Pity on the one who comes between a mother and her eggs. If anyone, be it Wyk or Fyn, Dragonling or Draggy, attempts such a feat, their lives are forfeit to the mother.

This is Our Law.

~From the Dragonling Grimoire

Yeah. My fyn left me all alone.

It's normal, really. 

At least, that's what I told myself. Alma tried to reassure me that maybe my mate would come back, maybe he just couldn't find me, but after a while, we both silently gave up hope.

Now, I was in my room, staring at the two melon-sized eggs in wonder. They were a milky white, one stained the faintest of blue and the other pale gray, their shells flexible but unbreakable. It was impossible for them to be smashed unless a dragonling breathed fire directly on them. In fact, in six moon cycles, I would have to set them on fire so the hatchlings could push through.

Hatchlings.

The thought sent a thrill through me. It hadn't been too long ago that I'd hated the idea of being forced to raise children. Now I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do at this time. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was because of the chemicals my brain was producing to ensure I didn't abandon my offspring. Science aside, it was a pretty damn good feeling.

Several of the older wyks had been by to drop off blankets and pillows for the nest, and Garik had even brought me food when I needed it. Lord Edik hadn't bothered to stop by, but he had sent a letter telling me that I was removed from active duty until the eggs hatched. I was, of course, expected to take part in training still. Typical.

Speaking of training, I looked out my window to judge the sun position. Damn. Nearly time to go. I laid a hand against one of my eggs. "I'll be back soon," I whispered as if they could already understand me. Maybe they could.

Probably not.

I located my broadsword and attached it to my belt before double checking to make sure all the windows were locked, even though I already checked half a dozen times. Maternal instinct does that to you. Or paranoia.

After I extinguished the candles, I left my rooms - after triple checking that I locked the doors of course. Maternity was going to kill me. Or make me learn patience.... probably just kill me - and wandered through the complex. About sixty other wyks lived in my complex, along with their harems- excuse me, niches. Niche was the preferred term.

It's a harem, guys. No way to escape it.

My mind slowly wandered back to my fyn. No, I wasn't lovesick, not in the way some people were, but it still stung that he didn't even stick around to tell me his name or at least show me his human form. Now I was left wondering who exactly he was. His scales were the darkest black I'd ever seen, like a starless night sky. No way was he an Umny - no dragonling had skin that dark.

As I was walking, I tried to look at the fyns passing by. It couldn't be an Ina, so that left Moras, Ryns, and Liras. Plenty of fyns had black hair and black eyes, which was unfortunate for me. Liras could change their coloring, so that would be an absolute nightmare to try and figure out. I had wanted to get my hands on the records of who was out that night, but the officials refused. Dmitri gave some stupid excuse about privacy, but I had a distinct feeling it was because he didn't like me.

Before I knew it, I was at the training facility in the heart of the complex. It was full of various exercise equipment, from dumbbells to a rock wall. My training group consisted of two fyns and a wyk. The fyns - Reed and Mason - were decent enough to train with, but the wyk - Ashley - was a pompous brat who carried herself around like she was the queen of the world. So, per my habit of making friends, we didn't get along. At all.

Today our instructor was Kirill Ralov, some distant cousin of Dmitri. He spoke to us in slow, monotone words and short sentences. Clearly, the sharp mind of our leader didn't run in their family. Kirill probably wouldn't understand any words beyond two syllables, something our group particularly loved to take advantage of.

"Today we will climb the rocks." Kirill pointed as if we couldn't see the giant rock climbing wall literally right in front of us. "Pair up."

I immediately stepped over to Mason. "Team?" I asked with the friendliest - and flirtiest - smile I could muster. Behind him, Ashley gave me the most venomous glare I had ever seen. No, I wasn't particularly interested in Mason, but Ashley most definitely was.

Mason fell for it. "Of course." There was a slightly smug look in his eyes, which I felt a little thrill of pride over. My mate might not have wanted to stay, but at least some fyns still thought I was pretty.

I smiled at Mason again, taking his hand and slowly leading him to the wall. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and I could practically feel the hatred from Ashley halfway across the room.

A petty part of me wanted to kiss Mason just to see her reaction. 

Rock climbing was an absolute nightmare.

First of all, we couldn't shift. Lord Edik had this crazy idea about us being as fit and able in our human forms as we did in our shifted forms. For someone like me, who would rather be a dragon as much as I could and avoid my human side forever, it was quite annoying. 

Human muscles - or fat - didn't translate into your dragon side. That's how I maintained a physically perfect dragon and a sexy, curvy human form at the same time. At least I thought so, and the multitude of fyns' stares proved it right. Arrogant, maybe, but I worked hard on it. Oh, sure, my human side had plenty of muscles, but those were mostly just on my arms and legs. No core strength, which made climbing almost impossible.

By the time I'd finished, I was gasping like a dying fish on the ground.

