Chapter 46: Parental Urges

[Ona].

On our way back to the palace, I informed Daax of the Elf King's wish to have us both meet with him in the tent to discuss what was happening with Carnelia and Primus and to also plan the next steps moving forward as allies.

"No, absolutely not, no," he rumbles as we land at the palace.

Orion rushes to soothe his cousins as his father continues to rage. Just a moment ago he was the voice of reason when dealing with my hot temper, and now he is elevated, his anger near exploding at just the simple mention of his uncle's name.

Orion shushes us, as he frantically feeds and cuddles each of his cousins, Daax excuses himself, taking a moment to cool down outside while I watch our son with the little ones, doing the best he can with so many to care for.

Grabbing a few bottles and a towel from the shelf, I walk over to the nest. Orion had given up on giving them individual attention and took a seat in the middle where he struggled to hold four baby dragons at the same time. It's funny, watching this drake who is barely more than a boy himself, giving in to his paternal instincts as he lets his baby cousins crawl all over him.

It's such a sweet scene. I see his future, as a father in the center of a nest much like this one, giving in as his sons and daughters find happiness in his arms while his wife and mate rest next to him, surrounded in bliss.

He deserves to have a future like that. A mother could wish nothing less for her children.

Sitting down next to him, I take a few of the younglings into my arms and ease his burden. They curl up around us, cooing and purring with joy, as their lengthening arms and legs, still chubby with baby fat, curl up around us. As Orion and I lay back onto the cushions within their nest, the little ones take their bottles and rest their heads on our chests and legs and arms, anywhere warm and soft for them to perch. They smell so fresh and new, so warm and alive, you'd never know that just a couple of weeks before they were near death.

"Mother," his voice is shaking. "I need to ask you something."

"First," I place a hand on his wrist. "Let me talk and I promise to listen to whatever it is you need to ask."

He nods.

Sighing, I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry for running off the way I did. I knew that you were going to give into your bond, I just hoped to have more time," I confessed. "I wanted to just let you know that I'm willing to put our family's history aside and welcome your mate into our home."

Orion gasps.

"I also would love the opportunity to apologize to your mate. I have not been fair to her. As your fated and chosen mate, she deserved an opportunity to get to know us before your mating and I took that opportunity from you both with my poor behavior. I hope you both can forgive me and allow me an opportunity to be a part of your future lives together," I squeeze his wrist. "I didn't get a chance to watch you grow up, but I'm glad to see that my mother did such a wonderful job raising you. You've grown into a responsible young drake and I am honored and proud to see how you are standing up for your mate."

"Mother, I..."

"And I hope that you'll let me throw you a proper wedding," I add. "I would like to give you the chance to honor her before there is any chance you might have a clutch and I..."

"About that, Mother," Orion interrupts. I turn my head and see his eyes are aglow with fear. "Kora visited today."

"Please tell me you two didn't break up over my behavior," I frown, wondering why my son's eyes are so full of fear. "Did you realize she is part Kraken?"

I remember how she soothed Carnelia with her voice and nodded. "I had an inkling."

"Do you know anything about Kraken reproduction, about their clutches?"

Krakens are remarkable dragons. I encountered several on my adventures. They are especially useful when a drakaina wants to end an unwanted clutch and...

He can't mean that. Anything but that. "Orion, are you talking about their ability to cull?" My heart is racing. What did I do? "Did she cull your clutch?"

"No," he takes a deep breath, his body shaking. "But she was willing to. She thought I wouldn't want her just because, you know."

"So she's..."

"Carrying our first clutch," a tear rolls down his face. "Yes. She said she felt it as soon as her eggs were fertilized. Mother," he swallows. "I'm so afraid. What if I'm a terrible father? I have no idea what I'm doing and..."

"Look at yourself right now," I laugh as another one of his cousins drops back to sleep, snuggled into his side. "You are a natural at this. Much better around the younglings than I ever was. You are going to do just fine. And you will have your family to help you. That is," I pause, inhaling slowly, "If you and Juliana are okay with having me in their lives. I'll have my hands full with your little brothers and sisters, but I still want to be their grandmother. It'll be strange," I laugh. "I never thought that my son and I would be raising our children together."

He chuckles a bit at that as well. "What'll be stranger is that both clutches will have the same last names."

We both pause as we think about that. It is traditional for the mother's family name to come before the father's as a way to identify their clutches. Juliana Korallis Majere and Orion Majere Daax will have children with the surname Majere Daax, just like their father. As will my new offspring.

"About that," I take a moment to think. "You two are very closely related. It isn't unheard of in royal families to mix so closely, and if you two weren't such different types of dragons, I might be a bit more concerned but, as soon as she lays, we should probably check your eggs for abnormalities and..."

"I know," he shakes his head. "I didn't expect to fall in love with my cousin."

"Half-cousin," I remind him, that one step of separation most likely will be his saving grace. They share a grandfather, but not a grandmother, thank the gods.

By the time Daax has returned from cooling off, Orion and I have reconnected and strengthened our bond. "Did you tell him yet?" I ask Orion. He shakes his head and then tells his father the news.

I watch as the realization that he is about to be a father and a grandfather within weeks of each other and he starts laughing, loudly enough to wake some of the little ones, who thankfully just yawn and curl back up to me.

"We're going to have a very full house!" he marvels, looking at all the little ones curled up next to us. "Maybe we should just set up some type of royal academy just to serve the House Majere Daax and save money on tutors." He takes a youngling in his lap as he sits down in the nest with us. "That's a lot of babies."

"Did you know that Kraken drakaina lay more eggs than any other type," Orion decides to inform us at this moment. "As many as twenty."

"Twenty!" his father gasps. I pat my husband on the back, keeping him from choking. He looks both happy and proud but partly mortified all at the same time. "Damn, son, you sure know how to pick them. And I thought my family were big breeders." He gestures towards his niece's clutch laughing. 8 babies are practically unheard of among dragons, but 20 is obscene.

"Don't worry," he smirks, "They aren't all viable. Apparently, I'm supposed to defend my clutch in some battle to the death in the depths of the ocean against potential predators and..."

He pauses in his story once he realizes that both his father and I are staring at him, our mouths open wide. Orion laughs and the sound is so carefree I feel the last vestiges of fear fall away.

We're going to be okay.

We just need to save the rest of our family.

Looking over at my husband, his eyes shining with laughter, I finally ask, "Are you ready to go face your uncle?"

"Not really," he answers honestly. "But it's time."

"Do you think you can watch them all for us while we're away?"

Orion begs to take a shower first and get a bite to eat and we laugh. Despite all our conversation about the gravity of his evening, we completely forgot that he must be hungry, tired, and in need of a shower.

"Wake us up when you are ready," I curl up next to my husband as the babies reposition themselves within our arms.

The warm sun feels amazing on our scales as we lay, side by side, our fingers touching as we both relax in the comfort of family.

"We have a good son," I finally say aloud. "Better than I deserve."

"Shhh, Ona." He squeezes my hand. "Just enjoy this moment. You never know when this might end."

And I do. Closing my eyes, I let sleep take me as I listen to the sounds of my nieces and nephews' gentle snores.

Our peace is shattered not by the shaking of our son, his face worried as it hangs above us, but by the sound of the alarm ringing through the palace.

"The Faire is on fire," a nurse shouts as she scoops the baby's things in her arms. "Hurry Your Majesty, we need to get the babies to safety."