Kayden plopped her sister down at the table, passing her a tea.
“Can we talk?”
The Alpha looked curiously at her sister, accepting her tea graciously. Xael was in town for the afternoon with Braxton, speaking to one of the contractors they had hired to build Braxton’s cozy house out in the forest. Xael had been talking for weeks now about finding their own place to settle, or at least make as a kind of home base for their pack to return to after hunts. For months now Xael was becoming more and more Alpha, speaking for the pack as a whole, thinking about all of them as a collective, and making decisions for what he saw as the best for all of them. One of these decisions had been a house for Luna and himself, that could serve as a place for Jay to find them, and eventually Kayden when she wanted to branch out one day.
He’d suggested one close to Braxton, that way if Luna and him were on a contract, someone was still near to watch the house. While the men went off to talk to the contractor about adding a second project to the bill, Luna and Kayden remained behind in Brax and Ash’s half built home, drinking tea at the table in the shelled out kitchen.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately,” Kayden started, sipping her tea, “About how much I’ve grown in these past six months. I can fight now, and protect myself. I can Change more willingly. And I think I’m ready.”
Luna gave her a questioning look so Kayden continued, “I want to start hunting on my own sis. Like you and Xael do, with the contracts. I think I can handle myself, and that will give you and your mate more privacy. I can still visit whenever, and I won’t stray too far, but I’d love the chance to grow up. To see the world.
I was locked away for so long, there is still so much I haven’t seen or done. And I want to do it all. Please don’t be upset Luna. And don’t ask me to stay. This is what I want. I won’t be gone forever either. Give me six months, please, just six months to try life on my own.”
She finished her tea, standing up before Luna could make a comment, or tell her no, “I love you sis, and I love Xael like a brother. You guys are building a house now, something for us to return to, but that means I have to leave before I can return, right? I’m ready, I know I am. I even have a contract lined up. I’ll be back before you know it, and this could be really good for me.”
Luna’s words were soft and conflicting, both blessing her sister to live her life, and asking her to stay if there was any doubt in Kayden’s mind. She knew what the Alpha was worried about, knew Luna was trying to protect her as she should. But Kayden needed this, and she explained as such. She needed to at least try.
Kayden pulled her sister into a long hug, listening to her words of wisdom as she held back tears. Pulling away, she thanked her for everything, and promised to be back.
“I love you,” she grinned, “Thank you for understanding.”
And with that she was out the door, scooping her green pack up onto her shoulder and disappearing into the trees.
Nereyda growled, pacing her small room. Both hands rested on her bulging belly, comforting her unborn child.
Does this feeling ever go away? I’m having a child…and it still feels so unreal.
And yet she was growing comfortable with pregnancy. She didn’t have to work hard on her hair, so she kept it up in messy braids or buns most of the time and let the dye grow out. Her usual pound of make-up had become a light layer of eyeliner, bringing out her natural beauty more. And she had gotten an entirely new wardrobe, which she hadn’t minded in the slightest; she had everything now from slacks and baggy shirts to dresses tailored to fit her. Today she had chosen a one of her favorite silver shirts with a sweeping neck line and a pair of black soft leggings with brown riding boots. She had intended to go outside for the day but by mid-afternoon she was sulking in her room.
A soft knock at the door surprised her and her body half turned, expecting to see one familiar face and getting another stepping in and closing the door, sweeping platinum blonde curls back.
“Hey,” Reyn softened, letting her frustration go, “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
Ashlin smiled wide, looking at Reyn’s belly, “I had to visit. Look at you Reyn! Wow, you are look amazing!”
“I don’t feel amazing,” she attested, finding a spot in one of the brown arm chairs sitting in the corner of her room with a little coffee table, “I feel bloated and cranky.”
“That’s pregnancy,” Ash laughed, “Where’s Eli?”
Crossing the room, the sorceress opened the curtains to let light shine in through the large floor length window. Since Ashlin wasn’t using it anymore and she had sent Elijah and Reyn to the village, the couple were living in her old home, a small cozy house on the edge of town with two floors. The main floor held a kitchen and living room and the upstairs held two bedrooms and a large bathroom shared by both. Ash bunked in the spare room now when she visited, letting the couple have the master bedroom she once occupied.
Reyn made a face at the question as Ash turned back to her, her annoyance rushing back, “Gone.”
Ash paled, dropping into the other arm chair, “Reyn…he didn’t leave you did he?”
“What? No. He left the village for a couple days,” she wrinkled her nose, “He has
needs.”
Ash closed her eyes slowly, pinching the bridge on her nose in exasperation, “He did not seriously go on a whore binge, did he? I will cut his cock off.”
Reyn played with her hands, “I’m a little too pregnant for sex anymore. Trust me it’s no more fun for me as it is for him. I have needs too Ash. But he got crankier and crankier in the last two weeks being abstinent. I finally kicked him out, told him to go stick his dick in something if it was driving him that crazy.”
