Page 21 of Dragon AU

“Okay, okay. Buck up, buttercup. Let’s figure you a way out of this mess without getting Dad involved.”

Rowan sat up slowly. “It’s no use.”

She eyed him weirdly. “Since when did you start giving up? You wouldn’t let go of your pacifier for love nor money until you were five years old!”

“I thought you were over the humiliation ritual!”

“It’s just the truth!” she exclaimed just as Troy skidded into the room in his socks.

“Can’t stop. Need coffee. One minute thirty-second break. They found a Baccarat paperweight, can you believe it!” he said around huffed, frantic breaths.

Raina remained unfazed, staring at Rowan like this was just a normal Saturday occurrence as her husband ran around behind her muttering about paperweights.

They were his hoard, so Rowan couldn’t judge too harshly. Both Troy and his sister had valuable hoards that looked anything but. Him with his antique paperweights that cost thousands and her with her collection of trading cards of all sorts that could pay off someone’s entire life.

He sighed under his sister’s scrutiny, leaning back in his chair and chugging his coffee. “We explored all the possible avenues in our emergency meeting.”

“And?”

“Maybe we should just drop the project and be done with it,” Rowan muttered under his breath, staring into his mug.

When he glanced up both Raina and Troy were looking at him like he was an alien.

“What?” Troy said.

“Nothing,” Rowan said hastily, shaking his head to get the thoughts out of his mind. They stuck stubbornly to the edges though, refusing to budge. “Don’t listen to me.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Troy promised on his way out of the door, the call of the paperweight too much to resist. “Don’t think I’ll forget!”

Rowan rolled his eyes, catching his sister’s loving smile at her idiot husband.

Their union had been weird to him at first. In fact, he’d felt a little betrayed. But mating was mating. They were meant for each other, and who was Rowan to stand in the way of that?

He found himself scratching at his arm, the area around the bite mark still puffy and red.

“That where the twink got you?”

“Yeah.” Rowan rolled up his sleeve to show her. “I think I got infected.”

“With idiocy? Yeah, I heard that’s catching.”

Rowan scowled.

“No cure either. Shame.” She patted him on the arm in mock sympathy.

Rowan leaned in and bit her on the bicep. She screeched and socked him in the forehead, but Rowan was smug.

“Shame. Heard the idiocy is catching,” Rowan drawled. “You should get that looked at.”

She was staring at him strangely. “What has gotten into you?”

Rowan had no answer.

Luckily, he was saved by his nieces bursting through the door talking over one another. At thirteen, there was no end to the subjects they could chatter about, finding a new interest every single day.

They spotted him and their slitted pupils expanded in happiness.

“Uncle Rowan!”