43. A Change of Plans
FORTY-THREE
A CHANGE OF PLANS
Vivian
I readjust the cloth bindings around my feet as Kyle and Syasku argue. Tuning them out, I focus on keeping Audrin calm, rocking and cooing at him.
Far plumper than he was several days ago, he’s growing at an expeditious rate, continuing the pattern of his short gestation. His tail has uncurled, and two tiny fangs have punctured his gums. His scales have yet to appear. Still, each day his coloring deepens. Taking after me, his skin has a browner hue rather than that of Syasku’s shifting grays, and though hair has yet to appear, I have a hunch Audrin will take after me there as well.
Even with a naga as his father, Volp’s genes are winning yet again. Either way, my love for him grows to the point that the thought of losing him or him getting hurt makes me nauseous.
I never saw myself as a mother, or raising a child as my own. I had no idea what it would feel like being a mother, never having had one myself.
I would die for my baby. I would give everything up for him.
He makes me feel vulnerable like a piece of my soul has been torn out and that torn out piece was him. It’s fragile and precious. The need to protect and keep him safe eclipses everything. Sometimes I find myself watching him while he sleeps, adoring him more with every passing second.
And Syasku was right about the milk… Audrin has already begun eyeing meat with the same intensity his father eyes me. Recalling that intensity, my toes curl, and heat pools between my legs.
His pheromones have returned.
Swallowing thickly, I glance at Syasku through the trees ahead. I’d missed it when we were apart, and now that it has returned, all I want to do is press against him and breathe him in until every part of me is filled with it. I’d bathe in it if I could.
His scent makes me feel… good.
It won’t be much longer until I’m ready. With what I’ve learned about Genesis-8, and while it’s not much, I do know I’m healing quicker than I normally would. Any pain I had from labor has given way to a dull, barely noticeable ache. An ache that is morphing quickly into desire. There’s no more blood to staunch. Even my stitches have fallen out.
Soon the only pain left I’ll have to contend with is the trauma I’ve endured.
A ship flies overhead, pulling me from my thoughts, and when it’s gone, I see Syasku heading toward me, his lithe, powerful form making me salivate. I stand to meet him when I notice the darkness in his eyes. As tension radiates from him, worry churns my stomach.
He’s changed.
In the days we’ve been on Earth, he’s grown. His muscles are bigger, his body bulkier, his senses… stronger.
If I hadn’t wanted him before, I would now. Even if he didn’t emit an intoxicating smell that makes my knees weak, I would want him.
He’s all male—rugged, dangerous, and primal. His care for me and our son is so dissimilar to how my father was that it almost has me worshiping him on my knees. I can’t believe he’s mine. I can’t believe he wants me. Me.
I lick my lips as I tell my libido to calm down.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, eyeing his face.
He stops directly in front of me, and his tail shifts to coil around my legs. “The humans your father leads, his soldiers… They have a large encampment ahead of us. We must go around to avoid them.”
I nod, agreeing with him. “I think that’s a good idea.” I try not to sound afraid.
He looks away, his jaw clenching.
Feeling his unease, I step into him. “Is there something else?”
His chest expands with a heavy breath.
“Syasku?” I urge. “What is it?”
“Asera said something to me I had chosen to ignore, and now…”
“And now?” I repeat, needing him to continue or I might scream. “Tell me. I can take it. What did he say?”
Whatever it is, I’ll meet it head on. Not much frightens me anymore. I’ll do just about anything to keep Audrin safe.
Syasku’s gaze shifts back to me. “He said soldiers have taken the forest bordering my home, and that the naga who once lived there was gone when he searched for him. He only approached the humans after their ships closed in on our territory.”
My heart stutters as I take in his words, and as I realize their meaning, my heart pounds harder. “You only now believe him?”
“The land is vast and my territory has never been invaded—the wetlands deter predators and others of my kind, but now that I have seen for myself what lies ahead, the machines they have…”
“It would be unsafe to return,” I finish for him.
“Yessss. The soldiers have machines that fly, as well as ships, vehicles, and weapons. Too many weapons. I do not want you or our son anywhere near them.”
The baby coos, and I glance down where he lies on a blanket, coiling and stretching out his little tail. But the breath I take isn’t to inhale Syasku’s scent, it’s to relieve the pressure in my chest. “So we make a new home and claim a new territory. It can’t be that hard, right? There’s a lot of land.”
“You do not understand what has been lost to ussss. Weapons, hides, and everything I have gathered or made in all my seasons. Shelter, food, water, and safety from all that could hurt us.”
I cup his cheeks, and though I’m worried, I don’t let it show. “We’ve been through worse. We’ll figure this out too.”
His expression hardens. “You should not have to figure out anything. This is on me.”
“What did Kyle say?” I glance behind him. “I heard you two arguing.”
Syasku sighs. “He thinks we should join him in his search.”
I drop my hands and turn away, gathering the supplies and placing them in our pack. Sweat dampens my palms as I calm my nerves. Syasku’s tail unwinds from around me as I kneel to take Audrin into my arms. “What do you think?” I manage to ask once everything is packed and I’m ready to continue on.
“It is your mother and his friends he seeks. This choice should be yours and yours alone.”
“And if I leave it up to you?”
His nostrils flare as he drops his gaze to our son. “We pick a direction, one opposite of those loyal to our enemies, and leave everything and everyone behind.”
“That sounds good. Let’s do that.” That sounds infinitely better than meeting my mother.
If we found her… and she rejected me… and her grandson…
I might just outright hit her like I hit Father. I might not be able to stop myself from doing more.
Syasku grabs my arm as I turn away. “There is no place we can go that we can outrun them. Even if we return to the outskirtssss, we will never be as far as we want. We would only be farther from the resources available where growth is thick.”
Surprised, I look around. “You think we should stick together then?”
“I do not think we have a choice. As much as I wish to deny what is happening, I cannot undo it. More humans will come, there are more every day, and we cannot avoid them all. There were more humans on that freighter ship alone than all the naga I have ever known.”
As he says this, I can hear the anger in his voice, the frustration that we are and will remain on the run no matter what choices we make, especially while Father remains alive. Neither of us has a home anymore. All we have is each other. All we can do is prepare for the worst and pray that never comes to pass.
“Safety in numbers?” I ask, trying to understand.
“No, Vivian. There is safety in knowing where people are. If something should happen… and we are split apart once more, I would want you to have a place you and Audrin can flee to, and where I could find you. Right now, if something should happen—” his slitted gaze flicks over the trees and he sighs “—I cannot lose you again.”
This is as hard for him as it is for me.
“Without my territory, my nest, there are few safe places I know of where I can take you. And none of these spots are easily traversable by a human. That needs to change.”
“So you do want to find the others with Kyle.”
His eyes harden. “Yessss. If you are having me decide, then yes.”
Staying with Kyle would mean I’d potentially see my mother. I don’t know how I feel about that. Part of me wishes she is here somewhere, while another… another is desperate to move on.
Audrin hisses, and we both look down at him in surprise.
My chest constricts. “His first hiss.”
Syasku leans forward and hisses softly with him. “But not his lasssst.”
I can’t help smiling.
Without another word on the subject, Syasku and I share one last look. Afterward we join Kyle through the trees and continue on toward the mountains, skirting the facility, and pretending nothing has changed.
Only our direction.