She’d been peeing often, her back ached as of late. Her boobs were huge and tender. Her belly was rounded. She’d felt movement and if she was honest with herself it wasn’t for the first time. Today was the first significant kicking she’d felt though. It was the first time she’d been unable to ignore the obvious.

She was pregnant. It needed to be confirmed, but she was pregnant. Candy felt scared but she also felt excited. No wonder she hadn’t ovulated. Flip, she was going to have a little Torrent. Would the baby have his eyes, his smile?

She put her hand to her belly. It was surreal. She rubbed her skin in a circle, feeling so emotional it was all she could do not to cry. She willed the little one to kick again but there was nothing. She was going to be a mom and Torrent was going to get his wish sooner than expected. He was going to be a dad. Parents. They were going to be parents. She smiled past the lump in her throat.

Sky choked out a laugh. “You should see the goofy smile on your face. Then again, you look like you might cry at any second as well.”

“What do you think?” She tried to keep her back straight, to stay normal.

“Mmmmm.” Sky narrowed her eyes as she examined Candy’s belly. “Hard to tell. You have a definite bump but I don’t know how you looked before.”

“Flat. My female’s stomach was flat,” Torrent said. His eyes were dark and his arms were folded across his chest.

“You did mention that you’ve been eating a lot lately.” She shrugged. “I suppose that in itself could be a sign of pregnancy. Increased weight, in itself is not a good enough indication though. Dragon females don’t get bigger breasts when pregnant. We do not feed our young in this way. Your weight gain in this area is more than likely due to your general increase…”

“Sky,” Torrent sounded irritated. “Is my mate pregnant? She can’t be…” He went on, “I would scent it on her. Surely we could scent it.”

Sky scrunched her noise up. “Excuse me.” She gave Candy a quick sniff, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Then she shook her head. “I only smell human. I mean”—she pulled a face— “I can smell you.” She looked at Torrent as she spoke. “You are all over her, but it’s not coming from inside her. Her scent hasn’t changed other than from being your mate.”

“Exactly. I’ve never known a female not to take the scent of the male, that special pregnant scent.”

“Yeah, but…” Sky looked thoughtful for few beats. “There’s never been a royal, water dragon before either. Not where the female was a human.” She shrugged. “We don’t really know what to expect, do we?”

“I guess not. Shit!”