Sororate Chapter 5 *Updated*

 
1st November 2231

Whilst Declan and I carried on with our lives, I wondered how Maia and Forrest were adjusting to their new ones, together? 

Typical for newlyweds, especially where a Werewolf was involved; the two didn’t socialize much during the first few months.  Everyone assumed they were enjoying what each other’s company had to offer.  Whereas my mate and I were firmly entrenched in a routine; I guess the two were establishing theirs.

Monday to Thursday, we were woken at 8 AM by Declan’s digital alarm clock. When the Garage was busy he worked Fridays as well, but since he owned it, he had the freedom to choose. It was handy during a full moon, and he needed the sleep in from hunting all night.

He employed three mechanics, two whom were human Lokoti and the third who was also a Werewolf.  They too, usually worked four days a week.  He set up the roster so he and one of his mechanics would work from Monday to Thursday, and the other two would work from Wednesday to Saturday.  Then on Fridays, Declan preferred to do his ‘paper work’ at home.

After breakfast, I’d clean up the cooking mess from whatever he’d made, before we returned to the table.  Our individual laptops would be turned on and as I did my academic work; he’d be working on rosters, calculating his worker’s pay, or other book-keeping from the Garage.  He’d be balancing labour with the cost of power and water, or even ordering in parts, online.

Although Declan left school at the age of thirteen to become an apprentice mechanic, he was in no way disadvantaged.  His bloodlust made him a restless student, where sitting in a classroom for long periods of time, was difficult.  So his mother whom had run the temporary school on tribal lands after the War; reluctantly gave her permission. 

Aunt Susan passed on his education to Uncle Fin, who used to run the Garage.  Under the tutelage of the Lokoti Werewolf, the European one put in many a dutiful hour.  Declan was taught not only how to fix engines, but he was trained to run the Garage when his supervisor was away.  When Uncle Fin passed, he left the business to his loyal second-in-charge.

I found it impressive, how easily my mate operated the workplace.  He was a firm but fair boss, who only employed Lokoti to spare the questions a non-Lokoti would have, about the Werewolves tardiness during a full moon.  His female employee Gracie, may not have been a supernatural creature; however my mate once told me she had a mental illness which could also be affected.  But he jested, “with our bloodlust affecting our brain chemistry, I’m not gonna judge someone with something similar.”  So he simply made the decree that if you arrived late, you left late. 

Just as Declan had little patience with school books, he also saw instruction manuals in similar regard.  But his mind was sharp as a tack and he was a fast learner.  When he bought himself a new laptop or an accounting program, he would teach himself how to use it.  The booklets were tossed into the recycling without being opened.  Then he would sit at the table for hours, as he played with the technology and learned by trial and error.

One Friday morning, I kept hearing his computer beep out an error message.

“Damn it!”  He growled under his breath. 

“What are trying to do?” I looked up from my laptop.

“I’m trying to copy and paste an old spreadsheet into a new one, but the frickin’ thing won’t let me!”

“Well, what do the instructions say?”  I queried.  When he threw me an unimpressed look for asking, I huffed back; “I’m not talking about the instructions you threw out, but most programs have a ‘help’ system.  Hit the ‘help’ button and it will tell you how to do it.”

“I don’t need a frickin’ computer telling me what to do!”  He snarled bad-temperedly.

“You’re obviously doing the wrong thing -” I began when I was interrupted.

“Got it!”  He let out a cheer, before he smiled smugly. “So, you were saying?” 

I rolled my eyes as I tried to stop a grin from escaping, but Declan caught it. 

“Sprung!”  He sung out.

Then he stood up, picked up our coffee mugs and proceeded to carry them into the kitchen to make us another.  When he returned, he placed a kiss on the top of my head, as he put down our beverages.  He gloatingly walked around to his seat, as he returned to his task.

Although we enjoyed working together on Fridays; weekends had the rule that no work was allowed.

I wasn’t permitted to do anything academic and if I even looked at my laptop, it earned a growl.  Occasionally on Saturdays, he’d receive a phone call from the Garage, as one of his employees had to ask for his permission on something.  Last Saturday, he was on the phone for longer than five minutes and when he went outside to talk privately; I used this chance to type up my list of references on a paper I’d almost finished.

