Ariella
I finally sense my Dad and Davonyé walking back towards the house. It's just after ten and I ain't gonna lie, I've missed the hell out of him. I wanted to go take a visit but decided against it. I know Davonyé's got a lot of work to do, and me being there would only be a distraction.
I’ve distracted myself by learning the history of Pires and Ariya. Mom thinks they were all bad, but I know Vallessa ain’t, or that Scarva. Aura said that I would hear her call for one of us, so I thought I should try to get some background on her. There was a lot to shift through, but I picked out what I felt were the important parts.
I’m still reeling from finding out that they have people living inside them. Like, what the fuck is that all about?
Tinashe's been quiet most of the day. I've been sensing her on and off worry and regret in intervals, and I've watched her checking her phone. Shit ain't nice to see or feel. I don't know what I can do to make things better. I ain't gonna lie and say I ain't thought about going up there myself to take a look around.
I turn on my stool when I hear Dad walk in, followed by Davonyé.
I smile at him but he don't smile back, he just walks silently up to me and pulls me off my stool to hold me to his side. I stop blocking his thoughts and then see the rush of all his memories made today. I inhale sharply before looking between him and Dad.
Mom gives me a look, too.
Dad… for fuck’s sake.
“You wanna go?” I ask Davonyé.
“Yeah.”
Dad looks at me, but I look away. Now I’m gonna have to fix the damage he’s done by planting unnecessary doubts into Davonyé’s mind.
We say goodnight to everyone and then the three of us leave my parents.
“How’d today go, Von?” Tinashe asks him, once we get outside.
I cringe inside.
“Aight.”
“Just aight?” She seems surprised.
“Yeah.”
Tinashe looks at me but I just shrug. We make the rest of the walk in silence.
“I'ma get some sleep,” Tinashe says, before she makes a quick disappearance to her room.
Davonyé drags me upstairs to our bedroom and then takes me into the bathroom with him. I run the shower as he strips off, and then he strips me out of my clothes, too. I'm feeling his mixed emotions from today so strongly, that I swear that shit is tangible.
He pulls me into the shower and then holds me against him. I hold him back tightly, not saying a word. I don't wanna invade his mind right now; I know he’ll talk when he's ready.
I pull away from him and use the shower gel and his scrub to start washing his body. His eyes stay fixed to the plug hole; he looks a million miles away.
I want him to ask me so I can deny all that fuckin’ shit my dad said to change him. Not one word of it is true, but my dad has a way of making you believe that shit. I know for myself.
I wash his back and then his chest, followed by the rest of him. The dirty water rushes down his body like a waterfall; even the way the waves flow over and in between his muscles is something to be admired.
His dick is hard but I avoid it with my hands. My eyes keep wandering over it, though…
I wash myself with magic and then stand in front of him to draw his dark eyes to mine. “Talk to me.”
I feel his anger. “What you want me to say, Ari. You heard that shit.”
“I know, but that’s why I warned you not to take it personal.”
He recoils. “How the fuck can't I? Not when I know that shit is true.”
I gape at him. “No it isn't.”
“It is.”
“The fuck it is. None of that shit is true. I promise you.”
“Maybe not right now.” He sighs. “Shit is fucked up, Ari. I thought the change would be the hard part, but shit is gettin’ worse by the day. My sisters fuckin’ missing, your dad—”
“What my dad said wasn't true.”
I switch off the water and wrap him in a towel before I pull him out the shower. I take him into the bedroom and then make all the walls mirrors.
“Shift.”
He frowns down at me.
“Shift. I know you can. Change... I wanna see you.”
He unwraps himself from the towel and I make it disappear in his hand. I turn him to face the mirror closest to him, and then I take a step back.
He shifts, and my heart instantly goes crazy.
Lawwwd...
His scent hits me first, like a tidal wave, but then I look over his form in amazement. He really does look so similar to me. His back is mostly white, and he has the same patch of white around his right eye… even his arms have white fur like mine.
We literally match.
I step closer to him so I can run my fingers through the fur on his arm. So soft...
He huffs, but his thoughts don't tell me nothing. I feel his eyes on me, though, while I walk around to his front so I can touch his body. I can hear his heart pounding away inside him, and I close the little space between us to rest the side of my face on his lower stomach.
Ugh… when I think about that fuckry my dad told him. That shit hurts me.
“I love you so much... I swear, none of it is true. I would beg to leave this world if it meant I had to live without you in it.” I feel his claw in my hair and close my eyes. “Don't ever ever doubt my need for you, Davonyé... There are so many things that I don't know, but that's the one thing I’m certain of, with every part of me.”
He quietly growls my name as I look up at him. His wide glassy eyes look right through me, and my heart literally misses a beat. I take a step back and release the towel around me before shifting myself.
Damn, he smells so good...
He steps closer and I feel his claws on my sides, the sharp edges finding their way through my fur to touch my skin. I hold onto his arms and rest my face against the side of his, my snout resting on his shoulder.
I close my eyes and feel the connection between us become so intense, I can't bear it. I feel every emotion from us both as if it were concentrated. My senses are literally running wild, too. Even my magic is unsettled.
