Daeton's Journey (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 10)

by R. E. Butler

  Her husbands smiled at her and kissed her, holding her close between them while the breeze moved the leaves in what sounded like a joyful song. Soon, she’d have her baby boy in her arms, and someday, when he was older, she’d get to go hunting with him. She really couldn’t wait.

  * * * * *

  Daeton rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling. Her husbands slept soundly on either side of her, but she couldn’t get comfortable. Her bones were aching and the large swell of her stomach made just about every position uncomfortable. Her bear growled anxiously, so Daeton sat up slowly and wiggled off the end of the bed. Her mates still slept, not waking at her movements, and she tiptoed to the dresser and opened a drawer, lifting a sundress from inside. After dressing and using the bathroom, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of tula, which was very similar to lemonade.

  Through the window over the kitchen sink, she could see the night sky. In the distance she saw a very faint bit of light and knew that dawn was coming. In a few hours, she’d be able to hold Adi in her arms for the first time. As she sipped tula, she wondered again if Adi would be able to shift into a bear as well. Centaur children always seemed to take after their dads, at least as far as their shifting abilities went, but Adi would be half bear, too. It was entirely possible that the sweet little Centaur boy she’d seen in her vision all those months ago would one day be able to turn into a bear, maybe even the silver furred coloring of her own shift.

  Her stomach tightened for a long moment and made her breath catch in her throat. When the strange tightening passed, she took another drink of tula. Her stomach tightened a second time and the cup clattered into the sink as she lost her hold on it. Wetness seeped down her leg. Alarm filled her as her knees weakened. She grabbed hold of the counter so she didn’t fall, pain shooting through her. Clutching her stomach, she screamed for Perseus and Ekho. In moments they were at her side, each supporting her as they helped her stand.

  “Grab her bag,” Ekho said, lifting her into his arms.

  Perseus darted to the bedroom to get the bag she’d packed a week ago and met her and Ekho at the front door. She groaned as her womb tightened and Adi kicked her, his hooves scraping her.

  “We’ve got you, honey kitten,” Ekho said, his hands tightening on her as they raced to Cyrene’s home. Perseus shoved the door open and it cracked against the wall. He bellowed for the midwife as Daeton’s whole world narrowed down to the pain in her stomach.

  Cyrene ran into the front room, took one look at Daeton, and said, “Onto the table, swiftly!”

  Ekho followed her quickly as they moved through the house into the birthing room. Perseus cranked the head of the bed down as Ekho laid her on the padded top. Daeton grabbed Ekho’s and Perseus’s hands as Cyrene lifted Daeton’s skirt to expose her rounded belly. As her hands moved over her stomach, the baby moved and dug his hooves into her sharply. Daeton cried out, tears springing to her eyes at the pain. “He’s trying to cut me in half!”

  Perseus and Ekho snarled in worry. “Cyrene?” Perseus said.

  “He’s trying to come out on his own. We have to work fast or he will tear her body apart as the contractions squeeze him.”

  For a moment, everything quieted inside Daeton and even her wiggling baby stayed still. She inhaled slowly and closed her eyes.

  “Ekho?”

  “Yes, honey kitten?” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  “Can you find someone to get Perri? She’s supposed to be here with me.”

  He nodded and disappeared as Perseus and Cyrene spoke quietly at the foot of the bed. Another contraction tightened through her and Daeton tried not to sob, but each tightening of her womb made Adi strike out with his hooves. The pain was greater than anything she’d ever experienced.

  Perseus moved to the head of the bed and cupped her face. “Cyrene’s getting everything ready and then I’ll take the pain away. Hold on for a minute longer, okay?”

  She nodded and wiped under her eyes with a sniffle. Ekho returned and joined her and Perseus, picking up her hand and kissing the top. He said that he’d dispatched one of the patrol guards to get Perri. As Cyrene busied herself with her tools, Daeton called on her bear for comfort and strength.

  Perri appeared a few minutes later. Perseus kissed Daeton and whispered his love for her, then moved to the foot of the bed to join Cyrene.

