Page 80 of In the Light of the Moon
Once our labored breaths turned to deep, calm ones, Sylvie shifted her head on my shoulder, and said sleepily, “Hey, it snowed.”
I turned to look and was met with the sight of twinkling white covering the land around the lake. The trees were frosted with snow that must’ve collected all night like I’d thought it would. A sense of loss threatened to pop the bubble of my content in this moment. I loved running in the snow.
But I couldn’t do that without risking Sylvie’s safety or us going out of town. And Meredith and Ramona probably didn’t want to leave on an impromptu camping trip. I wasn’t even sure my mother shifted all that much anymore. I shuddered internally at the thought. Being as limited as I was now was torture. I couldn’t imagine doing it on purpose.
Sylvie began to sit up, and though I missed her pleasant weight on my chest, we were still trapped together for a little while. She untied the scarf on her head and began to take her hair out of the two braids she put it in last night. My claws traced delicate lines back and forth on her lower stomach, where the pressure of me and my cum inside her created a little roundness that hadn’t been there before.
It wasn’t the same as a pup, but it made me even more excited for when the time would eventually come. She was always beautiful, but I knew that when shewaspregnant, her beauty would have another layer entirely. I would happily bear months of her bemoaning my helicopter caring. I was already protective of her as it was.
“So, what would you like to do with your mom and sister today?” She fluffed out her hair, releasing a downpour of her scent that I drank up greedily.
The question of what to do with my mother and sister was enough to halt my daydreaming entirely. If I’d known that my ignoring Meredith’s phone calls would result in a surprise visit from her and my sister, I would’ve answered every time her name popped up on my screen.
I’d long ago learned that my mother wasn’t going to change. The biting comments, the controlling behavior. All of it hurt when I was a child, and as an adult, the wounds were raised, bumpy scars. But the point of staying away was to ensure that they stayed healed.
“Hey,” Sylvie said quietly, “what’s the matter, Orion?” Her fingernail scraped the edge of my jaw, and the hair that’d already begun to sprout overnight prickled against her touch. The noise was sharp and soothing.
Her other hand rested beside me on the mattress, and I searched the high ceiling above while she did the same to my face. I felt her dark, hickory colored eyes on me, smelled her concern. “Having her here brings up a lot of old feelings.” Too many to keep straight, but I knew for certain that they were unpleasant. I was already on edge after dealing with final grades I had to enter and the inevitable pleas from students who should have been doing more earlier in the semester. Not to mention the Antler Pointe Pack members constantly being around. No more was it just a few passing through the forest, taking advantage of running on my land. Now, they sat and watched. Waiting for me to do something out of line.
With my mother here, I felt again the confused pup that didn’t understand the world or the people around him, and his mother’s pushing and snapping and embarrassment just making it that much more overwhelming.
“What can I do to make it easier for you?”
I sighed and tried to give Sylvie a reassuring smile, but it was weak at best. “Nothing, mo ghrá. Just being with me.” I paused, but added, “Driving the conversation with her, maybe.”
“I can absolutely do that, baby. But, um, is this a situation where I shouldn’t be nice to her? It seems like she really hurt you, Orion, and I don’t want to be kind to someone that was unkind to you.”
My face heated, and the backs of my eyes itched. I blinked the sensation away at the same time I brought Sylvie back to my chest. I’d never had the urge to touch and be touched by someone as much as I did with my mate. With her it was never wrong or uncomfortable.
“Thank you. And,” I cleared the thickness in my throat, “I want you to be yourself. Having a child on the spectrum was something my mother didn’t know how to handle well. Still doesn’t. I’m not sure if I’ve forgiven her, but I’ve accepted it.”
Sylvie and I laid together, breathing and whispering about what we could do for the day. Meredith and Ramona woke up at some point, and the sounds of electric toothbrushes and the shower going buzzed in my ears.
My mate was a comforting weight on my chest that kept the boyish anxieties from making me float away all together. She spoke of her new job and how much she enjoyed it, especially compared to her last one.
It was an… uncomfortable conversation Sylvie and I had nearly a month ago, now. How I had to admit to her of my defeat. That I’d been too arrogant to just keep my head down and ignore the pack members following me. Da used to shake his head and say that I had too much of a Leader’s instinct for my own good. Because despite my lack of social awareness sometimes, I also felt the need to take charge.
That was how my old packmate ended up convincing me to challenge her father. I was a mess after Da died, but I alreadyhad the desire in me. The knowledge that I was far more observant, paying attention to the rest of the pack in a way that no one else did. It was a gift and a curse, and on the night of my challenge and the night Sylvie found me, I’d been bested.
Sylvie didn’t realize at the time that I was so injured and clinging to my human form so tightly that the rest of my right mind was buried far too deep. It was still no excuse for endangering her, but… I was glad things turned out the way that they had.
Without my own misstep, turning behind the downtown buildings to fight off Graham’s thugs tailing me, I might’ve never met my mate.
Sylvie trailed her fingernail in the dip of my shoulder and circled my mark. She talked about the plot of her next story, of her final assignments and her graduate program application. She framed it as a whim—just applying to APC with the expectation that she wouldn’t get in and continue to work at the shop and on her witch studies.
I’d already resigned myself not to interfere, but there was no doubt in my mind that she would be accepted. She was a talented writer, and her ability to juggle work, her writing, and growing her power made me want to puff up my chest and show her off to everyone and also lock her in the house to keep her preciousness safe. The possessiveness, I at least had in check. Most of the time.
Sylvie and I emerged from the bedroom in fresh clothes, but she did me the grace of not showering after she had last night before bed. Having our scents all over each other made me feel more at ease.
We started our morning routine, which helped even more, and it was almost like my mother’s and sister’s presence couldn’t touch me with an Otis Redding record filling the house with rich crooning and a skillet sizzling in my grip.
Luckily, I had enough in the fridge to make breakfast for everyone, and I just finished plating the eggs and bacon at the same time Sylvie finished setting the table and plucking the last pieces of toast from the toaster.
The aroma of food was its own bell, and Ramona padded into the room. Despite having been up for at least a half hour, she looked exhausted and hadn’t changed out of her baggy pajamas. Her hair was in a messy heap, and she just grunted at Sylvie and I as she slid into a barstool.
I grunted back, thankful that she didn’t seem in the mood to speak, but Sylvie didn’t have trouble being sociable. “Morning, Ramona. Did you sleep okay?” She put a cup of coffee in front of my sister who clutched it like Sylvie would threaten to take it back. At the same time, my sister wrinkled her nose, and I caught the mischievous glint in her eye. Oh, no.
“Fine, until I was woken up thestrangestnoise this morning.”
