The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 11

"No, no... I should be fine. We need to go, I don't want to keep Karen-" Andrew's statement was again interrupted by a yawn that overtook him. His entire body felt weak, and despite his excitement at spending some time with his new mate, he had a hard time thinking of anything except bed.

"OK, that's it. Follow me," Sara's tone held no room for questions as she took Andrew by the hand, and dragged him to their room. Mere seconds after he had curled up under the covers, he was fast asleep.

The room was dark and his bed was warm, when Andrew woke beneath his sheets. His computer informed him that it was two A.M., and he realized that despite having slept for just a couple of hours, he felt well-rested. The larger surprise was that his body no longer ached, any fatigue he had fallen asleep with, seemingly cured by his nap.

He felt Sara stir in his arms before him, and kissed her shoulder while running his hand down her soft but firm belly. It took him a moment to realize how different her body felt, the muscles seeming less tight and more forgiving of his touch, and as he nuzzled against her, he realized the difference when his face brushed through long curly hair.

"Evening, sexy," Karen's soft and sultry voice greeted his ears, as she wiggled back against him, savoring the feeling of his hard dick pressing against her naked butt.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Andrew whispered back, feeling Sara stir behind him. Opening his eyes, he could see the dim silhouette of his dark-haired woman, as she pressed back against him.

Karen giggled, responding with equal care in the darkness of their room, "Sara came and got me. We talked for a while in the glade, but we both thought it would be nice to surprise you. I'm glad you're awake. I was finding it difficult to sleep with you behind me like this." She wiggled herself against him, eliciting a soft moan from Andrew as he pulled her back against him.

Andrew looked at the devices in his mind, seeing Karen's phone which he could tell was on the nightstand in front of him. Accessing the device, he saw that his thoughtful woman had set an alarm for five A.M. — well before any of them would need to be ready for school.

"Well, I love surprises, and so far, I must admit that this ranks right up there as one of the best."

He could hear her soft coo as she rested against him, happy to be in his arms.

"Did Sara enjoy my gift?"

Andrew struggled for a moment to piece together what she was talking about, and his quiet chuckle declared his realization. "Very much." His voice held a fondness and hope that made Karen smile, as she cupped his hand on her belly. She was not sure why, but the feeling of his hand drawing gentle circles on the sensitive skin of her lower abdomen felt wonderful.

"Does she know what you are doing to her?"

Andrew's hand froze and his eyes grew wide, as the shock of her statement hit him. He turned his head, and could hear Sara's breath still coming in a fast and steady rhythm, the speedy cadence of his amazing mate as she dreamt.

"What do you mean?"

Karen shook her head, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips as she whispered back, "How she has not noticed is beyond me, but you had to know that with my gifts, her changes would seem glaring. You both have changed so much this last week, but unlike you, Sara's body had not changed until sometime after I saw her on Saturday night." She chuckled, having spotted Sara's differences the moment they hugged earlier that night.

"Sara has alway been strong, but I have never seen her like this. Her body seems... almost supernatural. It feels like she is being influenced more profoundly by her Therian ancestry."

Andrew rubbed Karen's tummy, and caused the woman to moan as he said, "Thank you."

She squirmed against him, feeling her desires swell as she moaned back, "For what?"

"I was not sure that what I was doing was working. The few minor things I had noticed gave me hope, but your confirmation is such a relief."

Karen enjoyed the feeling of Andrew's appreciation as he caressed her body; through her sexual excitement, Andrew could feel her unease building. "What is it, my dear?"

Her happy voice whispered back, "It's still so strange sensing how you feel, and knowing that you can do the same with me."

Andrew kissed her shoulder, her hair tickling his nose before he responded, "Maybe at first, but I would never want it any other way."

Karen was forced to admit to herself that this was much easier than any other relationship she had ever had. Even now, she knew that Andrew was waiting for her to explain why she was uneasy, and if this had been a normal relationship, she may never have told him. The openness that the bond forced upon them created the perfect environment to feel loved and understood, and Karen realized how vital that was to the success of their family.

"Are you still using your magic on instinct, my dear boy?" She expected she knew the answer, but wanted to hear his admission.

