42. Pippa
PIPPA
“So you see,” Shemaiah says from inside Tobias’s room, “the cocoon was protecting the animal.”
“Cocoon?” Toby’s little voice repeats the word.
I smile, leaning my shoulder against the wall just out of sight.
The past month has been better than I ever could have imagined.
It’s taken a bit to get used to being a Mavarri.
At first, my heightened senses made me jumpy.
Now, it puts me at ease. Even from the hallway, I can hear every breath my son takes in the room next door.
I can see each particle of dust in the air.
I can smell his baby-soft skin mixed with the must of the house and the unique scent of Shemaiah’s aftershave.
When we returned to Roan Island, there were adjustments.
I couldn’t bear to be apart from Tobias for more than a few minutes, always worried someone would take him from me.
My boy wasn’t much better, clinging to me like a shadow, waking up with nightmares in the middle of the night.
My thoughtful husband immediately moved us to adjoining rooms that had space for us and for Toby.
The nightmares didn’t really get better until Shemaiah started reading to him every night before bed.
I always listen from right outside, relishing the sweetness of it. The two of them have taken to each other so naturally. It’s almost as if the three of us were missing pieces of the same puzzle, found and completed now.
“Well, see this blanket here?” Shemaiah says.
I peek around the doorframe and watch Shemaiah tuck the blanket into my son’s sides, his body wrapped to his neck.
“How does that make you feel?”
“Hmm, nice,” my son says with a yawn.
“That’s just like a cocoon. A cozy blanket for the animal to sleep safely inside.”
Tobias grins, then giggles and wiggles the blanket loose.
Shemaiah pats his leg. “I think it’s time for your Mama—”
Tobias lurches, Mavarri speed on display, and wraps his arms around Shemaiah’s neck. Shemaiah grunts at the strength, smiles a gentle smile, then wraps his arms around Tobias.
We still don’t know the exact ramifications of the poison my son received in utero, but he isn’t human anymore. Not exactly.
Every afternoon, Noah and Ruby play games with Tobias, subtly testing the limits of his abilities.
Apparently, his differences only became clear around the time I first came to Roan Island.
So far, he seems almost entirely Mavarri, except he doesn’t crave blood.
Noah’s still not sure if Tobias has venom or not and, if so, what it will be like.
He has fangs, but doesn’t have claws, and he’s as fast as a Mavarri.
He doesn’t shift in size with hunger. But he can hear, see, and smell better than most humans.
He loves playing with his new uncle and aunt, and was so excited to learn there are others who can do things like him.
And he adores Shemaiah. Listening to them talk and giggle together makes my heart expand and my lady parts ache.
“Cocoon, daddy,” Tobias says against Shemaiah’s neck.
Shemaiah sucks in a quiet, shaky breath that’s as loud as the thump of my hearts.
We explained to Tobias that the three of us are a family now, and Shemaiah rushed all the paperwork to legally adopt my son, but we’ve never asked him to call Shemaiah daddy.
He’s been Maiah to Toby these past few weeks—or, more accurately, a stuttered three-year-old version of the nickname. Until tonight.
Shemaiah’s eyes meet mine, full of unshed tears, and I know he feels the same joy I do.
Anna’s footsteps sound behind me, each sense telling me it’s her without me needing to look. “Is he ready?” she quietly asks.
“Miss Anna!” Toby calls, not missing anything.
“Hold on, sweet thing.” I enter the room fully and cross to the bed. “You owe your mama a kiss before bed.” I give my son a long cuddle while Anna waits patiently by the door.
All the women with Vastatio were moved temporarily to the Roan Estate to be treated by Noah.
Once he realized they were only sick because they were being injected with poisonous blood, he was able to completely reverse the effects.
Everyone made a full recovery. The Roans helped them find jobs and return to New Essik if that’s what they wanted.
Many of them have opted to take employment at the estate instead, like Anna.
I didn’t want to leave Tobias even at night, and the lack of sleep was taking a toll on all of us, until Anna insisted we hire her as a nursemaid.
With her training, it made perfect sense.
She and my son bonded quickly. They’re an odd pair, but I think they’ve been good for each other.
Anna exudes the strength and safety that Tobias craves, and Toby is slowly chipping away at her cynicism. It’s beautiful to see.
It’s still hard to leave Toby, though. I have to remind myself that both Dr. Reter and Dr. Witten are dead.
So is Mrs. Darning. The rest of the cult has been arrested, and a formal investigation is underway.
Noah made sure the police didn’t believe the cult members about the Roans being Mavarri, only that they were misled and were trying to create some kind of superior human.
Shemaiah’s family is all back on the island, safe and sound and ready to protect my son, who has suddenly gained a slew of protective aunts and uncles.
“Go on. Get,” Anna says. “The boy needs sleep.”
I force myself to give Toby one last kiss and let Shemaiah lead me from the room. After closing the door, we stand in the small alcove in the hall listening to our son’s breathing slowly even out.
“Thank you,” Shemaiah whispers, wrapping his arms around me.
“For what?”
“For loving me. For marrying me. For giving me a family… a son.” His voice breaks a little. “Just thank you.”
I smile up at him, overcome with too much emotion to speak. Four years ago when I ran from New Caldon to New Essik, rejected, pregnant, and alone, I never would have suspected that life would offer me my greatest gifts in the aftermath.
