Ariella
I hug all my family as they come through the house, except my Aunt Asha cuz she races past me, up the stairs. I laugh but know how upset she’s gonna be having missed the delivery. I guess it was a good thing, though, because otherwise she would have found out about my magic.
I follow the others out to the yard and then make a beeline for Davonyé. Harmony ain’t here, but I know that’s because she’s at Carisse’s. I wonder how things are going…
“All good?” Davonyé asks me, pulling me to his side.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Dante?” Uncle Marquis asks the others.
“At one of the holds,” Kerto answers him. “Turns out that ware we found in Alaska is his mate.”
“No way…”
“You not gonna introduce us to your mate, then, Ariella?” Uncle Dee says, pouring himself a Jack Daniels. He’s sitting at the table with everyone else.
I detect a hint of menace behind his question, so I search my memories to find out why. He gave Davonyé a hard time when I was in the woods with dad.
It kinda pisses me off.
“You've already met him, though, haven't you, Uncle?
He laughs. “Did he tell you? Wow, I never had you down for a snitch, Davonyé.”
“Leave him alone,” Aunt Cecile admonishes him. “Remember what Abriya told you.”
“What did she tell him?” I ask curiously.
She smirks. “She warned him how big your mate’s gonna be after commenting on your size.”
Oh... Shit... That means he's gonna be big then. I forgot that mom’s seen him.
Everyone laughs but Uncle Dee looks uncomfortable now.
“She said he should watch how he speaks to Davonyé because basically he'll be able to beat his ass.”
I laugh. “That's funny.”
Uncle Dee gives Davonyé a look. “Whatever.”
I feel my canines lengthen as my protectiveness over Davonyé skyrockets. I know if Davonyé was changed then he would most likely be fighting this shit out with my uncle, but he’s not. He’s human and I gotta protect him.
“I love you, Uncle Dee, but leave my mate alone.”
“Ari, it’s good,” Davonyé says, holding me tighter against him.
I pull out of his arms and release a low growl, hearing everyone’s oooooh’s as Uncle Dee holds his hands up. I can sense he's about to come out with something clever, but I somehow manage to silence his mouth.
He frowns as his fingers poke at his lips, trying to separate them.
Aunt Cecile frowns at him. “Boo?”
I feel my magic whirring inside me as I try to settle it but feeling everyone’s confusion makes it hard to focus.
“Ariella James!” Mom admonishes, appearing with Dad and Aunt Asha.
“Ari,” I hear Davonyé. “I’m good.” He reaches for my arm again and subtly tugs it.
My eyes blur for a split second and then the tingling in my body finally settles as I manage to mentally place everything back in its rightful places. I shake my head and feel relief, followed by remorse.
“The fuck was that?” I hear Uncle Dee, before I look at him again.
“I'm so sorry, Uncle. I dunno what came over me.”
He frowns “You did that?”
“Uh...” Fuck. I look at dad to save me.
I can sense he's anxious for me. He sighs as he looks at our closest family and friends. “Ariella is an Elder.”
The chorus of gasps and questions of how, rings in my ears. I feel the rush of concern from Davonyé, but then the surprise from everyone else here makes the tingling in my body intensify again. I breathe deeply to calm it this time and feel as if I almost have to coax it.
Dad suddenly appears in front of me, holding me at arm’s length. “Why are your eyes swirling, Princess?”
I focus on my magic, avoiding eye contact with him. “I'm just... Just... Settling...”
“Bae?” I feel Davonyé’s hand on my back. “Tell us what's wrong.”
It’s his worry that I feel over everyone else’s here that settles the magic inside me again. I see a memory of Aura; when there is so much happening at one time, her eyes swirl. It allows her to focus on the most important thing at that time so she can decide what to deal with first.
I blink before focusing on dad. “I'm sorry. That's never happened before.” I turn to look at Davonyé beside me. “I'm good. Don't worry.”
He grabs me away from dad and holds me against him. “Don't do that shit to me,” he whispers.
“We still heard that,” Uncle Dee says.
“Shut up, Demetrius!” Dad shouts behind me. “She's clearly protective over her mate. Keep it up and I’ll let her shut you up permanently.”
Davonyé kisses my head before releasing me enough to look at me. “You good?”
I nod then close my eyes for a second before turning around.
Well, this shit ain't awkward much.
Mom’s holding Amarey against her chest, giving me a concerned look. “Better now?”
“Yeah. I didn't mean for that to happen.” I look at all the others, trying to ignore their wide eyes and shocked expressions. “I'm still learning. I won't hurt any of you.”
My grandma gets up and walks over to me. “We know that, Baby. Don’t you worry. How do you feel about being an Elder?”
“I’m good with it, but maybe ask me again once I'm a bit more experienced.”
“Aura won't give her anything she can't handle,” Mom says, causing everyone to look at her. Dad returns to stand beside her. “Slips are to be expected.”
“How long have you known?” Grandad Victorio asks me.
“A little while now.”
“No one, other than any of you here now, is to know about Ariella. Do I make myself clear?” Mom says, suddenly hella serious. “No one at all.”
Everyone agrees.
“This is serious,” Dad says. “As you know, we still haven’t found the informant amongst our men. If word of Ariella becoming an Elder were to get into the wrong hands, it may cause Maximus to take drastic action and harm more wares…”
My thoughts drift. I wonder if I've been given this new ability so that I can help dad find the snitch...
“...while she’s learning, she is not to be provoked.” Dad looks at Uncle Dee when he says that.
Everyone nods their heads in agreement.
“Good. So, with that settled, Abriya and I would like to introduce our son to you all. Amarey Victorio James.”
I look at my grandad as everyone else stands to surround mom and my baby brother. He is clearly taken aback, and Junia holds his hand. “You gave him my name?”
Dad turns his attention to him. “After everything you did for Abriya, we thought it was right.” He offers my grandad his hand, and grandad stands before he shakes it.
“Thank you. I’m honoured.”
“Come meet your grandson,” Dad says, smiling over at mom.
I watch them all gushing over Amarey, but I suddenly feel guilty for ruining their moment.
I look at mom and her eyes find mine. “I'm sorry,” I mouth.
She frowns.
Ugh...
I look at Davonyé and after taking his hand, we slip away, back to ours.