Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
“What the...” Aiden let his sentence trail off.
“She was about to become a mother,” I whispered, blinking back tears. “She never got to know her baby.”
“What do we do about it?” Aiden asked, half reaching out to the kitten. “It’ll die if we leave it out here.”
“What do we know about taking care of a kitten?” I countered. An idea occurred to me. “Rhiannon would know, though.”
“We’ll bring it to her.” Aiden whipped off his shirt, his skin pricking up with goosebumps in the cold air, and put it on the cleanest part of the ground. “Come on, Fluffy. We’ll take care of you.”
“Fluffy? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?” I asked, watching him try to coax the kitten onto the material. “We need food.”
“What do you think it eats?”
“Milk,” I replied absentmindedly, looking around the clearing. There was nothing I could see that would help. “What about some of the mom’s fur?”
“That might be useful.” Using a severing charm, Aiden cut some of the clean fur off the mother’s side and scattered it over the shirt.
The little kitten mewed pitifully and fell over.
“I don’t think its eyes are open yet,” I observed. A thought occurred to me. “What about the rest of the litter? Don’t cats have more than one?”
Aiden nodded grimly. “Check for life signs.”
Swallowing hard, I let the net of my spell cover the mother, the kitten, and Aiden. The tiny creature showed up as a dim purple to my sight. I shook my head. “None, and this one is fading. I think you’ll have to pick it up. We need to hurry.”
“I think you’re right.” Aiden scooped up his shirt and used it to grab the kitten gently around its middle, wrapping it up tightly. “You’ll be okay, Snowball,” he crooned to it, rubbing the top of its head with one finger.
The kitten mewled and worked one of its arms free like a fluffy Houdini. It batted at Aiden’s wrist weakly.
“Let’s get it inside,” I urged. “It must be starving. Who knows when its mother died.”
“Agreed.” Aiden hugged the bundle to his chest. “I’m going to shift. The heat of my fire will help warm it.”
“Great idea.” I began to lead the way back to the castle, avoiding the mess of the direwolf across the clearing.
Halfway back, the kitten stopped meowing, and I glanced back to see that it had fallen asleep wrapped in Aiden’s shirt and cradled in his arms. My heart melted to see the soft expression on his face. “Do you have a thing for animals?” I teased.
“It’s so tiny,” he whispered, looking down at it. “It’s relying on me for everything.”
“Babies do that,” I said.
“Yeah, they do.” He glanced up at me, and my breath caught in my throat. “Do you want one?”
“A kitten?” I asked, purposefully misunderstanding him.
“A baby.”
I hadn’t expected him to actually say it. “I hadn’t thought about it before. All I wanted was to get out and explore the world. But...” I watched him a little longer, his attention back on the kitten, and imagined how it would look with him holding a baby— our baby. “Yeah, I think I do.”
“In a few years, after we explore the world a little,” Aiden said. Then his eyes flared with internal fire. “I’ll pump you so full of my seed that you can’t help but get pregnant.”
I shivered at the promise. “Sounds like a plan.”
We entered the academy by the kitchen door. I reached into my pocket to pull out my mirror. “Rhiannon,” I said into it. The mirror turned foggy with swirling smoke for a minute, until the other witch’s face appeared.
“Siobhan? What’s wrong?”
“We found a kitten next to its dead mother,” I said quickly. “We’re in the kitchen. Can you help? Please?”
“I’ll be right there,” Rhiannon said, and then the mirror reflected my face once more.
Aiden paced the width of a counter. “I hope she can help.”
“Watch out,” I said, pulling him toward me and out of the way of one of the student chefs. “She’s brilliant with animals. I’m not worried.”
The kitten started mewling again and Aiden rubbed its head gently. “Do you think I’m overheating it?” he asked anxiously.
“We’re inside now. You might be,” I said, chewing my lower lip. “I hate feeling like I don’t know something.”
“Maybe you need to concentrate on Care of Magical Creatures more,” Aiden teased gently, shifting back into his more humanoid form.
I stuck my tongue out at him, but didn’t say anything since Rhiannon joined us at that moment.
She took one glance at the crying kitten and grabbed the nearest chef’s arm. “Cream,” she ordered. “And a syringe.”
“I’m busy,” he snapped.
“I’m trying to save an animal’s life,” she retorted, turning her back on him.
“If you show me where, I’ll get it,” I offered to the chef.
