I tried not to let it bother me that Verando seemed reluctant to explore the depths of our property. I assumed that it had something to do with the near-drowning, or perhaps he was concerned about our status within our realm and if we'd be caught unaware and unarmed in the woods. 

So, despite our child's pleading and Xavier's resounding begging, Verando was immobile in his position that exploring the woods with two young boys wasn't in the cards for us right now. 

Opting to improvise, I'd been able to negotiate the terms of a campfire and a night outside. Despite his reservations, arguing was hard when we were only thirty feet from our front door and arsenal of weapons. Even so, the man didn't sleep, and while I was willing to contemplate that he was probably bored, I'd accepted the sacrifice of his entertainment for a chance for the children to learn from him. 

Truth be told, I'd hardly done much camping until our time commanding the army and then running for our lives. Our camping had been rushed, and I wasn't necessarily in charge of keeping us alive. Most lycans were adept in such things. I imagined it came from somewhere, and all the arrows pointed to the older man before me. 

If he was going to come and go, we needed to get the most out of him while we could, and it seemed he could sense that intention within me, for he yielded much quicker than I imagined he would. Something I knew I'd pay dearly for later; I tried to push that thought out of my head as I realized it wasn't my body he was after, but my mental anguish for the first act of leadership he acted was handing Darius a knife. 

My stomach was in knots, and I was forced to endure while I watched my eldest child learn the ins and outs of a blade. Xavier was furious, but I'd managed to threaten the warlord sufficiently enough not to hand my toddler anything sharp. Instead, I opted to learn as well and allowed Xavier to help me when it came to using the damned thing. 

It also made me painfully aware of how poorly I was with hand tools. 

Verando never ceased to amaze me with the wealth of knowledge he had and gained. For someone with minimal schooling, his ability to learn continued to impress. We went through the basics of which leaves were considered poisonous and which ones were safe. It was a frustrating realization that the majority of the leaves surrounding the treeline were toxic, though they would only cause a mild rash. 

He seemed motivated to teach the child how to find his way home, track the sun, and tell direction. A poor child didn't often have access to a compass, but knowing where you'd come from and how to mark it was a valuable tool. That was where the knife came in handy: to chart a route to and from the house with lasting marks that could be picked out quickly, even in a panic. 

Verando demonstrated the technique of notching out the wood, which seemed to disturb the unicorn. 

I hadn't expected how much we'd be walking, treading only along the tree line and staying within familiar territory; I baked in the sun and regretted ever having insisted on such a task. My wolf was thrilled to be outside, yet furious it was locked inside this human prison. In the quieter moments, I noticed Verando staring off into the distance, too, and couldn't help but wonder if he also wished to run loose. 

With only a quick lunch, the afternoon left us with children at their wit's end with our camping. Xavier had hardly gotten a nap, and Darius was teetering on the edge of a meltdown; I couldn't say I was fairing much better with the amount of complaining the last hour had warranted. Collecting the random wood and inspecting sticks and logs in the humidity for the correct fire-starting material was a long and tedious process riddled with direct sunlight and scorching terrain.

 I was prepared to give in and admit defeat, but he rallied us again. Our existence before this life had been cruel; how could we have ever managed without air conditioning?

As any good leader might, Verando brought us back once the house's shade protected our camping spot. Darius flopped onto the plush grass as Xaiver practically leaped from my arms; I followed suit and allowed myself back onto my back, staring up at the clouded sky, hoping that any rain might send us inside. 

The sun started hinting towards the horizon, suggesting it was nearing eight o'clock. We'd been outside nearly the entire day, leaving me wondering if this was my punishment for insisting upon him. Part of me could almost be angry, wondering what part of him decided to punish his family for just wanting to spend time with him. Maybe it was his military mind that made it so difficult to let go and understand we were living a much more plush life than we had all of those years ago. 

My lips part as I shut my eyes, my body surrendering to the heat and my shirt drenched in sweat. There was nothing attractive about my out-of-shape form in a simple shirt and cargo shorts, nothing sexy about my sunburn and lack of consistency in my skin color, and little to be desired in my flushed cheeks and matted-down hair. I could be easily convinced to return to the comfort of my home. 

"Tata, look!" Darius calls excitedly to me; Verando shows him how to scrape the flint into the pile of tinder and strike to get the spark. Purposefully missing, he hands the set up to the child, who haphazardly strikes at the unsuspecting stick; I try not to worry about his tiny fingers as the knife makes quick work of the stick. 

It's a kind scene that warms me to my core, watching Xavier blow onto the pile with every ounce of childhood furry, though I wonder if it's more spit than air. 

"I can't do it." Darius declares, frowning. 

Verando shrugs half-heartedly in response. "It's not easy. The humidity is high, and sometimes that affects it. See if your Tata can do it." He gestures to me to come over, perhaps sensing how close I am to calling this whole charade a wash. 

