by R. E. Butler
“Come here, little boots,” she said to Adi. He was never far from her side, but had been several feet from her as he hopped and pranced. She held out a vest she’d made for Adi. She’d caught the beast for the hide herself, and, like the vests she had made for herself, Perseus, and Ekho, Adi’s had intricate embroidery on the front that Daeton said was their names in her people’s language.
As Perseus watched Daeton put the vest on Adi and check her work, he smiled and joined them. “It looks great, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him. “Our son is very handsome.”
“I think he’s beautiful like his moman.”
“Aw.” Daeton beamed. Removing the vest from Adi, she pulled their son into her arms and kissed his cheeks while he giggled, tickling his ribcage before setting him on his feet and patting his haunches.
Perseus sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, resting her head on his chest with a sigh. “Is there anything I can do to help you finish getting ready?”
They were leaving at midnight. When they ventured through the portal, it would be dawn in the Mortal Realm and they would be in the Centaur city.
“Is the city there similar to this one?”
“Pretty much, although while we share Cholas with other supernatural creatures, the Centaur city in the Mortal Realm is only for Centaurs and their mates. It’s far from humans. They travel to human cities to search for their mates.”
“Do they ever come to this realm for their mates?”
“Sometimes. I was very lucky because my mate came to me.”
She tipped her face up and smiled at him. “I’m very lucky, too.”
He kissed her lips. “I hope your parents like us.”
“Why wouldn’t they like you and Ekho?”
“They sent you here to keep you safe and you ended up mated to two males who aren’t from their realm. Because of us, you can’t go home to live with them.”
She shook her head. “You and Ekho saved my life, more than once. My parents want me to be happy, and I am.” She touched his chin. “My home is here with you and Ekho and our son. They understand and accept that, I promise.”
The day passed quickly as they prepared for their journey. Along with Daeton, Ekho, and Adi, Perseus’s brothers Casper and Abrax, and his parents were coming, as were Draya, Fontaine, Rysk, and Tyrant. When the time came, the small group said their goodbyes and headed to the hillside to travel to the Mortal Realm.
Perseus hadn’t been nervous often in his life. There were times when he could recall worry streaking through him – the first time he’d had a mating dream about Daeton and didn’t know where she was or how to find her, when they’d faced down the white-haired wizard to protect Daeton, and even recently before Adi was born, when they’d faced the wizard’s brother. But this fear that slithered through him as he prepared to pass through the portal – it was a different kind of feeling. He wanted Daeton’s parents to like him, to be proud to call him their son through marriage.
Perseus lifted Adi into his arms and fell into step behind his parents, and the small group moved through the portal single file. Daeton gasped as she moved through the portal, and Perseus, who had made the trip many times in his life, understood that reaction. The portal was invisible to all but Centaurs, and to Daeton and the others, it would appear that they were just taking a step into the hillside, when in reality they would pass through to the other realm.
“Holy crap,” Daeton said as she gripped Perseus’s arm when they’d moved through the portal.
Because she used the term frequently, Perseus knew that she was simply stunned by what had happened. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Perseus said.
She moved to stand next to him and Ekho took up her other side. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how different the times are between our realms.”
He smiled down at her. “I’m sure you will adjust.”
A group of Centaurs waited for them, and Perseus recognized the king of the herd, Arsen, and one of his warriors, Bry. Perseus’s dad stepped forward and gripped the extended forearm of the king. “Thank you for opening your home to us, Arsen.”
“It’s good to see you after so many years, Cosmo,” Arsen said. Cosmo made the introductions, and the king said, “If you’ll follow me, we have guest homes set up for you. I’ve gotten word that the bear shifters from the South are a few hours away, so your family has time to freshen up.”
“Thank you,” Elektra said.
Their group followed the Centaurs around a large lake that shimmered in the early morning light. A forest surrounded the lake, and they followed a wide path through the trees and into the Centaurs’ city.
