24. Mylo

Twenty-Four

"So,how long do ferrets gestate for?" Aurum asked.

He looked so big when I was in my ferret form. Since our conversation with Jade, I spent most of my waking hours curled around my mate's neck. I really hoped this plan worked to produce a kit.

"Not that long. About 42 days," I explained. "So, a bit more time than a dragon egg."

Aurum nodded. "Guess we won't know what the baby is until it comes out, then."

I imagined both a baby dragon and a baby ferret in my mind. I wouldn't be unhappy to birth a dragonet, not at all. I would love them just the same as a ferret kit. But deep down, I felt a duty to bring new black-footed ferret shifters into the world.

A month had passed since we conceived. There was no doubt about my pregnancy now. My chubby ferret tummy was rounder than usual, and since I spent all my time in such a small body, every little change felt dramatic. There wasn't much time left until we found out what I'd give birth to.

Until we became parents.

My heart fluttered at the idea. My parents hadn't done a bad job raising me, but I wanted to do better. I'd support my child in their interests, whatever they may be. I'd never put down their passions, or their appearance. I wanted to make my child feel as confident and proud as Aurum made me feel.

A gentle finger scratched the top of my head. Instinctively I closed my eyes and leaned into it. Being petted by my mate was so nice.

"Should we keep working?" he suggested.

"Oh, right. Good idea."

Aurum strolled into the living room—which, with its high ceiling and luxurious decorative pillars, was more of a chamber. "All right, here we go. See anything you like?"

I searched the room. My eyes snapped to a silky blanket draped over the back of the leather sofa. The fur on the back of my neck rose in excitement.

"That one," I said, pointing to it with my tiny finger.

"Got it."

Aurum picked up the blanket and brought it closer so I could examine it. My whiskers twitched as I pressed my nose into it. The blanket wasn't too big or too small, and the texture was soft and warm.

"Perfect," I said.

Aurum grinned in satisfaction. "Into the ferret den it goes."

I beamed back at him.

In the last two weeks, my denning urge flared up like fireworks. My ferret instincts gained strength since I spent more time in this form. Every cell inside me screamed to make a proper nest so my baby could be born into a cozy and safe environment. Obviously, the dragons' castle was the ultimate safe location, but my animal instincts doubled down anyway, and in my quest to kit, I wasn't about to ignore them.

With me wrapped around his neck and the blanket tucked under his arm, Aurum returned to his bedroom. I'd already staked my claim on the dresser in his room as my nest site. Not the dresser itself, but the narrow, dark space beneath it. It sounded odd to great, powerful creatures like dragons, but ferrets liked squeezing into tiny crevices.

Still, Aurum never tried to dissuade me. He always respected my choices.

He kneeled on the floor, letting me hop off his shoulders. I grabbed the blanket with my teeth and dragged it under the dresser. My instincts took hold and I moved without thinking. I pushed the blanket towards the gap between the bottom of the dresser and the floor, bunching it up like a fabric wall. There was enough of it to make a wide enclosure so only a small ‘entrance' to the nest remained.

Satisfied, I rolled around on the floor in a ferret happy-dance.

Aurum chuckled. His cheek was pressed to the floor so he could see me. "What're you doing in there?"

"Being silly," I admitted.

His smile radiated like the sun. "Awesome. I love when you get silly."

My whiskers twitched as I let out a squeaky ferret laugh.

"Hey," Aurum said suddenly, a mischievous lilt in his voice. "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" I asked.

"We never finished the DreamHunt 14 secret boss fight."

I gasped and jumped so high I nearly hit the bottom of the dresser. How did I forget? The chaos of moving in with the dragons and the excitement of the pregnancy had pushed it to the back burner.

I scurried out of my nest and leapt onto Aurum's shoulders. "What are we waiting for?" I cried. "Go!"

Aurum chuckled. My stomach swooped as he rose to his feet. It took getting used to at first, but I'd since grown fond of the feeling. I felt like an ant on the back of a titan.

"Calling it now. We're spending the rest of the day playing games together," Aurum declared. He raised his index finger. "But first, we need snacks."

"True. It's gonna be a long fight," I said, thinking of the arduous battle I'd faced alone in my room.

We headed to the kitchen and prepared our sweet-and-salty rations. Since Aurum's hands were free, he carried everything by himself. A bowl of popcorn, chocolate and candy, and two big glasses of water for hydration.

He sank into the couch, put the snacks on the coffee table, then grabbed a controller.

"Ready?" he asked me.

"I was born ready."

"That's what I like to hear."

As soon as the game's main title screen loaded, my heart kicked into overdrive. My tiny claws dug into Aurum's shirt. My whiskers went stiff and my fur stood on end, brushing against his neck.