Andrew smelled her hair, knowing she was not going to like the answer to her question. The scent of flowers and honey washed over him, like what he imagined a warm summer day would smell like if it was captured in a perfume. He rubbed his head against her, the act both affectionate and soothing.

"Yes... I'm sorry, my dear woman."

His voice was already contrite, and Karen knew he held some unease about what he had been doing. "Andrew, you have to understand the risks you are taking." She thought about Sara, and just what he had done, "You are not just playing with unknown forces, but using them to change the people you love."

The guilt that Andrew had been suppressing came forward in a single hard rush, and threatened to overwhelm him. Karen turned with a practiced movement that caused almost no disturbance to the bed, before wrapping Andrew in her arms. Her supportive embrace helped keep him from breaking down, but she wanted him to feel his remorse and guilt. He needed to learn from his mistake, and appreciate the risks he had been taking.

Sara stirred, resting her arm on Andrew and Karen's side, a whispering mumble escaping her lips as she settled against Andrew's back. While her breathing returned to its fast-paced rhythm, Andrew shed a few tears of concern over the risks he had forced upon her.

Once he reached the peak of his remorse, Karen whispered, "Sara is fine, my dear. Everything you have done has worked out well, and it is a tremendous gift you have been working to give her."

Karen could feel his conscience ease with her words, and in the darkness, she felt his agile mind working to make sense of what to do. Andrew watched Karen's pale face as her unfocused gaze peered into the darkness of the room. The care that he could see behind her eyes was heartwarming, and he could sense how she was trying to take care of him, in her own way.

"This is so unfair," he began, his voice a breaking whisper, as he struggled to know how to move forward. "My powers seem so mysterious and dangerous, yet they compel me towards action. I just wish there was someone who could point me down a safe path. How do I explore these gifts without endangering myself and others?"

Karen pulled him against her, and tried to understand where he was coming from. Her powers were so different and had never done anything but help everyone she had ever come into contact with. Andrew's gifts held such a dangerous potential, that temperance was his best course of action, but she had no idea how he could achieve discovery without risk.

"I wish I knew how to help, my love. All I can do is compel caution to your efforts, and implore you to try and better understand what you are doing, before you leap in." She allowed him to think for a moment, before she asked, "Did you ever try one of those wards I showed you?"

Andrew chuckled and pulled her against him, remembering his earlier failure, and thinking it seemed appropriate for how he felt in that moment. "Yes, but it didn't work."

Karen could hear his frustration, and knew he had been nervous about trying any other wards after his experience in the glade. "What happened?"

Andrew let out a grumbling huff, and whispered, "I drew out a protection ward on a piece of paper, but the damn thing would not activate."

He watched Karen shake with light laughter, as she realized why his ward had not worked. "I'm sorry, my dear. I should have been clearer with my instructions." Andrew was listening with eager intent, excited to know what he had done wrong. "Wards must be drawn with, or in, magically active ingredients. Otherwise, there is no conduit for the ward to take effect. At least, that is what my old master said."

Her words made sense to Andrew, who was surprised by that admission. "That's a pretty big detail to have left out... if I didn't know better, I might think you were trying to make sure I had to come and see you again."

Karen wondered why she had forgotten to tell him that part of the process, and realized that Andrew may be right. Even during that early time, she had found his talents captivating, and as she thought back, she realized that subconsciously, she was eager to know how he progressed. Karen shook her head and chuckled, as she wondered just how early her desires for him had begun.

"The circle you created only worked because of the glade. Everything within it is saturated in Fae magic, and thus works for shaping and activating wards. I have a small amount of Astral Ink which I brought with me in the hopes of crafting a ward which could help with my disguise.

"The ink is extremely rare, and what I have was a gift from my contact in The Council. Getting more would be difficult, and might necessitate exposing you."

She pulled Andrew against her, waves of protective desire crossing their bond. Andrew caressed her back and said, "We will find another way, and right now, our main priority is to keep your secret. All of this will be meaningless if we are forced to flee this place."