Quickly, I pulled my laptop off the shelf and turned my computer on.  Whilst keeping my ears peeled to his conversation, I opened the file for my latest paper.  Speedily, I typed up the references but just as I was almost finished, Declan walked in.

“Hey!”  His quick-temper was ignited.  “It’s the weekend!  No work allowed!”

“What were you doing on the phone then?” I returned.

“That’s different, because the Garage is open on Saturdays.”  He shot back.  “But I don’t see you lecturing at University, on weekends!” 

When he made a move to take away my computer, I squealed out; “no, wait!  Just two more references and I’m finished!”

“B!”

“Declan!”

“10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1!”  He counted down.

I had just managed to hit the ‘save’ button, when he whipped the laptop out of my grasp.  He snapped it shut as he spun on his heel.  I stood there seething, as he crudely shoved it back onto the bookshelf.

“Declan, it was only five minutes of finishing up a paper, which I need to have done by the end of next week!”  I snapped.

“Zip it, B!”  The European Werewolf flared. “You’ve been away more than usual, guest lecturing on your last paper.  Now with this one, it’s like you’re developing tunnel vision.  Enough is enough!  Weekends belong to me, your husband whom you’re meant to fawn over and lavish attention on.”

However his words had the opposite effect, when I crossed my arms and sulkily stared at the table.

“OK,” he looked at his watch, “it’s nearly midday, so how about we go into Alma and try that new Bakery Café for lunch?  Then we’ll go to the Supermarket and do the grocery shopping afterwards.”

“Fine!”  I stomped away, to fetch my handbag and coat.

“Gees B, don’t sound so excited about it.”  He sung sarcastically.

“I won’t.” I said coldly.

*****

Thirty minutes later, our moods had improved which was greatly helped by our new surroundings. 

We were seated at a table by the front window of the Café.  Both of us were enjoying the warmth of the sunshine pouring in, coupled with the delicious aromas in the air. We were each holding a menu card, perusing through the selection of pastries and other bakery goods.

“Boulangerie, why does that sound familiar?”  He queried as he looked on the name printed on the double-sided menu; ‘Toulouse Patisserie and Boulangerie’.

“It’s French.” I answered. “Patisserie means pastry, and boulangerie means bakery.”

“Oh, I knew that.”  He raised his eyebrows.  “Then I guess we went to one of those, when we were in France?”

“Yep.” 

“You miss it, don’t you?”  He spoke and when I looked on questioningly, he continued; “you miss Europe. You loved traveling and living out of your suitcase for six weeks.  Your aura never looked so bright, when we woke up every second or third morning, in a new country.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” he verified as he regarded me, “you always glow when we go on holiday.”

I shrugged back, “I like seeing something new every day.”

“So I gathered.” 

Just then, a waiter who looked like he was still in school, came over to take our orders.

“Welcome to Toulouse Patisserie and Boulangerie.  What can I get for you today?” 

Declan ordered first, “yeah, I’ll get the croque-monsieur, the steak and onion pie, the vanilla slice, the chocolate caramel slice and a strawberry milkshake.” 

The teenager nodded as he jotted all of this down into his PDA, but then he turned to leave as if he thought Declan had ordered for the both of us.

“Hey hey hey!”  My husband objected and the teenager quickly returned.  “My wife would like to order something too.”

The boy’s eyes bulged at the size of Declan’s appetite, before he recovered his decorum and looked my way.

“Hi.” I smirked at the kid’s surprise. “Can I please get a banana milkshake, the chicken and leek pie, as well as the chocolate mouse cake.”

He nodded again as he put this into his PDA.  But just as the teenager turned away, he paused.  For some reason he passed me a second glance and we saw his eyes widen.  He actually stood dead still amongst the tables, as if transfixed.  When I gave him a peculiar look, he blushed and scurried away.

“What was THAT about?” I wondered aloud.

Declan gazed my way, before examining how the sunlight was coming in through the window.  Then he did a scan of the other patrons, to see if they saw something too.  His secretive behavior continued, as he leaned in to whisper, “your aura just got brighter.”

“My what?”

“I was checking to see if it was the glare from the sun, or your aura just became noticeable.”

“Really?”  I blinked in disbelief.

“What were you thinking about just then?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what were you thinking about just then?”  He rolled his eyes.

“Why?”

“Because your aura got so bright; that for a moment the kid who’s just an ordinary human, got a glimpse of it!”  He hissed.