I wasn't the only excited one. Aurum's eyes sharpened with intense focus, and his frame tensed like a predator about to pounce. His fingers were expertly poised over the controller.

Aurum loaded his save file. He was right in front of the cave that led to the secret boss. Wordlessly, he opened the menu and thumbed through his party, showing me their stats and skills. There was an unspoken pact of assistance between us. Aurum trusted me with this fight, and that was deeply meaningful to me.

Immediately, I noticed a couple issues with his preparation.

"You don't have healing skills on Lukas?" I asked.

Aurum looked surprised. "Should I? He's a melee fighter."

"I know, but Desiree can't heal the whole party on her own. Lukas has higher agility than her, so he can heal in between hits—and you're going to need it," I explained.

Aurum's eyes went wide in understanding. "Shit, good idea. Let me slap a skill card on him."

"And swap your accessory armor on Kiara and Neuro. She needs the electricity resistance."

"Fuck, I didn't even think of covering her weakness like that. I gave it to Neuro ‘cause it has that mana recovery."

"Right, but if you level him up once more, he'll gain that skill naturally," I pointed out.

Aurum turned to stare at me with adoration. "I'm so fucking in love with you."

Joy fluttered in my chest like butterflies. Bursting with affection, I rubbed my cheek against his.

"Me, too," I replied. "You're the most perfect alpha I could've asked for."

Aurum kissed my furry head, then turned his attention back to the game. After reorganizing his equipment and leveling up once more, he saved in front of the cave and blew out a heavy breath.

"This is it. Here we go," he murmured.

We both fell silent as Aurum entered the cave. Even though I'd seen the dramatic cut scene before, it didn't matter. It felt like I was seeing it for the first time again with Aurum. Our bodies reacted in sync. Freezing when the scene was tense, gasping when plot twists were revealed, getting angry when the arrogant boss taunted us.

Finally, the battle began. Epic music full of electric guitars and rapid drums swelled from the speakers. My blood hummed with dread and determination. I couldn't defeat the boss by myself. But could Aurum and I do it together?

The battle started easily enough. Aurum set up buffs on his party members and debuffs on the boss. Every once in a while, he'd grab a handful of popcorn and stuff it into his mouth without looking at it, then he'd offer me a piece, too. I was so nervous, I could barely eat, but I remembered what Aurum said about getting enough calories, so I munched on whatever he gave me. Snacks weren't exactly nutritious, but he fed me healthier meals outside of our precious gaming time. Besides, we needed the fuel for this monster of a battle.

Aurum hissed as our main healer took a big hit. "Damn."

"It's okay," I reassured him. "That's why you put healing skills on Lukas, remember?"

Relief flashed over Aurum's face. "You're right. That was a good idea, Mylo." He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before healing the party.

My heart squeezed with fondness. It meant a lot to me that Aurum appreciated my input on video games. I wasn't used to people taking my advice seriously.

The boss's health bar whittled down, but it was agonizingly slow. This battle was well-known among fans for being painful and arduous, requiring at least two hours of real-life time. But Aurum didn't balk. He was just as passionate about this as me.

"What if this battle takes so long that you give birth during it?" Aurum teased, chewing on a candy.

"I better not," I replied tartly. "I want to see what happens after you defeat him."

Aurum laughed. "That's my mate."

He handed me a gummy candy before launching into the next round of combat. I held it in my paws as I watched anxiously. The boss's health bar was halfway down now. My claws dug into the gummy flesh and my fangs ripped through it like meat. It was a good outlet for my antsy feeling.

A sudden light broke into the room. Aurum and I both groaned, shielding our eyes from the bright interruption.

"What're you two doing here, sitting in the dark?" Saffron asked. Sensing our dismay, he shut the door, bathing the room in calm darkness again.

"Fighting the secret boss," Aurum and I replied at the same time.

Saffron paused, then cackled. "Wow, I've never heard Aurum do that with someone who isn't me before. You guys are really in sync."

He strolled over to the back of the couch to look at the screen. I noticed that I didn't feel anxious at Saffron's intrusion the same way I did when my parents entered my room uninvited. He may not have shared our passion for games, but he respected it.

"Wow, there's only a little bit of health left," Saffron pointed out, meaning the quarter chunk of HP.

Aurum shook his head. "It's taken us an hour and a half to get this far."

"What?" Saffron cried. "That's as long as a movie!"

"Yup."

"Well, I just came by to tell you that Cobalt's making dinner tonight, so don't eat too much candy. I'll leave you two alone now," Saffron said. "Good luck beating that dude."

He crept back out of the room, careful not to let the outside light blast us as he slipped behind the door.

