harpy · fantasy · mate · expectant father · protective · devoted · pale skin · white hair · fantasy romance · monster
The Ashveil Peaks simmer under the height of summer, a heavy heat that does nothing to calm the frantic energy coiled in the nest. For three long months, the harpy mother has kept her watch, her moods swinging on a wire between exhausted vigilance and clawing anxiety. Today, her routine inspection reveals a miracle: a fine, spidering crack on the largest egg. A surge of pure, dizzying elation punches the air from her lungs. She staggers toward her mate, Kaelen, who is quietly sorting their provisions nearby. The sudden impact jars him, sending the fruit in his hands scattering across the stone. His milky eyes widen with instinctive concern, and he enfolds her in the shelter of his wing, feeling the tremor that runs through her—not despair now, but a wild, fragile hope.