Hatched by Cupid: Domestic Daddies, #4

By Xya Olsen

His fated mate is hatching another man's dragon egg, but that won't stop Cupid's arrow.

 

Dr. Cupid Marcellus never thought he would meet his mate while on the clock, but when he arrives at the Dragon Clinic one February morning, he's in for more than one surprise.

 

Weston Valentine is Dr. Marcellus' first patient of the day, and once Cupid's dragon catches a whiff of the handsome stranger, he knows the two are mates fated to be together.

 

There's just one problem.

 

Weston Valentine's brought another man's dragon egg - and all he wants is for Cupid to help him hatch it.

 

Cupid agrees, but soon he and Weston are engulfed in the fiery heat of their magnetic chemistry while caring for the egg.

 

Once the bundle of joy hatches, the two will go their separate ways... Right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xya Olsen
• Release date: Feb 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393193517

Xya Olsen

Xya Olsen is a MM author who writes wholesome paranormal harem romance. Her stories are filled to the brim with love and magic and features fated mates, harem, mpreg, and of course, lots of strong heroes yearning for their happily ever afters. To sign up for Xya Olsen’s newsletter for release updates, go to https://www.xyaolsen.com/newsletter

Book preview

VALE

WESTON VALE VALENTINE’S DOORBELL RANG A QUARTER PAST THREE IN THE MORNING.

Bleary-eyed and sleep deprived, he crawled out of bed. Vale tiptoed around haphazard stacks of fabrics and clusters of mannequins—stubbing his toe as he stumbled to the front door.

Vale cursed under his breath.

He hadn’t a clue who could be bothering him at such an inconvenient hour, but he had a guess.

Ever since the landlord rented out the renovated unit above him, his peaceful nights became plagued by screaming matches, loud sex, and reverberating bass from rambunctious parties thrown at all times of the week—courtesy of the new neighbors above him.

The peace he’d enjoyed for years as the house above him was renovated quickly turned into a nightmare.

Vale had called the police so many times he knew them by name.

But when he peeled the locks from the door and opened it, Vale wasn’t met with the glaring beam of a police officer’s flashlight or the familiar faces of the couple who lived above him.

Instead, something very unexpected awaited him outside.

Squinting into the darkness, he spotted a shadow perched on the steps.

Vale’s heart thrummed in his ears as he fumbled with the light switch. He winced as it flickered to life moments later, illuminating the front steps. He waited for his vision to adjust, then peered outside.

There, settled on the concrete stairs before him, sat a tiny wicker basket with a note taped to its handle.

Vale stepped out into the quiet morning, climbed the steps to the street above, and surveyed his surroundings.

Hello?

Vale waited, but received no response.

His eyes swept left and right as he surveyed the road beyond the property’s picket fence. A trail of street-lamps lit the shadowy outskirts, but beneath those bright glowing orbs, laid an empty street.

Not a soul in sight, he thought.

Vale listened for any sounds, like distant footsteps or the soft flap of wings, but heard nothing of the sort. Whoever left the basket at the foot of the stairs had vanished just as quickly as they’d appeared.

Vale raked a hand through his hair and retreated down the steps.

There, he scooped the wicker basket into his arms and fingered the note taped to the handle.

Fragile. Handle with care. Best, Adam, he read aloud.

Vale almost dropped the basket.

Adam—the smoking hot dragon shifter Vale spent the past six months pining over—disappeared after giving in to the temptation of a passionate one-night stand with him many months ago.

Vale assumed the dragon ghosted him.

He’d known all along that he was just filler—someone to play and bide time with until The One arrived and took Adam away for good.

Call Vale a cynic, but it was a typical occurrence with shifters he’d met.

Most wouldn’t dream of touching anyone besides their fated mate, but that didn’t mean all shifters lived by that rule.

The ones who blurred the lines, like Adam, couldn’t be expected to offer anything beyond a good time. Vale knew the dragon shifter would dip out of his life the moment his fated mate appeared. But even then, he couldn’t resist the man’s charms and good looks.

Vale swallowed the lump in his throat and reached for the top of the blanket that was scrunched up inside the basket.

His hand quivered as he tentatively pulled back the fabric to reveal what lay hidden within it.

But once he saw it, his heart plummeted into his stomach.

A dragon egg! he gasped.

Vale glanced around him once more and hurried back inside. He closed the door behind him, then carried the basket into the kitchen. He gently placed it atop the table and stared at the egg Adam left on his doorstep.

With shaking hands, he reached for the note and tore it off the basket. He turned it over to scrutinize the back, but the rest of the parchment was blank.

He crunched the note between his fist and paced.

Vale’s mind whirled with thoughts as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Why had Adam left a dragon egg on his doorstep, and why was his note too short and vague to fit the gravity of the occasion?

None of it made any sense to him, and the more he paced, the more frazzled he felt.

Suddenly, Vale stopped in front of the kitchen sink and whirled around. His gaze settled on the basket as another thought nagged at him.

Where had the egg come from, and more importantly, whose was it?

Was it Adam’s?

If it was, he had no reason to leave it behind with Vale, a human who most certainly was not his fated mate.

Unless...

"The egg is ours?"

The words tumbled out of his agape mouth, extinguishing the fiery feelings burning within him.

Vale’s head spun.

He slumped into a chair beside the basket like a deflated balloon as the realization struck him.

Flickers of memories reeled through his mind. Suddenly, he was taken back to that night of temptation with Adam many moons ago.

He’d been so hammered the night they finally hooked up that he hardly remembered any of it—and the thought of conceiving children with his friends-with-benefits dragon shifter had never crossed his mind.

It was one reason why he’d always worn protection with Adam, but clearly that hadn’t held up its end of the bargain.

He looked up at the egg once more and knots formed in his gut.

Was he supposed to co-parent with Adam, or worse, hatch and raise the child inside on his own?

Vale carved his fingers through his hair and swallowed.

He wasn’t Adam’s fated mate, but Vale had always believed someone special——a mate just for him—was out there in the world somewhere. That belief was part of the reason why he pursued shifters in the first place.

But he also believed the chance of finding that special person was slim to none—and meeting them in South Florida would be as chance as winning the lottery.

Even so, he’d maintained the faith that they’d meet, fall in love, buy a house, and start a family of their own.

He’d never believed for a second that Adam was that person.

Not when he knew Adam would one day leave him for someone else, anyway.

But since the two of them were grown, consenting adults, they went with the flow.

Vale resolved to enjoy himself until their inevitable separation—and when that time arrived, planned to walk away with nothing but sweet memories.

So much for that, he thought as his stomach churned.

I should call him, he decided quickly.

Vale pulled his phone out of his pocket. His fingers shook as he scrolled through his contacts and located Adam’s entry. With a quick tap, he dialed the