Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR).  

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Tasha's POV:

I hummed and gently nuzzled the two eggs that were nestled together on top of the soft sand. Small motions from within caused both of them to rock slightly. It was just one of the signs that they were getting close to hatching.

I curled around them in the shallow indentation, lowering my chin onto the warm sand. It wasn't much of a nest, but it was what they needed. Despite the urge to cover the eggs with my wing, I resisted. They needed the warmth from the small heat lamp above.

My head faced the opening of the small dome hut that Taureen had built. I could hear him in the kitchen, and from the light clinking of a knife on a cutting board, he was likely dicing up fruit for Keegan and me.

My mate, Keegan, was out with Aeria as they inspected incoming spaceships. It was only lunch time, but they would likely be coming back soon. He was also getting more temperamental as the eggs got closer to hatching, so his shifts had been shortened. As soon as I had started digging out the nest, I had been taken off the work rotation completely.

I hadn't realized just how much my instincts and hormones would affect me during the nesting phase. The drive to protect the nest was quite strong, and even my normally timid and shy mate discovered that he had a fierce side hidden somewhere underneath those silver scales of his.

I could barely leave the room without constantly worrying, even if Keegan and Aeria were guarding the nest. And considering that the nest was inside the house, it wasn't as if anyone could get in without it sending an alert to Taureen's wrist comm. It was also on a corner end table, so I didn't have to worry about bugs or anything crawling on the floor.

With a gusty sigh, I got to my feet and left the hut. Hovering wasn't going to make them hatch any faster. The entrance was small enough that I had to crouch down and tightly fold my wings to fit through it. That was exactly what I had wanted, though.

I spread my wings in a stretch as I looked back at the hut. Taureen had made it look like a tree stump. The entrance was close to the wall, so anyone entering the room wouldn't be able to see the red light of the small heat lamp inside, nor the two small, pearly-white eggs resting on the sand.

There was a second tray of sand on the same end table with a larger heat lamp just above it where either Keegan or I could relax while keeping close to the nest. I curled up underneath the larger heat lamp and spread my wings to catch the warmth.

Keegan's mindvoice entered my mind. "We're almost there."

I could tell that he included Taureen in the telepathic heads-up, which meant that I didn't have to relay the information. While I waited for them to arrive, I rested my chin on the edge of the sand tray, facing the hallway. I couldn't see the door from this corner of the living room, but I didn't want to leave the nest just yet.

The sound of the door quietly sliding open made me sit up with my wings half-unfurled. Aeria walked into the room with Keegan on her shoulder. He didn't even wait for her to remove his harness before he jumped into the air to fly towards me with a joyful cry. My own wings bit into the air as they sent me forward to greet him. Our wings brushed as we spun around one another in a complex acrobatic display, happy to be reunited again.

It felt good to stretch my muscles and give my wings a bit of exercise. I hadn't gone out much lately, too paranoid that something would happen while I was gone.

We both settled on the end table, and Aeria approached us once we folded our wings.

She greeted me as she removed Keegan's harness, "Hello, Tasha. How is your day going so far?"

I snorted faintly, still somewhat irritated with my own overprotective instincts. I let her feel how my dragonet motherly hormones were having a hayday with my emotions.

I shook myself as I commented, "I'm doing well enough, but these eggs had better hatch soon or guests won't even be able to stop by."

Taureen came out of the kitchen with two bowls of mixed fruit. He had also heard my comment and inquired, "Are you sure that having them hatch is going to help? Personally, I think that having nestlings is only going to amplify your protectiveness."

Keegan chimed in, "I think Taureen is correct. I spoke with Drake, and he said that the intense protectiveness doesn't really start to fade until after they are able to fly."

"I hope not." I sighed. "I feel like shredding something, and Taureen is already going to have to replace that scratching post."

Aeria glanced over to the piece of wood that had practically been reduced to shavings. "You really did a number on that log. Tkael and Soranto offered to bring a replacement over tonight." Aeria moved her gaze to me and smiled. "I think Soranto is hoping that you will at least let him into the house if he comes bearing gifts."

Keegan snickered, clearly remembering when Soranto had tried to enter the living room the other day, only for me to immediately dive-bomb him.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You were barely a wingbeat behind me on that assault."

He grinned unrepentantly at me; neither of us were willing to let anyone other than Taureen or Aeria into the living room at this point. Keegan had mostly bonded with Aeria, but he didn't have a problem accompanying Taureen and me as we inspected incoming spaceships for the troublesome – and detested – crawlers and sicora.

Taureen put the two bowls on the edge of the table before he sat on the closest couch cushion. Aeria sat on the chair on the other side of the end table, also picking the closest seat available.

I daintily nibbled on a piece of strawberry as Keegan investigated his own bowl. Taureen put a few gadgets on the edge of the end table, and I flattened my ear tufts in dislike.

