Ariella
It gets to nine in the evening and I'm feeling increasingly anxious about Davonyé waking up. I keep thinkin’ about what mom said earlier, too, and I swear that shit has just made me more excited. Although, I thought things would go differently, but now that Tinashe’s staying with us...
“Not long now, Sweetheart,” Mom says, obviously noticing my quietness. She’s sitting opposite me, between dad and grandad Victorio.
We’re all sitting out in the yard, drinking, and smoking kush. I keep refreshing Mom, though, because she don’t want the smell of weed on her when she feeds Amarey.
“Nope. Two hours and twenty minutes.”
Everyone chuckles at that.
“Are you really good at maths, or do you just know?” Aunt Cecile asks, chuckling to herself.
I shrug. “I just know.”
Aunt Cecile suddenly freezes along with everyone else, and then there is silence.
I frown. “Aura?”
She’s standing beside mom. “Hello, Ariella. How are you?”
“I'm good...”
“I’m pleased to hear that. I wished to talk to you about something.”
“Oh, okay... is it about Davonyé waking up?”
She smiles. “You must think that everyone has had their say now.”
I shrug. “Kinda. I don’t mind, though. I’m just feeling anxious because I feel like we’ll be meeting for the first time all over again.”
She smiles. “You are right, in a way. This will change both of you.”
My stomach flutters. “I guess so.”
“As you may have realised by now, Davonyé may struggle with his heightened senses after he wakes. Dominant wares are extremely passionate, Ariella, about all things, but it enables them to be the powerful beings that they are known for, and that is what makes them so remarkable. You have had limited experience with your father and the way he acts in that capacity, but to be mated to one is a whole different experience entirely.”
“Yeah, Uncle Dee warned me.”
“I am aware. You have the magic to help you to control Davonyé in certain situations, but you must be careful not to overdo your controlling of his emotions or behaviours. He will not tolerate being subdued, so you will need to use your magic sparingly with him. In addition, he will be able to resist it if he does not agree with your reasons for doing so, in the same way that your mother has the ability to make her own decisions regarding my requests of her.”
Shit, okay… “That’s fair enough. I don’t want to control him.”
“Good, because it will not be in his nature to be subservient. However, you do not yet see the future, so I feel as though I should warn you of certain risks.”
I frown at that. “Risks?”
“Yes. There is a chance that he, and consequently you, may become overly excited...”
I stare at her as it clicks. Oh, God... I have totally forgotten that Aura knows all my thoughts... I feel myself blushing, furiously.
“Do not worry of such things. There is nothing I have not heard before. You forget that I have guided wares for thousands of years, Ariella. I was, after all, the one who created Ariya.”
Ugh... “That doesn't make me feel better, Aura.”
She smiles. “Maybe not, but you will be able to hear thoughts for yourself now, so you will soon forget your concerns.”
I recoil. “You mean I’ll be able to hear everyone else's thoughts, too? Not just Davonyé's?”
“Yes. You must be aware by now that I have been relaxing the restrictions on your magic as the days pass.”
“Actually, yeah, I had noticed I'd been able to do things that I didn't think I could do yet.”
“Yes. You are grasping your magic quickly, so I have been able to allow you use of more of your abilities, and I will continue to do so.”
Wow… That makes me feel good as fuck. I’m not disappointing her. “Thank you.”
She nods. “So, in regard to Davonyé...”
“Are you tryin’ to tell me that we might end up with an accidental pregnancy?”
“Exactly that.”
“I see…” Damn… we must really be going in…
“It will not be intentional, but Davonyé’s attraction to you will be hard for him to control at first, especially with his heightened senses. And in turn, that could result in him losing control.”
Fuck... why did my body just shudder when she said that? “Alright, so what can I do about it?”
“If you do not wish to become pregnant, you will be able to stop it. You will be able to feel his shift before it happens, giving you enough time to...”
“Get away from him, basically? Or try to calm us down?”
“Yes. Davonyé's strength will be heightened to its maximum on the next full moon, but you will always be just slightly stronger than him. It is so that you can always restrain him if necessary.”
“Oh... Lorddd...”
She chuckles at that, but I just shake my head.
“One last thing, do not let Davonyé rush his training. He must master all aspects before returning to the public eye. He will not tolerate many things after he wakes, and a lot of those things are in relation to you. You know of what I speak of, do you not?”
Ugh… “Yeah, I do.”
She smiles. “I am sure you two will work it out in time, but you are patient, Ariella, and you will guide him well.”
“Thanks. I hope so.”
Her eyes swirl before settling. “I must go now. Your brother will awaken soon.”
I give her a look. “I love that you haven’t given me a chance to ask you about your little test the night of Davonyé’s change.”
She smiles. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Sure.”
“I will see you soon.”
Aura disappears and Aunt Cecile shakes her head. “That is so crazy but so amazing at the same time.”
I quickly remember our conversation. “It is,” I reply, but I feel fucked up mentally from my conversation with Aura.
Mom gives me a look.
I'm good, I tell her with my eyes, but her eyes suddenly widen.
‘Why did I just hear you inside my head?’
‘Oh, shit. Oh, God! Sorry, Mom. New skill. Aura just visited. Amarey will be hungry soon.’
‘Uh... Okay…’
Her and dad look at each other. ‘She can talk to us?’ I hear dad.