“Yeah right!”  I snorted in disbelief.

“What were you thinking about just then?”  Declan pestered a third time.

“I don’t know.”

“You weren’t attracted to the boy, were you?”  He asked jealously.

“What?”  I exclaimed.  “No!”

The territorial European Werewolf still looked unhappy, so I gave an innocent shrug.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything much.”  I promised. “Maybe how nice it was sitting here; feeling the warmth of the sun coupled with the smell of bread baking.”

Declan’s expression changed into one of relief, as he rested his hand over mine and stroked the top of my skin with his forefinger.

“I was thinking the same thing.”  My husband agreed as he still regarded his wife.  “You look like you’re literally glowing right now.”

“I do?”  I asked pleasantly surprised, when he gave a nod.  “Truly?”  He gave another nod and I asked out of interest, “what does my aura look like?”

He dropped his voice to a decibel only I could hear; “right now it looks a soft yellow colour, whilst your dark blue eyes look particularly bright, and your black hair looks extra glossy.”

I smiled on his flattering description and thought I’d return the favour; “well you look rather radiant yourself; with your hair looking extra blonde in this light.”

He chuckled at my compliment, “it does?”

“Yeah.”  Now it was my turn to nod.  “Usually your hair could be called ‘dark blonde,’ but right now it looks ‘blonde blonde’.”

“Blonde blonde?”  He repeated in amusement.  “It’s a good thing you don’t work for a cosmetics firm or a hair dye company.  I can just imagine the kinda names you’d put out; ‘blonde blonde’, ‘black black’ or ‘red red’.”

“Oh shut up!” I snatched my hand back.

“Seriously B, and you’re the one with the PhD?”  He snickered. “It’s a good thing that your focus is on historical data and not creative writing.”

“Give it a rest, Declan.” I said in annoyance, as I picked up the menu card again. 

Hmm, buying a chocolate cheesecake and taking it home, sounded like a tempting idea.  I made note of the price, for when the time came to pay for our orders and add on the take-away.

My mate picked up his menu card too; “hey, we could buy our bread from here instead of the supermarket.”

I nodded in agreement when we were interrupted by the waiter bringing out our orders. 

The kid gave me his best grin, as he put down our drinks first and then all the plates of food.  I helped out by putting the strawberry milkshake in front of Declan as I claimed the banana flavour.  When I smiled at the boy to say ‘thanks’, the teenager gave a wink before he returned to his position behind the counter.  He had to serve some other customers, but he repeatedly looked in my direction as he worked.

“Great,” my mate muttered sarcastically, “should I drive home now or later, to pack up my stuff?”

“Shut up!”  I blushed as I picked up my drink.

“Normally, I’d offer to fight him for you.  But the kid is so scrawny, all I’d have to do is breathe on him and he’d fall over!”

“Be quiet, Declan.”

“Maybe I should bite him and let him turn before I fight him. It might even be interesting that way.”  He went on.

When I threw him a dirty look, he chuckled at his own humour before he picked up the croque-monsieur. 

“Mmm… this is good. You want?”  He offered with a mouthful. 

I didn’t even have to answer, when he put it back onto his plate and cut off a corner to put on mine.  I ate the offering with my fork before nodding in agreement.  “It is good.”

“How’s the chicken and leek pie?”  He queried, although he knew I hadn’t started yet; but it was his way of asking for some.

I cut my pie into quarters and placed one on his plate, which he picked up and it was gone in sixty seconds.

“Mmm, that’s good too.”  He gave an enthusiastic nod. 

Next, he cut up his steak and onion pie as well, so I could take a piece.  We ate the rest of our lunch this way and what the hell, we even sipped on each other’s milkshakes.  As we finished off our meal, we noticed we had attracted the attention of the other patrons.

A teenaged boy and a girl looked on askance, as if they thought what we were doing was ‘sad’… A gay couple in their twenties used us as inspiration and the men began to feed each other with their forks… Then an elderly hetero couple who were doing the same thing as us, chuckled at our surprised expressions.

“You’re following the French mantra, son.”  The man nudged Declan, when he saw him take a bite of my chocolate mouse cake. “A little bit of everything.”

My husband passed a humorous look my way, as we always thought it funny when elderly humans called us ‘son’ or ‘dear’; since we were older even if we didn’t look it.

