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BRIAN
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I TOOK A SIP OF MY tea and dialed Rowena’s number. She answered after the first ring.
“Is she still asleep?” she asked. “Did you see her? Harriet says she’s a real beauty.”
“Good morning to you too, Rowena. My guest is still sleeping.”
“Very well, then. Jack and I talked yesterday about how much we should expose her to, and how much we should hide at the beginning.”
“Okay, what are we going to do?”
“If they’re able, people with grownup children and grandchildren will adjust their looks, like Harriet and Jason.” She chuckled. “I heard Jason cheated. Anyway, Jack and I sent an email to everyone saying that Elizabeth could be a vardanni and asked them to be tactful and considerate in communication with her.”
“I don’t think an extensive social life is what Elizabeth needs right now.”
“You must be kidding! She’s the buzz of the day. Everybody’s curious to see her. But we’ll take it easy. Ahmed and I are coming tonight, but Astrid and Jack don’t expect her before tomorrow. For dinner, nothing fancy.”
And here I thought I could keep Elizabeth for myself for a while. I sighed. “I want her to get used to us, to like us and to trust us enough to accept us. Push her tomorrow into a room filled with curious werewolves, wizards and Tel-Urughs, and you’re going to scare the daylights out of her. No way can we cover all the bases. If she is a vardanni, how can we fool her? Shouldn’t she be unsusceptible to our magic?”
“This is what I learned. Ultimately, we won’t be able to conceal anything from her or alter her memory. No one completely understands how it works, but she should become aware of our world gradually. Otherwise, the shock would be too much. This is how guardians are wired. It’s a sort of protection from overheating.”
Wiring? Overheating? What the heck is she talking about?
“Listen,” Rowena continued, “this is our plan. For the time being, Jack is going to be your friend. Elizabeth has already heard about Astrid and Ahmed, but she hasn’t seen them before. And of course, we’ll call you Khalid.”
“What about you? Even by the most flexible human criteria, you look too young to be Astrid’s mother.”
“Lottie told her I had Astrid when I was young and then Aydan in my early forties, so I won’t look suspicious.”
“But you hardly look thirty, Rowena. No way won’t she notice that.”
“Well thank you. If she notices, fine. Let her deal with that.”
“Let’s not. It might be too much. The gradual approach, remember?”
“Okay, okay, I can put on some makeup.”
“Wait a second. You can’t change your look, can you?”
Rowena sighed. “No. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
Some of us were capable of changing physical appearance, at least temporarily; others weren't.
“Okay, don’t worry,” I said. Elizabeth would need to deal with that. “What about Rosie? Elizabeth knows Astrid and Jack have a daughter. Rosie has her own ways of learning about unknown people.”
By sniffing them, to memorize their scent.
“It’ll look like cuddling,” Rowena said, unconcerned. “Your unique marital status could be a landmine, but by the time she learns about that, Elizabeth will understand. I’m sure.”
“Let’s not make assumptions. Elizabeth’s here to—”
“Sort out your knick-knack collection. Got it.”
I sighed. Rowena reminded me to be extra cautious about Elizabeth’s privacy, which was a sensitive issue for humans. As if I didn’t know.
“She’ll have her privacy,” I said.
“Do you have all the private areas in your house under PP?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Don’t underestimate the importance of privacy,” she warned me once more, unnecessarily.
“As long as she is in her room, we can neither see her nor hear her,” I said.
I didn’t understand why she was fussing about privacy. All private places were under mandatory visual and sound protection, so-called PP—Privacy Protection. It was a standard measure applied not only in our homes but elsewhere where privacy was necessary.
The reason was simple. Our sharp senses were our great advantage. We could hear very low and very high frequencies. We had perfect day and night vision. Many of us had the ability to see thermographic silhouettes through a solid barrier: the bright red of werewolves, the blue of wizards, the dark red of Tel-Urughs, and the delicate, pearl white of humans.
We could make our body outlines invisible to others if necessary; we could hide our scent. Protecting our intimate places with tribal magic, however, was an easier solution. Everyone benefited from it, particularly humans, with whom we shared a close coexistence. Human senses were less developed, putting them at a disadvantage. PP evened those odds.
