14
Raja
We left Skrofa clan midmorning. Chief Sotu waved us goodbye as Lorenzo transformed into his dragon and took to the sky. Pardus clan wasn’t very far by flight, and anxiety knotted my stomach.
Ididwant to come clean. The truth had to come out. I just didn’t want all of the turmoil and feelings and possible smacking that came with it.
My hands rested on my stomach. At only a couple weeks into my pregnancy, there was no physical change to my body yet, but Iknewmy baby was growing. Would my parents be okay with the baby’s existence, even though I was about to reveal that the wedding was fake? I sorely hoped so. I couldn’t bear to think about them rejecting my child.
“Hey, Lorenzo,” I said suddenly.
“Yes, Raja.”
“What are we going to do if my parents react badly to the baby?”
Lorenzo calmly continued flying. “Then we’ll leave.”
“And go where?”
“We can return to my home, Cinderhollow tribe.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. You never told me more about your tribe. What’s it like there?” I paused. “I mean, not that Iwantthis interaction with my parents to go badly and run away there.”
Lorenzo chuckled. “It’s a nice place. It’s mainly home to dragons, but many other types of shifters live there as well. My brother Dante’s mate is a wolf shifter who ran away from his old pack. We’re quite accepting there.”
“It does sound nice,” I said. “I’d like to visit it someday.”
Lorenzo smiled over his shoulder.
We approached the familiar rainforest of my village and Lorenzo began to descend. My heart leapt into my throat and cold sweat dripped down my skin. Would this really go as planned?
Many people were already waiting for us as we landed. I recognized my cousin, alongside my friends Zumi and Bodi. Lorenzo shifted to human form while Koto ran up to us and gave me a hug. “Hey, you’re back! How was the honeymoon?” He winked and nudged me.
“It was great,” I said. “Um, do you know where my mom and dad are?”
“Sure.” Suddenly Koto gasped. In an increasingly excited voice, he said, “Why? Do you have to tell them something? Did something happen?”
“Give him some space to breath, geez,” Zumi said as she shoved Koto out of the way. She narrowed her eyes curiously at me. “Although… You do seem a bit different. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ve done a lot of personal growth.”
“Yeah, right,” Bodi said with a laugh. “You were on yourhoneymoon.I bet the only thing you did a lot of was - “
Zumi and Koto both shoved Bodi to make him shut up as my parents approached. My mother ran and grabbed me in a huge hug.
“You’re back! Did you have fun? Were the waves big? Were there too many tourists?” she asked without even giving me a break to answer and while crushing me.
“Yes, yes, no,” I squeaked.
She let me go and immediately started fiddling with my hair. “The sun and sea did you good. Lorenzo, too. I hope it was nice.”
“Absolutely, we had a fantastic time,” Lorenzo replied to her with a smile.
“Great!” my mother cried. Suddenly she paused, as if a strong smell wafted towards her. She held me by the shoulders and asked, “Raja, your scent is slightly different.”
I didn’t know if it was the pregnancy or the smell of boar still on me, but I didn’t want to tell her about the baby right here in the middle of the village. “Oh, it’s probably because Lorenzo and I were just at Skrofa clan.”
My father, who had joined us, asked, “Why were you there?”
