Abriya
I look down at my son as he feeds.
My Son.
As much as I felt I was carrying a boy, I still can't believe it.
‘Believe it. And I'm gonna give you another one soon, too.’
I look across the island to Clarence. I can see that happening. I miss the werewolf sex already, and it’s only been a day.
I feel Clarence’s arousal. ‘Fuck, baby...’
“How much longer, Mom?” Ariella complains. She's sitting at the end of the island, still practicing her magic. I've received all sorts of home comforts in the past few hours, including Nik Naks, Crumpets, and Cornish Clotted Cream Scones.
“Soon.”
She magically slides a bowl of Beignets over to her father. “You've said that a million times.”
“Because you've asked a million times.” I look at Clarence. He seems surprised, but also wistful.
“They were your favourite, weren’t they, Dad?”
He smiles up at her. “Yeah. Dad used to travel for almost a whole day on foot to get them for Mom.”
Ariella smiles. “I know.”
Clarence smiles back at her before picking up a beignet and taking a bite. “Damn, it tastes just the same.”
“Good.” She sighs before looking back at me.
I shake my head. “Haven't you got any schoolwork to do?”
“No. I'm way ahead. They've said I can finish early if I do the work. I've already started it.”
“That's good...”
She suddenly looks anxious. “He's only been asleep for a few hours and I miss him loads. God knows how I'm gonna cope when he changes and knocks out for forty-eight.”
I try not to chuckle. “You'll be fine. Dad will keep you busy.”
“I will,” he says, picking up another pastry. “Being in the holds will help you practice those emotions, too.”
“I guess. Will you take care of him, Mom? You won't leave him, will you?”
Bless her… “Of course I won't. Your Aunt Asha will be here, too, hogging my son, so I'll have plenty of time to make sure he's okay. He doesn't exactly need much looking after, though. He can't hear anything or go anywhere while he's out.”
“I know.”
I watch her fall silent. She really loves him, and I'm so happy she's happy. As a werewolf mother, the one thing you always worry about is how long it will take your children to find their mates, so the fact that she has, and on her own, is something special.
I've seen her and Davonyé together. When Davonyé found out about her, I saw him, and once Ariella changed, I saw her, and now, I've seen them together in the future.
Fighting.
They're different, even though I don't know how, yet. I could feel it when I had the vision of them. They look almost identical in their ware forms, too. And just like Clarence and I, they will be unmistakable to recognise.
“Have you looked in the mirror at yourself yet, Ariella?”
She shakes her head but doesn't look up from the glass of water she is emptying and refilling. “No.”
“Can you magic a mirror?”
She looks at the wall beside the window and a mirror appears on the wall. It's small, though.
“A full length one.”
She nods and a mirror the height of the wall replaces it. “Better?”
I smile because she’s magical in every sense of the word. “Perfect.” Amarey unlatches himself from me and after stretching a little, settles back to sleep. I place him in his Moses basket and then pull Ariella off her stool to stand her in front of the mirror. I step away from her. “Change.”
She shifts to her ware and stares at herself in the mirror.
She whines a ‘wow’.
“I know.” I turn her around and she turns to look over her shoulder at the white fur on her back. “Look how beautiful you are.” I run my fingers through the white fur on her arm as I turn her around again. “What did Davonyé think of you?”
“He's made comments about him finding me beautiful like this, but apart from that, not much. When you brought him to find me the other day, he spent a while looking at me. It was... intense,” she says, using a mixture of whines and growls.
“I’m sure it was. The connection between the two of you is so much more heightened when you're in your ware forms. I can sense his attraction to you is strong, just by the way he looks at you. You'll have to be careful.”
“Yeah,” Clarence says, appearing beside me. “I know I made that joke earlier, but no babies yet.”
“We'll be careful. I'll talk to him.”
“Good. We ain't gonna lie, Princess, that shit is hard to control when you're into it.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, just try to be careful, alright?”
“We will.” She suddenly shifts back to herself, but she isn’t naked, she’s fully dressed again.
‘I wish you had that skill,’ Clarence comments.
‘Same.’
She turns to face us. “I dunno if I’ve told you recently, but you really are the most amazing parents. Thank you for what you did for Davonyé. He’s so independent and I know the way you sold it to him was the only reason he agreed, otherwise he wouldn't have.”
“We can tell. He has good principles, Ariella. I know you two didn't get off to the best start, but the way he's acted since has pleased us.”
“Yeah, well, I overheard the boys questioning him at lunch over what happened with Carisse. He was clearly really into her before I came along, so they don't get why they've suddenly broken up. Anyway, he wasn't happy. I think he was upset about the whole thing.”
“That’s understandable,” I say, walking back over to the island to sit down. I take a peek at Amarey on my way; I still can’t believe I’ve been blessed with another child.
Clarence and Ariella sit opposite me. “He probably wants to forget about it,” Clarence tells her. “I bet he thinks about how he'd feel if you'd been with someone else, so now he feels bad about making you feel that way.”
“I guess.”
“And you’ll need to be careful of things like that when the two of you go back to school. When I train him, I'll make sure I press those buttons to test his jealousy and protectiveness over you, but there's nothing like the real thing. Male wares, especially, are extremely territorial over their mates, and that's something he'll need to learn how to control in public.”
“I agree, Ariella. You haven't been around Carisse since you've changed, so be prepared to feel a way about it when you are.”
“Yeah… I’ll prepare myself…”
I sigh. I wish she didn’t have to deal with that.
‘Me either, Baby.’
“You excited about tomorrow?” I ask, trying to lighten her mood.
Now she smiles. “Yeah, I'm excited to see what other skills I might get after the full moon hits, and how much stronger I'll be. I’m just worried about seeing Davonyé in all that pain.”
“You said you can heal now, so does that mean you're gonna offer to take his pain away?”
She looks at me blankly for a moment. “I never thought of that.”
“Well, even if you could, you need to ask him first,” Clarence says.
“Exactly, and I doubt he'd let me.”
“I don't think he will, either, but you can give him the choice, Sweetheart. Neither of you are at school tomorrow. Why don't you spend the day talking about everything you haven't covered yet?”
She snorts at that.
“I think they’ve got other plans, Baby,” Clarence says, giving me a look. ‘I know what the fuck I’d be doin’ if I was being faced with two days without you.’
‘That’s true.’ “Well, at least try to find some time to talk.”
“We will, Mom.”
“And we'll go hunting one day while he sleeps, alright? Then, you can do the honours of showing Davonyé the ropes.”
Her face lights up. “I’ve been lookin’ forward to that.”
“That was another reason why I got you some time off school,” Clarence says to her. “You and your mother should spend some time together, and so should you and Davonyé after he changes.”
“Thanks, Dad. You always think of everything.”
I look at my everything. “He really, really does.”