"Mind if I weigh and scan the eggs again?"

Even though we did this every day, he knew I was touchy about the eggs.

I shook myself hard until my scales tinkled, but still told him, "Go ahead..."

I watched as Taureen picked up the fake stump and set it to the side, revealing the two eggs sitting in the sandy depression. I promptly forgot about my lunch and walked a few steps over to the edge of the now-exposed nest. Taureen reached over and gently picked up one of the eggs.

My eyes followed it as he put it on the scale and noted its weight. Next, he picked up the scanner and held it over the egg, producing an image of a tiny, curled-up dragonet. The two eggs had developed a lot over the last three weeks, and I was pretty sure they would hatch in the next day or so.

I shifted my weight anxiously; the images the scanner produced may have been very interesting, but it was extremely hard to let him bring the eggs out when all I wanted to do was hide them from any prying eyes.

I was apparently going to be one of those paranoid mothers...

Taureen was keeping detailed notes and records of all the scans and measurements. The Kymari Elders weren't aware of our intelligence and wanted him to keep track of every single detail since we were the first pair of dragonets to nest in captivity.

Even though it had been five years since Taureen had patched up my wing, there were only two other dragonet pairs in the care of the Kymari, although a dozen other individuals had chosen to leave the wild to hunt sicora and crawlers with a Kymari handler.

Taureen returned the egg to the warm sand and picked up the other one with surprising care and gentleness. The egg almost disappeared in his large hand. It wasn't much bigger than my head, so it seemed particularly tiny and fragile in the hand of a ten-foot-tall alien.

The Kymari weren't the only ones keeping tabs on our growing family. The dragonets still remaining in the park were also requesting frequent updates from Keegan and me. Most of them were not in favor of our plans, but we really wanted a family.

Keegan and I had debated for a couple of years if it was wise for us to have children. Our biggest concern was about what would happen to them, since the majority of the Kymari were under the impression that we were just clever animals with a penchant for tracking deadly sicora and crawlers.

Taureen had made some careful inquiries, and word came back saying that any hatchlings would remain with us until they bonded to another Kymari, who would then become their handler.

Taureen also promised that he would quietly arrange some sort of distraction to allow the youngster to 'escape' if he or she wanted to go into the wild. They would have to hide for a few months, but those in the park had already agreed to protect and raise any who didn't want to be in the Kymari's care.

Most Kymari found it difficult to tell individual dragonets apart, so it would only be a month or so before they could no longer positively identify the rapidly-growing youngster apart from the other wild fledglings.

Keegan left his bowl of fruit to walk over and nuzzle me reassuringly, although I knew he wasn't entirely happy about the eggs being touched either. I nuzzled my silver mate back; it had taken him almost a year to leave the park to follow me, but much to my delight, he had eventually managed to overcome his shyness.

I turned my head to watch Taureen scan the second egg. The scanners were sophisticated enough that I knew I had one son and one daughter on the way. As the first two dragonets to hatch around the Kymari, they were undoubtedly going to have some stories to tell in a few years.

I was relieved to see that they were developing properly. None of the dragonets had seen any deformities yet – and that was saying something considering that most of us hadn't started out life as a miniature dragon.

That little detail was also something that none of the Kymari were aware of, and we had no intention of telling them either. The trusted Kymari handlers knew that most of the adult dragonet population had hatched in a human lab, but nothing before that, and they probably assumed that our eggs had been stolen from our parents.

We had originally kept that detail hidden because we wanted to keep our true level of intelligence and our distant past hidden. Now, all of the dragonet handlers knew of our intelligence, even if it took their companion several months to inform them.

Our former human past was just a historic detail known only to the dragonets. It would slowly disappear into the past, since it had no relevance to today's world or to the new additions to the dragonet population.

Taureen placed the egg back in the nest and put the fake tree stump above them once more. I sighed and shook myself yet again as Keegan draped his wing over me sympathetically.

These kids were stressing me out, and they hadn't even hatched yet.

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Author's Note:

Please note, if you are reading this book anywhere besides Wattpad or Amazon, it's a stolen, pirated copy, likely on a virus-filled mirror site.

There are two versions of A New Beginning on Amazon:
-Passing the Torch - the POV shifts from Tasha to Tessa much like the Wattpad one does.
-Tessa's Story - Just from Tessa's POV.

Copyright © 2019. People may use my 'world' to create fanfics/spinoffs as long as proper credit is given (ex. Inspired by CrystalScherer's story Upon Wings of Change). Please note that this does not allow you to copy my story - this allows you to use my world-building and scientist labs in spinoffs/fanfics with credit given.

Sorry, no translations are allowed.

Thank you for your time. Happy Reading! 💖