Epilogue 3 – Scarlet
Humming to herself, Scarlet powered down her medscanner for the day. Time for her to time out and go home. Back to her mate and their young son.
Ever since Torvin had been allowed out of the nest, he had been following his father to work. Havali took care of him during the day while Scarlet was at the medical center. When she got off, she would take over his care until bedtime.
She was therefore surprised when she went to the top of the tree where her hover was parked to find Havali already there, waiting for her.
She paused, staring as Havali chased their son around the branches of the medical center tree.
There were plenty of safety nets around here, so she wasn’t too worried about him falling, and Havali was never so far away that he couldn’t catch him.
Torvin hadn’t grown his adult claws yet, but he could still climb so long as he had foot- and handholds.
Their boy was shy, the sort that preferred to fade into the background. It was impossible, looking at him now, to know what kind of male he would grow into, but for now, he kept his circle of friends small and really only bloomed when he was around people he was close to.
Havali obsessed over their son. Which was not surprising in the least. There was never a moment where he didn’t know where he was or what he was doing.
But Torvin seemed to flourish under that kind of care. He knew that his father was always around if he needed him. It seemed to give him a courage boost whenever he was uncertain or uneasy.
And when he was strong and confident? Their son did great things. He climbed higher, ran further, learned more than any of his peers.
The moment he caught sight of her, he let out a holler of excitement and evaded his father, jumping out of the tree and running towards her. Scarlet beamed, holding out her arms and scooping him up – grunting when she did so.
“How are you this small and yet this heavy?” She asked, laughing with the strain of holding him. She knew the answer, of course. Domini had thicker muscle and bone mass than humans, but it was a question she seemed to ask every time.
Torvin just laughed, hugging her, asking how her day was. Scarlet answered, but her eyes were on Havali as he, more slowly, walked over to join them.
“I thought I was picking him up at your office,” she said, setting her dense son back down.
“I finished early. We figured we’d come get you instead and we could have a family outing this afternoon.”
“Right!” Torvin yelled, excitedly. “Mama, come play! Come on!”
Scarlet laughed as he tugged on her hand. “Okay, okay. I have to change first though. We’ll have to go home to get me some clothes.”
“No, we don’t,” Havali assured her. “I brought you something. You can change right now.”
Scarlet smiled, not sure why she believed otherwise. Havali was always prepared – even when he was being spontaneous.
Torvin was sent running to the hover to get the bag with her clothes. While he was gone, Havali grabbed and kissed her eagerly.
“Can’t wait to get you alone tonight,” he said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you at all today.”
“Oh. Is it a special occasion I don’t know about?”
“Every day with you is a special occasion.”
“That charm of yours should be registered as a deadly weapon,” she said, playing with his long hair. “I don’t think it’s fair to just be whipping it out whenever you like.”
“Anything to put a smile on my mate’s face.” He nuzzled her nose. “And it has been a full two days since I got to fuck you, Healer. Can you blame me for being pent up?”
Scarlet chuckled, a thrill of danger twisting in her belly.
Torvin had been having nightmares for the last couple nights – thanks to Peony’s bad children telling him scary stories. Their sensitive boy was traumatized and now he had dreams about monsters hunting him down while he was still helpless and clawless.
As a result, he had been staying with them in their bed at night – sleeping beside them like he was still a newborn pup.
Which, in turn, meant that she and Havali hadn’t had a chance to have sex in two days. Judging by the heavy bar of flesh pressed into her belly, Scarlet imagined that time was seriously taking its toll on her poor, long suffering mate.
“I say we give him medicine to sleep tonight,” Havali said, squeezing her butt as they watched Torvin rush back towards them – struggling with the large bag held awkwardly in his hands. “Make him sleep in his own bed so I can make you scream in ours.”
Scarlet chuckled. “Sounds like a threat.”
“A very dangerous one,” he promised, nipping at the side of her neck. A tease of what was to come. Before stepping back and meeting their son with his usual, charming grin that did nothing to betray his wicked thoughts just a second prior.
Scarlet smiled at her boys, taking the bag and promising to be back soon. They both urged her to hurry up or they’d come get her. Torvin said it so innocently, but the look Havali gave her over his head promised a sweet punishment if she took her time.
Scarlet grinned as she walked slowly into the building, thinking that there happened to be wonderful, all-day childcare for employees that would happily watch Torvin for a half mark.
You know, if she just happened to take too long.