Page 104 of Anaki

As a fledgling, I thought it was the greatest thing spending time with everyone, but I never understood. Now I know why.

“Fuck, love, you are going into heat soon.”

Her head perked up. “Huh?”

“Not right now, but soon. We need to talk first. There are stirrings at the club, and I’m concerned.”

Elena wrapped the linen around her body and sat up. “One thing at a time.” She held up her hand. “First, the club. What’s wrong?”

I liked how she put the club before herself, but I could feel the tension tightening her body.

“It’s alright. Things are going to work out.” I pushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear. “Bear and Nadia are back. Along with the other mated couples. They all have head pains like us.”

Elena tilted her head in question.

“They are in pain, too? Are they okay? What about Nadia?” Elena scooted closer, sitting on my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck.

I enjoyed this bond we shared. She knew how close I was to Bear andNadia, and I was glad she understood I only saw them as family. Especially with Nadia’s history with head pains, this was a step back for her.

“She’s going to be fine. They are finishing getting the rest of the humans in the right placements. Some are coming here, to town. They will stay at the apartments we have set up, and we will figure out jobs for them. Others are being sent back home where they wanted to go.”

Elena nibbled on her bottom lip. “We should go help.” She tried to rise from my lap, and I laughed as I grabbed her hips and pulled her back down.

“Easy there. You are not going anywhere.” She landed on my lap with a ‘humph’. “I can’t have you going into heat around any males. I won’t. I'm unsure what Scales would do, and frankly, I'm unsure what I would do. The last time I got pissed off, bad things happened.” The playfulness fell from my voice, and I leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “I might eat people.”

Elena gasped. “No, you don’t think you would do that again?!”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I prefer not to find out. It would probably be worse since we are mated. So, no going near any shifters. Fae, yes, since they can’t smell as well. I think that will appease both sides of me.”

I could see Scales nodding in my mind.

“Yes, he agrees. Fae are fine. We can go to the fae village and see if they need help, if you want to. Otherwise…” I cupped her breast, and she slapped my hand.

“We need to help do something besides fucking. What are Locke and Emm doing?” my mate asked.

I shook my hand and pouted in defeat.

“Fucking, like I want to be doing. Bear sent a message, and now Hawke is going to try to intercept it and steal his phone or something. They don’t want to let Locke know that all of us were having head pains right now. Because,…” I sang. “That’s dangerous and tedious work trying toget a damn lycan to break away from fucking your sister.”

Elena gagged. “Not to add more pressure, but Emm doesn’t like to be interrupted during ‘private times' either.”

“Mama!”

Luis raced through the bustling crowd of weary fae, and collided with us. Elena, unfazed, enveloped our son in her arms, pressing her nose against his neck. The noise of the crowd faded around us.

While my soulkin didn’t know it, she was scenting Luis as a dragon mother would do to her fledgling, and I think my heart grew two sizes.

One day, I hoped to give her another.

“Anaki! You bit her!” Luis ran his finger over the slightly raised bite mark on his mother’s shoulder. She winced and pulled his wrist away.

“Aye, you know what that means? Has Abuela been talking too much?” I chided.

Luis shrugged his shoulders. “Just means you are married now. We are a family now, right?”

I gently placed my hand on top of his head and felt the soft strands of hair between my fingers as I ruffled it. The smell of his shampoo filled my lungs. My scent was coming in stronger than ever .“That we are. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

“That means, I call you Papi now? Or Dad? What do you want most?”