Arabella MacLeod stood next to her mate, Finn Stewart, along the edge of Clan Lochguard's main landing area and kept an eye on the skies for their expected visitors.

Their home, located in the Highlands of Scotland, was the first dragon-shifter clan to host a new tradition—the UK and Irish dragon clan winter and summer gatherings. And her mate had randomly drawn the right to host the inaugural summer event this year.

While some clan business would be done during the week-long visit, it was also time for all the clan leaders to relax with their mates and children, get to know one another, and hopefully form stronger ties.

It wasn't exactly what Arabella would voluntarily do, if given the choice, since she didn't relish being the center of attention. However, she took her role as a clan leader's mate seriously.

Even so, despite all the help she'd had from Aunt Lorna—her mate's aunt—and her cousin-in-law Gina MacDonald-MacKenzie, Arabella did her best not to pick at her clothes or shuffle her feet.

She'd come a long way from her little cottage back on Stonefire. Where, to forget her trauma, she'd holed herself up with her computer, staring at the wall filled with pictures of doors, wondering what her life might be like one day.

The future had turned out better than Arabella would've guessed back then. She was mated to a loving, sexy Scot, a mother to triplets, and was a female with more friends and family than she knew what to do with.

But sometimes, Arabella still struggled with her confidence due to the healed burns on one side of her body and the long scar on her face, both a result of a run-in with dragon hunters when she was a teenager. The injuries, along with being isolated for so long after her torture at the hands of the human hunters, both contributed to her occasional self-doubts.

Not to mention playing host to all the other clan leaders was definitely fraying her nerves.

Well, on top of what her daughter, Freya, already did on a daily basis, at any rate. Freya might only be two years old, but she'd been shifting into her dragon form for a while now and had a penchant for trouble.

Her inner dragon, the second personality inside her head, spoke up. It's not the gathering you're worried about. Not really. You need to talk with Finn.

Soon. He has enough to worry about right now.

Why put it off? He should already know, unless he's too busy to notice his scent entwined with ours.

Her beast was right—Finn should know her secret. And yet, he'd said nothing to her.

Maybe he'd been too busy. Or maybe he was waiting for her to bring it up.

After all, she'd told Finn three children was enough. They didn't need any more.

And yet, due to a series of circumstances, it looked like they would have at least one additional child.

Arabella should be ecstatic, especially since dragon-shifters loved children. However, she was barely two months pregnant and all she could feel was dread.

Which wasn't what a mother-to-be should feel.