26. Mylo

Twenty-Six

Now that theegg was outside my body, I felt comfortable shifting back to human form. Besides, it was easier to carry around an egg with hands than paws.

To keep it warm, I nestled it in my palms at all times. Although strangely, the egg had its own low heat. It wasn't like touching a chicken or reptile egg.

Every day I wondered what would hatch. The egg was so small. Was Saffron right when he suggested a tiny dragon? Or was there a ferret curled up inside the shell after all?

Those were the thoughts running through my mind as I sat at the breakfast bar. The kitchen was full today. Most members of the family were present, either sitting at the bar like me, rummaging through the fridge, or helping cook breakfast. I liked when everybody was around, just casually sharing space. It always made me feel cozy and peaceful.

"Dude, stop stealing the eggs! I'm trying to make pancakes here," Aurum complained, scowling at Crimson.

Crimson shot him a tart glare. "Why don't you make something else for a change? All you ever cook is pancakes!"

"Uh, yeah? Because they're awesome? And Mylo loves them?"

"He has a point," Taylor added with a smirk.

Crimson looked mortified that his own mate agreed with the enemy. "Yes, I suppose they are good..."

"Exactly. So give me that damn egg," Aurum demanded, snatching it from Crimson's hand. "Besides, I only need one. You have like thirty of them."

Crimson huffed as he guarded the bowl stacked full of eggs. "I am making omelets for the entire family! The number of eggs I have is barely enough."

Aurum rolled his eyes as he cracked the egg into his floury pancake batter. "The whole family ain't even here. Thystle and Matteo are probably making out in their room, and we're missing Viol, in case you forgot. Who said you had to cook, anyway? Let everyone make their own breakfast, Master Chef."

Crimson opened his mouth to retort, but whatever he had to say died in his throat as Taylor trailed a hand down his back and whispered something in his ear. Then Crimson shut up and went back to cooking.

I giggled from my spot at the bar. I'd never grow tired of the family's antics.

Saffron leaned over to peek at the egg. "Any pips?"

Each passing day made him more and more excited for the egg's hatching. He seemed just as thrilled as me.

"Not yet," I said, examining the shell just in case. "This is like waiting in line for the midnight release of a new game, but a thousand times worse."

"Let's take bets!" Muzo suggested. "I think it's gonna hatch tomorrow."

"That's quite soon," Cobalt said calmly, sitting on his other side. He was a large alpha, but he looked particularly huge next to his short, wiry omega mate.

"Yeah, but my guess is the underdog. If I'm right, I'll win big!"

Jade smiled as he pushed up his glasses. As usual, an open book lay in front of him. I couldn't see the cover, but there were black and white photos of odd contraptions on the page.

"I wasn't aware there was a reward," Jade remarked.

"There should be," Muzo said.

"It can't be money," Saffron pointed out. "We all have enough of that."

I chuckled. "Maybe we don't need to have a winner's pot. Isn't the baby hatching a reward on its own?"

Muzo and Saffron considered this, then nodded.

"You're right, Mylo," Saffron said.

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 have you been 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. "We just had 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.

"You keep getting better and better at making pancakes," I said.

Aurum's eyes sparkled at the compliment. "I do it all for you, Mylo."

I took a few more bites, savoring the sweet flavor, then was distracted by something sharp poking into my palm.

"Ow," I said. "What is that?"

Glancing down, my jaw dropped. A tiny hard chip dug into my skin.

A piece of eggshell.

"What?" Aurum asked urgently when I didn't respond.

Saffron leaned over to see what I was staring at, then gasped loudly. "The egg!" he cried.

Crimson frowned in confusion at the stove, glancing at the egg grasped between his fingers.

"Not that one!" Saffron said.

Understanding washed over Aurum's face. He abandoned the pancakes and ran over to the other side of the bar where I sat. He sucked in a breath at the egg cradled in my hands.

"The baby," Aurum whispered.

My heart pounded a mile a minute. It was finally happening. Our baby was hatching—here, during breakfast, surrounded by family.

Aurum ushered me off the bar stool and into an armchair near the dining table. Everyone gathered to watch. Every second felt like an eternity. My nerves were frayed from excitement and anxiety, and my hands trembled as I held the egg. Would our baby get out of the egg safely?

Aurum's reassuring hands touched my shoulders. "It's okay, Mylo. Everyone's here to help," he reminded me gently.

I released a breath. As always, it seemed like he could read my mind, and he always knew exactly what to say. His promise helped me calm down.

Soon, another pip cracked the shell. And another. The tiny breakthroughs cut open the shell piece by piece. But I still couldn't see the shape inside. It was too dark compared to the shining, golden exterior.

