The Cambion's Hoard

The smell of charred wood filled my nose. I wiggled closer to Biggs, and running my hand down his back gave me pause. Scales. Readjusting, I looked at him. He was looking down at me, panic-laced his features.

"Why didn't you shift back?" I rested my face on his chest. The bond gave me the same sense of fear as his face had.

"I can't." He was quiet.

Rubbing his back, I sent some soothing energy through him. Healing magic and a fresh bond change some things. I could tell what he needed and knew I could provide it.

"What's going on?" I didn't want to push him, but he needed to tell me.

Biggs pulled my blanket over our heads like a child telling a secret. Like the blanket could keep everyone from hearing. Then, he moved, so we were face to face. His gaze was penetrating and somber.

"There's something wrong with me. I, I don't know what is happening. It started when you realized we were mates. You, you took Thatch to meet your folks. The shifting started that day, uncontrollable, painful. It was agony. I've been sleeping in clothes so Henson wouldn't notice. He saw the clothes, but I convinced him I was shedding." His laugh was sad.

"Then fucking him hasn't been enough. The only time I felt good was when he was fucking me. It was a temporary relief from the constant pain of being shifted. A dragon's body doesn't like to be in a half-shifted shape for too long. It wants to be whole or not." Biggs hadn't noticed the tears streaming down my face. Or his.

"Rose, Patti said that I'm messed up genetically. I'm a freak. She kept telling me I was special, but how could this be special. I lost my shit yesterday for multiple reasons."

I took his face in my hands. "Is it because you should be female?"

The color drained from his face. "Why would you think that?"

"I was asking Hen about your shared egg with Thatch. What that really meant. Then that led to talk of twins and how twin males are scarce. Then that leads to you having the traits of a typical female." The words spilled from my lips before I could even soften the information.

I could feel how hurt he was that we had talked about him that way. That we would discuss him being...I squeezed his face. "You are not imperfect. Don't you dare think that about yourself! That's not why we were talking about you. We could tell something was going on, something eating you. We're worried."

He grabbed my wrists and squeezed them. "Patti said I could have female reproductive organs. What the fuck do I do with that? I fucked you last night, locked in tight, and I could have a fucking uterus. I am male. Me. What if she's right? Then that makes me a freak."

I really wished for Hen. He could back me up on how we felt. Yet, it was only me, which had to be important too.

I kissed him softly. "There isn't anything wrong with you. There is a reason you exist as this. Explainable or extraterrestrial, a reason exists. But we don't need that reason. Your existence is enough for Hen and me. Yes, me too. You're my mate, so I find your presence essential for living now."

Biggs rubbed his head against mine. I sent him more energy to help ease his mind. His breath came out in a shudder. We held each other for a moment before he relaxed.

"If I make an appointment with a specialist, will you come with me? I don't know how to talk to Hen about this. His mate has always been male, and now he's not."

I stroked his head. "We'll talk to him once we know what's going on. It'll give you time to think about what to say. It changes nothing about how he feels for you. But, he could fall even more deeply in love with you. I don't know."

"I'm glad you're my mate, Rose. I need you in my life. Funny, I didn't know that in the beginning."

I chuckled. "What do you mean?"

He pulled me against him. "I felt you were a threat. Like you were here to take everything from me. It actually took until I danced with you, or that night instead. Then, it was like my head stopped spinning, and I came up wanting you."

"Hmm, ya know. If you are a genetically unique individual, I would be a threat. Come in here and snatch up all the boys." I tapped on his chest playfully.

He held my ear in his mouth and ran it between his forked tongue. "Oh, but you did snatch up all the boys. Should I remind you?"

I smiled up at him, "Yes, sir."

Biggs kissed me deeply. "Good girl."