by Amy DeMeritt
“What do you mean?”
“We inseminated her a little over five weeks ago. The original plan was for her and Madison to get pregnant together.”
Jess, gasps, saying, “Both of them, at once?”
Jaime laughs, saying, “Yeah, they spent almost a year debating if they really wanted to do that. They decided they don’t want to risk going into the labor at the same time. Madison is going to focus on starting her career for now.”
“That’s a much better plan. Damn, you guys are going to have a lot of kids.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be great.”
Jess and Allie look at me with amused smiles and Allie loops her arm in mine, pulling me in close to her, saying, “I think it’s great. Oh, is that Eerin? Can I hold her?”
Madison nods and hands Eerin over to Allie to hold.
“Hello, Kayla.”
I turn and smile really big. “Sparrow.” I throw my arms around her, and she gives me a tight hug and kisses my forehead. “I’ve missed you.”
“I have missed you as well, young wolf. How are you doing?”
“Really good. I still have my moments, but I’m doing better. How are you? Who will be presiding over the blessing with you today?”
“Today is a very special day for our tribe and all indigenous people, so I am wonderful. Mother Crow and Tom Milligan will be assisting with the blessing today.”
“That’s great. You’re coming back to the house for the feast afterwards, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be there.”
“Hello, Paytah.”
I spin around and laugh in my excitement as I leap into Yolanda’s arms. She laughs as I pick her up and spin her around. As I set her down, I firmly kiss her on her lips, and she releases another happy laugh. I pull her in tightly and rest my head on her shoulder.
“Oh, I missed you dearly, Kayla.”
“I missed you too. How long will you be here?”
“A week.”
“That’s great. We should…” I stumble forward as someone latches onto my leg and starts climbing me. I look down and laugh hard. “Hello, Ruby.”
I scoop up Yolanda’s youngest granddaughter in my arms and she gives me a firm kiss on my lips.
“Hi, Wolf. Did you miss me? I missed you? Where is Aura?”
“Yes, I missed you. Aura is at the house. You can see her when you come back for the big feast.”
“Pony?”
I laugh a little and shake my head. “No, Gingersnap had to stay behind.”
It’s amazing how many people came to this. With Ruby on my hip, I look around the construction site at everyone here and still arriving. There’s a lot of family, friends, officials from the reservation, all of my wives’ families, the whole dance squad, some state politicians, and there are even two TV stations and a handful of newspaper reporters here to cover the event. As I’m turning back to look at the growing parking lot, my jaw drops – Giz Anderson, Julia Milner, Kelly Ritz, and Bethany Snider are here.
I give Ruby a kiss on the cheek and set her down so I can greet our friends who came all the way from California. Julia runs her fingers through my hair with a beautiful smile and presses her lips against mine for a few moments.
“Hello, fictional wife. Are you surprised to see me?”
“Yes. Thank you for coming. You look amazing. I love this dress. Do you have a change of clothes with you?”
Julia laughs and playfully smacks my cheek. “Are you going to tell me I’m not appropriately dressed again?”
“No, you’re dressed perfectly for this occasion, but you’ll probably want to wear something less fancy and more comfortable for the feast afterwards.”
“Yes, I have clothes with me. I’ll be here for a few days so you can show me around your beautiful reservation.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome.”
“Kayla, we’re ready to start.”
All of us end our side conversations and follow Sparrow to the location that has already been cleared of trees and mostly leveled out. We meet the construction crew then Sparrow, Mother Crow, and Tom Milligan start their blessings of the worksite, Hayley and Sorina, and the construction crew.
It’s a beautiful ceremony to encourage positive energy, progress, and honor to the project. After they’ve finished the blessing, our chief gets up on a small podium and gives a moving speech about the cultural center and what it means to all Native peoples.
“Kayla Johann. Come say a few words.”
My jaw drops and all of my wives’ giggle as they push me forward. I nervously rub the back of my neck and stand up on the podium with our chief.