Despite my body feeling like it might melt into the ground and evaporate, I climb to my hands and knees, crawling over to sit on my hip beside the unicorn. "I'm not good at fires," Darius tells me pensively, pulling his eyebrows down to scrutinize the pile. 

"You're probably just a bit tired and hot, honey." I stroke his matted-down hair, brushing it back out of his face. "I've not done it before either.

Verando scoffs, amused by the reveal. "Didn't you live outside for months on end?"

Narrowing my eyes, I wrinkle my nose at his evaluation of my lack of ability. "Well, I always had a big, strong man to do it for me, now didn't I?"

"Who was that?" Darius asks through a yawn, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. 

"Hungry," Xavier whines from Verando's lap. 

"Your daddy. Well, for a lot of it. Your daddy has been protecting me for a long time." Leaning over to grab my bag, I dig into it to grab a bag of crackers and throw it to Xavier, who happily plunges his hand into its contents. "He's taught a lot of people this stuff, so I thought it'd be good if he taught you." 

I note the warning glance, suggesting I was treading too close to something he didn't want to discuss. I pull my lips into a thin line, apologetic as I strike a spark and effectively change the topic as the children squeal in delight while the fire rumbles to life. 

The large dark eyes of the unicorn seem entranced by the flames. "Does it hurt?"

"Yes. The fire is very hot. It will leave a scar." Verando tells him firmly. 

Closing his hand, Darius scoots backward with another yawn before rubbing his eyes. "I'm hungry, too."

"Yes, oh great, Alpha, what is your plan for dinner?" I question the man, glancing him up and down, making Xavier giggle and kick his feet at my expression. The warlord seems only mildly impressed, tempted to retort by my tone. 

"I intended to go hunt something, but you're a sorry lot; I don't think I'd get another ten feet out of any of you."

"Hunt something?" Darius asks, digging in my backpack for marshmallows. "Like pretend?"

I stiffened; it was my turn to beg for mercy from the man. 

"No, love. It's not like pretend. You know that me, your Tata, and your brother are lycans," Verando questions while the boy nods and shoves a marshmallow into his mouth with a wriggle of delight. "Well, we eat a lot of meat," he adds.

"Meat," Darius repeats. "Like.... a burger like Tata makes?"

"Yes. But the meat has to come somewhere. From an animal."

Hesitating, the unicorn leans back as if trying to ensure all of the cows drifting within the bounds of our property are still intact. "Like we borrow it? How do they get it back?"

Throwing a rock at my husband, I glare at him, and he rolls his eyes at how protective I am. I wasn't quite ready for my child to understand we were killing things to eat; it was something I struggled with myself as a child. Until my wolf demanded it, I didn't even consume hardly an ounce of meat. 

"Honey, the animal has to give for us to take. That means it isn't alive anymore once we take the meat." I attempt as gently as possible, watching the child's horrified expression unfold as he realizes where some of his favorite foods came from. Verando clears his throat, standing up to dust himself off.

"Well, there's the pizza. You can deal with that, darling. Come on, Xavier." Placing the child on his hip, he quickly abandons me to fend for myself with the devastated unicorn, the creator of the earth, the guardian of life on this planet. 

"Your daddy is a real-" I stop myself, sighing, running a hand through my hair. "It's part of the circle of life, Dare."

"Why does it have to die? Can't we eat something else?" He demands, plucking at the grass, only to hesitate and quickly attempt to stick the blades back together. "Did we eat Badger and Eve?"

"No baby.. those dogs got... old." I attempt, frowning at the innocence of the sweet child. "Only certain animals are food; it's a pretty complex situation. Do you remember how I told you there were things I could explain and things that'd have to wait till you were older? This might be one of those things... but..." I collect his face in my hands, kissing his forehead. "Dare you do not have to eat anything you don't want to. For us, as lycans, it isn't easy to go without, and that's unfortunately the reality of our situation. But.. you don't have to if you don't want to. "

Shaking his head, he pushes my hands off, pouting as he folds his hands into his lap. "I don't want to eat any more meat. I don't want to... we eat all those cows? But I named them!"

"Not all of them." Verando retorts, returning with the two boxes. I'd murder him if I didn't love him so much. "Well, no warm fuzzies were injured while making this pizza. How does that sound?" He places the boxes down, allowing Xavier to pull himself out a piece despite his complaints that it was hot. The tiny lycan child devours the piece while Darius eyes it suspiciously. 

I eat a slice, hoping to display good faith while Verando seems to be listening for the car to leave. Reluctantly, the child grabs his piece and nibbles, glancing back and forth between the pair of us as if trusting our word was somehow off the table. Once he accepted that there were no dead things in the pizza, he ate with more gusto, maybe realizing that Xavier would eat as much as we'd allow him, which would mean less for the older child. 