The implications of Andrew's words descended upon Karen, who for the first time realized the depth of devotion that had been instilled in all of their hearts. They would all sacrifice anything for each other. "Let's hope it will not come to that, my dear."

While they held each other — the warmth of their embrace keeping back the fear that assaulted them from varying directions — Andrew continued to think. The ward that Karen wanted to create sounded intriguing, and as he contemplated what it might do, he wondered about the nature of magic.

"Are wards the same thing as spells? The couple of times my gift has helped me to cast a spell, I have seen similar symbols within my mind."

Karen rubbed his back, trying not to wake Sara while they talked. "To be honest, my dear, I'm not sure. I know that wards are considered safer than channeling spells, but I have always just used my gift and come to understand what I can and cannot do, without regard for how it works."

Andrew wanted to be annoyed, but knew that Karen's perspective on her gift was far different from his own. For Karen, it was much like Sara — just a natural part of who she was. Understanding how her magic worked wasn't as important as it was for him, since there were no dangers involved. She could feel his acceptance of her through their bond, and was again surprised by his understanding of her nature.

They held each other for a long while, the cool night air helping as they soothed their uncertainty about Andrew's predicament with slow and soft caresses. Karen yawned, feeling sleep pulling at her, and while she wanted to continue their conversation, savoring the time she had with Andrew, she slipped off to the land of dreams.

Andrew listened to his two women sleep, sandwiched between their warm bodies, while his mind worked to figure out what to do. Now that he knew it was safe to draw wards and symbols, he at least had a place to start. He closed his eyes and graphed out the numerous designs with vector graphics on his computer, each glyph being stored within its own file, annotated with the limited information he knew about each one.

For several minutes his printer worked with silent diligence, and fed out symbol after symbol, until Andrew had queued up everything he had seen to-date. He was impressed by the sheer number of symbols he had learned, and was further reminded of how little he knew. Most of the glyphs remained unknown, and served some mysterious purpose he had yet to discover or understand. The beauty and complexity of many of the designs were impressive and arcane.

He felt a twitch of amusement, and sensed a pair of yellowish-brown eyes watching him. As he smiled, he heard a mischievous voice ask, "Whatcha' doin'?"

"Just printing something I want to explore tomorrow," he said as he turned slowly, before taking Sara into his arms. She nuzzled up against him, and ran her temple against his cheek, happy to see him awake. "Thank you for picking Karen up. I don't know what came over me last night."

"It was my pleasure. She is so wonderful." The twinkle in her eyes told Andrew how much their new relationship with Karen meant to Sara.

"Yeah, we talked for a little while... Karen really is great. She drifted off a little bit ago." His hand caressed her side while he looked into eyes that seemed to shine back at him in the darkness. "Karen has an alarm set for a couple of hours from now, so I'm going to try and get a bit more sleep."

Sara leaned forward, and pecked him on the lips. "Sounds good, sweetie. You rest, and I will try and keep quiet."

Andrew smiled, knowing that Sara had finished her nap, and was looking forward to a few restless hours. The bed was warm where she had laid, and he admired the view as her firm legs and ass shimmied across the room. Even in the gloom of their room, she could not help but be adorable and playful, as she bounced her hips at her mate. Sara picked up her clothes from the previous day, and smiled over her shoulder as she opened the door, before vanishing into the hallway. Psycho snuck into the room as she closed the door behind herself, and scurried towards the bed.

Scanning through the symbols one last time before sleep overtook him, Andrew was struck by an uncomfortable feeling. Something about those glyphs seemed too familiar. His mind worked to remember if he had seen them before, and as he thought through the places he had been, he came up with nothing. Cathedrals on vacation with his parents, strange websites about werewolves and the occult he had seen while preparing RPG campaigns in the past; he thought about all of those strange places and goofy sites, with no inkling of where his feeling was coming from.

The sense of deja vu he had as he traced the lines of one of the more complex wards within his mind frustrated Andrew, who up until that point had never had a hard time remembering anything. His thinking was growing fuzzy as the soothing warmth of Karen's naked body began to lull him to sleep. His annoyance finally settled when Psycho curled up against his chest, and he could feel himself relaxing and beginning to be enveloped by the blackness of his dark bedroom.

