“You want me to hold Bobbinvoxlyn while you practice because you don’t want to leave him with Bartholomew.”
Seth’s cheeks turned a dark red that then spread to the whole of his face. “Teddy will be at the class.”
To stare at his mate, not practice, I knew that well enough. This was about Seth. He struggled to have his kit out of his sight or to allow anyone to hold him. Vince and Zoltilvoxfyn were the only other people besides Seth and Kalvoxrencol who could watch Bobbinvoxlyn. Seth was getting better, but it was a process he was working through with his therapist.
I kissed Bobbinvoxlyn’s forehead, and the baby gurgled. He was a perfect mix between his two fathers. He was a shade lighter than Kalvoxrencol, but he had Seth’s brown hair, brown eyes, and his round face.
“You’ll come?” he asked, picking up some of the scattered toys.
Before I could respond, a squeak sounded, and Lucy wandered out of the bedroom. She didn’t meow like a normal cat; instead, she squeaked and chittered. The pudgy black cat twined around Seth’s legs, and he stroked her back before she leaped onto the couch next to me. She headbutted Bobbinvoxlyn, purring. I petted her, and she leaned into it, but her focus remained on Bobbinvoxlyn. She loved the little kit as much as Seth and Kalvoxrencol did.
Seth glanced at me, chewing on his lip. “So you’ll come?”
“Yes.”
He beamed, making my own smile grow. “I will buy you noodles afterward.”
“I will accept that.”
I kept rocking Bobbinvoxlyn until he fell into a deep sleep while Seth picked up toys and organized the chaos of baby things. He and Kalvoxrencol seemed to have made a nest of items for their child. Both of them were doting parents, so I assumed Bobbinvoxlyn would be quite spoiled, but that might change as they had more. Somehow, I doubted it, though. They were too enamored with their kit.
Parents and family weren’t something I had experience with. Urgg, Seth, and Edith were the closest thing I possessed to a family. I’d been given up by my birth mother and raised in a care facility. Family was nothing I knew, but Seth was giving me a chance. He’d invited me into the family he and Prince Kalvoxrencol were making, and I was perfectly happy to accept.
When the time came for Seth’s class, we headed to one of the training rooms. The room was relatively full of people. I spotted Kalvoxrencol with his older brother Serlotminden, and their cousin… Monqilcolnen. I hadn’t seen him since I fled his office. I only had a couple more days before I started working for him, so I needed to get over it, but I couldn’t get the image of his cocked eyebrow out of my thoughts.
What was it about his raised eyebrow that made me cringe and want to run away? It was like he was challenging me, and I had no idea to what.
Seth left my side and headed to his mate, who took their child from him with a wide grin, then pulled Seth close. I ducked my head and moved toward Urgg. They clapped my shoulder, sending pain down my spine, but I didn’t react. Pain wassomething I was familiar with. I had gotten into more scrapes when I was younger than I could count.
Even now I could recall Sun bending over me, his light purple hair hanging around his jagged scales. His deep frown as he cleaned and bandaged my wounds from my most recent fight with his gnarled hands. His raspy scolding as he told me I was made for better things than this.
Urgg said, drawing me out of my thoughts, “I didn’t think you were coming because of the hand injury. Couldn’t stay away from possible bloodshed and bonding, though, could you? I knew you were a barbarus underneath it all.”
“I’m here because Seth asked me to hold his son while he practiced.”
Urgg released a bleating laugh. “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. That little rock has Seth well within his grasp.”
Barbarus called their children rocks. I had no idea why, but they did. I agreed with the sentiment, though. I glanced at Bobbinvoxlyn, who was in Kalvoxrencol’s arms while Seth fussed over him. He was a well-loved child.
For one instant, for one moment, I allowed myself to wonder what it would’ve been like to grow up with loving parents. Who would I have been? What would my life have looked like if I’d parents who utterly adored me like Seth and Kalvoxrencol loved their son?
I pushed the thought away. No answers to those questions existed. I had no idea who my parents were or what they were like. It was possible my life would’ve turned out for the worse. Besides, I’d worked through this long ago. My past. My trauma. I had sought help and had come out the other side much better, though it did like to surface at unexpected times. At least now I possessed the instruments to deal with my past issues.
Monqilcolnen caught my eye, lifting that star-begotten eyebrow. The pit in my stomach opened up, and I ducked myhead, putting Urgg between me and the commander and using them as an effective shield. I stayed like that until Seth handed me Bobbinvoxlyn and people paired off.
Camden was here, facing off with Noxlyn, who was still asking questions, though I couldn’t hear much more than the odd word as well as the monotone cadence of his voice. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest he had more things to ask. Humans were odd creatures. Noxlyn had his work cut out for him to study human culture. Thankfully, it seemed like Camden didn’t mind. He was smiling broadly at Noxlyn, his hands waving energetically.
Bartholomew settled beside me, his eyes on his mate, who was facing Seth. Kalvoxrencol hovered in the background, his tail flicking and hands clenched at his sides. Seth and Kalvoxrencol didn’t often spar in the same session because Prince was unable to focus when Seth was in even the smallest possible amount of danger.
Bartholomew gently ran a finger down Bobbinvoxlyn’s arm, and the baby grabbed onto it with his chubby hand, his tail flicking, and made a loud, happy shriek. Jiggling the fat baby arm, Bartholomew “Seth couldn’t stand to be separated, huh?”
“No. He asked me to hold Bobbinvoxlyn for him.”
“He’s cute,” he said with a slight smile.
“Are you and Prince Serlotminden going to have some?”
“Apparently even aliens ask when people are having kids.”
