“Just make sure to keep those claws sheathed, okay?” he mumbled.
She let out a mewling noise.
Meanwhile, Noah had stumbled over to Raja’s leg and was tugging on his jeans. “Chalotte pway.”
Raja smiled and placed Charlotte carefully on the floor. Immediately she and Noah squared off, giggling without a care in the world. Noah shifted into his black wolf form with ease and yipped at her. Frowning, Charlotte sat back on her bum and watched him. Then, with as much intense concentration as she could muster, she focused her energy and grunted with effort. A moment later, the human baby girl sitting on the floor was replaced by a black panther cub.
“Holy shit!” Dante cried.
“Wow, Raja, she looks just like you!” Lorenzo said with a huge smile.
“No,” I said, grinning, “she’s much cuter.”
Charlotte let out a tiny, scratchy yowl as she pounced on Noah, who yelped as they bowled over. They playfully batted one another with their fat paws.
Gabriel sighed as he watched the scene and ran a hand over his slightly swollen belly. “Soon there’s gonna be three of these gremlins running around.”
“I give up babysitting at this point,” Dante muttered with a grin. “I think we should just hand them all over to Ryu, since he’s apparently baby crazy now.”
“Good idea,” Lorenzo agreed. “And you know, judging by his reaction after Raja’s delivery, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the next one of our friend group to have a baby…”
* * *
Kali’s eyesglistened with bittersweet tears. She couldn’t stop hugging Raja and Charlotte, alternating between the two of them. Eka and Koto, who had already gotten all their hugs out, waited patiently for her to finish - which was never going to happen.
“Mom, I think everyone else wants to go already,” Raja mumbled to Kali.
“Oh, hush,” she muttered. “I won’t see you again for months. Just let me have this now.”
Raja sighed quietly but said nothing, stroking his mother’s back gently.
In the end, Raja decided to stay in Cinderhollow. But since both of us wanted Charlotte to grow up with Raja’s culture and his side of the family as well, we arranged a schedule: we would live in Cinderhollow for eight months of the year, and spend the other four with Pardus clan. It was a happy compromise.
“I’m going to miss this face,” Kali said. She sighed as she nuzzled Charlotte again, who mewled and pushed her fingers into her grandmother’s face.
Eka chuckled. “I hope she doesn’t turn out to be as much trouble as you did, Raja.”
“Please,” Koto said, grinning, “she’s probably gonna be evenmoretrouble. Lorenzo, I hope you’re prepared for two panthers running your life.”
“Oh, I’m more than ready,” I said cheekily.
Eka and Kali gave Raja their final goodbye kiss, then Koto engaged Raja in a rough but affectionate hug. When the goodbyes were finally finished, Ryu and Dante shifted into their dragon forms to make the journey to the airport. Raja, Charlotte and I waved goodbye and watched as the two dragons - one western, and one eastern - took to the skies.
Raja sniffled.
“Are you crying?” I asked gently. Tears lined his eyes. I reached over and wiped them carefully.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I wasn’t before, but now that they’re gone…”
I put my arm around his shoulder, holding him close. “It’s okay. It’s normal to miss your family, especially when you say goodbye for a while. We’ll see them again soon.”
“I know,” he said, sighing. He wiped his face and pulled himself together. “It’s kinda funny how all I wanted was to get away from them and now I miss them.”
We watched the brilliant sunset-orange sky for a few minutes longer, then headed inside. Charlotte was fast asleep from her earlier play date with Noah, which was always a relief for us as new parents. Raja placed her carefully in her crib, then slipped into bed with me.
Wordlessly, we came together. Ever since our mutual claiming bite, our bodies and spirits were constantly drawn together as if magnetized. Even if we sat in silence, the mere presence of our fated mate was enough to put our souls at peaceful ease.
Raja gently bumped his forehead against mine. His golden eyes glinted in the darkness like fire fragments. Black and gold, silver and purple. Curled together, we were two parts of the same whole.