‘I know!’ I hear Mom.
I shake my head and force the connection to their thoughts to go away, and it does. Thank God. I don't wanna be connected to them in case they start talking about other shit...
“Right, I'm gonna make a move back to mine,” I say, standing. “I'll see you all tomorrow, with Davonyé.”
‘Good luck,’ I hear Aunt Cecile think, and I swear, I almost die on the spot.
I manage to hug them all goodnight without my face catching fire before I make a swift escape to my house.
That shit is fucked up…
‘Still nothing... Oh, God... Maybe I should go back...’ I hear Tinashe’s tormented thoughts as I make my way upstairs.
I feel so bad for her.
When I reach her room, I knock.
I hear her say ‘come in’ through her thoughts, but I don’t open the door. She finally comes to open it and I can see her eyes are tearful. “Did you not hear me telling you to come in?”
“All these rooms are soundproofed. That’s why you didn’t hear me come in, only sensed me.”
“Oh…” She opens the door wider to let me in. She's dressed in the cream robe I left for her, and her red braids are in a ponytail now.
I wait for her to sit down on the bed before I sit beside her. “You okay? I checked on you earlier but you were sleeping.”
“I…” She bites her lip and I feel her sadness, so I rest a hand on hers to offer her some kind of comfort. I’ll be glad when Davonyé’s around to support her in this. She don’t even know me.
“You did the right thing, Tinashe. Don’t punish yourself. Imagine if you had been caught, too. We wouldn't have known until Davonyé couldn’t reach any of you.”
She wipes her face with her free hand. “I know. I had to lie to Mom earlier… it’s just making me feel so guilty.”
“This ain’t your fault. And I'm sure they'll do anything to survive, which should keep them safe for now.”
She smiles weakly. “I hope so.”
“See. Focus on that.”
She nods and takes a deep breath. I wish I could calm her down, but I haven't been gifted that ability yet. But then, I can heal. If I wanted to heal her self-torture, maybe that would help her?
I feel her mood lift a little. “Thank you, I feel much better.”
I’m shocked by that, but I’m glad it’s helped. “I’m glad. Did you eat? Are you hungry?”
She shakes her head. “No. I couldn’t.”
“You really should eat. I have some moose meat that we hunted earlier. There are a few steaks cuz I know your brother is gonna be hungry as hell once he wakes up. He's had our blood.”
She looks surprised by that.
“Yeah, and once we get the rest of your family back, I'll give you all my blood, too. You'll be stronger.”
“Shit, are you serious? You’d do that?”
I frown. “Of course. Your brother is my mate. We're family. Surely you know how we take care of our family and friends. You can't know about my family and not know that.”
“I do.”
“Exactly. I'd give it to you now, but you know it takes two days to take effect.”
She shakes her head. “No, that's fine. It's not important right now.”
“Alright. Let me cook something for you.”
***
Tinashe peels potatoes while I season the steaks. The time is flying now, and my stomach repeatedly clenches when I think about how Davonyé will be once he wakes up...
We use two pans for all the meat, and almost a whole bag of potatoes for the mash because I know from my memories of my family members, how hard that hunger comes, and the last thing I want is for him to feel pain from not eating enough.
What's he gonna say to me? How's he gonna feel? Lorddd... I’m seriously stressing myself out. I'm feeling so many emotions, my magic feels like it’s on fire in my veins. I need to calm the hell down.
“How much longer?” Tinashe asks, as I put a plate for Davonyé in the oven.
“Fifteen minutes. Do you mind if I go up now?”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Girl, of course not. If that was my mate, I'd be exactly the same way. I'm just sorry I'm kinda crowding your shit.”
“You ain't. Like I told you, all these rooms are soundproofed.”
She smiles knowingly. “I really need to do that shit to my place.”
“It will be the best thing you ever do. Trust me.”
I leave her at the table to go upstairs.
Calm down…
I use magic to bathe Davonyé so he feels fresh for when he wakes, and then I change his grey sweats to black ones, trim his beard, brush his teeth, and spray his favourite cologne on him, too. Ugh... That shit mixed with his natural scent is wayyyyyyy too much now.
I pace the room and feel my heart pounding... In ten minutes his eyes will open and I'll see what he looks like...
Calm down...
I bathe myself, too, and redress into a tight fitted jumpsuit. I know he loves my shape, so he can wake up to seeing it. It ain’t like he’s gonna be able to touch me yet…
Shit... that should be the last thing I’m thinkin’ about right now…
But I can’t help it.
I want him so bad, but I need to tell him about his sisters first and know I can't keep him up here to ride his dick before telling him.
What the fuck is wrong with me???
Calm the hell down...
I sit on the bed beside him to count down the seconds. I try to breathe but fail, fail, fail.
Any…
Minute…
Now…
His face twitches and my heart feels like its exploding inside my chest. My lungs are on fire, too, because of how long I’ve held my breath…
His eyelids begin to lift, and I see orbs the same colour as mine, slowly coming into focus...
Black with blue...
I rest a hand on his arm and shudder as I feel how much thicker they are. I can’t help the smile that appears on my face. “Baby?”
His eyes find mine and my chest tightens. The look he’s giving me makes me feel like the whole world’s just started spinning in reverse.
‘Ari…’
Oh, God…