Ariella
Davonyé holds my hand as we make our way inside our house. Aura was right; I haven’t electrocuted him, but I can feel the magic alive inside me, ready to be used whenever I’m ready.
I can’t believe I’ve started my journey to becoming an Elder.
Davonyé squeezes my hand a little so I loosen my grip. I need to calm down my excitement before I break his hand. It's almost three in the morning, so I need to make this quick so Davonyé can get some sleep. We've got school in a couple hours.
I frown. Did I just know the time without looking at the clock? What the fuck…
My mind is firing off in so many directions, but the thing I can't stop thinkin’ about most is the way Davonyé touched me while I was a ware.
Ugh...
I swear, our connection is growing stronger by the day, and he ain't even changed yet.
Mom and dad are in my living room. Mom’s due any time from today so I'm surprised she came with dad to find me. I'm even more surprised that he let her.
“Hey, Mom, Dad.”
I told them I’d gone to get my magic when they found me in the woods.
“Sweetheart, why were you all the way out in the woods like that?” Mom asks. “You could've just asked Aura to come here.”
I shrug. “I guess I didn't wanna worry you all. And I didn't know what to expect, or even if she was gonna come when I called.” But now I know that she’ll always come when I need her.
“Well, you don't smell any different.”
“I think that will only happen when I'm using my magic. My ware and the magic are separate, but I can use them at the same time.”
Dad looks concerned. “How does it feel?”
“A bit strange. It's like there's a constant humming in my body from the magic inside me. I can sense things, too. Like, what time it is, how the full moon is coming, that there will be heavy snowfall in a few hours... It's a lot.”
“Can you hear people's thoughts?” Mom asks.
I shake my head. “No. Aura’s only given me a few abilities for now. I’ve gotta learn each set before she allows me the use of more. For now, I can dress myself, kinda see the histories of people that I'm in some way either connected to or are important to me in the future, I don’t need as much sleep, and I can do this.” I hold out my hand and make a bowl of beef chunks appear. I wonder if I can make it go towards mom.
The bowl moves closer to my parents until it stops in front of mom's face.
That shit is so cool!
Mom takes the bowl and holds it in her hands. “Uh... Well, this is different.”
“I know...”
I look at Davonyé and he shakes his head in amazement. I kinda wish I could read thoughts, just so I knew what he was thinkin’ right now...
“Practice as much as possible,” dad says, pulling my attention back to them.
“Your father is right,” mom agrees. “I know she said your journey with her will be a long one, but the sooner you master each new ability, the sooner she will give you more.”
“I intend to. I wanna learn skills that will help us find Maximus.” That's my focus right now.
Their faces fall and I know they feel bad. I don’t think I’ll tell them about porting or going to the kratius yet. Not while mom’s pregnant. She’d lose her shit if she knew I was in the same room as a vampire.
“Seeing those wares... It really hurt me.”
My parents get up to hug me. “I'm sorry you had to see that,” dad says.
“Me, too,” mom says.
I rub both their backs. “I know, but as Aura has just recently informed me, everything happens for a reason. Every single thing.”
My parents release me, and then mom briefly touches my cheek. “She's told us the same before.”
I nod. “I suppose seeing what I saw in Alaska did make me ask for my magic sooner.”
“That’s true,” Dad says. He looks a kinda way at Davonyé. “You good after your little ride earlier?”
Ugh… dad…
Davonyé shakes his head. “I'm alive.”
Mom looks at him and smiles before turning back to me. “You marked him?”
Shit... “Yeah. It was an accident.” I turn to look at Davonyé. “It happened while I was at your place, yesterday. We'll talk about it. But right now, you need to sleep Davonyé. We have school tomorrow.”
“What are you gonna do about school?” Dad asks. “Have you decided yet?”
“No,” I answer, for both of us. “We need to talk about it. Once I take on my duty as Elder, I'll be called for at any time of day or night, so I'll kinda be on call. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to stay in school.”
“You could always switch to study at home, if you want to complete school,” mom says. “Talk about it, both of you, but Davonyé is gonna be changing on Thursday and he’ll need time off to train. Most definitely longer than you had.”
“Yeah...” I look at Davonyé. “We really do need to talk.”