I suddenly feel his dick against the front of my body so I pull away from him. ‘Not like this.’
I shift back to myself and so does he. He picks me up and my back finds the mirror behind me. He enters me so quickly that my entire body shudders, and not just my walls.
I lay my head on his shoulder as he starts to move. He growls with each of his moans and my heart flutters, as well as my pussy. I'm moaning so much, but the way he's grinding his hips against mine to claim my body is life.
“Tell me your mine,” he whispers. “Tell me you belong to only me.”
I hold him tighter. “I do. I'm all yours...”
I press my nails into his back and then open my eyes to see myself staring back at me. I gasp. Fuck... Watching the way his ass clenches when he fills me is one of the most erotic things I've ever seen. Even the sight of his muscles in his back and shoulders tightening, has me mesmerised.
He presses me harder against the mirror but I take it away before it cracks. The last thing we need is bad luck...
His emotions consume both him and me, and he soon quickens his pace while resting kisses on my neck, swirling his tongue over my skin, and gently biting me at random.
“When this shit is over, I'm gonna make you a Leblanc. You gonna have my last name so everyone knows you belong to me, Bae... You gonna be my wife, Ari? Tell me yes...”
My heart flutters. “Yes...”
He bites my shoulder and my body tenses, and as much as I don't wanna take my eyes off the sight of us in the mirror, my climax fires through me and they close all on their own.
“Davonyé...” His name sounds like a sob as it slips from my lips.
I bite his shoulder as I fall apart, and then he groans loudly as he cums. I tighten inside and he groans louder. I swear I can feel how intense it is for him, and my own body trembles with it.
I hold him tight and slowly feel more of his weight on me as he comes down. I know he’s still feeling a way, and I hate it.
I hold his shoulders and push him back to look at him.
The look in his eyes kills me.
“No one could ever take you away from me, Baby. No one. No matter what happens, do you understand me? I was made for you, and you for me. No one can ever change that. And once you learn, we will find your sister and bring her back to us. I promise.”
He nods, and then I kiss him, desperate to take the hurt away.
***
I leave Davonyé in bed and get dressed into a tracksuit. I need words with my Dad.
My parents are awake, I’ve checked.
I port straight into their room. Mom’s lying on her side feeding Amarey, and dad’s sat up against the headboard.
They look at me as I stand by the bottom of the bed. “Mom, Dad.”
Mom frowns. “Are you okay, Sweetheart?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s come to tell me off,” Dad says, giving me a look.
I sigh. “I haven’t come to tell you off, but we do need to talk.”
He holds his hands in front of him. “Go on…”
“Why? Why go that far? Davonyé might come across like nothing phases him, but inside, he’s sensitive…”
“I know.”
I start pacing beside the bed. “And saying those things, I mean, his sister’s missing, he’s literally been pulled into our crazy family and has taken on everything I’ve asked him, so to plant those insecurities inside him when he’s already got so much going on… That’s why he didn’t leave Carisse straight away, cuz he was scared that the feelings he had towards me would disappear as quickly as they came.”
“We understand that, Princess.”
I stop to look at him. “So why? Why get that deep?”
“Because that’s my job to. We know how passionate Davonyé is, and how deep his feelings are for you. We know because him and I are similar. Dominant wares are all the same, that’s why they’re such great leaders.” He gets out of bed and comes to stand in front of me. “I was hard on him because I care. If I allowed him out into the world before he was ready, there could be massive consequences for not just him, but for all our kind. We gotta make sure he’s ready.”
I close my eyes briefly and sigh. I fuckin’ hate it cuz I know he’s right.
“But, with that being said, I won’t be quite so personal from now on. The hard part is over. He can shift fluidly and that’s the main thing. We’ll talk during training, and in time he’ll forget about all I said. I don’t wanna hurt him emotionally, Ariella, and contrary to what you might believe, I do like the kid. We can see how much he cares for you, and that’s all your mother and I ever wanted, for you to find someone to love you like I love your mother.”
I nod my head and he hugs me.
“He’s family now, Baby Girl, and we ain’t soft on family. He can handle it, trust me. You will always be his weakness, though. Same as how your mother is mine. It was my suggestion of you being taken away from him that made him change.”
“I know… I saw it all.” Ugh… Davonyé…
“So you know he swung at me, right? And he caught me.” I can tell that amused him. “Training was meant to stay between us, but you and your mother with your special abilities.”
“And yours,” Mom quips.
I pull out of his arms and smirk up at him. “Yeah, I saw that.”
“He’s strong, and fast. A natural fighter, too. He’ll be just fine.”
I already know he will be. “Good.”
He looks over to mom and I follow his gaze. Mom’s smiling at us. “I told him off, too, don’t worry.”
Dad rolls his eyes. “Yeah.”
“And I warned him you’d be pulling him up on it.”
I look up at dad. “I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful, cuz I’m not. I appreciate you training him, and everything you’ve done for us. I really do.”
“I know, Princess. But I also know that Davonyé is your mate and you will always defend him.”
I nod. “I will. No matter what.”
“And so you should,” Mom says. “Because that’s exactly how it’s meant to be.”