The sound of Sara opening the front door shook Andrew from his encroaching sleep. He could hear how careful she was being, and appreciated her thoughtfulness. Andrew listened to the latch click closed on the door, followed by the sound of Sara rustling through the tall grass as she headed out into the forest under the star-filled sky. He again began to fade into darkness, when his body tensed and his eyes shot open with sudden realization.

As he looked across the dark bedroom, with everything cast in the silvers and grays of night, he admired the details of a video game poster he had on the wall. A poster he had purchased for a game that had saved him from a particularly rough bout of depression a couple of schools ago. How he had not noticed this until now surprised Andrew, who chuckled at his sudden realization.

Karen stirred, squeezing Andrew's side as her eyes fluttered open. "Mmmm... This is nice. You going back to sleep soon, dear?"

Her eyes were dark and mysterious as she peered into the gloom of the room.

Andrew turned and caressed her cheek, thinking she looked cute as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Can you see me, my sweet?"

Karen smiled and gently shook her head, "I wish I could, but I can only imagine your handsome smile. Shutters work wonders for sleep, but they do not lend themselves to intimate moonlit views."

Andrew grinned and pulled her close, knowing what she meant. He had never had difficulty sleeping since he moved into that house. The darkness with the shuttered windows was absolute and undisturbed by all electronics. He had used special stickers to dull the light from his devices so that at most, there was a faint hint of blue or green from across the room.

He kissed her forehead and then asked, "Karen, did you know that I'm becoming a Therian?"

***** A Rising Scheme *****

The moisture of the dreadful rainforest caused the chill of fall to dig deep into Brandon's bones. He shivered away the cold from his perch high within a tree. That frail human's house stood out in the distance, illuminated by the light of the large moon that hung high in the sky. Brandon had learned his lesson, and was taking no chances in his preparations.

He had saturated himself in the scent of the forest, ensuring that Sara would never smell him. Leaves and dirt clung to his body while he leaned against the trunk of the tree, blending in among the dark shapes of the tall pine. Even with all of those preparations, he could not shake the feeling that the forest was dangerous. His eyes darted around — as they had every few minutes — in search for something, for anything, to explain his unshakable sense of dread.

It had taken Brandon a couple of days to figure out where Sara lived. Xander was no fool, and rarely left his house unattended. He never left his studio unlocked, even in those few instances. Thankfully for Brandon, Mercedes was a practiced lockpick — a skill he had forced her to learn. Despite her timid nature, she was stealth incarnate, and Brandon never wanted to waste her talents. While Xander was distracted with disciplining Brandon, Mercedes had followed his orders and gained access to the old man's files.

Once he knew were Sara lived, it did not take long for him to track down Andrew, that "Wizard." Brandon wondered how Wizards had survived as long as they had, if they were all as frail and weak as Andrew.

Movement shook Brandon from his introspection, and focusing on the shuttered building, he saw his prey; Sara Drexel, his once-promised prize. She looked amazing, and even if she was not a full werecat, he could still see her supernatural parentage in her fluid gait as she ran across the clearing. He recognized the behavior, and knew she was patrolling her territory. He grinned, knowing that she would never sense him, or find his tracks; he was too careful and far too prepared.

While he listened to the subtle sounds of her movements through the forest, he considered his plan. Word had spread through the colony that Sara was bound to that Wizard, and that Andrew was the reason she had been able to almost kill him. He shuddered at the memory of lying helpless on his back, his life seeping from his neck with every beat of his heart.

Had he not been an alpha, he would have certainly died, but as it was, he could not underestimate her again. Xander had been heard talking with one of his mates, and the speculation around the clowder was that Sara was still just part-werecat, and was not tied to the moon as they were. Her strength, while formidable by human standards, paled in comparison to Brandon's, if he could only take care of her mate.

Brandon studied the moon for a moment, before turning his gaze on the small house and formalizing what he would do. "We will strike in two days, when the moon is full, and our strength is at its peak. Mercedes will have no difficulty breaking into that little hovel and killing the worm that lives inside. Once that is complete, Sara will either devote herself to me, or die. Either way, her life as it is now will be over."