“The vanilla slice is delicious.”  He pointed at the man’s dessert.  “Be sure to share it with your pretty missus.”

The elderly woman giggled like a school girl, before she turned to me; “and how long have you been married for, dear?”

Declan and I tried not to laugh, as I answered with; “a while and you?”

“We passed our 45th anniversary last week.”  The husband said proudly, as his wife looked on fondly.

“Forty-five years, huh?”  My mate pretended to be impressed. “Now that IS something.” 

We both kept quiet on the fact that our marriage had surpassed them by three times.

“Kids today,” the old man began, “they hardly last five years in marriage. The divorce rate is something like 83% now!”

“83%, really?”  My husband echoed.

“Stan has a saying,” the elderly woman spoke, “if you’re not going to finish something then why the hell start?”

“Young people begin a job, but then they change careers something like four times.”  The old man began to lecture. “I heard of one woman who started off as a Primary School Teacher and ended up doing PR!  I’ve ALWAYS stayed in the same career, even if I’ve had to change jobs.”

“It’s because of how easy and accessible everything is nowadays.”  His wife agreed. “Thanks to the world wide credit system, people can apply for jobs in other countries, as easily as they apply for ones in their own.”

“We come from Texas,” the stranger declared, “we’re just passing through Alaska on a road trip.  We’ve always lived in that state, as it’s our home, heart and kin.  But last year when my grandson graduated University, he got a Stock Broker’s job in Spain!” 

My eyes crept towards Declan’s, who was waiting to hold my gaze.  If this guy thought working overseas was a big deal, I wondered what he would say about Circulators?  We’d probably be lectured on how circulating through time could wreck a career or marriage…

“And what do you do, dears?”  His elderly wife, enquired.

“I run a Garage on Lokoti tribal lands and B is an Ancient History Professor.” My mate answered.

“Have you always been a mechanic, son?”  The old man asked.

“Yup.”

“At least there’s some stability there.”  He said in satisfaction.  “So, how long have you two been married for; five years?”

“Oh, you could say it’s been a bit longer than that.”  My husband smirked, as I ducked my head to hide my laughter.

The old man went on, “and you’re going to be one of those couples that disprove the divorce rate, aren’t you?”

“We sure are.” Declan chuckled.

“In five more years, Cindy and I are going to reach our Golden Anniversary.  We’re gonna get that gold, aren’t we Cin?”  He reached over to take his elderly wife’s hand.

“Yes we will, Stan.”  She beamed back.  “Sure as heck, we’ll get there in the end.”

“Well,” my mate stood up first which prompted me to as well, “I wish you both the best of luck with that.”

“And you too, son.”  The old man offered his hand to shake, which Declan took.

My mate took extra care of his supernatural strength around the elderly or children; but his strong grip still made the man gasp in surprise.

“You take care now.”  He wished them well.  But as he gave the old man a friendly pat on the back, the force jolted him. 

Flabbergasted, the elderly couple watched us walk over to the cash register to pay for our lunch.

“What kinda grits do they feed ‘em up here?”  The husband looked from his wife, to the food they had just consumed.

When Declan swiped his credit card and punched in his PIN, he had to have a second go because he pressed the buttons too hard.  I snickered at my husband’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ mannerisms, which earned a glare.

“Oh shut up.” He said grouchily, as he returned his wallet to his pocket.

“Careful, you’re making me angry.”  I quoted the character.

“Do you wanna walk home?”  He threatened.

I was still giggling when I pulled out my own credit card, “can I please get the chocolate cheesecake and two loaves of the sliced multigrain bread?”

“Make it four loaves.” Declan ordered as he fished out his card again.  “And I’ll pay.”

“No -” I tried to instead, when he snatched up the device to swipe his card and put in the PIN, before I could.

Since my husband was standing closely beside, as well as hitting distance of the waiter; I noticed how the boy this time, kept his eyes averted.  He quickly retrieved our take-away order, as he bagged the bread and carefully boxed the cake.  However when he put them on the counter, our sensitive ears caught his sharp intake of air, when he got a whiff of my pheromones.

“I’ll tell you what,” my mate said dryly; “if you can prove to me that you actually baked all of this yourself?  I might consider sharing her with you.”

“Declan!”  My face burned bright red as embarrassedly, I whacked him on the arm.

“Um no, I just wait tables and serve at the register…” the teenager fumbled out.

