“Okay… let’s take it from the top. Why not?” she said.
“Because our lives are complicated. He’s a werewolf… I’m not. He’s five years older than me. We both have obligations we have to go back to,” I said.
“The werewolf thing… that can’t ever go away, but it doesn’t have to complicate things… I mean, other than twice a month. Don’t worry about the age thing… who cares, you’re both adults. Tell me why yes,” she said.
“He has been amazing to me… ya know, other than holding me hostage, but since being here. He has cared for me and has done everything to make it right. He wanted to raise Izayuh with me…” I said. I sucked in a breath. The words hit differently out loud. Tears rolled down my face.
“He’s an amazing kid,” she said. She reached across the table and placed her hand on my hand.
“Listen to your heart first and then listen to your head,” she said.
“How do I know what it’s saying? How do I know it’s not just lust?” I said.
“I can’t answer that for you. Only you can. The thing is, you don’t have to make any decisions right now,” she said.
We finished our dinner, and then she taught me how to play dice. We played for a couple of hours before she headed back home. Just as we opened the door and stepped outside—
Awooooo.
Awooooo.
Awooooo.
It was really close.
“You’re welcome, son,” she said.
Awooooo.
She hugged me, and then she was on her way down the drive.
I stood on the porch, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. The moon was full and bright, reflecting off the water.
Leaves crunched to the right of me, and I spun my head that way. A solid black figure was coming my way. My breath hitched. The closer he got, I could see it was a big black wolf—Quinn.
He slowly approached the house. My hands shook slightly. I was fine. He told me dozens of times that they—he—wouldn’t harm me. I stepped off the porch toward him. He walked up to me, his head at my shoulders. I reached my hand out. He nuzzled my hand with his nose.
“I guess twice a month I’ll be taller than you,” I said.
His head dipped—a nod. I didn’t know why it took me by surprise. Of course, he could understand me.
“I guess this isn’t so bad,” I said. He pushed his snout into my chest.
We stood there for a few minutes when another wolf approached from behind. I startled, but he nuzzled me again.
“Is that Callie?” I asked.
He nodded again.
She wasn’t as large as Quinn. Her fur was stark white. The two of them were vastly different than each other. She didn’t come as close as he did. After a little bit, she took off back into the darkness. He nuzzled me again, then turned around and left.
“See you in the morning,” I said.
I crawled into the bed. As soon as my head hit the bed, my lower stomach started aching. It was a familiar pain I hadn’t felt in a long time. I grabbed a pillow, rolling somewhat on my stomach, using the pillow to press into me.
Pain dragged me from my sleep. Pain that I was all too familiar with—one that I hadn’t felt in a while. It was similar to the contractions I had with Izayuh. My period. I got up and ran to thebathroom. As soon as I sat down on the toilet and went pee, I felt it all come out. Lina and Dr. Arthur had warned me that the first one would be the roughest. My stomach cramped, making me fold over. I reached into the basket, in the cabinet under the sink, for a pad. They had said I could use tampons, but we hadn’t gotten any, since we didn’t know when my period would come.
I cleaned myself up and then went back to bed. Something I hadn’t done in a long time. I laid on my side and hugged the pillow tightly. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. It was only a period… the first one since I’d been pregnant with Izayuh. That was it. Another hit, another reminder that he wasn’t here. I wrapped my hand around the pendant that carried his ashes and held it tightly. I cried silently.