“The Centaurs have lived here for generations,” Perseus said. Like their own settlement, the Centaurs in the Mortal Realm lived in homes large enough for them to be in their shifted forms. The homes were arranged in concentric circles around a central marketplace. Unlike in Cholas, the Centaurs didn’t have a town nearby where they could trade for goods, but instead had to travel to human cities several hours away. The Centaur city was self-sufficient for the most part – they farmed the land and raised animals for their hides and meat – but there were always things that couldn’t be grown that were needed, like some types of medicine.
Arsen stopped in front of a home and said, “This home and the one next to it are yours for the duration of your stay. When you’ve freshened up, we’ll take you to meet up with the bears.”
“Thank you,” Perseus said.
Arsen nodded and kicked off, heading away with the guards. Daeton said, “I really have to pee.”
Elektra said, “Let’s check out the houses and you can choose which one is best for your family. We’ll take the other one.” Daeton kissed Adi on the cheek and followed Elektra into the first house.
Perseus put Adi on the ground and he bounced around, stamping his hooves and racing between the adults’ legs. Daeton and Elektra left the house and walked into the second one. After a few moments, they came back out and Daeton said, “We’re going to take this one. It has three bedrooms, so Adi can have one and the girls can have the other.”
Draya and Fontaine smiled brightly. Fontaine took Adi’s hand and said, “Let’s see your room, little one.”
Adi pranced alongside the girls as they walked into the house and Perseus and Ekho followed, shouldering their bags and carrying them inside. The house was about the size of their own, with a large kitchen and living area, three bedrooms, and one bathing room. In one of the bedrooms, a nest had been set up, and Daeton knelt next to it and patted the blankets. Adi made a face and let go of Fontaine’s hand to buck and leap his way toward Perseus.
“No nap for you, young one?” Perseus smiled at his son.
He shook his head and Daeton chuckled. “It was worth a shot.”
After they’d all cleaned up and unpacked their belongings, they met with Arsen. Unlike their own settlement, which was governed by a group of elders, the Mortal Realm Centaur city was governed by King Arsen and Queen Sophie. He’d been king for at least a hundred years, and his father had been king before him. Perseus thought both ways of government had their benefits. He suspected that if their Realm had a king for their settlement, it would be his father, who was well respected among their people.
Perseus and his family stayed in their human forms. The Centaurs around them were in their shifted forms and walked slowly with their group as they made their way back to the lake and over the hillside that kept the lake hidden from view.
“Oh, is that their van?” Daeton asked as they crested the hill and began their descent.
“What’s a van?” Ekho asked.
“It’s a vehicle. Like a covered wagon, but it doesn’t use a beast to pull it.”
Ekho had never been to the Mortal Realm before. Perseus could recall the first time he’d seen a vehicle and knew how strange they could seem. Ekho hummed in surprise. Daeton picked up her pace, threading her way
down the hillside while Perseus walked slowly with Adi, who was unsure of his footing but didn’t want to be carried.
The van stopped at the base of the hillside and two Centaurs got out. The sides of the van were covered, and Perseus knew it was a protective measure. The bears inside wouldn’t know where they were, so the settlement would be protected against outsiders knowing the location.
The Centaurs opened the back of the van and a tall woman with long, black hair leapt from the back and grabbed Daeton in a big hug.
Ekho grinned. “I think that’s her moman.”
Adi squeezed Perseus’s hand and he looked down at his son. Adi pulled his thumb from his mouth and pointed at Daeton. “Your moman will be right back, little one.”
More people left the back of the vehicle, most with Daeton’s coppery skin and onyx hair. Perseus and his family held back to allow Daeton some privacy with her family.
Daeton made the rounds of hugging and kissing all her family members and then called for Perseus, Ekho, and their family to join them.
“Let’s go meet your moman’s family, Adi,” Perseus said.
