Aurum crossed his arms. “Okay, girls, enough clowning around. Time for bed.”
“No!” the girls complained in unison. “Play!”
I grinned at Aurum. They sounded just like us when we were their age.
“Girls, c’mon. Your pops is tired,” Aurum said haggardly, reaching down to snatch them up.
The ferrets squealed with glee as they dodged his hands and shot up Rorik’s huge arms, balancing on his shoulders like a living fur scarf.
“Play wif Uncle,” Kiara said, putting her tiny paws on Rorik’s chubby cheek.
Desiree mirrored the gesture on the opposite side. “Play wif Uncle!”
Rorik’s expression utterly melted. His eyes softened into dark pools of sweetness. All his sharp intensity vanished, replaced by pure affection.
My heart skipped a hopeful beat.
There it is again. The real Rorik.
“You like kids, huh?” I asked, unable to stifle a grin at the adorable scene.
“Of course I do,” Rorik mumbled, his tone bittersweet. “But I am not their uncle…”
Aurum seized the chance to pocket his daughters—literally. They giggled as their dad stuffed them into his hoodie pouch.
“Nah, they don’t care about that,” Aurum explained. “Anyone who’s part of our family is their uncle.”
“Part of your family?” Rorik sputtered.
Aurum smirked. “Is that not why you’re here?” He shot me a knowing look, winked, then sauntered back to his bedroom. “See ya.”
Rorik remained gobsmacked after Aurum left. He looked at me almost pleadingly, as if wanting me to refute my twin’s statement.
That sure as hell ain’t happening. Rorik has to know that he’s welcome here.
“Listen, I know this is a lot,” I began. “You probably think we’re all super weird.”
Rorik worked his jaw. “Yes, you are weird.”
I grinned, glad to hear him admit his true feelings. “That’s just how we are in this family.”
Rorik gathered the fallen clothes. His brow screwed up in confusion. After a long pause, he said, “May I ask something?”
I chuckled. “You don’t have to ask if you can ask.”
He glanced at Aurum’s bedroom door. “Your twin… Is he also a dragon?”
“Sure is.”
“Then why are his children ferrets?”
I smiled. “Because Aurum’s mate is a ferret.”
Rorik’s pale brows flew to his hairline. “A dragon mated with aferret shifter?No, that doesn’t make sense. Why not mate with another dragon?”
I shrugged. “Love’s about feeling, not logic. You don’t choose your fated mate. You love who you love.”
Rorik snorted in derision, like I’d said something preposterous. I could tell the sound came out of him without thinking.
