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“Gotcha! You thought I was scared! Do it again!” This time Yas growls and Ade squeals in delight. “Where did you learn to do that?”
Yas quickly glances at Lumi, who smiles and nods her head.
“I’m a polar bear shifter. So it’s kind of natural for me.”
"Wait you're a polar bear? That is so cool." Ade squeals in excitement then turns to her mom. "Mama. Do you think maybe I can shift into a polar bear?"
She looks at Lumi so full of excitement, I can see her mom doesn’t want to dull it.
"I'm not sure baby, I guess it's possible. All depends on what elements you’ll possess."
That gets my attention. I know Lumi briefly mentioned having control of air—a little like me I guess—but her lack of understanding about her daughter piques my curiosity.
“Won’t she have the same as you?” I ask lightly.
“We inherit our elements from both of our parents, so it’s a real mix. And just like human genetics, traits can skip a generation or so. Our family are mostly earth elemental shifters, so my air power was a massive shock to everyone, but when we did some digging into the family history, we had a few air shifters in there too.” Lumi smiles at me and speaks calmly, but I can sense a tension there too. I get the impression she’d like me to drop or not ask about Ade’s father. Which I won’t, of course. As curious as this bond makes me about my mate, the overwhelming urge is a desire to protect and please. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable or angry. Ever.
“What element would you like, Ade?” Yas asks.
“All of them!” she giggles.
“But if you could only pick one?” he pushes.
“I really want to be able to shift into a troll, so maybe earth? But, mermaids are super cool too, so water? Nope, I can’t do it! I can’t pick.” We laugh.
I suspect that if she was responsible for what happened on the ice—and I’m pretty sure that’s what Lumi was thinking too when she panicked and raced back here—that she’ll definitely have a water power. Which isn’t bad. Sure, it can be one of the most destructive elements in the world, but at least I’ll be around to help her harness her gift and learn to control it. Not that I think her mom couldn’t with her command of air, but many hands make light work, right?
It’ll be a hell of a lot safer than if she has a fire affinity. Although, if the storm tonight was linked to Ade’s nightmare, I might have to speak to her mom in private about the girl’s father. The last thing Silver Springs needs right now is another spate of mysterious fires.
The bell rings, and I know that the pizza is here already. Yas agrees to go and get it, and check on Peewee while he’s out there.
“Bring him up,” Lumi offers.
“Are you sure?” I check.
“There’s no squirrels, right? He’ll be a perfect gentleman,” she teases. Ade claps her hands in excitement, already completely smitten with the dog. That should help with my plan to get them to move in with us; Peewee can sleep on her bed in her new bedroom.
Peewee is a perfect gentleman while we eat our pizza, curling up beside Ade so that she can lean on him like a cushion. Peewee doesn’t usually warm to people so quickly, but it’s clear to see that the two of them have already formed a strong bond. It reinforces everything I’m feeling: that this bond is real; that Lumi and Ade are it for me; that I’ve finally found my forever family.
We chat and eat, laugh and get to know each other a little better. It’s a perfect night. Even if Quilo wolfs down more than his fair share of slices. Ade is funny and bright, and she takes no prisoners. I imagine Lumi was a lot like that when she was younger. I hope she’s still like that, though so far she’s been quite reserved. I hope once she gets used to the idea of the bond and of us being around, she’ll loosen up and let us in. I can tell she has a spark to her.
“Ade, baby, it’s bedtime.”
“What? Awww, nooo Mama!”
“Yes, you’ll be too tired for school tomorrow otherwise.”
“I’ll just take a nap in math class! That’s how you solve that problem.”
I grin. She’s really tenacious.
“I want one of the guys to put me to bed.”
“Ade—”
“It’s fine,” I say quickly, seizing the opportunity to put some safety measures in place. “I’d love to.”
“Honestly, you don’t have to,” Lumi protests.