“I, uh, wasn’t expecting to have to say anything.” I look around at the huge crowd and my chest swells with pride and happiness. “I also wasn’t expecting so many people to be here for this.”
I look around again, and as my eyes meet Yolanda’s, I smile really big and skip over to her to pull her up to the podium with me. She wraps an arm around my waist and looks out at the huge crowd with a loving proud smile.
“For anyone who doesn’t already know her, this is Yolanda Hunter. She’s an elder from the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota and is Sioux, Lakota, and African American. I had the great honor of working with her on the film, ‘I am Paytah’. It was while I was working on that film that the dream to build this cultural center was born. While working on the movie, I had the opportunity to meet so many amazing men, women, and children from other tribes and learn more about their unique histories, beliefs, and modern-day struggles.
“Growing up, my parents always taught my siblings and me everything possible about our Cherokee heritage, but they also taught us about the other tribes. I had thought I had a good understanding of the other tribes, but coming face to face with them, I realized I still had so much to learn. I also realized that although I have always tried to stay close to my Cherokee roots and participate in our culture, I wasn’t doing enough to be a part of the indigenous community on a grander scale.
“There’s an indescribable feeling I get when we’re having a big family gathering or pow wow with a bonfire, good food and music, and our traditional Native dancing. There is no other time that I get this particular feeing. It’s intense and amazing and makes me feel extremely connected to my family and our history. When I was filming that movie, I experienced that feeling. I experienced home and family.
“So, that is why we are here today. We’re not just Cherokee, Sioux, Lakota, Navajo, Apache, Choctaw, Cree, Chickasaw, Nanticoke, Crow, Ojibwa, Muskogee, and the rest of the over five-hundred tribes. We are the native people of the Americas. We are the family that first made this continent our home. And as a family, we will continue to grow and do what we can to protect our home. To do that we have to know where we came from. We have to know our past to have a future. This cultural center is just one way to help ensure our past is never forgotten, so our people and our ways of life never disappear.
“When we plant a tree, it goes through many changes of growth. But an oak tree is an oak tree from seed, to seedling, to sapling, even till it’s over a hundred years old and towering over our buildings. Our heritage is the same. As times change and we learn to adjust to them, our appearance may change. Instead of living in tipis or mud and log huts, we live in modern houses. We wear modern fabrics, drive cars, and partake in all of the great conveniences of this modern world. But what will never change is our responsibility to our roots and the land we sprang from. I’m hoping that the cultural center will help generations to come, both our Native children and our allies we share this continent with, to understand how to feed our roots in this modern world. Because without roots, nothing can survive for very long.
“I really want to thank my parents and the elders who have inspired me every day of my life and gave me such a strong foundation of love, respect, and honor. I want to thank Hayley for designing such a beautiful structure to house the dreams and histories of our people and the massive amount of work it took to
get us to this point and that she’ll continue to put into it. Thank you to Sorina for being Hayley’s right hand and helping to make this happen. I want to thank everyone who has helped to make this dream a reality with their support and financial contributions. I want to thank all of the men and women who are about to put hours of labor into constructing the cultural center. And I need to thank my wives for always being so incredible and supportive in every dream I have. We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them helping me to figure out how to share my itch I had to commemorate the amazing interconnectivity of the different tribes. Thank you all for coming.”
Everyone claps and my chief and Yolanda give me a hug and kiss on the cheek. Yolanda caresses my cheek with a loving smile and tears in her eyes.
“I love you, Kayla. I’m so very proud of you and I am honored to have you in my family and leading our people.”
She gives me a kiss on my lips and she pulls me into a tight hug. I rest my hand on the back of her neck, under her long course gray braid laying over her back, and wrap my other arm tightly around her strong slender frame. I feel like I’m going to burst. The amount of happiness and pride I have right now is enormous. I have so much love and respect for Yolanda and to receive those in return from her is priceless.
