“Is she pregnant yet?”
Cooper heard all of the whisperings, but he was happy that his mate didn’t have dragon hearing. Some of the comments didn’t exactly make the best impressions. Not that the dragons were mean or disappointed, but they didn’t have any practice at mincing their words to keep from hurting others.
Alice wasn’t sensitive, but Cooper didn’t want anything leading her away from him. If his dragons kept on whispering all kinds of things, one of them was bound to say the wrong thing.
“Okay, okay, enough of your lip, all of you,” Cooper called out protectively.
“Introduce us,” a young dragon hollered, earning himself a glare from Cooper and a smile from Alice, who shrugged when Cooper gave her a questioning look.
“I’m new, and they’re excited. It’s totally normal.”
“Dawson thunder, this is your Alpha Mate, my wife, Alice Dawson.”
Cooper watched as the whole of the gathered dragons bowed their heads to their alpha mate in a show of acceptance and fealty. Once that bit of dragon protocol was done, the crowd dispersed, more excited about the barbecue than gawking at him and his new bride.
The honor of the gathering was to welcome Alice into the thunder, and it went well. As always, Cooper could rely on John to plan thunder events. Under John’s direction, they were flawlessly organized, and clean-up was a breeze.
That night was no different. As they mingled before and after dinner, Cooper introduced Alice to every single dragon in the thunder. For a witch who spent most of her life on the run and alone, scrapping for a living with the odd witch job, she took to the big loud family like she was born to it.
Cooper smiled at the thought. Yup. His Alice, his wife, his mate. Somehow, she found herself in his life. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. If it wasn’t for Hellscape Holiday, they would never have met. He sure was happy they had because Cooper knew Alice was his mate, the love of his life. And finally, she had come home to him.
SEVENTEEN
ALICE
“Miss Alice, Miss Alice,” Hayley, one of the young girls in the thunder and her friend’s daughter, waved her little hands around wildly as she ran toward Alice.
The witch laughed at the child’s antics. Alice was used to Hayley’s excited nature, but it came at a bit of a cost. “Be careful, Hayley. You’ll trip!” The warning came just in time, and Hayley hopped up the sidewalk curb, narrowly escaping a nasty tumble.
“I knew I wouldn’t fall,” Hayley assured Alice. “Besides, one day, I’m gonna have wings.”
Alice laughed. “That’s right. That’s exciting, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah!” Hayley poked the little baby bump that was just becoming visible. “Is your baby going to have wings? Or will it be a witch like you?”
“We won’t know until later, but I have a wish. Would you like to know what it is?”
Hayley nodded. “I won’t tell, I promise. I’m a great secret keeper.”
“I know, honey. You’re a sweet girl.”
“Tell me,” the child insisted.
“My wish is that the baby has wingsandmagic.”
The girl’s eyes went wild. “A dragonwithmagic? Whoa! That’s so cool.”
“Sorry about that, Alice,” Kim, Hayley’s mom, said, joining them. “You just love chatting away with our alpha mate, don’t you, little girl?”
Hayley blushed, but she shrugged. “I don’t think that it’s chatting. I like to say hi. Didn’t you say it’s the polite thing to do?”
The two women laughed together. “I hope your little one has a little bit less energy than my Hayley.”
Alice rubbed her belly and smiled. She wouldn’t mind a kid like Hayley. The energetic child was so delightful, but Alice did understand she was basking in the glow of new motherhood. Maybe after a few sleepless nights, she would agree with Kim.
“Are you still on for dinner next Friday?” Kim asked.
“Absolutely. I can’t wait.”