Chapter 8
Daeton couldn’t stop crying as she hugged her mom, dad, brothers, their mates, and her nieces and nephews. She felt like she hadn’t changed much in the last year she’d been in the Medes Realm, but to her family she’d been gone for ten years and they’d definitely changed. Her nephews – Elizabeth, Ash and Axe’s twin sons Setimika and Bodaway – were nine years old. They looked exactly as she remembered Ash and Axe looking from photos, and knew the handsome young males would break a lot of hearts when they were older.
Ash and Axe both held young girls in their arms – Aiyana who was three, and Dena, who was two – and they looked a lot like Elizabeth, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. As Daeton hugged Elizabeth, she could scent that she was pregnant, and congratulated her sister-in-law.
Elizabeth’s hand touched her stomach with a sweet smile. “This is Malia.”
Daeton’s brow rose. “You’re so sure it’s another girl?”
She shrugged. “I just feel as if I’m carrying a girl. If it turns out she’s a boy, then we’ll figure out a different name, but I’m pretty sure my husbands will have another daughter who will wrap them around her little finger.”
Ash and Axe both grinned.
Daeton blinked at fresh tears. “I’m missing so much.”
Elizabeth hugged her tightly. “We’re here now. Let’s focus on that. I can’t wait to meet your husbands and your son.”
Daeton turned to hug her brother Griegs. “Where’s your mate, Sabrina?”
Griegs growled softly in annoyance. “She couldn’t make the trip because of the sun.” Sabrina was a vampire, and she and Griegs were beloved mates, which meant that Griegs was now immortal, the same as his wife.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I was looking forward to meeting her.”
“She sends her love,” Griegs said. He introduced her to his two sons, Dakota and Delsin, and the young males hugged her and kissed her cheeks.
She turned to Shaylee, her brothers Lynk and Tavian’s mate, and said, “I feel like I know you already from the letters.”
“Me, too. Your family talks about you all the time.”
“That’s because awesomeness runs in the family,” her oldest brother, Axe, said.
Shaylee, Lynk, and Tavian had three children under the age of three – Jolon, Mika, and their one-year-old sister, Suni. Suni reached for Daeton and she took the little girl into her arms. She kissed her round cheek as Suni gripped a handful of hair and said, “Pwetty.”
“Aw, sweet little bear, you’re pretty, too,” Daeton said.
Daeton felt her husbands and son draw close, and she smiled at them. Adi moved to her and hid behind her skirt, holding her free hand tightly. “Everyone, these are my husbands, Perseus and Ekho, and our son, Adriel. We call him Adi.” She introduced all her family members. It wasn’t hard to miss the briefly surprised looks on her family’s faces because her son was a Centaur and one of her husbands had a tail.
Perseus said, “It’s nice to finally meet you all. Daeton talks about her home and family frequently. We’re staying in two homes provided by the Centaur King, Arsen, and his mate, Sophie, and they’ve provided several more homes for you to use while you’re here. If you’ll follow us up the hill, we’ll stop in the houses so you can freshen up and then we’ll meet them for dinner.”
Daeton introduced Cosmo, Elektra, Casper, and Abrax to her family. She loved Perseus’s family, and was glad they’d come on the trip so they could meet her parents and siblings. When she introduced Rysk and Tyrant to her parents, she could tell her dad was impressed to meet bear shifters from two nearly extinct races. The males from Daeton’s family walked with her husbands and the others as they moved up the hill. She was standing with her mom, her sisters-in-law, and many of her nieces and nephews. Her mom threaded her arm through Daeton’s. “Shall we, sweet daughter of mine?”
“I’m so glad to see you. I know it’s only been a year for me, but it does kind of feel like it’s been longer.”
“Ten years has gone by so fast. I still can’t believe that you’re married with a child. He’s beautiful, by the way. Is Perseus a horse shifter?”
“The term is Centaur, and yes. He has a partial shift, like Adi, and he can also go all the way to full horse, but he doesn’t do that often because he doesn’t like not being able to talk.”
Elizabeth said, “And Ekho? Can he go all the way to a cat?”
