The Cambion's Hoard
Chapter 13-Rose

The timer on the waffle maker dinged. Steam rose from the freshly cooked waffle. I flipped it onto the stack and filled the maker with the remaining batter.

“Wallace!” I pulled a waffle from the bottom of the pile and put it in his dish.

He popped into the room and ran over to his dish. Wallace attacked the waffle with delightful enthusiasm. He was much happier now than when I’d first moved in.

“I’m going to go up and get the guys. I’ll get you some salmon when I come back down.” Wallace looked up at me with waffle hanging from his tusks.

I giggled. “You’re so cute, Wallace. I’ll be back down in a few.”

He turned back around and started tearing his food up some more.

I skipped up the stairs and stopped outside Biggs and Henson’s room. Knocking softly on the door, I waited for a response. Instead, soft moans were coming from the room. I rolled my eyes but opened the door a little anyway.

“When you two are finished, I made breakfast.” I started to close the door, but a groan stopped me.

“Rose, come join us. You don’t want the present you left me to go to waste.” Henson’s words were breathy.

I looked down the hall, and Thatcher leaned out of his room. “I’m flattered, Henson, but I’m good. You two have fun.”

Closing the door quickly, I headed down to Thatcher. He looked down at me, and I squirmed. His eyes held golden fire, and I knew what he was thinking. Though it still wasn’t what I was waiting for from him.

“Morning, Thatch. Did you sleep well?”

He shrugged, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Those two were loud all night. I think they did it on purpose.”

“You did break up with Henson last night. Biggs was trying to make him feel better or make you jealous.”

He scoffed. “I can’t be with him if you’re mine. I can’t.”

I offered him my hand, but he shook his head. “No, I’m waiting for the perfect time to touch you.”

I laughed but turned and headed down. “Ok, well, come downstairs. I made breakfast. If we don’t hurry, Wallace may eat it all.”

We each grabbed some food and sat down. I did get Wallace his salmon first, which he also destroyed happily. Thatcher ate quietly.

“So, I have a question.” I took a sip of tea.

Thatcher smiled, his cheek bulging from the bite he’d taken. “You have lots of questions.”

I shrugged and rolled my eyes. “I do because I’m not overly familiar with dragons. Demons and humans, absolutely but not you.”

He set his fork down. “Fair enough. Shoot.”

“So when you told me I was your...mate,” I whispered the word because I didn’t want to risk the others hearing me, “you said you had sex with Henson. What’s changed in the last few weeks that you couldn’t still be with him?”

I didn’t want to disrupt his love life. If he still loved Henson, they could be together. Growing up around succubi and incubi had shown me that relationships were far from simple. My father had made sure I understood that. I was allowed to be with whoever pleased me, and no one owned me.

Thatcher leaned back in his chair. He cracked his neck, and I shifted in my chair. I didn’t know if he realized movements like that aroused me or not.

He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I tried. The harder I tried, the more wrong it felt. It’s not that I don’t love Henson. It’s that I can only think about you. Every part of me is hyperfocused on you. I don’t love you yet, Rose, but I’m going to. Right now, you’re the only one I want to fuck.”

“I don’t know much about mates. Is this really a finite thing for you?” I’d been raised in a loving yet protective home. My parents had been married for almost my entire life. So, I wasn’t opposed to one partner. Yet, Others were different. Some had one mate, and some had more. I didn’t want to make him feel limited by me.

Thatcher’s gaze was pained. “It is. Dragons are a little different than most when it comes to this. Males are actually one-and-done. Females can have multiple mates because they are so few. So Biggs and I have a human father. We have brothers from an orc, a dragon, several demons, and I think one from a yeti. No sisters.”

“How does your dad feel about your mom?”

He stiffened. “I don’t know my father.”

“Oh.” That was all I needed from him. Sometimes, more often than not, humans rejected their mates. I knew that much.

I got up and sat on his lap. “This doesn’t count for your touch of the day.”

He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck. I hugged him against me and kissed the top of his head.

“I’m delighted that I met you, Thatch. Of course, not at first, but now I’m glad. I’m not going to reject you. I know that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to take time to adjust to it. I didn’t grow up knowing about this stuff. I do, however, know what a healthy relationship looks like. I want that, and I believe I can have it with you.”

Thatcher kissed my neck, and I shivered. “I’m going to give you the world, Rose. Have no doubt about it.”

“I don’t, Thatch. I can feel it.”