“That’s too bad because trust me, women like men who cook for them.”  He returned.

Then as cool as a cucumber, the European Werewolf picked up the bread and cake before escorting his mortified mate, from the café.

*****

I gave Declan the ‘silent treatment,’ as he parked his pick up, in the supermarket’s car park.  We left the cake and bread in the vehicle’s cabin, before walking into the large building.  As usual, he pushed the hover-trolley whilst I walked beside, holding the shopping list. 

When we stopped in front of the canned tomatoes and I picked a particular brand, he objected.

“Not that one.”

“Why not this one?”

“It’s not 100% natural.”  He frowned and next, he grabbed three others.

“How do you know it’s not 100% natural?” I checked the label.

“I can smell it.”

I looked on in disbelief, “how can you smell it? It’s in a tin!”

“So? You could be inside of a tin, but I’d smell you too.”

“You could not!”  I argued.  He took the item off me to point out the small print on the bottom.  I read out, “this product contains artificial flavours and preservatives.”

Just like the elderly human couple we had left, he complained as he pushed the hover-trolley down the aisle.

“It’s getting harder to buy 100% natural these days.  With everything being mass produced as pre-made, it’s making it more difficult. People don’t even cook anymore, they all buy the frozen meals or the pre-prepared crap.”

I pointed out, “I buy the pre-made salads and you like those.”

“I’ll eat them if I’m too tired to cook, but I certainly don’t enjoy.  Why do you think for the past 142 years, I’ve preferred to make my own?  It tastes better when it’s home made with no artificial additives.”

“Moan moan moan.”  I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t hear you complain, when I use my culinary skills on you.” He quipped before he added on, “that reminds me, more vegetables have ripened in the greenhouse.  For the next two weeks, we can supplement with those.”

Then we stopped in front of the tinned asparagus.  I picked two of the cheapest tins, when he reached past and grabbed two of the more expensive brands.

“They’re more natural.” He declared.

“Yeah and they’re also more expensive.” I said unhappily.

“We can afford it.”  He took hold of my hand and pulled me along.

In the following aisle, I grabbed a box of teabags and again he put another brand into the trolley instead.

“Would you stop doing that!”  I snapped. “Man, this is much easier when you’re not here.”

“The paper used for these teabags isn’t bleached.”  He pointed out the small print once more.  “I don’t know about you, but I prefer my cup of tea without toxic chemicals.”

Just as we rounded the corner for a new aisle, I stopped still as my mouth fell open in horror.

I blanched upon the sight of the two, bitchy, middle-aged women; who said the mean thing about my youthful appearance, in relation to me being unable to bear young.  They were standing closely together and bitching about somebody new, which I picked up with my supernatural hearing. 

Damn it, I’d managed to go for a couple of years without seeing them again and I was hoping it could have continued for the rest of their human lives.

“B?”  My mate turned around to give my hesitation, a funny look.

To not cause a scene, I took a deep breath before catching up.  I deliberately walked closely beside, as if to use his tall, wide frame to hide behind.  As we passed by, it started to work too…however their heads turned at his physique. 

Their eyes scanned appreciatively his muscular build, which was evident under his jeans, t-shirt and denim jacket; before they narrowed in jealousy, when they spotted who he was shopping with.

Frickin’ hell, I could see the rabid foam building up inside their spiteful mouths! As soon as they thought we were a safe distance away, they started up. 

“Typical.”  Bitch One hissed.  “He would end up with the ‘Living Barbie Doll’!”

“Just look at her, how much money does she spend on plastic surgery?”  Bitch Two spat out. “We’ve shopped here for the past thirty years and she looks like she hasn’t aged a day.”

“I bet she’s older than the stud beside her and in fact, he’s her ‘toy boy’.”  Bitch One cackled.

But thanks to our sensitive ears, Declan and I overheard every word they said.

My mate chuckled quietly, “you hear that, B?  I’m your toy boy!”

However I wasn’t laughing, when I grabbed his arm and pulled him along to hide down another corridor of produce.

“Aw, c’mon…” he poked me in the ribs, “…it is funny, when you think about it.”

“No it’s not!” I snapped back.

I sped up to get this stupid shopping trip done.  I didn’t even stop to examine the items anymore, I simply grabbed them off the shelves and carelessly dropped them into the trolley.  My mate frowned, as he easily kept up and periodically, he’d lean over and straighten whatever was lying on its side.