“I love you so much. I wish I had words to describe how happy and blessed I feel to have you in my life.”
“Me as well.”
Our chief pats my back, as if to tell me to end my embrace, then motions to the rest of my wives to join us. Yolanda gives me a loving smile and walks back to the sidelines to stand with my family. Hayley and Sorina join us, and each of us is given a shovel to pose for some pictures. We push the shovels into the earth and hold the pose.
After the “ground breaking” moment is over, Hayley and Sorina give my wives and me a tight hug. As Hayley is releasing me, Awenasa grabs the sides of my face and pulls me into a kiss. She brushes her hands through my hair, then wraps her arms around the back of my neck, pressing in hard against my body. Her kiss is making my head fuzzy and arousal to flare up inside my core. She pushes her energy into me and I release a small gasping moan, making her smile against my parted mouth. As she pulls back, she stares in my eyes with her gorgeous bright green eyes with her lips barely touching mine.
“I love you, puppy.”
“I love you too. So, are we done here? Are we going back to the house now?”
Awenasa giggles and kisses my lips. “Yes, we can go celebrate now.”
“Oh, wait, where are the babies?”
I spin around looking for who’s holding our babies. My mom, Sequoia, Jess, and Sara walk over with them in their arm.
“Ok, babies, it’s time for you to help break the ground up. Hold this.” While my mom holds her, I put a shovel handle in Malana’s hands and push down on the shovel. “Good job, Malana. You are officially a part of the construction crew. Ok, Helaku, your turn.”
One by one, I help each of the babies push the shovel into the ground while the others hold them. Then I give each of the babies a kiss.
“That was fun. Ok, we can go celebrate now.”
Chapter Fifteen
The party is in full swing with people standing around talking, people dancing, and children running around wild. The hot summer air is fragrant with burning wood from the roaring bonfire in the center of the lawn and the delicious smells coming from the three woodfire grills cooking an assortment of meats and vegetables seasoned with aromatic spices and herbs.
As I’m bending over to grab a bottle of water out of a cooler, a hand smacks my ass. I look up expecting to see one of my wives, but it’s Kelly, my martial arts master.
“Hey, having fun?”
Kelly holds her hand out, so I hand her a bottle before I stand upright.
“I’m having a blast. I’m glad I accepted your wives’ invitation.” She takes a few gulps of water as she looks around the yard. “You have an awesome family. This party reminds me of my own family reunions we have once a year in Louisiana. Those are good times. Have you ever had alligator?”
“Once, but I don’t think the restaurant knew how to prepare it because it was very tough and didn’t have any flavor.”
“Alligator is a firm meat, so it’s pretty easy to screw it up. The taste is kind of a cross between chicken and fish. It’s delicious, if it’s done right. Maybe I can return the hospitality and have all of you come to my next family’s reunion. You missed this year’s though.”
“How are you going to get me craving some good alligator and tell me I have to wait a year?”
Kelly laughs and takes another sip of water. “I could cook for you. Next time you’re in California, bring the family and come over to my place and I’ll make you a real Louisiana homecooked meal.”
“Awesome. I can’t wait.”
“You’ll be back to California in August, right?”
“Yeah, the very end of August. It’s going to be a very hectic couple of months, but I should be able to fit at least one training session in each week with you.”
“Only once a week isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll have a plan ready so we get the most out of the time you’re able to put into it while you’re there.”
“Hey.” Bethany bumps her hip into mine then rests an arm on my shoulder as she takes a sip of a bottle of beer. “I heard from a good source that you’re going to be doing a special dance with your wolf.”
“That was supposed to be a surprise. Who told you?”
She winks with a grin as she takes another sip of beer. “Your wives. So, when is this surprise spectacle taking place?”
“Whenever I feel like it.”
“Oh, look at that, you’re feeling like it.” She smacks my ass hard and tilts her beer bottle towards the dance ring, saying, “Go on. Let’s get this show started.”