He nodded once and walked away. I hurried after him. He led me to a pantry, where he grabbed a small syringe, and then into the walk-in refrigerator, where he pointed at the cream. I thanked him and brought it back to Rhiannon and Aiden.
“We need to warm the cream,” she said. “Not too hot, though. Body temperature.”
I grabbed a saucepan and put it on the burner next to them, pouring a healthy amount of cream into it and enchanting a spoon to stir the liquid.
The kitten was on the counter, still half-wrapped in Aiden’s shirt. There were stains that definitely hadn’t been there before he’d used it as a blanket. Rhiannon expertly handled the baby, checking each bone in its body to make sure they were whole. I was interested to note that the kitten didn’t have wings like its mama.
“I need to bathe it, get the after-birth off. Did she have siblings?”
Aiden shook his head. “We checked for life signs. This was the only one.”
“She?” I asked.
Rhiannon gently flipped the kitten over and spread her back legs. “You can see here, there aren’t any pouches for testicles.” To Aiden, she added, “Don’t let her roll off the counter. I’ll get a bowl and a cloth.”
“Why me?”
“Because Siobhan is busy.” Rhiannon disappeared into the pantry.
I chuckled at the stricken expression on Aiden’s face. “You were fine when you were holding her. What’s changed?”
“When I was holding her, she didn’t really move.”
We watched as the kitten got to her feet and wobbled two steps toward Aiden, mewling piteously.
“I think she likes you,” I pointed out.
“How? It’s not like she can see me,” he said, putting his hand out so she’d reach it before she fell off.
“She’s not deaf. Your voice is the first thing she heard after she was born. Maybe she’s like a bat and can use echolocation.”
“Her ears look cat-like to me, but we can ask Rhiannon.” The kitten licked Aiden’s fingertip. “I’m sorry, kitten, no milk in there. Siobhan is working on it.”
Rhiannon came back at that moment with a rough cloth and a bowl full of steaming water. A towel was thrown over her shoulder. “Bath time,” she said cheerfully. “This should mimic the mother’s tongue,” she said, dipping the cloth in the water and wringing it out. “We don’t want her to get sick because she can’t clean herself.”
Briskly, she rubbed the kitten down, unmatting the fur, and then dried her off with the fluffy towel. “There you are,” she crooned. “And now for the milk. Aiden, can you hold her again? Cup her head in your hand and rest her body along your forearm, yes, exactly like that.”
Rhiannon drew a little of the cream into the syringe and then hesitated. “Umm, I don’t think she needs the extra heat right now, Aiden.”
If it was possible for a fire monster to blush, Aiden did it. “Sorry. I didn’t even notice.”
“That’s all right. Hold her head up... No, kitten, you’re not going to get milk from his ribs,” Rhiannon said with a chuckle. With practiced hands, she rolled the kitten onto her back again and stuck the tip of the syringe in her mouth, letting drops fall.
The kitten grabbed the syringe with both front paws and sucked the rest of the liquid from it.
“There you go,” Rhiannon said softly. “That will fill her stomach for now. She’ll need another feeding in about half an hour. I suggest you fill a heated mug.” She handed the syringe to Siobhan.
“Wait, what do you mean?” Aiden said, his voice full of panic. “Aren’t you going to take care of her?”
Rhiannon shook her head with a smile and indicated the kitten curled up contentedly in his palm. “She’s imprinted on you. She wouldn’t do as well with me. I’m here if you need help, but she’s yours now.”
“Babe, you’re flaming again,” I said softly, putting a hand on Aiden’s arm. “It’s okay, I’m here for you, too.”
Aiden took a deep breath and got his shifting under control again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m usually better than this, even when I’m distracted.”
I bit my lip to control my smirk. I could count a handful of times he was so distracted by sex that he didn’t notice his shift. “You’re going to be a wonderful kitten father,” I said, cleaning his shirt for him with a wave of my hand. “Do you want to put this on?” I gathered the leftover fur from the mother and put it in my pocket.
“I don’t want to wake her,” he said, not lifting his gaze from the sleeping kitten.
“Okay. Let’s head to your room then.” I gathered the warm mug of cream and checked the enchantment on it; it would stay warm and unspoiled for a week. At that time, we’d need to make more. The syringe tucked in my other pocket and Aiden’s shirt draped over my arm, I led the way out of the kitchen. “Dinner first?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I’ll get you settled at the table with our friends before getting your dinner.”
Aiden beamed down at me. “You’re the best kitten mother.”
My heart melted a little.
