Ariella
It's just after two o'clock in the morning. I'm sitting with Uncle Demetrius and Aunt Cecile in my backyard drinking scotch, of all things. I’ve officially levelled up to the hard stuff.
Everyone’s either gone to bed, gone back to uncle Quis’, or gone to the James’ in Montreal, but I asked these two to stay here tonight. Uncle Dee and Aunt Cecile are my favourite aunt and uncle. I know I shouldn't have favourites, but I do. We've always just got on. I get their sense of humour and they just get me. I like that I don't have to pretend around them.
Aunt Cecile always hooks my hair up, too. She’s a hairstylist and can do any type of hair. She’s wearing twists at the moment, but she usually has her hair natural. It’s just about past her shoulders.
“So, now that everyone's gone, you gonna tell us what's been eating you up all day, baby girl?” Uncle Dee asks.
I slowly breathe out the weed smoke from my lungs and stare towards the woods. I can see clear as day now, even though it’s pitch-black. I haven’t had a chance to change again yet, but all these extra abilities while I’m in my human from are amazing. Shit is exciting as hell.
“How do you know something’s up?” I ask, smiling over my glass before I take a sip. The liquid warms my throat and leaves a trail of heat down to my belly before disappearing. I've been drinking for hours, but I'm still ‘sober as a judge’ as mom would say.
“Because I know you. Spill it.”
I turn to look over at the two of them sitting on my very own swing bench. “I kinda found my mate.”
“What? Oh shit, girl, congratulations!” Aunt Cecile gushes.
I drink some more of my drink. “Ugh...”
“Or maybe not,” Uncle Dee says.
“He's human.”
I know they’ll understand because Uncle Dee changed Cecile because she was human when they met.
“Oh. Alright, well, surely he—”
“And he's got a girlfriend.”
“Oh, shit,” Aunt Cecile hisses.
“Yeah.” I sigh and look up at the stars. Wow, looking at stars through ware eyes is a whole new experience... I can zoom in and everything.
“But you've met each other? Like, spoke and shit, right?” Uncle Dee asks.
“Yeah, we've met.” Ugh, we’ve definitely met.
Aunt Cecile gives me a smile like she knows something else has happened.
“Aunt Cecile, what was it like when you met Uncle Dee?”
“Frankly, honey? It was intense. I was drawn to him so intensely; I found him incredibly intriguing. He smelt amazing, too, and I was overwhelmed with this need to know him. He marked me, too, so the pull I felt to him after that was a lot to cope with.”
“Do you think you would’ve left your man if you had one when Uncle Demetrius came along?”
“Definitely. In the beginning, I was confused by it all. I had all these feelings towards someone I barely knew, but for some reason, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I struggled with those feelings until we were together again.”
“And what about when you decided to change? What made you?”
“At first I was scared. Scared of the unknown, so it took a while for me to make the decision. But even though I stalled to let him change me, deep down, I knew I was gonna let him. I wanted to be with him forever. He also stopped touching me intimately because I was human.”
“I was scared to hurt her,” uncle Dee says to me before turning to face her. “It takes a lot of self-control to be with a human, anyway, but when that human is your mate, it’s even worse.”
“That’s what I’m scared of. I don’t wanna hurt him, and I also feel jealous about his girlfriend, so I don’t wanna hurt him physically over that, either.”
“He won’t stay with her,” he says, shaking his head. “His infatuation with you will be too strong. I’ve known wares to have been in your situation before. And once you’ve been intimate with each other, trying to be with anyone else like that is kinda futile. Not saying you’ve done anything like that with him, but if you have, he’ll find it almost impossible to get it up for anyone else.”
I laugh as Aunt Cecile slaps his arm. “You can’t say that to her.”
“What? It’s true. Once you find your mate, it’s game over, and as long as they’re still alive, your days of being with anyone else are done. You have to remember, a mates’ bond is the strongest there is. Yeah, you have the bond between family members, but the bond between mates is like a spiritual thing. It’s in your very make-up. It’s special beyond words.”
And this is why I love Uncle Dee; his honesty. He never sugar-coats shit. “I hope you’re right,” I say.
As much as I’m trying to deny the feelings I have for Davonyé in order to protect myself, I can feel the need for him stronger than it was before I changed. I can’t stop thinking about all the things I want him to do to my body. I wanna be under him, over him, next to him – God… I even want him to bite me. Hard. Or choke me, pin me down – hell, just be rough as hell with me…
“Oh, you got that look,” Uncle Dee says. “I feel for you, Ari’. There ain’t nothin’ like the urges of a newly changed ware.”
They both give me a sympathetic smile. “It’ll be okay, right?” It’s gotta be. “Mom said she’s seen him as a ware, so as long as nothing’s changed, he’ll become a ware eventually.”
“That’s good,” Aunt Cecile says. “Then you’re halfway there already.”
“Yeah. Thank you both. I appreciate the honesty.”
“Hey, you know I got you,” Uncle Dee says. “I won’t ever hide anything from you. And you ain’t a baby no more.” He laughs. “No matter what my brother thinks.”
***
We finally go to bed around three. I turn my phone on and wait for it to boot up; it died while I was sleeping. With the party and moving my things over from the main house earlier, things were so busy that I've only just had a chance to turn it on. Mom told me that Davonyé said he was gonna text me. I wonder if he has.
It soon vibrates with twenty WhatsApp messages, and apart from the ones from my parents and a few others wishing me happy birthday, they’re all from Davonyé.
I’m sorry I didn’t make it before you changed. I don’t wanna leave you, Ari. I feel all these things for you and need to know why. I’m sorry for the way I acted after finding out about u. I was fucked up. But I ain’t no more. Shit, you were beautiful. I must be crazy. Message me when you get this.
I gotta go to Ontario for the weekend to visit my family. Message me when you wake up. I’ll be waitin.
I wanna come see you so bad before I leave, even tho I know you won't be awake yet. I miss you.
I can’t stop thinkin’ about you. All day every damn day.
I need to speak to u. Message me when u get this.
Hey, shawty. You not awake yet? Hmu when you get a minute so I know you're alright.
I’m worried about you. That woman said you’d be awake today.
Shit, Ari, text me. I knew I shouldn’t have left you.
I’m about to drive back down there. I need to know ur okay
Wow.
After my talk with aunt Cecile, I feel sad for him. But I need to keep shit casual until I know he’s ended things with Carisse. I feel like that situation is a bigger problem now, and I need to keep calm. I have a suspicious feeling that dad might use it as my trigger to get me to change, too.
At first, the easiest way to get a ware to change is to make them angry. But I need to be able to control my ware side quickly so I can return to school. And be around Davonyé.
Hey, I'm awake now and I'm good. Thanks for checking. Hope you’re having a good time with your family.
I don't say anything about seeing him because I know I can't. If I was around him now, the need to have him inside me would be so overwhelming, I hate to think of how much I could hurt him.
Shit is killing me.