“No, he’s a leoneman. He’s like that all the time.”
One of her twin nephews said, “I think having a tail would be cool.”
“I think it is, too,” Elizabeth said with a smile.
“Adi is so big for such a young one,” Shaylee said.
“Centaurs grow very quickly for the first two years of their lives. He was walking by the time he was four days old.” Adi’s growth never ceased to amaze her.
“He’ll be able to shift into his human form soon?” her mother asked.
“Not until he’s around two years old.”
Her mom and her two sisters-in-law filled Daeton in on the happenings in the den. Elizabeth, Ash, and Axe lived above ground, as did Sabrina and Griegs, in homes they’d built on den property. Shaylee, Lynk, and Tavian lived underground, as did her parents and most of the den members. Daeton felt like she wouldn’t recognize the den if she went there now.
She stayed with her mom and sisters as they refreshed themselves, while Adi played with his cousins. He had only ever played with Centaurs in the settlement, so it was a new experience for him. Perseus, Ekho, and the Centaurs stayed with her dad and brothers. She was thankful that they all got along.
The king and queen held a banquet for them, and Daeton stayed up until almost dawn in the home her parents were staying in, falling asleep on the couch with Adi tucked against her side and leaning on her mom’s shoulder. She spent as much time with her family as she could during their far too short visit. She wanted to freeze time and stay with them forever, but she knew she couldn’t. Although it pained her, the visit was coming to a swift end, and before she knew it, the two days were over and she was walking with her family to the van waiting to take them back to the States.
She said goodbye to her family one by one, from her littlest nieces and nephews to her brothers and sisters-in-law. Her father, his brown eyes glistening with tears, hugged her tightly.
“I’m so proud of you, daughter of mine.”
“You are?”
He pushed her gently to arms’ length and smiled. “You’ve done more in a year than many do in their whole lives. You faced down two enemies and protected your family, you saved two slave girls from a perilous future, and you’ve got a beautiful son and two good males as your husbands. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
“Aw, Dad,” she said, wiping at the tears that marked her cheeks.
“My turn,” her mom said, elbowing her dad aside af
ter he gave her another big hug.
“I’m proud of you, too, but I always knew you’d do great things. When I held you in my arms when you were born, I was certain you’d grow up to be an amazing woman, and I was right.”
Daeton closed her eyes as they hugged and inhaled her mother’s familiar scent. She couldn’t help being sad about their leaving, but she was thankful for the time they’d had together.
“I love you and miss you every day,” Daeton said as the hug ended and her mom kissed her cheeks.
“I love and miss you, too, my precious daughter.” She looked at Perseus and Ekho. “Take care of my daughter, sons of mine.”
“We will,” Perseus said.
After her mother hugged Perseus and Ekho and gave Adi several more hugs and kisses, she disappeared into the van.
“It’s time for us to go as well, princess,” Rysk said as he and Tyrant came to stand by her.
“What?”
Tyrant nodded. “We’re the last of our kind and we haven’t been part of a den since we were very young. Your father offered us the opportunity to join his den.”
“We know now why we were meant to come back to Cholas to stay with you. It wasn’t just to help protect you from the wizard’s brother, but to find a place to call home…permanently. The Medes Realm doesn’t hold anything for us anymore,” Rysk said.
“I understand. I miss being part of the den. Take good care of my parents, okay?” She kissed their cheeks.
“It would be our honor,” Rysk said.
He and Tyrant shook hands with Perseus and Ekho and ruffled Adi’s hair, and then they climbed into the van and shut the back doors. The visit was over far too quickly, and Daeton had a hard time keeping it together as she watched her family drive away. Adi slid his hand into hers and she looked down at her son. He took his thumb out of his mouth and pointed at the van as it disappeared into the distance.
“We’ll see them again in a year.” She dropped to her knees and hugged him. He rested his head on her shoulder with a soft sigh. “Did you like meeting your cousins?”