Our battle raged on. We were in the final stretch now. Each blow we dealt was more desperate; each hit from the boss felt nastier. Our party's mana was running low, and we had no more restoration items. From here on out, we could only rely on our gaming skills.

"We're so close," I murmured, watching the health bar chip away.

"We can do it," Aurum assured.

My tiny claws kneaded his shirt restlessly. "This is about where I got in my file before my parents barged in..."

"Well, that ain't happening again. You and I are gonna beat this guy's ass."

Hope stirred in my chest. I believed my mate.

"Man, Kiara and Desiree have great synergy," Aurum noted as the next turn began. "I usually don't bring both of them to boss fights."

I nodded eagerly. "They cover each other's weaknesses well. And their buffs and debuffs work great together."

"You're a genius, Mylo."

I blushed at his praise. "Nah, I just love thinking about this sort of thing."

"And I love you."

I smiled, beaming inside.

Suddenly, the boss's animation changed. Jagged clouds of black and white energy surrounded him, crackling like lightning.

"He's charging up for a brutal attack," I warned Aurum. "That's what TKO'd me the first time!"

Aurum's face tensed as he summoned all his focus. "That won't happen again. We're gonna beat him before he unleashes that spell."

My eyes widened. "What? But he has so much health left!"

"We can do it," Aurum growled.

I shuddered. There was so much raw conviction in his voice that I had no choice but to believe him.

The snacks went untouched as the stakes intensified. If we lost here, that would be two hours wasted. But we were so close to the end. And if we won...

My body trembled with nerves as Aurum confidently hit the buttons. Each turn that passed filled me with a mix of despair and hope.

The boss rose higher. The energy clouds whipped faster.

"He's gonna attack next turn!" I cried, fearing the worst—another total party knockout.

Aurum smirked. "One turn is all I need."

I watched in horror as Aurum switched tactics out of nowhere. He flicked through the skill menu in an unusual way.

What was he doing? Why didn't he rely on the spells that got us this far?

But then, something magical happened.

I blinked in wonder and confusion. On Desiree's turn, there was a brand-new spell on her list—one I'd never seen before.

Aurum clicked it.

An incredible animation played. Desiree geared up, swinging her staff high. Suddenly, she grabbed Kiara's hand. A burst of golden energy flowed through their connected arms. Both women roared with effort, then shot the golden energy towards the boss. It cut through his gathering clouds and struck him down. He fell in a dramatic crash. Then the post-battle screen popped up, showing everyone's gained experience and loot, while the victory jingle played triumphantly.

My jaw fell open.

The battle was finally over.

"Aurum, you did it!" I cried, overflowing with pride.

"We did it, Mylo," he corrected with a grin.

"But what was that special attack? How did you know?"

Aurum's eyes gleamed. "Do you remember way earlier in the plot when Kiara joined the party, and she and Desiree didn't get along at all?"

How could I not? That scene was hilariously memorable. "Of course!"

"Near the end of the fight, I remembered something. Lukas made a throwaway comment about how the two of them might have the strongest unison attack someday."

The scene crashed into my mind. I remembered that, too, but I didn't realize it applied to this particular fight. It must've been triggered when the boss's HP was low enough, and by the fact that Aurum brought both women in his party.

"It wasn't magic or anything. I just noticed the new spell before you did, since you were too busy freaking out," he teased.

I let out a shaky sigh of relief that dissolved into laughter. "I was worried we'd have to do it all over again!"

Aurum gazed at me, his eyes full of love. "Mylo, sitting on the couch and playing video games with you is all I want. I'd do this boss fight a thousand times over."

My lip trembled. I threw myself at him, hugging his neck with my little arms.

He grinned. "Hey, that tickles!"

As I nuzzled Aurum, a delicious scent suddenly wafted under my nose. I sniffed the air, my whiskers twitching. "That smells like... steak."

Aurum licked his lips. "Must be the dinner Saffron mentioned. Man, I'm starving after that long-ass fight."

"You ate snacks the whole time!" I pointed out with a laugh.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a greedy dragon. C'mon, let's fill you up with something nutritious."

As Aurum got up, a cut scene played on the screen.

"Wait! Look," I called out.

Aurum's gaze snapped to the screen. He sat back down, riveted.

In the cut scene, Kiara and Desiree exchanged heartfelt words to each other, then—for the first time all game—the two embraced.

"What a cute scene," I murmured. I didn't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or the grueling journey up to this point, but I got misty-eyed with emotion.

Aurum nodded, clearly satisfied at the conclusion. "I always knew those two had more in common than they realized."

"Right? That's what I thought, too!"

Aurum smiled at me. "I can't wait to play RPGs with you forever."

Joy lit up my whole body. "Same."

Aurum stood up and flashed a hungry grin. "But first... steak."