  Perri found Daeton’s bag in the corner and opened it, drawing out the nursing top she’d made. With a little help from Ekho, Daeton changed from the dress into the top. Cyrene laid a soft blanket over the lower half of Daeton’s body and moved to a sink to wash her hands thoroughly.

  “I’m going to take your pain away now, sweetheart,” Perseus said gruffly. “Are you ready?”

  “Definitely,” Daeton said.

  She was scared, but knowing that his movements would make the pain of her contractions and her son’s hooves go away, she wanted nothing more than for him to do what he’d been trained to do.

  Perseus moved between her legs and slid his hands around to her back. His brows were drawn in concentration, his face as serious as she’d ever seen. With a snapping motion from his hands, a crack filled the air and everything went numb from her ribs down to her toes. Daeton relaxed with a sigh and squeezed Ekho’s hand.

  “That’s much better,” she said.

  Perri chuckled as she rubbed Daeton’s shoulder. “It’s heavenly. So tell me about your little boy’s name?”

  “Are you trying to distract me?” Daeton asked.

  “Busted. It’s helpful to talk about other things so you don’t focus on what’s happening.”

  “Okay. Well, my dad’s name is Adriel. Since we settled on the name, we’ve been calling him Adi for short.”

  “I love that name. I hope our boys will be great friends.”

  Daeton smiled at her best friend. “I know they will be.”

  Perri and Perseus switched places and he took Daeton’s hand. “Ready to meet our son?”

  She nodded, inhaling slowly as her nerves threatened to return. Perri laid several blankets over Daeton’s chest. Daeton felt pressure on her stomach as Cyrene leaned over her. She didn’t want to see what the midwife was doing, so she looked at her husbands, who watched the proceedings intently. She could smell the metallic tang of blood. She felt pressure in the center of her body, a strange pulling and twisting, and she closed her eyes and squeezed her husbands’ hands.

  “You’re doing great, honey kitten,” Ekho said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  She nodded and opened her eyes, smiling at him.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Where else would I be?” he said, his eyes shimmering with love.

  There was a harder pulling sensation and then she heard the very first sound from her newborn son as he cried loudly. Daeton lifted her head to watch as Cyrene laid her baby on the blankets on her chest. Ekho and Perseus let go of her hands and began to gently rub his skin as he kicked his four little legs and stretched out his arms with a loud wail. Tears streamed down her face as they wrapped him in blankets, tucking his hooves under him carefully. Perseus lifted him into his arms, his face beaming and his eyes shining with unshed tears.

  “I love you so much, Daeton,” he said roughly.

  He brought the bundle to her and she touched Adi’s cheek. “Hi, little one,” she whispered. He stopped squalling for long enough to blink brown eyes at her, and her heart clenched at just how much she loved her little boy already.

  “Ekho and I are going to take him out to meet the herd,” Perseus said as he leaned over and kissed her.

  “What?”

  “It’s tradition. The herd is gathered outside, and Ekho and I will introduce our son and then we’ll bring him right back so you can feed him.”

  “The herd is outside?”

  “You can’t hear them?” Ekho asked.

  Now that she wasn’t focused on giving birth, she could hear the herd milling around outside, spea
king in hushed tones. With a smirk, she said, “I was a little busy having a half-horse cut from my tummy.”

  Ekho tweaked her chin. “My feisty mate. We’ll be right back.”

  As they left, Adi started crying loudly and Daeton’s bear rumbled in worry. Cyrene clucked her tongue. “I know it’s hard, but it’s better for the herd to meet your little boy this way than for all of them to traipse in here while you’re trying to feed him and rest.”

  “That wouldn’t be good,” Daeton agreed. She looked at Perri, who was putting away the dirty blankets and getting clean ones. “I don’t remember Dally taking Tanlin outside.”

  Perri said, “I told him if he took my son away from me like that, I wouldn’t let him touch me for a year.”

  Daeton chuckled. “You did?”

  She shrugged with a laugh. “Well, I thought it was strange for the males to do that, but I do understand the point of it. The herd celebrates every birth.”