The next aisle had the feminine hygiene items, as well as the bio-degradable nappies.  But when I saw what was happening here, it made me halt a second time.  Because of it, Declan almost ran me over with the trolley!  He opened his mouth to berate, until he saw what I was looking at and he shut it again.

Maia was sobbing as she clung to a packet of disposable diapers, and Forrest was doing his best to console her.

Oh no…we could guess what was wrong.  I mean, why else would newlyweds be crying over unused nappies?  Or the girl, anyway.

“C’mon, let’s go before they see us.”  My mate whispered.

Declan grabbed my hand and started to turn the trolley around, to allow the couple their privacy; but we were spotted.

“Aunt B and Uncle Dec?”  Maia asked plaintively.

We turned around again, to see Forrest stiffen as Maia quickly tried to dry her face.  Embarrassed, she shoved the packet back onto the shelf.

“Hi…” I gave an awkward wave, “…er, how are you?”

My mate elbowed me for asking such a stupid question, but I didn’t mean to; I was just accustomed to greeting people as such.

“Um, I’m good thanks…” Maia tried to lie, until she dissolved into another set of tears.

“Frickin’ hell, marriage isn’t that bad, is it?”  I joked, as I darted forward to swamp her in a huge hug.  “At least you’re not fighting with your husband over teabags and if they’re bleached or not.” 

Maia let out a laugh as she clung to her great grand aunt.  I held her as tightly as possible, without breaking her ribs.  She emitted an appreciative sigh, when my hand sympathetically rubbed her back.

Declan asked Forrest, quietly; “when did it happen?”

“Five days ago.”  He said flatly.

“Did Meadow say what was the reason?”  My mate enquired.

“He said that sometimes there is no reason, except for the first trimester is the riskiest.  All Maia did, was bend over to pick up something from the floor when the pain started.”  The almost-future-father, recanted sadly. “It was over within minutes, before Meadow could treat her.”

Right as he said that, the almost-future-mother let out a mournful wail.

I pulled away so I could look her in the eye; “you know this isn’t your fault, right?”  She looked like she didn’t, which made me continue; “these things happen all the time. They do, trust me.  I read about this when I was researching my own condition.  So it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to carry to term.  It just means that the next one you have, is going to be all the more special.”

Because I brought up the well-known fact of my inability to conceive, Maia now looked on in hope.

“Really?”  She sniffed.

“Absolutely!”  I promised with another hug.  “As much as you hate to hear this right now, some things happen without reason. You’re not being punished, you’re not being targeted and you definitely didn’t do anything wrong.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people, even newlyweds.” This made her snicker and I went on, “believe it or not, you’re gonna feel better soon.  Just as much as it’s hard dealing with the tragedy; your out-of-whack hormones are making matters worse.  It will get better, I promise you.”

“Yeah, Meadow did say something about hormonal upheaval.”  Maia wiped her eyes.  “I even cried during a commercial for a kid’s chocolate milk drink!”

“Hey, I still can’t watch the movie ‘AI’ without crying at least four times, just ask Declan.”

My mate was smiling softly on the two of us together, before he jested; “it’s true.  Whenever that movie comes on, about the little robot looking for motherly love?  B cries the house down.”

The newlyweds laughed out their relief, before looking on their elders in appreciation. 

“We were thinking of holding our first dinner party, next month.  You and Uncle Declan will have to come.”  Maia invited.

“No excuses.”  Forrest agreed. “We’re going to make a three-course feast so there should be enough food to even satisfy Uncle Declan’s appetite.”

“I don’t know about that.”  My mate chortled to the younger Werewolf. “You’ve seen the amount I can eat, during a hunt.”

“The way you eat Uncle, I’m surprised the National Park has any animals left.”  He retorted.

“It’s because of your pathetic tracking skills; that’s why!  Plus, it doesn’t help when you keep missing everything.”  The European Werewolf taunted.  “Sometimes I think you do it on purpose because you’re secretly still a vegetarian.”

“Take your husband home, Aunt B.”  He guffawed. “Before he attacks a frozen turkey in the freezer aisle.”

“Male bonding at it’s best.”  I nudged Maia, as we looked on in amusement.

“It’s a good thing the pack has you then, to add a woman’s touch.”  She tittered back.

