Harmony
I drive towards my house with my mind in turmoil. I feel a million times better emotionally, but my heart is aching in new ways now.
Jaheim’s spent eight years not knowing what he was.
How the fuck can that happen to someone in this day and age? There are thousands of us, scattered all over the world, so for him to not know what he is, or know anyone else like him, is insane.
To think of what he's been through, too...
I blink away fresh tears, unable to fathom what the last eight years must’ve been like for him. I grew up around wares; I remember riding on my parents’ backs as a little girl, pulling their fur and them chasing after me while growling playfully. But to have your change thrust upon you out of nowhere and turning into a monster basically...
No wonder he left. Now I'm grateful he ran from that hotel room, because if we had of carried on, I might not’ve even been here now. He must’ve been so overwhelmed; petrified of how he felt towards me. It was life changing for me, and I knew what it was, but him... with all those heightened senses and emotions raging through him…
I need advice, but as much as I love my dad, there's only one person I know for certain who will deal with this in an open-minded and unbiased way.
I hit call on my cell and hold it to my ear.
“Harmony?”
“Hey, Uncle C. Are you busy?”
“No, Baby Girl. What's up?”
“Can I come see you with Mom and Dad? It's kinda urgent.”
“Sure. Everything alright?”
“Yeah... I think so. Is Ella there?”
“She's actually just appeared.”
“Could you ask her if she knows?”
“Harmony said to ask you if you know?”
“Yeah,” I hear her say in the background. “We'll be waiting for when you get here!”
Course she knows.
“Uh, okay...” Uncle Clarence says, sounding bewildered. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah. Thanks. I'll be there soon.”
“Don’t panic, and drive safe, Har,” I hear Ella shout.
I slow down on the gas. “I will.”
***
“What's this all about?” Mom asks from the back seat.
“I’ll explain everything once we get to Uncle Clarence’s.”
“Is it about Jaheim?”
I take a quick look at dad. “Yeah.”
He nods. “Alright.”
I wonder what he's thinking.
Probably the worst.
I wonder how long Ella’s known about Jaheim. I wonder how much she knows full stop. With her being an elder, she could know everything...
I know she showed Davonyé’s mom what happened to his dad…
We get to the house and make our way to the kitchen where Aunt Abriya, Uncle Clarence, and Ariella are waiting for us at the island. My baby cousin Amarey is asleep in his crib beside the window, and there’s no sign of Davonyé.
The kitchen window closes and then two more stools appear at the island for us to sit down, but I walk over to see Amarey. He’s a month old now and I can’t say I don’t feel guilty for not seeing him more.
He’s all swaddled up looking cute as ever. I swear he’s the most beautiful baby in the world. His hair is so long already and I kinda hope they let him grow it. It suits him.
I turn around to make my way back over to the island and see my Aunt and Uncle looking at me, and not in a good way. I dread what they're gonna say.
They both get up to hug me. Uncle Clarence first and then my Aunt. She holds my shoulders and I see in her eyes that she’s trying to think of what to say. “Are you okay, Sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I am now.” I sigh. “This past month has been... difficult, but I'm pretty sure things are gonna get better now.”
I take a quick look at Ella and she smiles. ‘It is. Eeek. Oh, my, God. I'm so excited for you, girl.’
I smirk. “Thanks.” I look back at Aunt Abriya. “What I wanna talk to you all about has a lot to do with why I look like this.”
She lets me go. “Alright.”
I sit at the island; my mom and dad are to my left, my aunt and uncle are opposite me, and Ella is to my right. I look at Uncle Clarence. “So, I found my mate about a month ago. His name’s Jaheim, he's twenty-eight, and he's Carisse’s brother.”
He frowns “Carisse?” He looks at Ella. “As in...”
She nods. “Yeah. Same one.”
“Oh, God,” Aunt Abriya gushes. “Well that’s not awkward.”
“A little,” I say, “but that doesn't really matter. What matters is what I found out a few hours ago.” I take a deep breath. “Basically, he left Montréal a month ago after we almost hooked up, but we didn’t because he kinda freaked out. He told me he couldn't see me again and then ran back to Ontario. He blocked me so I couldn't get hold of him, so I've kinda been struggling, as you can see…”
“Oh, Sweetheart,” Aunt Abriya says, looking sorry as hell for me.
“I know, but I promise I’m okay.”
Uncle Clarence smiles sympathetically, and I give him a weak smile back.
“So yesterday, Davonyé put a public display of ownership over Ella at school that Carisse saw. She must’ve asked her brother to come help her get her stuff cuz she's moving back to Ontario. Anyway. I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I went over to her place this morning. We kinda argued and I had to restrain her, but then Jaheim appeared out of nowhere and dragged me away from her.”
“What?” Mom and Dad say.
I turn my head to face them. “Don’t worry. I didn’t hit her or anything, and I kinda got the feeling Jaheim was more looking out for me than he was her.” My heart flutters like hell when I remember how I felt when I realised he was telling her to leave and not me. I turn back to Uncle Clarence. “He made her leave and we ended up kissing… and during that kiss… he growled.”
The only person who doesn’t say ‘what’ is Ella. I turn to look at her. And that kiss was hot, I think, hoping she can hear me.
She smirks. ‘Girl… You think that was hot…’
“Growled as in ‘ware growled’?” Dad asks.
I turn away from Ella and nod. “Yeah, and he marked me. But he didn’t even know he did it.”
That makes them frown.
“I thought he was twenty-eight?” Mom asks.
“He is.” I look back at Uncle Clarence. “Uncle C, Jaheim doesn't know what he is. He doesn’t know I’m his mate, he doesn't know about you two, and he didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked him if he was a ware.”
I can tell my aunt and uncle are shocked by that, horrified even.
