I try to tune out their taunting ways but catch key phrases like… next thing you know, they’ll be writing each other love poems. And… Lux and Shelbi sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G.
“Seems as if our leopards are going through a teenage phase together,” I say, talking over my leopard’s youthful exuberance.
“They’re going to be trouble in the making.” He loudly exhales as he then begins to get onto his leopard. Having four entities speaking at one time is giving me a migraine. “Oooh… trout, I got it.” He jumps back into the pond chasing the slithery fish. My mouth begins to salivate as my sensitive hearing picks up a few rabbits playing in the field.
It’s time to get my hunt on!
6
Lux
Sharing rabbit and fish with Shelbi comes natural to me. Usually, my leopard is possessive of his prey; unwilling to share with another. My leopard proudly purrs as Shelbi enjoys a meal we helped hunt for her. Once there’s nothing but skeletal remains, we laze around on the ground, watching the sky turn from a brilliant blue hue, to that of purple and pink. It’s a magnificent sunset, and she looks like a beautiful portrait with the scenery behind her. Needing to feel her human skin contact with mine, I shift back. “Shelbi, I need to feel you in my arms.” She immediately shimmers as her leopard leaves her. “God, but you're beautiful.” Pink tents her cheeks as I state this, but I can’t get enough of telling her.
“Thank you, Lux. You’re not too shabby yourself.” While saying this, she’s wearing a beaming smile on her face. She’s shining like a bright beacon, calling me home. “Did you ever think that in a matter of hours someone could own you so completely?” Her question catches me off guard but I get what she’s saying.
“Never,” I admit. “Until a few days ago, I’d planned on being alone, single for the rest of my days… and I was okay with that. Figured that was the way it was supposed to be for me. But now, I can’t imagine my life continuing without you by my side.”
“God, Lux. Our parents paid the ultimate price by protecting us. I hate that we’ve had to lose so much to live.”
“But their sacrifice and love for us, is what ultimately led us to one another. Out of this tragedy, came something wonderful. We need to live our lives for them, the way they wanted and intended for us to. I’d like to believe that they’d be happy we found one another. We’ll continue their legacy and make them proud through our bond and future cubs.”
“What if we have to send ours away to protect them like our parents did us? Or, what if we find ourselves unable to conceive, same as our parents?” The hesitancy and fear of my answer has her shaking all over.
“That’ll never happen, Shelbi. We’ve got my brothers and the sisters’ magic to help us protect them. And I am certain between the potency of the magic used to bring us to life, we’ll assuredly be able to have cubs of our own. But that is a good question for the witches. Either way, we will have them, and we will be raising them together… they’ll never know the loneliness that we felt growing up.”
“You make me want to believe you, Lux. But I’m scared that I’ll have to send them away to keep them safe from outside threats. If our prides had given us a chance, we could’ve shown them that there’s nothing to fear from us and our gifts. It’s preposterous to me that they’d just assume we were threats to them. Pisses me off.”
“Shelbi, then we’ll have to show them by living our lives to the fullest. It’s their loss, not ours. The club will always back us and protect us. You’ll find a home there, just as I have. The MC is a big extended family, baby. There’s never time to feel alone or neglected. You turn a corner and someone will always be there. I love Helga, I do, but I never understood complete and utter acceptance until I joined the Dark Leopards. I can’t wait to show you what we’ve built.”
“The way you speak of them, Lux, sounds like a dream come true for me. I too love Olga, even if I do refer to her as a ‘witch bitch’ at times, but there’s always been a void in my life.”
“I will make sure it’s filled to max capacity. You’ll be overflowing in family, Shelbi. Let me tell you about the MC…”
Shelbi
As he talks about the club life, exhilaration overcomes me. It sounds like blissful chaos; a band of brothers and sisters, and I can’t wait to meet everyone. A thrill shoots through me at the prospect of joining this amazing group of men and women. I’ve always longed for a big family, and Lux is giving that to me in spades. He’s become the answer to all of my nightly prayers, where I looked to the stars above to help me find an everlasting place to finally and firmly belong.
When we finally make our way back to the house, it’s dark and quiet. I’m not sure if they’re avoiding us, or giving us some time alone. Either way, I’m glad that they’ve made themselves scarce.
“I need to grab my bag from my bike. Where am I sleeping?” Lux asks me. I want to shout out my room, then again, I don’t want to be presumptuous.
“Um… where would you like to sleep?” I hesitantly and shyly ask. He’s my mate, I shouldn’t be nervous about what his answer will be. “The guest room has already been claimed by Helga, so your options are the couch,” I swipe my arms in that direction, “or my bed.” He raises his eyebrows at my propositions…
