by Natavia
“Yup,” she smirked.
“Did you know you could come to the outside world and sell this for top dollar? The money you’d make could be used to buy things for your village,” Eze said.
“That’s the life of a saber. I wouldn’t know how to live on the outside,” Safari said.
“You don’t have to. Make the stuff and I can put a shop in the lobby of one of my hotels,” he replied.
“I’ll think about it, but in the meantime, I need to get her ready so you have to give us some privacy,” Safari said. Eze kissed my forehead and left the hut.
“I think you gained ten pounds since I last saw you,” Safari said while fixing my hair.
“I feel like I did, but I gotta be the one to tell you. Save your innocence. Mating hurts very badly,” I said.
“You mated with a saber, what did you expect?” she laughed.
“I’m not sure, but it was worth everything we fought for,” I replied.
“Let’s hurry, the drums are playing. We Tibaners start the party early and end it late,” Safari said.
**************
When we exited the hut, a crowd of shapeshifters were standing in the snow, singing and dancing.
“Don’t be nervous,” Safari said.
“There are too many,” I said, looking around.
The shapeshifters bowed their heads and the land grew silent; they were praying to me. Eze walked over to me dressed in lambskin and his face was painted. Safari kneeled next to me and bowed her head. Me, Eze, and his great-uncle were the only three standing. He stood in front of us with a wooden bowl in his hand. We held our hands over the bowl and he cut them with a sharp knife. Our blood dripped into the bowl and he told us to drink it. Eze drank from the bowl then passed it to me. The saber ancestor took the bowl from us and we kneeled in front of him. He smeared the rest of the blood across me and Eze’s foreheads with his thumb. The ancestor pulled out a small booklet from his knapsack and began speaking in caveman.
We take an oath on this day of our ceremony where we must love, protect, and honor each other ‘til death. Your kingdom is my kingdom, my kingdom is your kingdom. Our legacy will live on, even in the afterlife. Our spirits will find a way and the symbol of our love will be branded into our skin so even after death, we will be together again. I’m your soulmate, your warrior, and protector for life, Eze thought. He translated what his ancestor was saying so I could understand him. Eze grabbed my hand and a symbol from both our gods appeared on our ring fingers.
Eze’s ancestor turned around to face the crowd. He raised his hand to tell them our gods had accepted our oath. His ancestor hugged us both and disappeared into the crowd.
“THE QUEEN AND KING OF CAMDEN!” Eze’s father roared. My stomach cramped and I felt a bad case of gas coming on from being nervous and excited. The cats of Tiban began singing and dancing while the sabers roared.
We made it, Eze thought.
“Awww shit!” Quanir said, dancing to the beat of the drums.
“This is better than the clubs,” Quanir said and Eze agreed. Safari passed around her jungle drink and I chuckled to myself.
“It’s going to be a lot of hybrids later on,” I said aloud.
“Sabers are sabers, beautiful,” Eze said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It means we will never be hybrid. My cub will be born a full saber. Our genes are just strong like that,” he said.
“Oh, great,” I joked and he wrapped his arm around me.
“Come on, the ceremony is in the hut,” Eze’s father said.
We walked to a huge hut that was big enough to fit all the shapeshifters inside. There were two chairs inside for me and Eze to overlook the crowd. We sat down and watched the warriors do a fighting-style dances. There were different shows from each species of cat. The cheetahs did a lot of backflips and their music was fast. I wasn’t surprised about the saber’s show, they wrestled each other while being in mid-shift.
“Get him down!” Eze yelled out to his cousin while drinking Safari’s jungle juice.
“Grab him around the neck!” I yelled out to his other cousin who was getting his ass kicked.
“You’re supposed to be on the winning team, baby,” Eze said.
“No, I’m supposed to be cheering for the one who is getting his ass kicked,” I replied.
“Ohhhhh, they are fighting for real now,” Eze said and yelled for someone to break it up. Two sabers broke up the fight so the next show could start. Two young leopards performed a Y’kiki warrior dance. Their little feet stomped the ground as their arms moved to the beat of the drums. The crowd clapped for them and I joined. I lifted my dress up to my ankles and danced. The rest of the shapeshifters joined. I beckoned for Eze to come dance with us.
Come on, I thought.
I’m two-hundred and seventy pounds solid. I’ll tip over doing the dance. You notice all the saber men are chilling except for Quanir, he thought. Quanir was drunk and all over the place. Toyi ran to him to take him outside for fresh air. I waved at Safari when I saw her talking to one of Eze’s cousins.
He has big feet! Safari thought.
The hut was beginning to get hot so I stepped outside. Ockbutu was sitting on the log playing an instrument that sounded like a whistle. I sat next to him and he looked ahead at the stars over the mountains.
