Muzo grinned. “Then the bets are just for fun!”
A cutting voice interrupted: “Who’s gambling on kids?”
Except for Cobalt and Jade, the alpha dragons flinched at the sound. I turned to see Viol lurking at the back of the kitchen. He must’ve slipped inside undetected through the glass door that led to the garden. His black leather outfit was jarring against the greenery outside.
His cool, intimidating aura looked scary, but Viol had been nothing but nice to me. I always wondered why most of his brothers treated him like an unstable dog.
“Nobody’s gambling on kids. We’re taking bets on when Mylo and Aurum’s egg is gonna hatch,” Saffron said when nobody else replied. “And where haveyoubeen this whole time?”
Viol glowered at him, then stepped aside to reveal three dragonets. Their paws and faces were all covered in dirt, as if they’d been digging in the soil.
“Scavenger hunt,” Viol growled, holding up a train toy. It, too, was covered in dirt that crumbled and fell on the pristine kitchen floor.
Jade sighed. “Wejusthad that cleaned.”
Still scowling, Viol sniffed the air. “I smell pancakes.” Then his expression flipped as he glanced down at the dragonets. “You guys want pancakes?”
They all squealed in affirmation. I couldn’t stop a huge grin from forming on my face as I looked at them. They were each adorable on their own, of course, but they were even cuter in a trio.
“Got it,” Viol told them.
He stomped across the kitchen—his thick-heeled leather boots leaving dirt on the tile—and paused near Aurum.
“Hey,” Viol said roughly. “The kids want pancakes.”
Aurum glanced at me for approval, and I nodded. He made them for me, but of course, I didn’t mind sharing with the little ones.
“You heard the man, Crimson,” Aurum said, smirking. “Hand over the eggs.”
Crimson irritably grabbed eggs from his bowl and thrusted them at Aurum, mumbling about “Ruining my omelets...”
Satisfied with his work, Viol left Crimson and Aurum to their cooking. He grabbed a drink from the fridge—some kind of pink fruity juice—and took a seat across from me. His prickly glare dissolved when he met my gaze.
“You excited?” His tone was low and raspy, but I heard genuine intrigue in it.
I smiled shyly. “More excited than I’ve ever been.”
The corner of his mouth quirked upward, as if to silently say, “Me, too.”
The dirt-covered dragonets swarmed across the tiles like a brigade of chubby lizards. Viol was clearly still keeping an eye on them—once in a while, his keen gaze darted to the floor. But the kitchen floor was baby-proofed, and with most of the family present, there was no risk of kids getting into trouble.
I ran my thumbs over the egg’s shell. The baby dragons were so big. Would my hatchling grow up to that size, too? Or would it stay small, like the egg it hatched from?
Aurum plated up my share of the pancakes, drizzling syrup on them, then placed them in front of me. “There you go. Now I gotta divide the rest for the pipsqueaks.”
I watched with a smile as Aurum cut up the remaining pancakes into equal pieces and put them on baby-safe plastic plates. Their edges had all been lightly gnawed on by the teething dragonets. As soon as their food was delivered, the dragonets stopped crawling around and stuffed their mouths. Taylor leaned down to their level with a napkin, ready to wipe any stray crumbs when necessary.
Once that was done, Aurum joined me at the breakfast bar. He met Viol’s gaze, as if waiting for confirmation he’d done a good job. Viol responded with a curt nod of approval.
“Now it’s your turn,” Aurum said, grinning at me.
“Huh?” I asked as he cut my pancakes into bite-sized pieces.
He held out a fork towards me. “You’re busy cradling our egg, right? I’ll feed you so you can keep doing that.”
Happiness welled in my chest. My mate was so kind and thoughtful, and on top of that, he was an amazing father. I couldn’t wait to see his paternal instincts kick into full gear once the egg hatched.
I took a bite of the pancake he offered me. The syrupy, fluffy texture melted in my mouth, nearly making me moan. I caught myself before I did that at breakfast in front of the whole family.
