by Laura Fang
When we got back to Cecelia’s place, we immediately crashed in bed, stripping our clothes off and snuggling under the covers. It was good to be alone together and comfortable after all the socializing we had had to do. Neither of us felt like sleeping.
“Have you thought about where you want to go on our honeymoon?” asked Cecelia.
“It might be nice to go somewhere tropical in such a cold season,” I said contemplatively. “I know Hawaii is cliché, but I mean, there’s a reason people go there so often.”
“I’ve never even been there. It could be fun,” said Cecelia.
“Great. We’ll look for tickets later,” I said. “When I actually have to get up and face the day.”
We sat there in silence a while longer. Cecelia wrapped herself around me, enveloping my body in hers. I could hear her heart beating, loud and calming to my ears. It was like the tick-tock of a clock, something to break up the silence.
This would be the perfect time to have sex, I thought. We hadn’t yet consummated our marriage. I wondered what she was thinking. I turned and looked at her. Her eyes were wide and bright blue. “Hmm?” she said.
“Oh, nothing.” I turned away. Acting on an impulse, I reached down and grabbed her breasts, kneading and thumbing her nipple.
“So that’s what you had in mind,” said Cecelia. “I see how it is.”
She shifted her body so that she was facing me, then started kissing me. I was surprised for a moment and she penetrated my mouth, pressing her tongue against mine, then naturally pulling away.
“We have the rest of our lives to enjoy each other,” she said in a honeyed voice, ragged with arousal.
“How many sexy nights and mornings is that?” I asked. She chuckled and reached in front to pinch my nipple, causing me to squeal.
We came several times, lost in each other.
“That was amazing,” she said.
“Well, you have a whole lifetime of this to look forward to.”
“You’re funny.”
I shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
She kissed me on the forehead tenderly. We stared at each other. I was so lost in the idea that she was mine now, and that we were going to be together forever. I’d never be alone again. I always had her on my side.
She squeezed me tightly. “I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to end up with you. Did you ever try to imagine who you were going to marry when you were a kid?”
“I didn’t, to be honest. I had a hard time imagining reaching that part of my life. I was too focused on the present.”
“Now, I’m focused on the present,” she said, “because the present is awesome.
“So it is.” I spontaneously buried my face in her neck and took a deep breath. Life was good.
Cecelia
I couldn’t believe I had been so nervous about the investors’ meeting. There had been no reason for me to be worried. They were all extremely enthusiastic about the growth of the Solace app. I was able to include some of the press pieces Tess had secured in the annual report, and they were impressed. Even national newspapers had picked up on the app. In fact, this had been the best year for growth thus far, with downloads in the millions in all the smartphone stores.
Needless to say, I had high hopes for the future. We had been able to hire Tess as a full time employee and she had worked harder than ever before. It was awesome that she was such a great part of the team. How want people could boast that they worked so well with their partners? We truly were a great team.
After we had taken some time to relax after the whole Fiona and family situation, we had decided to start a family. Because we both had good careers, and were so sure of our relationship, it had seemed like the right time. After a round of insemination, Tess’ belly started to grow.
Shifters had a significantly shorter gestation period than humans, as well as a shorter childhood. They developed a lot faster. So Tess wasn’t out of commission for too long and we could bring our little pup and his shifter nanny to his own room in the office. By the time a year rolled around, he would be ready to start preschool and would be out of everyone’s hair.
Liam was the cutest kid ever. I adored him. We both did. I couldn’t believe that the woman I loved and I had created another little person who was the light of our lives. He was clever and kind and learned incredibly fast. It was a challenge to challenge him. Thankfully, the nanny we had hired, Elaina, was more than competent, and was able to keep up with him even during his transformations.
Shifters weren’t born knowing how to control their transformations. As kids, they often found themselves shifting in and out of wolf form randomly. It was an adorable problem, and while it could be a nuisance while we were out and about with him, it was simple enough to carry an extra collar and leash and pretend that he was a puppy. The stages of development of his human form and wolf form were equivalent, so he was brownish and fluffy for a long time, like a real wolf pup. Only now, he was becoming recognizable as an actual wolf, with his black and gray fur growing in.
We made sure to get lots of pictures during this stage. Sometimes he would only partially transform, so he’d be a human toddler with a wolf tail or wolf ears sticking out. Or he’d have furry paws. My parents would often come to visit as well, sharing in our joy. And of course, we made frequent visits back to my pack so Liam could get to know his relatives.
We were looking forward to watching our little boy grow up. Already, he was showing a creative streak, no doubt the result of having two creative moms. He loved drawing and painting, and he was clever with technology, easily manipulating our phones and tablets. He had even started acquiring language at a fast pace, surprising us every day with new words he had learned.
In a weird twist of fate, Tess got offered a job with the City Paper again. Apparently Leo had been fired. We didn’t know the details and it had come as quite a shock. But Tess did some digging and found out that his relationship with Harvey, his boss, had gone sour. Of course, there was an official reason given, but Tess hadn’t been the least bit surprised.
The result of this was that Harvey had come crawling back to Tess, telling her that she had been one of the best writers, and with the opportunity to grow that Leo had taken from her, she would have easily worked her way up to being a senior writer. Tess had refused, because she was busy enough with Solace and Liam. But she did contribute the occasional movie or album review, glad to be able to write about her passions and continue her love of journalism.
All in all, life was wonderful. We were successful and we had both managed to fully escape the ghosts of our past. That wasn’t something people were always able to do, but thanks to our love and the strength of our relationship we had done it. And now we could embark on a new journey together, a new chapter of our life—one in which we faced the future as a team. I wouldn’t have given my new family up for anything.
About the Author
Laura Fang lives with her Husky in the mountains of the western United States. She’s always been fascinated by werewolf myths and can’t think of anything better to indulge in than stories about lady wolf shifters.