“Safari told me about the villager that found Rajan in the forest while he was dying. She said the villager promised Rajan he would keep his truth and in exchange Rajan gave him Tiban. You were the one who found him?” I asked and he smirked.
“You’re a wise one. Yes, that was me. I stayed with him until his final breath and while he was dying, he told me the true story of he and Y’kiki. He said he wanted to die to join her in the next life. I asked him why he didn’t want to heal and fight for her and he told me that she wasn’t ready for him so it was useless. He didn’t want the sabers to know what happened. They would’ve hunted and killed every shapeshifter in the forest because the law is, if a saber dies on his land by a cat then all cats must go. Y’kiki would’ve fought to protect them and Rajan didn’t want any harm to come her way,” Ockbutu said and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Camden is such a beautiful place,” he said.
“It truly is, especially when it’s warm,” I replied.
Ockbutu’s body went stiff and I raised my head to look at him. His eyes were closed and his body tilted over. I hurriedly caught him and lowered him down into the snow.
“I only held on to see you two reunite again. It’s time for me to go,” Ockbutu whispered. Eze came out of the hut and ran towards us when he saw me cradling Ockbutu.
“He’s dying,” I said to Eze. He kneeled next to us and placed his hand over Ockbutu’s chest and said a prayer for him in another language. A tear fell from my eye onto Ockbutu’s wrinkled face after he took his last breath.
“We will make a statue for him and place him inside. He deserves a proper burial. He kept my secret for many years,” Eze said and wrapped his arm around me.
“He held on for us,” I replied.
“And we’re back forever. No more sacrifices,” Eze said and I kissed his lips.
Eze
Two months later…
I ran down the hallway and Quanir was running behind me. We ran into the library and locked the door.
“Why didn’t you bring her cow meat, bruh?” Quanir asked, out of breath.
BOOM!
Sy’noba banged on the door and it flew off the hinges. Her tall goddess figure stood in the doorway with glowing eyes and a protruding stomach.
“Baby, can you please calm down?” I asked. She picked up a table and hurled it across the room. When Riu said Sy’noba’s hormones were going to get bizarre, I didn’t believe it until a few weeks later after our ceremony. At times, I didn’t want to come home because of her temper. If it wasn’t for Quanir, I probably would’ve lost the family business. Sy’noba’s appetite was bigger than mine but because of her pr
egnancy I had to hunt for her. I was an hour late getting home because of a meeting I had with Russel and Gwan.
“Yeah, calm your big ass down!” Quanir said. He was ready to throw a book at her but I pushed him.
“Would you chill the fuck out! If you piss her off, she’ll stay in this form for hours,” I gritted. Sy’noba shrank down to her normal height and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Why couldn’t you call home to tell me you were going to be late, huh? I can’t depend on you for food it seems. I’m in this house all day by myself. What about me, Eze?” she said. Quanir tried to ease past Sy’noba but she pushed him back.
“You drank all the milk,” she said to Quanir.
“Ughhhh, I don’t recall,” Quanir lied and Sy’noba cut her eyes at him.
“This is getting insane, Sy. You got yourself all worked up for nothing. Think about our cub and the stress you are causing her. If you keep acting like this, I’m going to start staying at the hotel,” I said, putting my foot down. Quanir nodded his head in approval. She walked away sadly with her shoulders slumped, head down.
“Nobody wants to deal with me,” Sy’noba said and it tugged at my heart.
“You didn’t know she turned into that? Cuz, she’s taller than the statues in Egypt. Now you stuck with her for the rest of your life! I almost shifted on her,” he said.
“No shifting around her. It might scare our cub. Everyone in this house agreed to be easy on her and take her feelings into consideration,” I replied.
“Scare the cub? She ain’t here yet! You don’t think she’ll be scared of her big ass mama? You’re too protective over her, just ease up a bit and man up. The king of Camden is a warrior, remember? We are going to go out there like strong sabers, but you can go first. I’m going to stay in here and study,” he said.
“Study what?” I asked.
“Mind yo’ business,” he said.
I left out of the library and walked upstairs to the master bedroom. Sy’noba was sitting in the window sill rubbing her stomach through her house robe. Her face was round, making her slanted eyes appear smaller. Her breasts were nice and full and her hips spread. Despite her mood swings, she was more beautiful than ever.
“Is it safe to come in?” I asked.
“Yes, come in,” she said then sat on the bed. I walked over to her and sat next to her but not too close.
“You look stressed,” she said.
“I am stressed. The first few weeks of the pregnancy was like the honeymoon stage and now it’s stressful. I can’t sleep, work, and I barely eat,” I replied and she started getting emotional. She burst into sobs.