We had keen hearing, so from an early age we were taught, out of courtesy, to tune out all conversations that didn’t concern us. It would be too naïve to expect it from everyone all the time, so we protected ourselves and others with soundproof rooms and other areas where this kind of care was essential.
“My question is,” I said, “can she hear us in our private spaces? If she is a vardanni, she might not be susceptible to it. PP is for humans. It wouldn’t affect her.”
“Again, we don’t know,” Rowena said. “Astrid thinks it might work at first, but it’ll soon wear off. Or it might not work at all, and she’ll be able to hear you. It would be normal for her, though; human dwellings are not quiet places. She can’t see through the walls, so you’ll be fine. What about the common areas? The kitchen, the library, living rooms, her office? She’ll be completely exposed there.”
“I won’t put the whole house under PP,” I said. “Not negotiable.”
“Why not? Just temporarily?”
Because I want to be able to follow her pearly outline. Because I want to continue to hear her heart. I was able to hear it over the phone when she was hundreds of miles from me, and I’m not going to deny myself the same pleasure now that she’s here. “She’ll have privacy in her room, but that’s it,” I said. “I need to know what is going on in my house. My sense of smell is far from perfect and I have uncontrollable changes. I need to know where she is when she isn’t in her room.”
I heard her chuckling. “I know you won’t take advantage of it.”
Oh, I wouldn’t bet on it. “Listen, Elizabeth could wake up at any moment. I gotta go. When are you planning to come today? If you have to.”
“Around seven, perhaps?”
“You’re staying for dinner, then?” I asked.
“Oh, thank you. Sure, we’ll stay.”
I sighed, and I rubbed my chin. “It was a question, Rowena, not an invitation. Now, what shall I tell Harriet?”
“Tell her not to worry. We’ll have food delivered. So, around seven-thirty, is that okay?”
Oh, god. “You’re having a field day, aren’t you, Rowena? Is there anything else on my agenda I need to be aware of?”
“Come on. We’ll let you have enough private time with your lovely architect, so stop whining. We know you should work fast. You don’t have lots of time.”
“For what?”
“To make her accept us. If you two become serious—”
“See you tonight, Rowena,” I cut her off and ended the call.
I glanced at the clock; it was only nine-thirty. Elizabeth could be sleeping for several more hours, so I had to think about how to keep myself occupied.
I’d start with a cup of freshly brewed tea, I decided, and walked toward the door.
I heard several simultaneous sounds: the opening of her door, her small, hesitant first steps as she left the green room and the familiar sound of her fast heartbeats. A ribbon of her scent reached my nostrils. The scent of a woman mingled with a hint of orange blossom and jasmine.
I closed my eyes for a brief second, then followed it.
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ELIZABETH’S PHOTOS didn’t capture her most obvious component—the intense sensuality that radiated from her.
She stood on the second step of the staircase. I was on the bottom. In her high-heeled shoes, her eyes were on the same level as mine. They were striking, those eyes: almond-shaped, soft silvery-grey, dusted with tiny gold specks and framed with long lashes. Her dark hair created a stunning contrast to her translucent skin and red lips.
I allowed myself a glimpse at her figure: large breasts, tiny waist, round hips and shapely legs.
My cock jerked and hardened, my balls tightened. Fuck, I should have put on slacks, not jeans.
She saw it; I knew. She was assessing me at the same time, quick, discreet glances, from my chest and arms to my feet, as if she was checking if all my visible body parts were accounted for. Her heart had missed a beat and her eyes widened, I noticed, as they passed over my mid-section.
As for my own assessment, I could only say that in front of me stood one of the most beautiful women that I’d ever seen.
Out of nowhere, a thought flashed through my mind, as exciting as it was terrifying. Elizabeth was my bond mate. When I touched her, I’d feel what bonded couples described as the warmth surging through my body, and the “oneness of the souls.”
“Elizabeth, welcome,” I said and reached for her hand.