Rhiannon had just sat down with the others when we arrived. “And here he is with his rescue,” she finished. “You’re doing great.”
“I haven’t done anything since you left us other than walk,” Aiden said with a chuckle.
“Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a cute little kitten!” squeaked Una. “She’s so precious!”
“I want one,” Lilia said promptly. She brushed her hand by her ear under her hair and her face fell.
“Pinkie’s going to be okay,” I said softly to her. “Professor Wright hasn’t approved the familiars being woken yet?”
Rhiannon shook her head. “The teachers are casting the blanket spell after dinner. They’re going to focus on the dark forest, where the wild animals without us to look after them are located.”
“Oh, that reminds me!” I dug my hand into Aiden’s pocket where the magic generators were located and pulled one out. “This will help Sugar regulate,” I said, sticking it to the back of her neck while she was sleeping.
“Sugar?” Aiden said, wrinkling his nose. “Might as well name her Flour.”
I giggled. “That sounds silly, too.”
“You know,” Rhiannon said, cocking her head in thought as she stared at the kitten, “she’s kinda unique. She was born after the ley lines disappeared, which means that the world is normal to her now . She might not feel the effects from the lack of magic.”
“I really don’t want to find out if you’re right,” I said. “Be right back.” I dropped a kiss on Aiden’s forehead and headed over to the counter to grab our meals.
Aiden was surrounded by more people, most of them girls, when I returned. They were all cooing over him and the way he held the kitten.
“ Mine ,” I almost growled, and everyone scattered.
Aiden glanced up at me teasingly. “Feeling jealous?”
“Only a little. I want you all to myself.” I sat beside him, putting his plate down. I’d grabbed food he could eat without cutting.
He rubbed one of the kitten’s ears between a finger and thumb. “I’m sorry she’s going to take so much of my time—” His eyes reflected his disappointment.
I shook my head, cutting him off. “She’s different and you know it.”
“Just checking.” He leaned over for a kiss, which I happily supplied.
“Thank you for being there for me.”
“Ugh, you two are so gross,” Una said, pretending to gag. “I wish I had what you have.”
“You could, you know.” I pointed at her with my fork. “If you stopped sleeping around.”
Una’s eyes opened wide. “But how will I find my most compatible match if I don’t try him out first?”
“I dumped pudding on Siobhan’s head,” Aiden remarked.
“I haven’t tried that,” Una said thoughtfully.
“I don’t recommend it,” I said with a laugh. “Especially with all our magic so low. It would be difficult to clean up the mess.”
“There you go, spoiling all my fun again!” Una pretended to pout. “I’ll find myself a man, don’t you worry.”
The kitten yawned loudly, ending on a squeak, and blinked open her eyes.
“Hello, little one,” Aiden said softly. “Are you hungry?”
The kitten mewed piteously.
I laughed. “She’s got you wrapped around her little paw.” I used the syringe to draw up a few millimeters of warm cream. After glancing at Rhiannon for confirmation, I handed it over to Aiden to feed the baby.
“She’s got purple eyes,” Aiden said, awed, as he fed her.
The kitten suckled greedily at the cream.
“That’s weird that her eyes opened already,” Rhiannon said, making a note in her journal. “She was only born a couple hours ago.”
“Magical being,” I said dismissively. “I’m curious to know when her wings will grow in.”
“Wings?” Rhiannon frowned. “I didn’t feel any nubs. Aiden, once you’re done, can I see her again?”
“Of course.”
The kitten downed the last bit of cream and started washing Aiden’s thumb with her little pink tongue.
Aiden chuckled. “I think you’re supposed to bathe yourself, not me.”
“It’s how she shows affection,” Rhiannon said with a smile.
Once his impromptu bath was done, he slid the kitten over to Rhiannon.
She handled the kitten again, this time paying close attention to her shoulders. “There you are,” she said. “Wing nubs on the scapula. I don’t know how I missed them last time.”
“You were checking for broken bones, not wings,” I pointed out.
“True. Still.” Rhiannon frowned. “Aiden, you’re flaming again.”
I hadn’t even noticed the increased heat beside me and I turned to look at him. “Are you okay?”
“Maybe I should go see Professor Dunlop,” Aiden said, getting to his feet. “I don’t usually lose control like this.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said, putting my fork down on my empty plate.
“I’ll take care of your dishes,” Lilia offered.
“Thanks.”
Aiden scooped up the kitten and we headed for the main office, where the main doors of the teacher’s offices were located.