  A cheer rose from outside and Daeton smiled. The herd was happy for her family and their new addition.

  After Cyrene finished putting Daeton back together and had sewn up the incision, Perri raised the head of the bed and helped Cyrene put away the instruments and clean up. “I’ll come back in a few hours when the manipulation to your nerves has receded. We’ll move you into the other bedroom for your recovery,” Cyrene said.

  “Thank you so much, Cyrene.”

  “Your husbands are coming back in. I’ll stop by tomorrow to visit, if that’s okay?” Perri said.

  “I’m glad you could be here with me,” Daeton said as she squeezed her hand tightly.

  Perri nodded and left with Cyrene as Perseus and Ekho came back in, both beaming with pride. “He’s so strong!” Perseus said as he stopped next to Daeton and laid Adi on the soft blankets that Perri had put on her chest.

  Now that they were alone, her husbands helped position the baby as she undid the tie holding up one of the flaps on her top and freed her breast. It took only a second for Adi to begin to nurse, his little body tucked against hers. Touching the soft dark hair on his head, she smiled as happy tears filled her eyes.

  “So you were the one who was kicking me,” she whispered. He opened his eyes, gazing at her adoringly, and she rubbed her fingers lightly over the soft hide of his horse body. He looked like the perfect mixture of her and Perseus, with the dark fur of his horse body, and her brown eyes and coppery skin.

  “I’ve never been happier,” she said, looking up at her mates.

  “Us, too,” Ekho promised.

  “How do you feel?” Perseus asked, stroking her hair back.

  “My feet are starting to become less numb, but otherwise I’m good.”

  “When Cyrene clears us to take you home, you can shift to help heal your incision faster,” Perseus said.

  Silence settled on them as they watched their son feed. She had wondered if Ekho would feel left out because she hadn’t yet carried a child that was his, but judging by the loving look in his eyes as he watched Adi, she knew that he considered him his son as well.

  “We’re a family now,” Daeton said.

  “We already were, sweetheart,” Perseus said.

  “I know, but now we’re parents.”

  “We’ll be the best parents in the realm,” Ekho promised, and she knew they would be.

  Adi fell asleep nursing, and so did Daeton. The lack of sleep over the last few weeks had taken their toll. When she woke several hours later, she found she had been transferred into the other bedroom at Cyrene’s and Ekho was holding Adi and speaking quietly into his ear.

  “I’ll teach you how to hunt like a leoneman,” he said. “You’ve got a little sister to watch out for in the future.”

  Daeton smiled. “Hopefully more than one.”

  Ekho grinned. “I hope so, too. He’s so handsome, honey kitten.” He brought her son back to her and she spent the next few hours getting to know her little boy.

  The next day, Cyrene let Daeton go home. The incision had healed well thanks to her accelerated healing. Unlike the human wives, who needed days to recuperate and would retain the scars of their C-sections, Daeton’s was disappearing quickly.

  She left Adi with Perseus that evening and walked into the woods with Ekho. She hadn’t been in her shift in months, and she barely got her clothes off before her bear pushed free and she shifted. It felt so good to be in her fur again, to feel the ground under her paws. Ekho stayed with her for hours and they roamed the woods together, chasing small game. He talked to her about their future and she listened, offering growls and chuffs whenever she could. It would be helpful if she could speak in her shifted form, but since she couldn’t, she offered what she could.

  When they returned and she shifted into her human form, her body was completely healed and the scar was gone. They walked into the house together and she found Perseus sitting on the floor next to Adi’s nest as he slept soundly. Daeton lifted her top and showed Perseus her healed stomach. He smiled and his eyes flashed with heat.

  She didn’t think her son would sleep long, but maybe he’d sleep long enough for her and her husbands to enjoy each other for a little while. They left Adi’s bedroom door open, but closed theirs, and got reacquainted in the way she loved best.

  When her son cried an hour later, she smiled as Ekho got up and returned with her squalling son in his arms. Her husbands settled on either side of her as Adi began to feed, and she smiled at the sweet scene. Someday she’d have a daughter and, hopefully, more children. She really couldn’t wait for the future to unfold.

