Andrew Dorincourt has the blood of powerful shifters in his veins. It’s his job to take care of his siblings, who are his pack, and he has no intention of letting anything get in the way. However, he’s seen the love shared not only by his parents but by the Papas, the men who raised his mother, and he wants that for himself. The problem is none of the young women he’s dated have left him wanting anything more than to go home alone. Perhaps he’d have more success by dating men, as his brother does. Only it seems he’s not very successful at that, either. Da’ric is the son of Ric’u, a Brachi who’d been stranded on Terra for decades, and David Knight, an ichthyologist who traveled up the Amazon in search of his heart’s desire. Seeing the deep love his fathers have for each other, Da’ric determines to settle for nothing less. At any rate, the dating pool is pretty much empty in the Lagoon of Dreams, and so he goes to the States, where he intends to become a herpetologist. In order to do that, he must mingle with normals, Terrans who have no idea extraterrestrials share the planet with them. When he walks among Terrans, he must disguise his heritage by wearing sunglasses to conceal his rainbow-colored eyes and long-sleeved shirts to hide his scale-patterned skin. After being kidnapped and sold to a high-ranking member of the London underworld to be displayed as the Snake Boy, Da’ despairs of ever seeing his beloved family again, until Drew wanders into the House of Oddities and helps Da’ escape. Is it fate, kismet, or destiny that brings together the offspring of two very unique families? Have these two been waiting for each other, and will the future hold the love they’d both been seeking?

Rainbows in Your Eyes

I was still on display at that time, and I’d slithered from one end of the tank to another—they kept the top low enough so I couldn’t stand or even sit. A young girl caught my attention. She stared wide-eyed in front of me, her palm pressed against the glass. I brought my hand up, but before I could touch the glass, someone shrieked.


“Elizabeth, get away from there.” A woman yanked hard on the girl’s arm.


“Sorry, miss. You really can’t be standing so close. Not that it’s dangerous, I assure you. The snake boy just tends to get a bit high strung—”


“He doesn’t look very high strung now.”


“Heh, heh, heh. That’s because he hasn’t been riled up.”


“Now, I must ask you to leave, since it’s almost closing time. I do thank you most sincerely for paying us a visit. Do you have one of our brochures? It will give you an idea of the vast array of what Malossini’s has to offer. Perhaps you’ll come back to visit us.”


Chapter 53