Then, a dark paw-shaped limb thrust upward.

My heart soared.

Was the baby a black-footed ferret after all?

I didn't have to wait long to find out. A head joined the paw a second later. It was wedge-shaped with round, low-set ears and an adorable pink nose.

I laughed brightly, overwhelmed with feeling. "Aurum, look!"

His grin took up his whole face, and his eyes were misty. I'd never seen him so emotional. "That's our kid," he whispered.

The kitchen came to life with congratulations and excitement. It felt like I was in a dream, or watching the beautiful, triumphant ending to a video game.

But the newborn ferret didn't crawl out of the egg. My joy turned to confusion as the newborn started biting the other half of its shell.

"What are you doing?" I murmured. I wasn't sure if I should be concerned or not.

Aurum frowned for a moment before his brows shot up and his eyes went wide. Beside him, Saffron had the same expression. They looked like mirror images.

I faced the rest of the family. "What's going on?" I asked, panic seeping into my voice.

"Wait," Jade said, serious but heartening.

I heard a low chuckle from Cobalt. "This looks familiar," he remarked.

I didn't know what they were talking about, but their relaxed voices calmed my nerves. Well, some of them.

"Should I... do something?" I asked.

"Listen," Cobalt urged.

I was so confused, but when the eldest alpha dragon gave me a suggestion, I listened. I shut my eyes and listened as hard as I could.

A jolt ran through me. The muffled sound of high-pitched squeaking caught my ear—and it wasn't coming from the baby ferret's mouth. The baby bit and scratched the eggshell.

"Baby ferrets aren't born with teeth," I pondered out loud. "Is that a dragon trait?"

"No," Jade replied. He gave Aurum and Saffron a meaningful glance. "But it is a trait of twin dragons."

My eyes widened to the size of plates. "Twins!?"

At the same time as my exclamation, the baby ferret ripped off a chunk of shell. It dove into the newly-formed crevice and dragged out a second ferret—its twin.

I stared in awe and disbelief. It was a miracle.

"Twins," Aurum said, his shock echoing my own. Then after a pause, as if the truth had finally sunk in, he blurted out, "TWINS?"

Cobalt had a fond, nostalgic expression. "We told you the story, remember? About how the two of you hatched?"

Aurum and Saffron exchanged a look. A silent mutual reminiscing seemed to flash between them.

"That's right," Saffron murmured. "We shared a golden egg. Nobody knew there were two of us inside until one of us almost suffocated, but the other helped him escape."

My heart flipped at the story while relief flooded to the tips of my body. Our egg hatched without quite so much drama.

"Never mind that," Viol interrupted in a growl. "We need to get these babies cleaned up."

He brought some towels and warm water. The twin ferrets were covered in egg residue. They mewled as I wiped them gently with the damp towel. It relieved me to hear both of them squealing loudly. Thank goodness they were healthy.

As the last of the residue was cleaned up, I noticed something odd stuck to the twins. They had tiny growths between their shoulders. I almost panicked again until Jade noticed them too, and laughed.

"Well, would you look at that," he remarked. "Your twin ferrets have wings!"

"Wings?" I asked.

I looked closer at the nubs. Without the gunk in the way, I saw them clearly now. Tiny folded wings perched on the backs of my twins' shoulders. I was so glad my babies were ferrets, and on top of that, seeing them inherit a special trait from their dragon father filled me with indescribable happiness.

"They're perfect," I murmured through a wide smile.

Aurum pressed his cheek affectionately to mine. "You can say that again. Man, what are the chances we'd have twins?"

"There is a genetic component," Jade pointed out.

Saffron's brows rose hopefully. "Does that mean my fated mate might have twins, too?"

Jade nodded. "It's certainly possible."

Sensing the commotion—and having eaten their fill of pancakes—the other dragonets waddled over. Ruby, Heather, and Lazuli stared up into my lap with curious eyes.

"Looks like they want to meet their new cousins," Taylor said. He hoisted Ruby into his arms so he could see, but not touch, since the ferret twins were too small to play with the dragonets for now.

Muzo lifted Lazuli with a grunt of effort. In a short amount of time, his dragon daughter was too heavy for the short omega to carry. "Look, Laz!" he encouraged. "Those are your new family members."

Viol held Heather, since their parents were currently busy. I thought Viol looked natural carrying a toddler in his strong arms. He spoke to them in a soft voice. "Do you see your cousins?"

Heather nodded, staring inquisitively at the new babies.

"You pick names yet?" Viol asked, gruff but curious.

Aurum and I smiled as we looked at each other.

We knew the perfect names.

Suddenly, Crimson sniffed the air—noting the same acrid whiff I did—then cried out in horror, "MY OMELETS!"