I laugh and playfully shove her shoulder. “You’re so bossy.” I drink the rest of my water, then toss the bottle in a recycling can. “Ok, I’ll go get ready.”
I whistle for Aura and she comes sprinting over to me with an adorable grin on her face. I bend down to grab her face and kiss her between the eyes.
“Our secret has been betrayed and the guests are getting restless for us to perform. Are you ready to dance with me?” Aura releases a single bark and her tail starts wagging like she understood me and is very excited. “Awesome, let’s go.”
As we walk by Bethany and Kelly, I stick my tongue out at Bethany because of the smug grin on her face. I lead Aura to the bedroom and grab my suitcase with our regalia. As I’m pulling Aura’s collar and ankle cuffs out, Awenasa walks into the bedroom and closes and locks the door behind her.
With an alluring twinkle in her eyes and a breathiness in her voice, she asks, “Do you need help getting ready?”
I set Aura’s regalia down and take Awenasa’s hands, pulling her in flush against me, and as our lips meet, I whisper, “I would love your help.”
She parts her lips and slips her tongue along mine as she starts walking us backwards. The backs of my legs hit the bed, so I lift Awenasa as I spin and set her on the bed. Without losing momentum with our kiss, she shuffles backwards and I climb up with her. When I’m straddling her hips, she breaks the kiss to sit up and pulls my tank top off, then I pull hers off, quickly followed by her bra.
As I latch onto one of her nipples, she releases a groan of pleasure and rips my button apart and my zipper down on my shorts. I reach down to help her push them down and kick my legs around to get them off. While she slips her hands under my boy-short underwear and starts squeezing and massaging my ass, I continue to lavish her breasts and abs while I unbutton her shorts.
Awenasa grabs my head, pulling me off of her breast, and between panting breaths, she says, “I love you, Kayla. When you gave your speech today, I felt my grandmother’s presence. She was so proud of you. I am so proud of you. I know you have always felt disconnected because you didn’t grow up on the reservation, but no matter what any
one says, you are a leader of our people. You proved it today, not just in constructing the cultural center, but also in your words. You spoke with passion and strength. You spoke with the wisdom of our ancestors. The energy that was pouring off of you was intoxicating. You moved our people today. Now, I want you to move with me.”
She slips her hand between my thighs under the waist of my underwear, and as she pinches my clit between the sides of her fingers, I release a gasping moan and slightly fall forward. She runs her other hand up my back to my head and pulls me down into a passionate kiss. I slip my hand in her underwear and we rock and thrust our hips against each other while we remain locked in a mind-numbing kiss.
As Awenasa begins to climax, she bites down on my shoulder to suppress her moan. I feel her break my skin and gasp, then I face plant in the pillow to muffle my scream of pleasure as my orgasm bursts. Trembling and gasping for air, we pull our hands out of each other and Awenasa wraps her arms around me.
I kiss the side of her neck, and whisper in her ear, “I love you. Can we stay like this for the rest of the day?”
“I love you too, puppy. As tempting as that is, we need to get back to the feast. I’m looking forward to watching you and Aura dance.”
“Oh, shit, Aura.”
I sit up on my knees and look over the side of the bed to see Aura laying on her stomach with a paw covering her eyes. I laugh hard and Awenasa sits up to look at our beautiful white wolf trying so hard to be patient and give us privacy even though we locked her in the room with us.
“Aura, come up here, sweetie.”
Aura looks up at the sound of Awenasa’s sweet voice then jumps up onto the bed in one leap. Aura is so massive that on my knees, her face is right in line with mine and her head is bigger than mine. I rub her head and kiss her between the eyes before Awenasa also does the same.
“Thank you for letting me borrow Kayla. Now, let’s get you both ready to dance.” She kisses Aura again, then pats my ass. “Get up, puppy. Put on your regalia, then I’ll do your hair and makeup.”