“Tell me about it!”  I scoffed.  “If it was still a ‘Boys Club,’ the men would accidentally run all the way to Canada, without realizing it.”

To which my husband returned, “this is coming from the woman who got lost inside the Louvre?” 

“Shut up!”  I kicked his leg.

Then he told the couple; “when we were trying to find the Venus De Milo, we ended up stumbling upon the Mona Lisa instead.  B was reading the guide book ‘B style,’ which meant turning the thing upside down.” 

“Who was the one who finally asked for directions from the Security Guard, who then showed us the way?”  I retorted.

“Who was the Lokoti growly-thing, who used her pheromones on him?”  He argued back.

“You’re both incorrigible!”  Forrest laughed harder.

“C’mon B,” my mate began to push our trolley away, “let’s leave the newlyweds alone, before we frighten them off marriage, for life.”

“Bye bye, you two.”  Maia watched us go.

“Thanks Aunt B and Uncle Dec.”  Her husband replaced his arm about her shoulders.

I blew a kiss their way, before we disappeared behind a row of freezers.

*****

We were both quiet, as we put our purchases through the self check-out.  We were even silent, when we came home and put away the groceries.  The temporary ‘no talking’ policy continued, as I poured myself a glass of orange Fanta and then I sat on the veranda steps to drink it.

Whilst seated, I observed a wind blowing through the surrounding forest and into my garden.  Our Jacaranda Tree had changed with the onset of fall, and its yellow leaves were steadily dropping onto the grass below.  Our daffodils, tulips and gerbras, sitting in their garden plots, looked prepared for winter’s harshness.

I really liked our garden, it’s one of the best things I’ve done to this house.  I appreciated seeing the change of seasons through my plants; blossoms in the spring, blooming in summer and then closing up in the fall.  Of course we didn’t see them in winter, with all the thick snow.

Next, I heard our front door open and shut as Declan came to sit beside, whilst carrying a glass of Fanta for himself. 

I didn’t look his way, as I was still staring at the garden.  I heard him swallow a couple of mouthfuls before he sighed.  Then I felt his hot hand, rest on the back of my neck and begin to massage the upper part of my spine.  Eventually my eyes closed, as I enjoyed the feel of his strong fingers, kneed away my knots.

He began to speak, “as hard as it is for a woman to deal with miscarriage, I think it’s harder on her Lokoti Werewolf mate.  Did you see how tense Forrest’s muscles were?  I’ve never seen him look so stressed out.  I bet he wishes what happened, could have been done by an external force, so he could have something to blame and tear apart.  It would certainly beat the excuse, ‘the first trimester is the riskiest’ and he wouldn’t feel so helpless.” 

I remained quiet with my eyes closed.  To completely give over to the massage, I put down my drink and turned my back to him.  He saw it was working, so he too put his drink down to use both hands.  The heat of his skin on mine, also kept the chill away which was carried by the wind.

He continued to talk as he worked, “sometimes I’m glad that I’m not a Lokoti Werewolf, so I can’t feel what my mate is feeling and now is one of them.  To lose a child, even if it’s a month old fetus, is tough enough.  But to also experience your mate’s pain, on top of your own?  I couldn’t think of a worse agony.  I know this is gonna make me sound like a total bastard when I say it; but thank providence you can’t have kids.  We’ll never go through that and if I ever saw you in that kind of torment; I WOULD lose my hold of the bloodlust and kill somebody.”

Abruptly, I spun around and hugged him with all of my might!  Although the gesture surprised him, he was quick to put his arms around.  I buried my face in his wide chest as I hugged him harder.  Simultaneously, as he gave an affectionate squeeze; I overheard him inhale my scent when he ducked his head. 

We didn’t move for half an hour, we simply sat in that embrace.  The wind made the woods moan and move; as more leaves fell, from the Jacaranda tree.  But it truly felt like the European Werewolf was so strong, he had temporarily stopped the world, in those thirty minutes he held his mate. 

*****

We had planned to catch up on some gardening in the greenhouse that afternoon, but we changed our minds.

The wind had carried in a storm, over our part of the Alaska Range.  This served as the perfect excuse, to snuggle indoors.  Declan had started a fire, and we had pizza delivered, from a pizzeria in Alma.  We worked up quite an appetite, making love on the bear-skin rug by the fireplace.  Then it was just enjoyable, eating our order by the fire afterwards.