“I don’t want to be this way. I can’t control it. One minute, I’m happy then the next minute, I get so agitated. Lock my fat ass up in a cage and throw away the key. I’m round like a pregnant cow and you don’t touch me anymore. Am I ugly?” she asked and rushed to the mirror.
“No, you’re not ugly and I don’t touch you because your mood swings are unpredictable,” I replied.
“But Quanir drank all the milk,” she said.
“I’ll get you more. We have cows on the farm down the road. It’s not a problem,” I replied.
“I’ll go get it,” she said, grabbing her shoes.
“No, get some rest,” I said.
“Maybe I wouldn’t be so moody if you let me leave the house,” she replied.
“But you might trip over a rock or what if the cow hurts you? Our cub is still trying to grow and I don’t want anything happening, so staying in the house is fine until you give birth,” I replied.
“Okay, Eze,” Sy’noba said and I left the bedroom.
Quanir shook his head at me when I walked down the stairwell.
“Not now,” I said.
“She’s an animal. We need to be outside more than the house and you know that. This is like a cage,” Quanir replied.
“You’re right,” I said.
I called out to Sy’noba and she was already coming down the stairs wearing a summer dress and flip-flops.
“I heard y’all talking from upstairs. Let’s get some air,” she said and pulled me out of the house.
“You wasted no time getting dressed, huh?” I asked.
“Nope,” she replied.
It was summertime and the sun was still beaming. We walked around the estate and Sy’noba was giggly.
“It feels so good to be out.” She inhaled the fresh air.
“I’m happy you’re happy,” I replied.
“Any word on Lynx?” she asked.
A few days after we returned home from Camden, Mia, Lynx’s friend came to the office looking for her. I went by the condo and the key was still on the coffee table. We called her phone but it was disconnected. All I wanted to know was if she was okay. I didn’t want to think anything bad happened to her. The college kid she was dating got drafted to big-league football but I wasn’t going to reach out to him.
“Naw, she’s probably in another state living care-free,” I replied.
“Since we’re having a girl, I think we should name her Rajana. What do you think?” Sy’noba asked and I scratched my chin.
“We’re not sure what the sex is,” I replied.
“Stop stalling, we both can sense it’s a girl,” she said.
“That name is ghetto as shit, baby,” I replied.
“How about Sabra? It’s Egyptian and means patient. Patience is what got us here,” I said.
“I like it,” she replied.
“I prayed you did because Rajana was gonna get my little baby teased,” I said and she pinched me. We stopped by the farm and leaned over the fence. Sy’noba’s hair blew in my face and it reminded me of the fresh scent from the forest.
“I miss the lost world,” I admitted.
“Me, too, but traveling through the portal isn’t good for me right now,” she said.
“We have two lives. Here we blend in with humans, but back home, we roam free like wild animals. No worries and no stress,” I replied and she rested her head on my shoulder.
“Wait, is that Quanir and Toyi sneaking into the woods naked?” Sy’noba asked and I looked closer. “Yeah, that’s them. I didn’t know they were sleeping around,” she said.
“You’re late, beautiful. They slept together the night of our ceremony. Quanir said she took advantage of him and, sadly, I believe him,” I replied and Sy’noba burst into a fit of laughter. It was good seeing her smile and hearing her laughs.
“She didn’t tell me about that. When are Toyi’s cubs coming back?” she asked. Riu watched Toyi’s cubs so she could work at the office. Toyi filled Janet’s position and it helped us out a lot.
“They are in safe hands. Riu will bring them to the portal this weekend,” I replied.
“Since we have the house to ourselves, how about we do a little something?” she said and licked my lips.
“You don’t want the milk?” I asked.
“I’m going to scare Quanir into getting it for me since he drank it all,” she replied.
“That’s my wife,” I chuckled.
The next day…
“How do you think this club is coming along? We’re almost finished,” Russel said as we stood inside the building.
“It’s straight, we need a little more flavor, though. The décor is a little high-class which is cool, but we are aiming for a club not a five-star restaurant. We have enough of those in this hotel,” I replied.
“Gotcha, I’ll let the decorator know,” he said and walked away.
My cellphone rang and it was Sy’noba calling. I hurriedly answered the phone thinking something was wrong with our cub.
“What happened?” I panicked.
“Nothing, I wanted to know how work is coming along,” she said.
“I must’ve gave you some good act-right last night,” I whispered into the phone.
“Thank you for the flowers you sent here this morning. They’re beautiful,” she said.
“I had to make my ba
by feel better,” I replied.
“You did that last night,” she purred into the phone.
“I’ll be home early today,” I replied, biting my bottom lip.
“I’ll be naked,” she said and hung up.
“Damn, the married life is wonderful,” I said aloud and one of the guys overheard me.