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Iain rolled over and lay flat on his back staring at her face, trying to read the expression behind her eyes. He nodded. What if she turns me down? What if she isn’t ready yet to take this step?
“Okay. Let’s just go through this all again. You can bite me without turning me into a werewolf. You’ve bitten Kade and nothing’s ever happened to him. Right?”
“Yes.” Kade spoke at the same time as him. Iain was going to add more, but it was obvious Mermae was still thinking, so he waited for her to finish.
“The commitment is binding. Once we commit, it’s for life. Except that you’re going to live a hell of a lot longer than Kade and me. Does this mean even after we die you can never commit to another two people?”
“Yes, it does. But I’ve been told in committed triads that include non-wolves, the humans tend to live quite a lot longer than regular humans. As you know, I’ve never lived in a pack. We were lone wolves. My three parents and twin brother were killed by hunters when I was a teenager and when I looked for a pack, they were all one male/one female packs, and much bigger than me and...” Once again he couldn’t finish what he wanted to say. This was not the time to pull the pity card. Mermae had to decide for herself, not because of anything he said, but because she wanted to commit to him and Kade.
Iain flicked his gaze to Kade, who was smiling and nodding at him. Kade was okay with the commitment thing, Iain felt sure of that. But how would Kade feel about moving out somewhere they could be private?
Just because Kade hated his job didn’t mean he had a sudden urge to live on a farm. And there was no guarantee Mermae would like that idea either.
Iain’s stomach was a roiling mass of worry. Deliberately, he took a deep breath and pulled his thoughts back into line. The first step was for Mermae to want to bond with him and Kade. If she wasn’t ready for that step, everything else was still on the backburner.
“What happens when I’m old and gray, a doddering old lady who needs a walking frame to get around, and you’re still young and fit?” asked Mermae.
“I’ll tell everyone you and Kade are my grandparents, and I’ll look after you both, just as I would if I’d ever had grandparents. I love you, Mermae. I love you and Kade so much it almost hurts. I’d never neglect you because your metabolism or genetics or whatever it is, differs from mine.”
“When was the last time you really looked at yourself in the mirror, Mermae? You’re thirty and look maybe twenty-three or four. When Iain said about supernaturals aging more slowly, it got me thinking. I don’t look thirty-five. It’s not just that I have no gray hairs and no signs of baldness, it’s in the skin as well. Neither you nor I have any laugh lines by our eyes, and I’m betting you haven’t had any Botox injections. I certainly haven’t. Yeah, sure, if we live long enough, it’ll be wrinkles and walking with canes, but I reckon we’ll have a longer time together than humans without supernatural blood running in their veins do,” said Kade.
Iain smiled. “I’d never actually put it into words but yes, you both do look younger than you should. And I’m serious. I’d never stop caring for you just because my lifespan may turn out to be longer than yours.”
“But that’s just given us another problem to deal with. We’re going to have to keep moving so people don’t notice we aren’t aging as fast as them. I mean, we’d have to do that anyway for you, Iain, but if it’s all three of us, it’ll mean we’re three times more likely to get noticed so will have to be triply careful,” said Mermae.
“I’ve never stayed anywhere longer than about ten years anyway, but I’ve thought a bit about that,” said Iain, wondering if this was the right time to mention Nelson and Dwyer or if it would be just way too much information for Mermae. Once again Iain flicked his gaze from Mermae to Kade and back to Mermae.
“I guess that’s why your family ended up as lone wolves, Iain. I wouldn’t mind being away from the crowds, but I think I’d need to talk to other people from time to time. It’d be really hard to know who would become a friend and who would end up thinking you were some kind of circus freak, though. That’s why I’d never told anyone about myself until you two came knocking on my door.” Mermae looked pensive.
Iain decided he would speak. Reaching deep inside himself for courage, he said, “Can you remember once I mentioned two other werewolves, Dwyer and Nelson?”
Mermae scrunched up her nose as she thought and Iain’s cock hardened. She was so cute when she did that.
“That’s right. Dwyer is a very old, natural-born werewolf but Nelson is his partner whom he turned. They live out on a farm or something?”
“Yep. They moved away from the city to be free to run, and also to make it less obvious they weren’t aging. Nelson still does some work by telecommuting, but mostly they grow specialist crops in greenhouses. Out of season stuff that brings a big profit. Of course, the greenhouses are expensive to set up, but once they’re established, the basis of the business will last for many years,” said Iain.
“And you think we could do something like that. Move away from the city, buy a small farm, set up a greenhouse or whatever, and develop some sustainable crop or project. But first, one or more of us would need to study agriculture which would take, what, four years? I guess we could be studying while we’re looking for land, then buying it, then getting it all set up.” Mermae sounded a bit hesitant.
“Do you think you’d get used to living out of the city, Mermae?” asked Kade.
“Oh yes, because we’d be talking to growers and buyers, and running a business. I could deal with the paperwork for that. One business is much like any other. I wouldn’t even mind learning about how to grow plants. I’ve always wished I could have a nice garden. I’m not sure I’d want to spend four years at school though. I know I don’t look thirty, but I don’t look eighteen either.”
“I wouldn’t mind going back to school and learning all about agriculture, but we could all do some kind of short course first, just to get an idea of the needs and requirements, before we actually bought a place. I also thought we could talk to Dwyer and Nelson. Pick their brains for ideas as it were...” Iain let his thoughts sit there to see what Kade and Mermae made of them.
“There’s a man I’ve met through work a few times. His name’s Kalman. He works at the Botanic Gardens. Maybe we could talk to him to get some ideas too,” suggested Kade.
Iain felt a load lift off his chest. He hadn’t even been aware of it sitting there, weighing him down, until it was gone. “Does this mean you’re prepared to commit? That we can do that? Because Halloween is coming soon.”
“Yes, I’m ready to commit to you both. I see some problems ahead, but together we can overcome them. You mentioned Halloween before and never really explained about it. You want to fuck, run, and fuck again you said. Is that all?” asked Mermae.
“Not quite.” Iain fidgeted on the bed. Then said, “The second fucking is outside under the stars. And we all bite each other.”
“Oh, kinky. I like it,” said Kade.
But Iain was watching Mermae. She grinned, nodded then said, “Yes, all right. I agree. When you say run, do we run as humans, and you as a wolf?”
“The running is supposed to be in our wolf forms. I was thinking, just to be really sure, maybe you should run with me, then you should fly as I run, like we often do. Just to make sure all the bases are covered.”
