Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Two weeks later …
Olivia was both nervous and excited about leaving the house for the first time since she and Damon had mated. It had been a month. She was antsy about getting out of the house, but she also didn’t know anyone they were going to see, and she knew he intended to leave her with two other females while he went to another house to meet with the council and get caught up on everything that had been happening in the Drydus pack while he’d been hibernating with his mate.
She smoothed a hand down her dress. “Are you sure about this? It’s so short.” It was one thing to wear almost nothing and sometimes nothing in the house with her mate, but it was another thing entirely to go to someone else’s house dressed like this. She’d never in her life worn less than a full-length dress out of her parents’ home.
“It’s perfect. Trust me. Jezebel and Suzette will be dressed similarly.”
At least he’d let her wear panties. She wasn’t ready to wear a diaper out of the house.
He stood behind her in the bathroom, fixing her hair in high pigtails, and she had to admit, the best thing about having a Daddy was his ability to take care of the things that were pretty difficult for her to do without vision. Hair was one of those things.
The list was long, though, and she’d grown more and more accustomed to having help over the past month. At first, it had been hard for her. She’d thought he was babying her. But he’d convinced her that every Alpha Protector treated his mate to the same overprotectiveness.
“If I find out you’ve been lying to me about how the other Alphas treat their mates, I’ll shift into wolf form and stay that way for a month,” she informed him. She was not kidding.
He finished her hair, turned her around, and cupped her chin. “Little rebel, I will never lie to you. I promise. You will fit right in with the other girls. I’ll even go so far as to add that if you sass Daddy while we’re there, I won’t hesitate to spank your naughty bottom in front of everyone. In addition, I can assure you the same will be true of them. Arion and Brock don’t tolerate naughty behavior either.”
She squirmed as she fisted the material of her dress at her sides. If she lifted her arms too high, everyone would see her panties, and the thought of keeping that from happening had been on her mind all morning.
The best part about the fact that she could now see in her wolf form was that she had taken the time to explore every single thing in the house. One day she’d opened the closet, shifted, and pawed through all the dresses until she knew what each of them looked like. That way when her Daddy dressed her, she could visualize what she was wearing.
This dress was pink with a white lace along the hem and short sleeves. It was so pretty, and she loved it, assuming her Daddy was not lying about what the other girls would be wearing.
“And you’re sure Jezebel and Suzette won’t have shifts under their dresses? Not even short layers?” She plucked the front of the dress. The length was only one of her concerns. She worried about people seeing the pucker of her nipples, too.
The layers of shifts she’d worn in the valley had added to the universal modesty expected of females. In this new world, her nipples were rubbing against only one layer of material.
“No one wears more than you have on in the mountains, Baby girl. I promise that, too.”
“Won’t people stare?”
“Nope. No one will pay any attention to you but me. Alpha Protectors are only wired to notice one woman—their own mate. Those who aren’t mated yet won’t be attracted to you like I am. Those who are will have their eyes on their own mates and not pay special attention to you either.”
She had so many questions, and she’d asked all of them a dozen times. Daddy had answered them over and over without once getting exasperated.
He cupped her shoulders and kissed her. “I want you to have fun. I want you to make friends and get to know the other Little girls. I also want you to remember to follow Daddy’s rules. The same rules apply in other people’s homes. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” She squirmed as she always did when he got all bossy.
“You will mind the other Alphas, too. If someone tells you to do something, you do it. Everyone’s top priority is keeping you safe.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“Ready?”
She smiled. This part she was more than ready for. Shifting and running through the forest made her feel free. She’d never been happier than the times Daddy had taken her out to run around the mountain.
He was still cautious, and she suspected he was more cautious with her than other Daddies because he knew she wouldn’t have the same level of spatial awareness as sighted shifters.
She hadn’t complained every time they’d gone outside, and she wouldn’t now either. He was gearing up to go over the rules for their run yet again. She would never risk him changing his mind about letting her go outside by sassing him.
“Remember, stay right at my flank the entire time. Don’t get too close to the edge of any sharp declines. Watch your surroundings at all times. If Daddy stops, you stop. If I shift and give you instructions, you follow them without hesitation.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Like I’ve told you before, there are bear shifters in the area now. We don’t know enough about them to trust their intentions, so we’re cautious. If you see a bear, you glue yourself to Daddy’s side. If you see anyone in human form, you have to assume they might be a bear instead of one of the Drydus pack.”
She nodded. “I’ll be careful, Daddy.” The thought of encountering a bear shifter was enough to make her nearly pee herself. She’d never heard of bear shifters in her life until she’d moved in with Damon. Few people in the valley were aware of their existence apparently.
“I don’t mean to make you panic. I just want to keep you safe.” He kissed her again. “Let’s go.”
Daddy led her outside, shut the door, and tipped her head back. “Love you, Baby girl.”
“Love you, too, Daddy.”
He guided her off the porch and down to the open piece of land in front of the house before stepping back.
She could feel his own shimmer as he shifted, and she followed right behind him, giddy as usual when she suddenly saw her surroundings. She took a breath and looked around, taking in the deep greens and the blue sky before setting her gaze on her Daddy. His wolf was much larger than hers, and she loved staring at him every time he shifted. His fur was dark brown like his human hair, and his brown eyes bore into her, making her shiver.
Every time she shifted, she worried maybe she suddenly wouldn’t be able to see, so it was a relief when she opened her eyes.
Daddy nodded in the direction he wanted her to follow and took off at a gallop.