Mason had to support me the entire way. He didn't seem to mind - most likely because he could grab my ass the entire way. By the end, we were laying against each other in a heap. Not an unfavorable position. Cute guys make the best pillows.

Of course, my fun was ruined by Lord Edik himself. He stormed into the training room with his daughter, Lady Mariya, and Dmitri at his side. I shrank back so neither of them noticed me. Thankfully, Lord Edik's anger was directed at Kirill and not me.

"Kirill Ralov. It seems we have a problem." Lord Edik said, his voice dripping with venom. I could learn a thing or two from him. "You are my daughter's mate, correct?" Whoa. I didn't see that coming. "So why do you think you can run around with cheap whores?"

I don't know who I felt sorrier for - Lady Mariya or Kirill. Lady Mariya was stuck with a dim-witted guy like Kirill, but Kirill himself was stuck with the biggest bitch in the world.

Lady Mariya made me look humble. Sure, she was pretty. But she was also loud and short-tempered, not to mention spoiled. I'd seen more than a few wyks get punished for their snide remarks towards her, and I'd nearly got caught myself.

Long story short, Lady Mariya was a walking, talking headache.

Kirill stared blankly at Lord Edik. "She's my mate. Not my wife." The rage on our Lord's face was hilarious. His face was a dark purple and veins were popping out of his neck and temples. Dmitri at his side looked like he wanted to laugh, but stayed silent.

"He looks like an eggplant," Mason whispered in my ear and I had to clench my teeth so I didn't laugh. "I didn't realize a dragonling's face could turn that color. Hey now," he continued teasingly, "don't want our wonderful Lord Eggplant to see you laughing at him."

"You're not playing fair, Mister Raylon," I mumbled back, trying to keep a straight face. Mason smirked and slid a hand up my side to tickle me. I yelped and elbowed him in the stomach. Thankfully, only Dmitri seemed to notice. He rolled his eyes at us but returned his gaze to Lord Edik. It was enough to make Mason sit up straighter and pull his hand away, though the mischievous smile remained on his face.

Lady Mariya leaned closer to Kirill and whispered something to him urgently, gesturing wildly.

"Hey, why don't we go hunting?" Mason pulled my attention away from the squabbling couple by standing up.

I almost agreed, but suddenly a cold feeling filled my stomach. Dread welled up inside of me, fast and uncalled for. Something bad was happening. Or going to happen. "Ah, no." I shook my head, grasping for an excuse. "I told my sister I would go with her tonight. You understand, right?"

Mason laughed good-naturedly. "Of course. Mara is... unbearable. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. See ya, babe." He winked and gave me a light squeeze before walking off.

"Call me babe again and I'll remove your tongue!" I playfully called after Mason, straightening myself up. He just laughed as he walked away, Ashley finding his side like a magnet.

After a quick scan of the room - Lord Edik and his nightmare spawn had left, Ashley was currently fawning over Mason as he patiently ignored her, and Kirill was now polishing his mace and talking with Dmitri as if nothing had happened - I left, hurrying to my rooms as fast as I could without running.

After the utterly sickening fear that had invaded my senses, I'd expected to find something wrong in my room. But everything was in place, all the doors and windows locked. The eggs were still nestled into their pile of blankets. By the stars, I thought as I shifted into my dragon form, I thought mothers were supposed to have good instincts. This is getting ridiculous. Obviously, mothers were just paranoid enough that they happened to be around when bad things happened.

Curling around my eggs, I pulled them closer to my belly with my tail. They were slightly warm, and I swore the colors had become darker. "Hi," I whispered softly to them. After a heartbeat I felt stupid, talking to eggs. I snorted softly to myself, a wisp of smoke escaping my nose, before laying my head gently on top of the eggs and closing my eyes.  

Panic fueled my run as I bolted through a smoke-filled forest. Snarling beasts watched me from the burning trees, their eyes glittering a malicious red in the fire's light. Soot filled my mouth and nose as I staggered and crashed through the trees. Every few seconds I had to shake off burning brambles and vines from my wings and feet.

Fear drowned me. Only one thing mattered. Where are my eggs? Something inside of me knew they were inside the fire.

I had to find my eggs.

The fire rose higher and higher until the heat was unbearable. Flames had never harmed me before - now they were melting my scales, scorching my flesh. My heart ached deeply as I staggered and fell. Not for myself, but for my hatchlings that hadn't hatched, the ones that never would-

I jerked awake, my chest heaving and sweat coating my skin. Running my hands down my face, I took deep breaths to steady myself. I had shifted into a human in my sleep. The room was hot, with scorch marks on the wall. I had been breathing fire before I shifted.

Still trembling, I gently stroked my eggs. They were still warm, even more so now. I could feel the tiny tremors under the shell - they were scared.

"It's alright," I whispered, cradling them to my chest. I wasn't sure if I was trying to reassure them or myself. "It's alright. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

I must have drifted to sleep again because I awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. "Hey, Anita!" A voice called through. It was Garik. "I have food for you!"

