Ch. 20

The week is almost up, and I am still undecided. Do I enslave Junko? Banish her? Or do I have her killed? I take a deep breath of the afternoon blossoms. My days have mostly been spent by the fruit tree, thinking of what to do. Everyone in the house knows not to disturb me while I'm out here. Right now I am grateful for the peace. 

I hear footsteps coming up behind me and sigh. The first time I've had company out here. 

Kaylee sits beside me and leans her head on my shoulder. "You okay Mom?" 

I lean my head on hers. "I wish I knew the answer to that. A lot has happened the past few days, I'm not sure what to feel." I wrap my arm around her and stroke her hair. "Did you need me to come back inside?" 

"I think I have a spouse in mind?" Her foot shakes from nervousness. 

Tears well up in my eyes and I pull her into a hug. "That's great! Tell me everything about him." 

She and I talk for what feels like hours. I also take the opportunity to explain what mating is and how it works. I do my best to explain the male side of things, but I am not sure how well I did. As I explain I study her face, she seems to hang on every word. 

Once I finish explaining and answering her questions, she is silent for a while. "Honestly that whole thing sounds gross."

I bust out in laughter, shocked at her first thoughts. "It may seem that way at first, but once you start it can be hard to stop. Just remember if you don't feel comfortable, tell him to stop. Why don't you bring him over for dinner so we can meet him." 

"Okay, sounds like a plan." She giggles and runs into the house. 

I sigh and smile. "Damien is gonna eat that boy alive." I get up and gently touch the tree. "I hope you join us tonight. I wonder what you'll think of him." I walk into the house and find Arkell cooking food over a small fire. I sit next to him and lay my head on his shoulder. "What are you making my love?"

He smiles and kisses my head. "I had some time today, so I caught some fish for dinner tonight. I hope you're hungry." 

"I hope you have some extra, we will be having a guest tonight." 

"Oh? Who would that be?" 

"My daughter Kaylee has taken an interest in a male. She ran off so quick to get him, he might be here real soon." 

"I see, she must fancy him quite a lot to have that kind of reaction. Damien will be, overjoyed." He adds sarcastically. 

"Overjoyed about what?" Damien asks as he walks through the door with a Deer slung over his shoulder. 

"Put the deer down and I'll tell you," Arkell speaks before I can think of what to say.

He sets the deer down by the door and shuts it. "Now, what's going on?" He crosses his arms. 

"Sit." 

Damien raises an eyebrow.

"I said, sit!" Arkell bellows. 

I guess I'm not getting up right now. 

Damien sits by the fire and waits for Arkell to speak. 

He takes a deep breath. "There comes a time when a father must learn to let go, now is that time."

Damien cocks his head to the side. "What are you going on about?"

"Your daughter, Kaylee, has taken an interest in a male. Seems like she will start her own house soon."

His ears perk up. "What?" 

"She found a male she likes, so they might become spouses. I just found out about it today." I get straight to the point, I hate bouncing around the subject. 

His jaw drops. "What? That can't be, it's too soon! She hasn't even matured yet, right?" 

"Does that matter? She will eventually and if she's interested, let it happen." 

He clenches his fists. "I'm not ready for her to leave the den yet." A glaze runs over his eyes, I think he wants to cry.

I run my fingers through my hair. "Neither am I, but whether we like it or not, it's gonna happen. I don't know about you, but I support her no matter what. Having said that, please be on your best behavior. You don't need to scare the poor boy." 

Before he can protest, Kaylee comes through the door. "I'm back!" She has a boy close behind her. 

His hair is silken black and his eyes are a mint green. He's kind of slender with just enough muscle on him. "Hello." He greets us quietly. 

"HI, sit wherever you like. I hope you're hungry, Arkell is cooking fish." I stand up and grab some eggs from the basket.

"No wonder it smells in here, disgusting," Damien says under his breath. 

"That's why I'm grabbing eggs for you, I know you hate fish." I move some hot rocks with a stick and crack a few eggs over them. They sizzle and finish cooking as the rocks cool. 

The boy stays silent during the meal, but at least he's respectful of my home.

Kaylee talks our ears off about how sweet he is and how he took her on a flight above the city. "Are your flights just as amazing Mom?" She asks all giddy. 

I nod. "They are, every time." I lay my head on Arkell's arm. After a while, I stretch and yawn. "I think I ate too much, I'm tired." 

Arkell smiles. "Ready to turn in for the night? I would like to join you if that's alright." 

"Please, it's still hard for me to go by that room on my own."

The room stays quiet while we leave. 

Arkell holds onto my hand while we pass by the old room. 

We decided to leave the room open for my older children. My pups and mated spouses stay in the other room with me. 

I lay on the bedding with Arkell by my side. 

He gets up to retrieve my pups, but I stop him. "If they're sleeping, please leave them."

He nods. "Of course, I'll be right back."

When he gets back, he sets them down beside the bed in their basket. "I know you prefer them close when you sleep." He lays beside me and wraps his arm around my waist. "I love you, Fae."

I smile. "I love you too, Arkell."

I wake, unable to breathe. I reach for my throat and something smooth and slippery is wrapped around it. It slowly gets tighter as I struggle. I reach for Arkell and wake him up. 

He jolts up in a panic and rips off the thing around my neck. 

I cough hard, almost throwing up. Once I regain my breath I look up at Arkell. "What is that?"

Arkell struggles with it for a moment. "Dammit." He manages to get control of it and takes a deep breath. "It's his spirit, though I have no idea why he would want to harm you." 

I squint in the dark and see that he has bite marks on his arm. "Are you going to be okay?" Tears well up in my eyes. "It's because I haven't decided what to do with Junko yet, isn't it?" 

'Don't worry." Arkell gently caresses my cheek. "Just follow what your heart says, it knows what to do."

I lean into his hand for comfort. "Thank you, I'll do my best." 

"I'll be okay, the bites are just painful, not poisonous."

I sigh in relief. "What do we do now?"

"I'll take care of it, you get your rest." He kisses me passionately and leaves the room.

I lay back down and gently touched the now bruised parts of my throat. They are tender right now, but I hope they heal quickly. It's difficult to try and sleep after that, my mind is too alert. I can't get comfortable and with every breath my throat throbs.

After a while, I get up and go to the main room. I start a fire, and the heat helps soothe the pain. 

The hours slowly tick by, and Arkell lies with me by the fire. 

"Are you alright?"

"No." My voice is growing hoarse. "If I move at all, it hurts."

He gently strokes my hair. "I'm sorry, I should've been more watchful." 

I reach back and take his hand. "It's not your fault." 

"But-" 

"Don't." I interrupt him before he starts, with tears in my eyes. "Don't you dare disappear again." 

He stays silent.

"I'm not going to lose any more spouses." I squeeze his hand tightly. 

He wraps his arms around me. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere." He kisses my head and we both go back to sleep.