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If we’re honest, she’ll have nothing to fear from us, and she might stay.
I grin at her. “You’ve got to wait until tonight.”
Maia is voracious when it comes to learning about our world, and rather than letting her huddle upstairs each night alone with Phoebe, we have a family night where we discuss everything she wants to know. Alex coaxed her downstairs one night with the promise of knowledge, and it’s become my favourite nightly routine.
“Mine, too,” Orion says. “I love when she gives me love whilst glaring at you.”
“We share a body, you fool.”
“And yet, she kisses me, and doesn’t kiss you.”
I clench my fists tighter on the wheel and don’t bother arguing back. I can’t.
Maia has given Orion a good few kisses, but I’ve never had the courage, and she’s never given it to me.
“Just tell me one thing,” she pleads, and it’s the excitement in her voice that makes me give in.
“Yeah? Or is it that you’re weak to the desires of your mate,” Orion says teasingly.
He’s such an antagonistic little prick.
“When a baby is born, they smell only like their mother,” I say, and Maia’s eyes widen as she turns to face me properly. “But around the four week mark, they start to smell like their father, too.”
“Whoa,” she murmurs before she gasps. Fear fills her eyes, and I immediately realise my mistake.
I hope my face doesn’t show my guilt. We’ll tell her properly tonight, and I’ll take all of the backlash.
“I mean it was your decision,” Orion says. “But that’s not how it works, human. We made a decision as a team, and we’ll face the repercussions as one, too.”
“She’s going to be upset, and Seb cannot take being pushed away,” I say quietly, and Orion agrees. Seb’s not the only one who will suffer, but between him and Ben… it’s better that I take the blame.
Maia brings her legs up onto the seat, doing her best to hunch up and make herself even smaller.
“It’s helpful,” I say, trying to reassure her without outwardly pointing out her fear. “Until Phoebe hits puberty, she’ll be marked by her bloodlines, and it’s an added protection whilst she’s vulnerable. It marks her as a wolf, as one of us.”
Literally, too. She’s a Wolfe through and through.
“But her family lines aren’t something we want to be acknowledged, so how is this something for us to see as a positive?” Her voice sounds so small, so broken, and it causes Orion to howl in my mind.
Her tears are his biggest weakness.
“She smells like her dad, sure... but she will also smell like me and my brothers once her wolf accepts our claim fully.” She already has, but that’s not something I want to get into with my very… reluctant mate.
“Is that a big moment for a dad?”
I nod, thinking about the excitement we all felt yesterday when her scent came through properly. Seb noticed it the day before, but we’re not as strong with scents as he is. The four of us take every single opportunity that we can to smell her now, wanting to continue developing that connection.
“It is.” My voice is husky, and I cough a little to clear my throat. “The mother carries the pup, she has the connection from the moment of conception, and there’s no doubt that the pup is hers. But for the dads, our first spiritual moment of connection is when the scent comes in and that tie is formed.”
“I don’t really understand how it works.”
“We’ll try to explain more as a group, you little sneak,” I say, winking at her. She groans, throwing her head back on the seat.
“You’re terrible,” she moans. “This is interesting.”
“And you tried to sneak extra information out of me. You’re the terrible one,” I tease, squeezing her thigh again. “Don’t worry about her smelling like her dad. It’s not going to be that big of a deal.”
“I hope not.” She falls quiet for a moment, and the drive is a lot more at ease now, rather than her being overwhelmed with her panic. “I still feel so out of depth with this world.”