“Come to bed, wife,” Shemaiah whispers into my ear as he kisses my cheek, then the delicate skin behind my ear. “Let me take care of you.”
Shemaiah’s been amazing, making sure I eat, helping with Tobias, even getting up with him in the middle of the night when he’s had a nightmare Anna couldn’t calm.
He’s so patient. We haven’t been intimate since I transformed, since trying to settle into this new life.
Every night we crawl into bed exhausted, but happy and together.
He hasn’t pushed me. Not that I haven’t wanted him.
I’ve longed for his touch like a drug, but my mind has been elsewhere, and I’ve rarely been without Tobias until a few days ago when Anna started taking over.
“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggest.
“A walk? It’s past midnight.”
“I want some… privacy.” I smirk at him in a way that I hope communicates my intent. “If we stay here, I know I’ll be distracted and worry about Tobias waking up and interrupting. He’s safe, and I need to start trusting Anna and your siblings to keep him that way.”
He kisses my cheek, lingering as he pulls me toward him. “It’s natural that you’d worry, but you’re right. There’s a house full of people who want nothing more than to spoil and protect our boy.”
Our boy.
I still can’t get used to how good that sounds.
The smile I give him is genuine as some of the tension leaves my shoulders.
I never would have let myself hope for this.
A home, a family, my boy tucked safe and sound in a bed surrounded by people who love him, my body healthy and stronger than it’s ever been, a man who loves me and wants to walk this world next to me, wants the world to know I’m his rather than hide me away like a secret. It’s heady and too good to be true.
But Shemaiah always reminds me of what’s true.
“What do you have in mind, wife?” His grip tightens around my hips.
“Race you to the garden.” I disengage from his touch and sprint through the hall, laughing.
Shemaiah’s footsteps are light behind me, but I can hear them perfectly.
I dart down the stairs, through the foyer, and out into the open air.
My husband is faster than I am, but he doesn’t overtake me until I’m rounding the corner of the house into the side garden.
This one is gated, but I hurdle it easily, with Shemaiah at my side.
We both laugh, and the second my feet are back on the ground, he scoops me into his arms and spins me around.
“I missed you,” I say as we slow to a stop.
“I’m right here.” He kisses my nose, then my forehead. “I’ll always be right here with you, Pippa. You’re my everything. You and Tobias are written across my heart. My day begins and ends with you. Forever.”
He kisses me as he lowers us to the soft grass.
Around us, jasmine climbs the fence, while a little pond mirrors the light of the two moons.
The fragrance is nearly as potent as my husband’s appeal.
He lays me out under the open sky and slowly undresses me, just like he did the first time we were together, discarding each garment one at a time, until there’s nothing left but skin touching skin, lips caressing, legs tangling.
“You’re my every breath,” he gasps as he sinks into me.
“Every beat of my heart. You’re in my blood and in my bones, a temptation I can’t give up.
You’ve re-written my very cells until they revolve around nothing but my love for you.
You’re my everything, Pippa.” He rocks his hips in a way that has me moaning low and loud.
“Now, sink your teeth into me, wife. Mark me. Make me yours.”
I’m shocked to realize I’ve never bitten him before.
Ruby has talked about how desperately she craved blood after the transformation, but I’ve been so distracted, so used to starving myself, that the craving was second to everything else.
But now, with nothing but Shemaiah and the stars, the need to taste him overwhelms me. All-encompassing. Aggressive.
I’m starved for him.
I lean up on my elbows and sink my fangs into his beautiful pectoral.
His blood is like the sweetest wine, heady and intoxicating.
He groans as my venom releases, flooding his bloodstream.
The desire to laugh happily overtakes me.
Power and strength flood my body. I know exactly the effect my venom is having on him as he writhes over me and grinds against me. I did that to him. Me.
I giggle into his chest, lapping at the wound I made.
“Fuuuuck, that’s good.” Shemaiah licks my neck, then nips at my ear. “Need to taste you, wife.”
Taking his face in my hands, I meet his gaze with all the seriousness I can muster. “Bite me.”
“With pleasure.” He runs his tongue sensually across my skin, savoring my breast with proprietary claim before sinking his teeth into the same place I bit him. Bliss courses through me, setting my veins on fire and wringing a moan from my throat.
He draws back as quickly as I did, making me think he wants our heads clear to experience this.
“I’m going to ruin you now, wife.” He pushes up, resting one hand on my belly while keeping most of his weight pressed into the other hand on the ground beside my head. “I’m going to fill you with my cum, and my venom, and my blood until I’m as much a part of you as you are of me.”
“You already are.” I tilt my pelvis, pressing him deeper into me, grinding my clit against his lower abs. “You make me want for nothing. I’m yours.”
“Fuck, Pippa.” Shemaiah’s euphoric sounds slide through me. “I love you so damn much.” He thrusts, slow and steady, in and out. The slide of his body into mine is kismet, fated perfection. His movement intensifies, driving us toward breaking. Together.
“I… love… you, Shemaiah,” I pant, mewling at the sensations careening through me, expanding like the sky above.
And there, under the stars, I acknowledge who he is to me. My friend. My lover. My husband. My everything.
I once thought hope was dangerous, but Shemaiah has proven that hope is worth the fight. Hope is a light, shedding warmth into the dark places inside of us and guiding us home. Shemaiah is everything I could have ever hoped for.
I’m home.