Chapter 71 DANE

“What is it? What happened?” The idea of my children being in danger ignited instant rage in me. I would shred anything or anyone who dared to threaten them. Or their mother.

I was out of my chair so fast, the twins froze and looked at me with identical expressions of terror on their faces. Seraphina darted behind her brother. Tristan squared up with me like he was a man ten times the size of the four-year-old he was. “Nothing! We just haven’t seen our mommy in forever and Evander said she was in here, so we came to see her.”

Aurora pressed a hand over her mouth, clearly hiding a laugh.

“It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it?” she asked as I sat down again. Then she sighed. “At least I’m no longer the only one who will be so paranoid all the time.”

“Your guards aren’t?” I growled. I was still unsettled from the moment I’d thought the twins in danger. My reaction was pure instinct, deep and so profound I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried.

“Trajan is too steady for me to call paranoid,” she said with a smile as she opened her arms and both twins climbed into her lap. “Evander… maybe. But he’s good at masking fear with humor.”

I grunted. Her bodyguard hardly spoke, and her cousin was always guarding the children, even though they were under the protection of Blue Ridge now.

Aurora addressed the twins. “What are you two doing here? You’re supposed to be in bed.”

“That’s why we need help,” Seraphina said with a mischievous smile. “Mrs. Jamison and Cousin Evander are trying to make us brush our teeth.”

Her seriousness caught me by surprise, and I let out an unintentional laugh.

Tristan glared at me. He was obviously protective of his sister and didn’t like that I had laughed at her.

“Apologies,” I said. “It sounds very serious.”

“It is,” Seraphina said with a wicked grin that almost made me laugh again.

That strange, protective warmth came over me again as I interacted with the two of them as Aurora held them in her arms.

Family. My family.

I had missed years of this. I wasn’t going to miss anymore.

“Come on, you two hellions. I’m sure Mrs. Jamison is out of her mind with worry, wondering where you are. Let’s go.”

Aurora tried to stand, but having two children on her lap weighed her down. I rose and held out my arms. Tristan glared at me, but Seraphina giggled and jumped from her mother’s lap to me.

I caught her and spun her around, and she laughed wildly. The sound was another strand that tied my heart to this little girl. I loved hearing that laugh.

With only Tristan in her lap, Aurora rose gracefully and led the way from my suite of rooms to hers.

We found Mrs. Jamison and Evander waiting for us.

“I tracked them to your door,” Evander said, explaining why he hadn’t come looking for them. “Figured you wanted some time.”

“I can take them if you’d like,” said Mrs. Jamison, bustling into the room.

“No, it’s fine.” Aurora met my eyes. “I think their father might want to put them to bed.”

There was a tightness in my throat. Instead of speaking, I nodded.

So, I helped her get the twins to brush their teeth and put on their pajamas. Then they got into their beds, and I sat at the foot of Seraphina’s bed while Aurora sat at the foot of Tristan’s, and I read to them.

I finished the book and closed it. When I looked up, they’d fallen asleep.

Aurora pressed a finger against her lips. She kissed each of them on their foreheads and went to the door.

I didn’t move as quickly as she did. Instead, I took my time and knelt by the side of each bed, pushing hair out of their eyes. My fingers lingered on their soft, round cheeks.

My children. It was still so strange. So hard to believe. But I felt the connection with them. I had to provide for them. Keep them. Protect them. It had only been days since I found out they were mine, but knowing it changed my entire world.

I met Aurora in the hall and closed the door behind me softly. She looked troubled.

“What is it?” I asked.

She had her arms folded across her chest, like she was hugging herself—or shielding herself. Her gaze dropped to the floor, her long lashes sweeping her cheeks. I put a hand on her shoulder.

“Tell me.”

She swallowed, and I moved my hand from her shoulder to her cheek, forcing her to look up at me. “Aurora. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She sighed. When her lilac eyes finally met mine, they were full of anxiety.

“Dane… I don’t know if you should see the children again.”