And if I hold it just a little bit longer, I’ll feel it.
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. Her touch was warm and smooth, and it felt good. But the mystical connection of our souls hadn’t happened.
A part of me was relieved, another part devastated.
The conflicted feelings caused by the lack of bonding sensations, however, didn’t reflect on my middle parts: hard and tight to the point of pain, they hardened and tightened even more.
“Thank you,” she said in her soft, melodic voice I’d grown to like so much. Her eyes moved from my face to our hands—I was still holding her small hand in mine—and back to my face.
She smiled and took two steps down.
Slowly, her hand slipped out from mine. “When did you come back from Red Cliffs?”
“A few hours ago. The roads are clear now, but not for long, I’m afraid. I apologize I wasn’t here last night to meet you.”
“No need to apologize. I’m glad you made it home.” She turned her head. “Somebody’s in the kitchen. I thought I was the first to wake up. The house was so quiet.”
So far, PP was working. “You must be hungry,” I said and touched her elbow. “Let’s have breakfast and then I’ll show you around the house.”
“Ah, here you are, Elizabeth!” Harriet said as we walked into the kitchen. “We expected you to sleep much longer. I hope we didn’t wake you up.”
“No, not at all,” she said, smiling.
“Do you remember any dreams?” Harriet carried on. “Local people believe that a dream you have the first night when you sleep in a new place will come true. It’s called ‘The Moon Dream.’”
She blushed. “I ... I dreamed of running through the forest. The ground was covered with snow, but it wasn’t cold. It felt like feathers. Or bath foam.” A pause. “It’s the bed. I’ve never slept in a more comfortable bed. It’s amazing.”
My heart sped up. No, it wasn’t the bed. Elizabeth’s subconscious had gathered enough information about us and was trying to prepare her for what was about to happen. In her dream, Elizabeth was a blaidd benywaidd, a she-wolf, even though she didn’t see herself in her wolf form.
She glanced at me, blushing even more.
Oh, this was interesting. I bet there was more going on in her dream than she was willing to tell us.
As if confirming it, she shrugged and smiled. And then, arching her perfect, dark eyebrows, she fixed her eyes on Harriet. “Your hair looks different. You lightened it a bit, didn’t you?”
Harriet glanced at me. “Yeah, this morning. Do you like it? It makes me look younger, doesn’t it? And it covers my grey.”
“I didn’t notice any grey. Was blond your natural color?”
“No, I was a brunette.”
Hell, how had Harriet looked last night if Elizabeth had been able to see the difference? Was our magic already wearing off?
“Elizabeth, you must be hungry,” Harriet said, changing the topic. “Let’s have breakfast.”
I pulled out a chair and Elizabeth sat beside me.
Jason joined us, followed by Lily. She kissed Elizabeth’s cheek. I wished I could do that, too.
“You’re early,” Lily said to her. “Was your room okay? We didn’t wake you up, did we?”
God, was everybody going to ask her the same question?
“It’s perfect. And quiet. I didn’t hear a sound.”
Jason asked me about the road conditions and who had driven me home. When Azem came in, he greeted Elizabeth and asked her if we had woken her up. Then he walked to the table, leaned toward Lily and kissed her lips, wishing her good morning.
“Good morning,” Lily said as her face flushed an interesting shade of red.
So, something had happened between Lily and Azem that had moved their relationship from deadlock, but not as far as sleeping together. That would have left their scents on each other, even my weakened sense of smell would have noticed it right away. In our world, it was a clear signal for others to stay away from our partners.
I glanced at Elizabeth, wondering how she’d deal—one day, that is—with this particular issue. She was human, and her scent was subtle, but she’d leave enough of it on me to mark me as hers. That was our way. Fine with me, but would she be fine with my scent marking her as mine?
One day, that is.
Elizabeth’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Maybe later, after you give me a tour, I can start working.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. You’ll take it easy today. You still haven’t recovered from yesterday’s trip. Rowena and Ahmed are coming for dinner. We’ll start tomorrow.” I stood up and reached for her hand. “Let me show you around.”