"I'm coming," I mumbled, sleepily walking to the door.

Garik was grinning as I opened it, presenting me with a large steaming bowl. "Are you hungry? Of course you are." As I took the bowl and sniffed it, my stomach growled at the delicious smell. "Aha! I knew it!"

"What sorcery did you do to get this?" I asked, snatching the spoon away from Garik and taking a sip. The stew inside was delicious, deer and potato, and I burned my tongue in my haste to eat it.

"Risa made a pot and told me to bring you some," Garik said, sitting on a nearby cushion. Risa was his mate, a pretty redheaded Mora a few years older than us, who had insisted on feeding me so I didn't have to go hunt. Once I mentioned to her that I missed the stews and sweetbreads that Skhola used to make and the next day she made me an entire loaf of the nut-studded bread, promising more later on. I adored her immediately.

"I'm going to get fat on all this food," I mumbled around a mouthful of stew, sitting beside Garik. "Risa is the best cook I've ever met."

Garik sniffed in mock offense. "Risa never cooks this well for me, you know." A lie, of course. Risa was the head cook of the compound and loved feeding everyone, her mates in particular. I had only met Garik, but he'd told me Risa had three more.

As I chewed, my mind slowly turned that thought over. Four mates in total. It sounded... exhausting. And that was only half of what a wyk could have if she was lucky enough - or rather, unlucky enough. It'd be too hard for me.

"Huh?" Garik looked up from where he was sprawled out across the ground and I realized I'd been thinking out loud.

"Oh, I just... I was thinking I suppose. Risa has four mates. Do you guys get along? Does she have enough time to be with all of you?"

Garik's eyes turned thoughtful. "Not really, I guess. Well, I get along with most of them, but Ahmar and Vadim usually argue." He propped his head up with his fist. "Why? Thinking about finding another new mate?"

I hesitated and thought about the answer. Honestly, I had no idea. I didn't exactly want to raise these hatchlings on my own, but... I could. I could do it, and I didn't even know if another mate would just leave like the first one.

"I don't know." I finally said.

Garik just smiled and didn't push the subject, a trait of his I wish others would share. "Well, hurry up and eat your food before I eat it for you." He squinted. "I think I was supposed to tell you something..."

I finished my stew, setting the empty bowl down. "Let me guess: Lord Edik wants me to go do something to make up for all the patrols I'm missing?" Garik shook his head so I tried again. "Dmitri wants me to train harder? He saw Mason and I goofing off earlier."

Garik snapped his finger and pointed at me. "That guy. Mason, not Dmitri. He was looking for you earlier." He grinned slyly. "Maybe he's your mystery mate."

I pictured Mason's bright violet eyes and shook my head. Nothing like my fyn's ebony scales. "Nope. Can't be."

"Oh well. I tried." Garik said, rolling onto his stomach so he could watch my eggs. "Speaking of, have you named them yet?"

"Named...? I don't even know their genders yet." 

Garik shrugged. "Risa has a whole list of names that she picks from. I haven't been her mate long enough for us to have any draggies yet, but I've seen the list." He snorted softly, his voice full of affection. "She's ridiculous, I tell you. Only two clutches and she thinks she knows everything about raising draggies."

I felt a sharp pang in my chest. Garik obviously loved Risa. Not every fyn loved their mate, but they at least stayed friends. I didn't even know who my mate was. Will I ever love someone like Garik does?

"Anita, you have that look on your face again." Garik's voice pulled me out of my pity party. He was watching me with calm green eyes. "You're upset about something."

"I have a lot of things to be upset about," I said, shoving my thoughts away and pulling out a sarcastic tone.

Garik wasn't fooled. "So do we all. We work for a mentally unstable tyrant and his spoiled daughter, our pay is shit, and it's winter so we have no good food unless my poor Risa slaves for hours to cook something up. Now that I've complained, it's your turn."

"And here I was thinking you were one of the few dragonlings that let things go," I said wryly.

"Only when I need to. This is something we shouldn't ignore."

"Since when did you become a psychic?"

"I've always been, you just never noticed."

Garik's last remark, said in the utmost serious tone, made me break down in giggles. He smiled at me, his face relaxing. "There's the Anita I know and love. Come on. Spill."

"I just... well, you love Risa, right?" I asked. Garik nodded slowly and I continued. "I wish I had someone like you to be my mate. You wouldn't have left."

"I don't know." Garik teased gently as he sat up. "You're a pretty terrifying wyk."

I laughed lightly, my eyes turning to my eyes. "You're so reassuring."

"Anita, you have plenty of people who'll help take care of you," Garik said before standing. "Only the stars know when Risa will stop cooking for you. Alma's always on my tail, telling me how to help you and what to do for you. I'm here. I think you'll be fine, even without some mate to dote over you."

I stared at Garik, nodding slowly. For the first time since everyone had started telling me that, I actually started to believe that I really would be okay.