  Chapter 7

  Perseus had thought the most amazing thing he’d ever seen was when he watched his son being born, but this – watching Adi take his first steps four days after his birth with his head held high…topped that by a million. His horse body was black like Perseus’s and he knew that when the boy reached maturity he’d have a big, strong body, just like every male in Perseus’s family did. What set him apart was the pretty coppery color of his skin, a herald of his mother’s family line. He loved that Adi was part of him and part of Daeton.

  “It’s amazing and weird,” Daeton said softly as she knelt and held one of Adi’s small hands.

  “I get the amazing part, but why is it weird?” Perseus asked.

  She glanced up at him and smiled. “Babies where I’m from don’t walk until they’re closer to one year old. It would be one thing for him to hold his head up, but he’s only four days old and he’s tripled in size. He still acts like a baby, but he looks like a toddler.”

  Perseus shrugged and grinned as Adi stamped his hooves and took a few steps away from Daeton before scurrying back to her side. “It’s the way we were made.”

  “I like how you’re made,” she said, her brows wiggling.

  He flashed her a grin and she returned it.

  Perseus’s parents watched from nearby, his mother’s cheeks shining with tears. Daeton stood, but bent over so she was very close to Adi. “Come on, little boots, let’s go show your grandmoman and grandpapan how amazing you are.”

  Adi babbled, his adoring gaze only for his mother. Perseus turned to look at Ekho. “Ask me what’s been on your mind since our mate told us about her vision before the battle in Cholas.”

  Ekho raised his brows. “You’re so sure I’ve held onto a question for that long?”

  “I know you well enough to know when something is on your mind. Plus I’d be an idiot not to have that same question myself if our situations were reversed. Besides, Ekho, you’re my closest friend.”

  Ekho smiled. “You’re mine, too.” Exhaling loudly, he said, “I didn’t know anything about Centaur babies. When Daeton said Adi talked to her while I held a little girl, I assumed that it would be a few years before he could talk.”

  Perseus nodded, looking over to see his son trying to prance while he held onto Daeton with one hand and sucked his thumb with the other. “Our young grow fast.”

  “Right. So now I wonder when I’ll hold our da
ughter. If the time isn’t soon.”

  “It may very well be,” Perseus said. “I started to take shenloroot right after Adi was born. It makes me temporarily infertile. If I had to go without making love to our mate until she became pregnant again, I think I’d go mad, but the shenloroot, will ensure that you’re the only one who can get her pregnant.”

  Ekho relaxed. “That’s good news. Thank you for thinking of me.”

  Perseus shook his head. “Holding Adi when he was born…that was the most significant thing that’s happened to me since I met Daeton. I want you to have that feeling, too. Even though Adi is as much your child as he is mine, because we love his moman, and each other as brothers, I understand your longing.”

  Ekho nodded and then laughed as Adi tried to rear onto his hind legs but stumbled off balance and fell against Daeton. She lifted him into her arms and he snuggled against her with a happy sigh. “He’s ready for a nap,” she said to Perseus and Ekho after she said goodbye to his parents. “I’m ready for my husbands.”

  “Are you, honey kitten?” Ekho said, purring.

  “Definitely,” she whispered, her eyes darkening with promise.

  * * * * *

  The preparations for taking Daeton and their son to the Mortal Realm were nearly complete. That night, they’d be traveling to the realm through a portal hidden in the hillside that overlooked the lake in the settlement. Perseus hadn’t traveled to the Mortal Realm in many years. Once he’d begun to have the shared mating dreams about Daeton, he could feel in his bones that his mate would come to him in Cholas, so he’d ceased his annual trips in the hopes of finding her.

  Daeton sat under the tree that covered the grassy area behind their home with cool shade. In her realm, she said the area was called a “backyard” and she enjoyed sitting under the tree and working on her embroidery. In the months since the battle, she’d spent her free time making clothing for all of them. Her first pieces were lovely, but she’d never been quite happy with them, and seemed to fuss a lot about straight seams and smaller stitches. As the days wore on, though, her work became even better and more beautiful.