She followed right on his flank as instructed. When they were out in the wild like this, she was grateful for his overprotective ways. There were a lot of creatures in the mountains. She didn’t relish the idea of running into any of them, shifter or not.
It took about ten minutes before they came to another house, and Daddy stopped out front to shift back into human form.
Olivia didn’t shift yet. They hadn’t discussed this part, but she hoped he would let her explore first.
“Come, Little rebel.” He motioned toward the front of the house. “I know you’ll want to look around before you shift. That’s okay. Everyone will understand.”
The front door opened before they stepped onto the porch. A man stepped out. He smiled warmly at them. “Welcome.” He shook Daddy’s hand and grinned at Olivia. “So nice to meet you, Olivia. I’m Brock. Come on inside. Suzette is dying to meet you, too.”
Olivia followed the two men into the house. It was very similar to Daddy’s house. It even had a playpen in the corner.
Olivia scanned the room, taking everything in. She paused and stopped breathing when she spotted a woman standing in the corner of the kitchen with her nose to the wall.
Brock chuckled. “That’s Suzette. She has five more minutes in her timeout before she’s allowed to greet you. She had a bit of a tantrum about her dress this morning.”
Olivia’s heart was beating fast, but she calmed considerably as she noted that Suzette’s yellow dress was probably about the same length as Olivia’s. More importantly, the woman had her hands clasped at the small of her back, and she was holding the hem of her dress up above her panties. Apparently that had been part of her punishment. She also had long black hair in two braids.
Olivia glanced at her Daddy, and he smiled and winked at her. He’d told her every Little girl mated to an Alpha was treated to the same dominance as Olivia, but seeing was believing.
Olivia scented two more shifters approaching the house and turned around at the same time as the men. Another man and Little girl entered the house. She knew they were Daddy’s brother, Arion, and his mate, Jezebel.
Jezebel had blond hair that hung very long from her pigtails. She had on a pale blue dress that was also similar to Olivia’s. She smiled warmly as she approached. “Hi.” She gave a little wave. “I’m so excited to meet you. Hi, Suzette,” she said louder, glancing toward the woman in the corner.
Suzette didn’t move an inch. Was her bottom pink around the edges of her panties?
Olivia had been aware of both women from school. They’d been a year apart, though, so she didn’t know them. By the end of today, she would certainly know them.
Arion slapped Daddy on the back. “You’ve finally come out of your cave,” he teased.
“Ha ha.” Daddy rolled his eyes. “It’s been a year since you and Jezebel mated, and you’re still scarce around the mountain.”
Arion shrugged. “Well, at least now you understand why.”
Another man entered. Daddy had described him, too, so Olivia knew this was Elias, Brock’s brother. He wasn’t mated yet. He shook everyone’s hand, greeted Jezebel, smiled at Olivia, and then shouted hello to Suzette.
Olivia was surprised at the woman’s ability to remain facing the corner while all this went on behind her. She would bet that Suzette was itching to turn around. Brock must have threatened her with more punishments if she didn’t wait until her timeout was over.
Finally, Brock shuffled over to his mate. He quietly leaned in to speak in her ear a moment before she nodded and released her dress so it fell down to cover her panties.
Suzette was chagrinned as she turned around and joined everyone else. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and smiled at Olivia. “Hi. I’m so glad you’re here. Daddy says I can show you my nursery so you’ll have a visual of your surroundings before you shift.”
Olivia was grateful for everyone’s kindness and understanding as she followed Suzette and Jezebel to Suzette’s nursery.
Her nerves calmed further when she saw that indeed it was very much like her own nursery except it included crayons, coloring books, paints, puzzles, and games Olivia couldn’t play.
Daddy joined the three of them in the nursery and set a hand on Olivia’s back. “Time to shift, Baby girl. I need a hug before I go.”
Olivia took one more look around before she closed her eyes and let the shift take her back into her human form.
Daddy squatted in front of her, cupped her face, and kissed her. “I want you to have fun, okay? Be good. Elias is going to stay here with you three. Obey him no matter what, understood?”
Olivia nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
He took her hand and hooked her small backpack on it. He’d carried it here for her. It had her cane, her glasses, a change of clothes, and a diaper in it. She wouldn’t need any of those things most likely, but she liked having them, just in case.
“Put it on me, Daddy?” she asked.
He helped her put the backpack on and kissed her again. “I love you, Little rebel.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
“I’ll be back in a few hours.” He was stalling. He hated to leave her perhaps more than she hated being left. It was time, though. Today he was meeting with the elders, but tomorrow he would start taking shifts patrolling with the other Alphas. It was his job. He couldn’t stay home with her forever, as much as she wished he could.
“I’ll be fine,” she told him bravely.
She faced the door to the nursery as he walked away and didn’t turn around until the three Daddies had left the house.
Suzette set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s hard the first time they leave. I hated it. Jezebel and I will play with you, though. We’ll have fun.”
Jezebel took her hand. “What would you like to do?”
Olivia smiled at them. “You know what I’d really like to do?”
“What?” they both said in unison.
“I’d like to color or paint.”
“Really?”
Olivia nodded. “It’s been years since I’ve done anything like that. I used to love it. My parents stopped buying me things that required sight, and Daddy doesn’t have anything like that in the house either. Who cares if I can’t stay in the lines or I get paint off the side of the paper? We can put something under it, right?”
“Of course,” Suzette said excitedly.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty,” Olivia stated.
Jezebel stroked her arm. “You don’t have to try to stay in the lines. You can use a blank paper and create anything you want. I bet you can paint anything with a little help.”
Olivia grinned. “That sounds like the most fun ever.”