents mind?"
"Nah. They're family. Cam has already texted me about a billion times demanding we come see them," Mateo said with a chuckle, and I smiled. Cam was going to be one hell of a big brother. He had been one for us all these years, after all, so he already had some practice.
"You two go ahead. I have an errand to run first. I'll meet you there," I said, and Mateo shot me a curious look, then nodded, before turning his attention to our mate.
"It's not too far from here. Do you wanna walk or fly?"
Duckie thought about it for a moment, then said, "Walk," and I assumed he didn't want to show up naked to Raiden's house for the very first time.
Duckie
Dragon babies were freaking adorable.
They were all bare skin with the barest hint of a metallic shine and not much else. Veron was bigger than the rest of their siblings, but all five of them were curled up together in a large wicker basket that had been transformed into a cozy nest.
The younger dragons still had their eyes closed, but Veron watched us carefully with pale gray eyes similar to one of Cam's dads, Raiden.
I'd gotten the short version of Cam's parents' love story—how Raiden was the only original dragon, and how Cam was his stepson and had become a dragon after he and his bio dad, William, joined Raiden's hoard—from Cam, and it sounded like something out of a fairytale.
"We've got snacks!" William called from the other room, and Cam jumped up, giving me a grin.
"You hungry?"
Mateo had drifted away with his older brother at some point, and it was me and Cam in the bedroom-turned-nursery.
Cam was only a few years younger than me, and yet his cheerful nature made him seem a lot younger. He reminded me of Mateo, and I wondered how much influence he'd had onMateo growing up. They seemed pretty close, while Miles was more like his older brother, Micah.
"I could eat," I agreed after a moment, and he grinned.
After giving Veron's head a soft brush, I followed Cam out of the nursery and into the living room, where the coffee table was laden with all kinds of snacks, most of them things I hadn't eaten in years.
"Hey." I glanced away from the food to find Miles and wondered how I hadn't noticed him. I was getting good at sensing when one or both of my mates were close by, though I wasn't perfect yet.
"Hey." I smiled, then claimed the empty spot beside him as my belly fizzled with nerves. I hadn't felt this nervous around Miles in my duck form, but every reaction felt heightened in this form, like I was feeling the full effect of my emotions for the very first time.
"Here," Miles said, and I glanced down to find him holding out a phone much like his.
"Um."
"I've added your mom's number, as well as Mat and mine, our parents', and some of the other clan members to start with."
"Is this for me?"
"Yep. You should be able to contact your mom or anyone else whenever you want," he said with a shrug, and I took the phone from him with some caution, touching the screen.
The homepage had a swirly, colorful display, and it was pretty easy to navigate, since Alex and Mateo had shown me various things on their devices, and watching them use their phones and tablets had taught me almost everything I needed to know.
"Thank you," I said, my voice getting drowned out by something Cam said to Mateo. Miles heard me, though, because he shot me a warm look and a nod before turning to the others and giving me a moment to gather myself.
We spent a few hours with Cam and his family—the Hawthornes, I'd learned—and I found it easy to relax around them. They were some of the nicest people I'd ever come across, and it was clear to me that they considered Miles, Mateo, and Micah a part of their family, and that the feeling was mutual. I wondered if I'd share the same closeness with them one day.
