Jaheim
“You ready to go, Boo?”
I look up from the kitchen counter to Harmony standing in the doorway. “Yeah.”
She comes closer, slowly, wearing one of the new jeans and sweater combos I bought her yesterday. She wanted to go back to her house to collect some clothes that fit, but I took her shopping instead. She's regained a lot of her weight and the glow in her cheeks has returned, too.
She is fucking stunning.
Her hair is up in a ponytail and I’m loving the natural look on her. She hasn’t worn a lot of makeup either, but she doesn’t even need it. Besides, the more natural she is, the more innocently dirty she looks.
And I love that.
The best thing about us being what we are, is that this attraction we feel towards each other won’t ever go away. She’ll always look like that, and I’ll always look like this. She will forever be the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.
“There's no rush, Baby. You meet them when you're ready.”
“I am ready. I'm just...” I'm not used to discussing my emotions with anyone, but I swallow down the uneasy feeling to be honest with her. “…I'm anxious about what I'm gonna find out.”
She holds my hand, linking her fingers in mine. “Of course. I'd feel the same. There's nothing wrong with that.” She bites her bottom lip. “Sometimes... I feel like maybe I've somehow rushed you into—”
“You haven't rushed me into shit.” I pull her into my arms and rest a kiss on her head, relishing how much more of her there is now. “You ain't rushed me into anything. Not once have I thought that.” Having her in my arms makes me feel so much better about everything. “You've become my safe place,” I whisper.
She relaxes against my chest. “You are mine. I... care about you more than I do myself.”
I hold her a little tighter, inhaling her scent and allowing it to calm me. “I feel the same.” I love her.
She pulls out of my arms to look up at me and then suddenly smiles. “Do you want me to help you relax before we leave?”
I rest a soft kiss on her puffy lips. “You've relaxed me enough. Come on, let's go.”
We approach a two-storey house, painted yellow, and my apprehension returns.
I can sense someone like me. A male.
I can't hear him, but I can definitely smell him. The scent is strong, almost dominating.
“This house is soundproofed,” Harmony explains. “As you know, a ware’s hearing is crazy amplified, so we soundproof rooms and shit for privacy. Can you sense him, though?”
“Yeah...” I still can't believe I’m about to meet someone else like me.
“How do you feel about that?”
“I feel... Both anxious and... relieved.” Not that I haven’t believed what Harmony’s told me, but to actually have confirmation is…
She rests a hand on my thigh. “They won't hurt you. Trust me, you’re family to them. You were as soon as I told them about you.”
I park beside another escalade, a yellow one, and then I turn to face her.
“You have nothing to worry about.” Her burgundy eyes are pleading. “It will just be my Uncle inside for now. You’re to meet him alone first. His name is Clarence. Wares usually bow their head to him and my Aunt because of who they are, but I don’t think you need to.”
Shit… I nod. “Alright.”
She smiles. “You'll like him; everyone does. Ready?”
I nod again before getting out the car with her. She takes my hand when I reach her and then leads me up to the door. She knocks once and then pulls me inside. A man approaches us in the hall. He looks young, twenty, but something about his aura tells me he's older without me even knowing he's over two hundred years in age.
He's darker skinned than me, and even though we’re the same height, he’s built like a brick shit house. He's wearing jeans and a sweater and has gold shimmering eyes that are both inquisitive and friendly.
“Hey, Uncle C,” Harmony says before she hugs him.
“Hey, Baby Girl,” he says as he releases her.
“This is Jaheim.” Harmony looks at me. “Boo, this is my Uncle Clarence. Alpha of our kind, with my Aunt.”
I bow my head briefly before accepting his outstretched hand to shake it.
He laughs. “Family don't bow to me or Abriya.”
I smile, feeling a little less on edge. “I wasn't sure.”
“I appreciate the respect, but don't do that again, alright? It's a pleasure to meet you. Harmony's told us a lot about you.”
I look down at her. She smiles as she shrugs. “I couldn't help it.”
I shake my head but smile back at her. “I don't feel any way.”
“Drink?” Clarence asks, walking ahead.
Harmony takes my hand again and we follow him into a spacious kitchen with an island in the centre. “That would be good.”
“Bourbon?”
“Sure.”
He proceeds to make us all a drink, even Harmony. “How are your exams going, Harmony?”
“All good so far,” she replies, leading us to the island so we can sit down. “Did you want me to give you two some time alone?”
“Whatever Jaheim wants.”
I shake my head. “No, Princess. Stay.”
“Alright.” She rests a hand on my thigh, and I link my fingers in hers.
Clarence hands us our drinks before sitting down with his and taking a sip. “So, Jaheim, I'm sure Harmony’s told you all about us.”
“Yeah, she told me about you and your wife being Alpha, and about Abriya’s ancestry.”
He nods. “Good. We're all still pretty surprised you didn't know anyone else existed like yourself. I can't imagine, y’know?”
“Yeah, it's been up and down. Mostly down.”
Harmony squeezes my hand and I return her gesture of comfort.
“I'm sure it has. Harmony told us you're twenty-eight?”
“I am.”
“And you have family?”
He must know about Carisse… “Yeah...” I take a quick look at Harmony. “I actually wanted to talk about the whole age, family thing. What do you tell people?”
“Well, Abriya and I are actually planning on leaving here within the next year or so. We've been here for twenty years now, so we need to relocate.” He takes another sip of his drink. “You're worried about them realising you aren't ageing?”
“Kinda...”
His eyes narrow slightly. “You can be honest with me. I’ve heard it all, trust me.”
I’m surprised how easy I feel talking to him. “Well, since meeting Harmony, things have... changed. I've changed. I used to feel like they were the most important people in my life, but now...” I look at Harmony, expecting to see her smiling, but she only looks back at me reassuringly, offering comfort not self-satisfaction.
“All of us feel the same about our mates, and that's how it should be. Only our children are more important to us. I'll be blunt, Jaheim, cuz you only really have two options. You tell them and be aware they might ask you to change them, or you cut them out of your life all together.”
“I won't change them.”
He seems to understand why. “Then that only really leaves you with one option.”
I take a large sip of my drink, wishing it was stronger. Could I cut them off? More than likely, but it's not that easy. “I own businesses; I can be tracked down through them, though. Harmony’s told me that you all swap around your assets...”
“We do. There isn't really a way around that, at least, not yet.” He looks thoughtful. “Harmony’s told you about Ariella being an Elder?”
“Yeah, she has.”
“And you know she’s mated to Davonyé?”
“I do.”
He nods, but he doesn’t elaborate further on how he feels about that. “Well, she may be able to help you – if you decide to break ties with your family – but that’s something you will need to speak to her about.”
Well, I dunno how easy that will be…
“I understand if you feel some way over what’s happened, but my daughter is not a bad person. Harmony will tell you, she’s one of the most selfless people you’ll ever meet.”
I frown. “I haven’t thought she was.” I feel he’s defensive. “Any feelings I had were towards Von, but now I’ve met Harmony, my feelings on that situation have changed. I know he couldn’t help what happened.”
The scent of old furniture fills the room and then two women dressed in white with black eyes suddenly appear next to Clarence. One has long, straight, jet-black hair and the darkest black skin I’ve ever seen, and the other has long brown curly hair with an area of white at the front.
The one with curly hair rests a hand on Clarence’s arm. “It’s okay, Dad.”
Where the fuck did they just come from?