“Alright, well, get some rest.” Dad kisses my forehead and then mom kisses my cheek. “We'll see you both tomorrow.”
“Any twinges yet, mom?” I rub her belly and am suddenly aware that I have a baby brother inside of her. Wow... I can feel him, too; sensing that he's content in there. How amazing...
I quickly pull my hand away and gasp.
“What?” Mom panics.
“I know what you're having.” I step away from her, shaking my head. “The baby is really happy, Mom.”
She looks down at her stomach and rubs it before looking back up to me. “Thank you, Sweetheart.” She looks at dad and then back to me. “Please don't slip out the sex.”
“I won't. Cross my heart.” I hold my hands up, and they both shake their head as they make to leave.
“We'll talk tomorrow” Dad says, closing the door behind them.
I look at Davonyé; I feel like there is so much we need to talk about...
He holds me against him and I admire his dark eyes. “So you ain't gotta sleep much, now?
I shake my head, suddenly feeling a fluttering in my stomach. He makes me feel so nervous, but excited at the same time...
“We should talk,” he says.
“I know. But you need to sleep...” Baby... Ugh... I wanna call him baby, so bad, but I'm also too shy to. I love how confident he is. He’s got so many endearments for me already. Beautiful, Ari, and my favourite, Bae.
How I've longed for someone to call me that. And now my mate does. I wanna be more confident around him, but the way he makes me feel is just so fuckin’ intense.
“I gotta work after school tomorrow, until midnight. I kinda picked up more shifts when you were training. I needed the distraction. I'm meant to be workin’ every night this week.”
“But you're changing on Thursday and I still need to bite you... I mean, we could delay it—”
His eyes flash in panic. “No. I ain't delayin’ shit. I'll figure it out.”
“But how? You need to take serious time off work and school. How are your attendance rates?”
He shakes his head and I know they ain't good. Probably all the time he took off with Carisse to fuck.
I pull away from him as I see them together in my head. “No...”
He looks confused and reaches for me. “Ari, what's wrong?”
I semi change and then growl wildly at him; my jealousy and hurt erupting inside me. He steps back and it's the look on his face that calms me down.
I'm scaring him…
I turn away from him and sink to my knees. He loved her so much before I came along. He did anything for her, treated her so damn good...
I see their breakup and feel furious as I see her slap him, but I still can’t get the images of them together, intimately, out of my head.
Tears fall down my face but I angrily swipe them away. My chest aches so bad. Seeing him with her like that... Kissing her lips, touching her body, tasting her…
I cry harder; I hate that I feel this way. I know Carisse was only there as a means to an ends, and I also know how much he loves me now, not her...
But even as much as I know that, it's still killing me.
He kneels beside me. “Ari? What I do? Why you cryin’?”
I look up at him but quickly look away again. “I can see things, Davonyé. Things I don't wanna see.” My body jerks as I sob. “When I think about things... I can see memories of it. I can’t stop it from happening until I can control it.”
“I don't get it, Ari. What’s that got to do with me?”
I wipe the tears from my face. “I saw you... skipping school... with her.”
He's silent so I look at him and see his obvious shock. “I'm sorry... I didn't—”
“I know.” I look down at my hands with tears still falling from my eyes. “It ain’t even your fault, but I can't help that it hurts, either. Seeing you with her, how much you love—”
He turns my face to look at him. “I don't love her. And now that I've found you, I know for certain that I never did. Hell, I wish I was a virgin when we met so that you wouldn't have to think about that shit.” He wipes away a tear with his thumb. “I know I've hurt you, believe me. When I think about you wit’ someone else, that shit fucks me up. I wish I could take it away from you, Ari, I swear to God. And if I could change it, I would.”
I nod my head and he drops his hand from my face.
“Don't think about that shit, cuz I don't. Why you think I changed my digits? I wasn't playin’ when I told you that I'm all the way in witchu. You're all that matters to me now, and I mean it.” He pulls me into his arms.
I hold him back; I know what he's told me is the truth, even Aura told me not to doubt his commitment to me. I wouldn’t have even felt like this if I hadn’t seen it.
I need to learn to control that shit.
Davonyé kisses the top of my head. “I more than love you, Ariella. What I feel for you is more than just a word.”
“I know.”