Beside the empty pizza boxes, was the opened box of chocolate cheesecake.  At one stage, I was instructed to lie still so he could lick the dessert off my breasts.  But I couldn’t, it felt too ticklish and he was knocked over when I pounced instead. 

However Declan didn’t complain, when he was devoured almost the same as the food was.  He did groan a lot though, as I took the dominant position.  His hands gripped harder onto my waist, as I pushed and pawed at him before two sets of satisfied growls, came from the living room.

Day turned into night, as our house darkened and the only source of light came from the fireplace.

Contentedly, I lay on top of my mate as we stared at the flames.  This feeling was shared, as he did his customary running of his nails softly up and down my back.  Our body odor was mixed in with the smell of chocolate cheesecake, from our parts which hadn’t been licked clean.  The sound of the rain on our roof, complimented the drumming of our heartbeats.

Out of the blue, I remarked; “it rained on Forrest and Maia’s Housewarming.” 

“Hmm.”

“I wonder what happened to the festivities, after we left?” I thought aloud.

“Hmm.”

“Do you think it stopped the celebration and everyone went home?”

“Hmm.”

“I suppose it would have, as I can’t imagine everyone fitting inside the one house.”

“Hmm.”

“Remember when it rained on the day of Stone and Sharon’s Housewarming?” I giggled at the memory.  “The party was moved into the tribe’s Meeting Hall.”

“Hmm.”

“But I suppose we’re lucky, the Lokoti that is. It doesn’t rain that often when you think about all the Housewarmings we’ve been to over the years.”

“Hmm.”

“141 years of Housewarmings; that’s a lot of furniture or household goods we’ve given.”

“Hmm.”

“We’ve probably provided enough to fill up an entire department store.”

“Hmm.”

“And Declan likes to wear women’s underwear and he secretly steals my lingerie to share with the rest of the males in the pack.”

“Hmm… say what?”  He snapped to, before he tickled me mercilessly!

I squealed with laughter, as he rolled on top and tried to pin me down to take playful bites.

“No! No! Stop it!”  I giggled as I struggled against him.

“Do you really want me to?”  He tested, before his head lowered to graze his teeth over my abdomen. 

My eyes fluttered closed when he poked his tongue into my belly button, and then he kissed and nibbled his way back up.

“Alright, this is allowed.” I tittered out my consent.

He paused at my collarbone, to caress it instead.  “B?”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t imagine my life any other way, but this.”  He said simply.  “This is what life is meant to be; just you and me. I always knew it.  It’s the reason why I waited when you were married to another man.”

“How do you mean?”

“I dunno, I can’t explain it.”  He shrugged. “I’ve always known it was meant to be just you and me.  I knew it, even when we grew up fighting each other.”

“You did?”

“I knew what I wanted, and I wanted this.  I knew that you could give it to me. You and I can exist in a happy little dream world, where it’s just this…you and me.  The world outside of tribal lands, can blow itself up again for all I care.  But just as long as our home life is untouched.”

I joked back; “yeah, but I like all the take-away shops in Alma which deliver either pizza, ribs or Chinese food, which started when the looting stopped.” 

He chuckled as he picked up my right hand and placed it against his larger one, to examine the difference in sizes.  Then he looked into my eyes whilst wearing a serious expression.

“Hey, B?”

“Hey, Declan?”

“You’ve always wanted to see the UK, haven’t you?”

“Do you mean we should visit Blythe Castle again?”

“No, I mean the other parts of the UK.”

This made me brighten, “you mean like Stonehenge, or touring Scotland or even Ireland?”

“Let’s plan our holiday next year, in the UK.”  Declan declared.

“Really?”  I sat up in excitement.  “Truly?”

“You know that even though I’m not interested in time travel; I like seeing the world with you in this period, right?”

I smiled softly on my mate, as I tenderly caressed the side of his face…

“Yeah Dec, I do know that.”

“If you ever want to go and see somewhere in this era, just say the word and I’ll take you.”  He promised. “But if you ever get into trouble when you’re back in time; somehow I’d move heaven and earth to come and find you.”

I envisioned the European Werewolf, somehow sniffing out a Circulator on their own excursion through time; and threatening them to take him or else.  It even made me giggle, as I pictured the scared look on the Circulator’s face.

“Come here, you.” I wrapped my arms about his neck to pull him back down.

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