“He's playing you,” Mom says. “He must know.”
“No,” Ella says, drawing all our attention. She shakes her head. “He's not. He didn't know what he was until Harmony told him. For eight years since his change, he's believed he was the only one like him.” She looks at me. “I told you he was remarkable, Har. Even Aura’s got serious respect for him.”
I nod, but I feel sad all over again after hearing her say that out loud.
“My God,” Aunt Abriya gushes, along with my mom. “That poor boy.”
“I know,” I agree, feeling emotional. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on his face when he realised I knew what he was.” He looked relieved but almost broken at the same time.
Dad wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a hug before resting a kiss on my head. “So that’s why he ran…”
“Yeah, I mean, I kinda knew something was up by the way he was acting; I even said it to Ella, but he didn’t mark me any of the times we’d kissed before, or let on that he knew we were mates. But now, of course it makes sense that he ran. He was scared.”
Uncle Clarence looks at me. “But his parents are wares.”
I pull out of dad’s arms. “Jaheim was told his parents died in a car accident when he was eight. Carisse’s mom was his mom’s best friend and raised him after.” I look at Ella, wanting to know what really happened. “What happened?”
“The time isn't right yet.” ‘Let him come to the realisation on his own.’
I sigh. “Alright.”
“Okay, so where is he now?” Aunt Abriya asks.
I look at her. “Driving back to Ontario with Carisse. But he's coming straight back. He didn’t wanna leave this time.”
Uncle Clarence shakes his head in disbelief. “In all my two hundred plus years, I’ve never personally met anyone who didn't know what they were. I've heard stories, like everyone else, but this ain’t a common thing.”
“Right,” Dad agrees.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t picked up the scent of a ware in eight years,” Mom says.
Uncle Clarence looks at her. “He might not know what he’s looking for. I remember Abriya meeting Danny for the first time and not picking up his scent, and her range is the strongest of any ware.”
Mom looks shocked by that. “Wow… I feel so bad for him.”
Aunt Abriya looks just as sad by it. “Same. Imagine going through your change with no one there for you, and then living that life, alone, trying to hide what you are, trying to control it with all those urges.”
“Aura was there for him when he changed,” Ella says. “She helped to hide him because he didn’t know it was coming. Jaheim’s change was also a dominant one, too, so she took the edge off his pain.”
I feel a little relief knowing he wasn't alone, but I still feel so much for him.
Ella looks at me before turning her attention to the others. “Jaheim has suffered immensely. He’s spent a long time trying to suppress what he is, and has deep emotional scars due to what he’s lost. It won’t just be a matter of him meeting all of us so he doesn’t feel alone anymore, he needs to learn to love the side of him he currently hates.”
Hearing her say that hurts, especially because his ware side will be one of the things about him that I love the most. “So what do I do? Can I tell him everything?”
“Of course,” Aunt Abriya says. “Jaheim’s family now. You tell him every single thing he needs to know, Sweetheart. And then once he's ready, he can meet the rest of us.”
“Dad first,” Ella's says. “He’ll meet dad alone first.”
I nod, and then smile at Uncle Clarence. I’m not surprised by that one bit.
He nods, but then his face falls. “You need to be careful, Baby Girl.”
“I was just about to say the same,” Dad says. I turn to look at him and he looks worried as fuck. “You still have ten months to go before your change. Does he know that?”
I shake my head. “We didn't talk about it. He literally asked if there were more like him and then he had to go because Carisse was waiting. I know he's eager for answers, though, because he said he's gonna get a flight back.”
“We should send one of the jets for him. It would be quicker. That boy must be going out of his mind,” Uncle Clarence says.
“No need,” Ella jumps in again. “Jaheim will arrange one. He’ll be back in Montréal just after midnight.”
I look at her and smile. My bitch is fucking bad ass. I love her so much.
‘And you know I love you, too.’
“What does he do?” Dad asks.
“Real Estate,” I answer. “I don't think money's an issue for him.”
“It's not,” Ella says.
I look at her again, and she smirks.
“Alright,” Uncle Clarence says, “so that just leaves the concern of you being intimate with him, Harmony."
Ugh… They’re gonna tell me not to.
Ella slides a small black purse in front of me. “These are for you, Har. Just in case.”
I look inside and see vials of her blood. “Okay...”
Her dark eyes swirl for a split second before they settle. “I'll know to come if anything gets too out of hand. Just be careful, Har. Jaheim has more self-control than most wares, but you are his mate.”
Ugh... That's shit is exciting as hell.
She gives me a look. ‘Give him time. Every day you spend with him, he’ll learn more restraint. You’re just gonna have to be patient.’
As much as I don’t want to, I also don’t wanna die. Besides, it’s not about me right now, it’s all about Jaheim. ‘I will.’
“Alright,” Uncle Clarence says. “Keep us updated on how he takes the news, and if you need anything, we're here.”
“Thank you. All of you.”
Aunt Abriya suddenly claps her hands together. “Oh, this is so exciting. Congratulations, Sweetheart.” She looks at mom. “How relieved are you, Babe?”
Mom smiles her face off. “I can't even tell you in words.”
Dad and I both roll our eyes at them gushing, but I soon divert my attention to all the food that's suddenly appeared on the table.
Damn. There’s literally IHOP’s menu on the island. Oh, God… My favourites... Powdered donuts, and cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows on top.
‘Eat, Harmony. Besides, you're gonna need all the strength you can get from now on.’
I look at Ella. ‘Shit, I hope so.’
‘Girl, you don't even know. You’ll gain weight twice as fast for the next two weeks, so eat as much as possible, as often as possible, alright? I can’t just give you all your weight back in one go because people would notice.’
‘Alright. Thank you, Ella. For everything.’
She jumps off her stool to hug me. ‘Thank you, for having my back.’