Ash shook her head, “I know you two don’t do monogamy, but you are carrying his child. I expected a little decency from that man.”
“Maybe his conscious will give him hell,” Reyn smiled, secretly hoping he wasn’t enjoying himself, “At least he’ll come back in a better mood.”
The sorceress watched her friend, studying her, “You know you can talk to him about this right? Explain that your uncomfortable with being pregnant while he continues to pay for whores. You deserve better than that Reyn. At least.”
“I know. I’ve tried, but I’m not good at talking about feelings, especially with him. I don’t want him to feel held down either. You know Elijah…”
“Yeah…I do. But I also know that you are different to him than anyone else out there. The least you can do is tell the man.”
“We’ll see…”
“What else is it Reyn?”
The siren seemed to be chewing on something else and Ashlin could see it plain on her face.
A laughed bubbled out, one full of tension, “I haven’t slept since Eli left. I can’t. I haven’t slept alone a night in six months, and even before that it was only a rare occasion. I’m so used to his presence now…”
“That sleeping alone feels awkward and sad,” Ashlin finished, knowing the siren’s frustrations, “When I’m away from Braxton I’m the same way.”
Reyn nodded, rubbing her belly, “Eli left yesterday and I know not sleeping is horrible for the baby. Doctor Hall reminds me of that every time I visit. No skipping sleep, no skipping food.”
“I think one night of missed sleep won’t hurt you. If you need me to, I can sleep beside you tonight and keep you company.”
“Thank you Ash.”
Ashlin changed subjects then, explaining her visit. Other than wanting to see her newfound friend, Ash wanted to check on the baby and see how the pregnancy was going. The only other magic-caster in the village adept in childbirth was an elder man in his late sixties, and Reyn got squeamish when he wanted to touch her at all. Ash had stepped in to do most of the hands-on work, and left the doctor to prescribe Reyn herbs and medicine to keep the mother and her child healthy. Getting Reyn to lie in the bed, Ash went through her now regular rounds, checking the baby’s heartbeat, listening for any movement, and using her repertoire of spells she had been gathering specifically for Reyn to ensure everything was healthy and normal.
“Want to know if it’s a girl or a boy?” she asked an hour into the check-up, smiling at the siren, “I found this spell book that is full of potions and incantations designed for pregnancy and motherhood. Some of them are scrawled in, so I’m not sure if they work, or are safe, but a few I’ve already been using and they’ve been helpful.”
“You just up and found a spell book with all the spells and potions you could possibly need?”
Ash laughed, “Okay no, it was borrowed. From Doctor Hall. Who doesn’t actually know I have it, so…”
“So you stole it?” Reyn shook her head with a soft chuckle, “Asking not your style Ash?”
Ash raised a playful eyebrow at her, “Someone pissed off their doctor by calling him old and creepy. And making Eli think he had to protect you, almost killing the poor man. So he was a little less than willing to let me borrow it.”
“He was way too handsy, alright? And we apologised. He is seeing me weekly now.”
“For medicine. It doesn’t matter, I’ll sneak it back into his office before he knows it was me. Now back on topic, do you want to know?”
Reyn laughed and nodded, getting more comfortable in the sheets, “Yes please. I’m hoping for a boy. A mini Elijah I can actually scold when he messes up.”
Ashlin laughed, “I was thinking a girl, so you have a miniature you to dress up.”
“Oooh, yes.”
Ash pulled a wide disc from a pouch on her belt, engraved with intricate symbols and words. Placing it softly on the woman’s stomach, Reyn shivered at the cold bronze metal. As the sorceress explained, the disc was used well before the outbreak, back centuries ago when magic was still around but medicine had yet to advance much. Back then a profession called witch doctors had been prominent, and some could actually use magic. One had made this talisman to tell a woman if her child was male or female. Somehow it had been passed along for generations, and Doctor Hall had acquired it during his life time.
“So another
borrowed item?”
“Naturally. Now stop squirming.”
Placing both her hands gently on the talisman over Reyn’s bulging stomach, Ashlin let her magic seep into the disc. She spoke the incantation that came with it softly, feeling the talisman vibrate under her fingers as it worked. As her spell finished the talisman stopped vibrating, going still in her palm as she lifted it.
Lifting both hands off the siren, she looked at the coin with a wide grin, then over at the soon-to-be mother.
“Well Reyn. You’re going to have a girl.”
~~
Ash was out visiting a few caster friends late that evening when Elijah returned. Nereyda sat in her arm chair, reading a book and chewing her nails, still unable to sleep. As the door creaked open her head snapped up, taking in that face she loved ever so much.
“Eli,” she breathed, dropping the book to the floor as she stood up slowly, “Thank god you’re back.”