Verando seems unimpressed, stretching back onto the grass, folding his hands behind his head to absorb the last bit of the sun and enjoy the blaze of the flame. Xavier finds it necessary to use his stomach as a bench; he giggles at the slow rise and fall of the man's breathing and bounces excitedly. "Again!" He demands, earning a slight smirk. 

"Are you not hungry?" I ask, surprised, considering Fenrir's strict 'eat everything' diet. 

"Not really. I had a large breakfast." Crossing one leg over the other, he grunts as Xavier bounces, demanding a more hurried attempt at bouncing him. My eyes skirt over the man, dressed in athletic shorts and a thin lycra shirt. I wouldn't dare wear something so revealing, yet he seems so unapologetic with how it clings to every inch of him. 

In the flicker of the growing flame, I spy the pierced nipple imprinted in the thin material, and my mouth waters for a whole new reason. He rolls his tongue stud between his teeth, lost in thought as his foot quietly bounces, and he watches the ever-expanding darkness begin to glint with the growing number of stars. 

I pull out the sleeping bags, spreading two out as Darius crawls over to fall onto his father's chest, using the man as a pillow and a shield from the flame. Xavier leans back against the man's raised thigh, one leg on either side of the man's stomach, as they all seem to clue in on what he's staring at. 

Setting up the bags, I'm reluctant now that we're faced with spending the night outside. But, knowing my husband, it would be more so until the children had fallen asleep. I could sense his tension and see the concern growing the closer we got to total darkness. There would be no way he'd allow us to spend the night out here, and for that, I was thankful as  I was much too attached to my bed to sleep on the hard ground. 

Packing up the pizza back into the boxes, I move to sit beside the trio, encouraging my husband to put his head in my lap as I lean back onto one of my palms, slowly running my fingers through his hair as I attempt to decide what about the stars made everyone go quiet. They did not compare to what we'd seen four hundred years ago, over top of my castle, when dragons were free to fly, and there were no planes and no satellites. 

"Vast, isn't it?" I muse, keeping my voice low as I untangle some of his stray waves. "Does it make you feel small?"

"Please." He grumbles with a frustrated snort, "I feel as though the known is not vast enough for those in question to hide from me. I wish Anubis would hurry up." 

Placing my hand over his mouth, I flick my gaze towards our children, brushing my thumb slowly over the stubble and stroking his chin. "Do not wish for something we can't take back, Randy. I'm really enjoying having you here."

"My haste comes from the desire for conclusion, not to rush away from you. I don't want to leave either.. though I must go for a bit tomorrow. I have some business to attend to."

"Tiberius?" I mutter, making him pull his lips into a thin line. 

"Do you truly want to know?"

Those light eyes gaze up at me, and I stroke his cheek with the back of my hand. "Yes, because not knowing means if that ever happens again-" Stopping myself, I steal a glimpse of our children and realize they're both passed out. Xavier curled up against Verando's raised thigh, and Darius nestled into the crook of his arm. "The kids need you. I.. need... you." I remind him, dragging my fingers over his full lower lip. "You still have yet to knock me up again; I'm somewhat disappointed."

"I'm getting older every day." Verando reminds me, exhaling as he collects my hand in his to kiss my palm. "You've done an excellent job since I've been gone, darling. It's almost.. upsetting.. how well you've done without me." A pang of remorse reflects on that guarded expression, and I can't help but flick him on the nose, bringing a growl from his chest, which makes Xavier giggle in his sleep. 

"I'll never not need you, asshole. Don't even think it gives you an excuse to be gone. I can handle this, but I'll never not need you. You make my life significantly better; frankly, I've been desperate for every.. inch.. of you... since you left." My cheeks reddened, and being so candid was not typical, and I'm thankful for the fire that hid the warmth in my face. 

My words do their job as his interest piques, "How foul of you, Mr.Mercer. Do you only want me for my body?"

"Absolutely, you have a horrid personality." I retort, making him chuckle, earning me my favorite look as I slide my hand down to wrap around his throat in a quiet reminder of exactly how he held me the other morning. "You've also been shamelessly teasing me for days with no follow-through. I'm going to need a thorough convincing that this body even still works as I remember, for I've seen little of your libido since your return. Perhaps you really are getting old?" 

I hedged, growing bolder, feeling more comfortable pushing him when he was stacked with our innocent children. 

The sinister gaze of a man challenged burns in those light eyes. "It's been two days since I've had a cigarette, and unless you're incredibly good at hiding it, you've not touched yourself since I've been gone. For someone who whimpers like a virgin after time out of the bedroom, I'm surprised at your desire for punishment. Unfortunately, this is a capital offense, Mr.Mercer. I'm afraid I can't allow you to continue to speak so loosely." His voice is deep and dark, looming with the threat of what he wishes to do to me in the privacy of our bedroom.

My heart pounded in my chest, my wolf rattled it's cage, begging and pleading for some sort of attention to fulfill my desire. 

Swallowing back my nerves, I can only gaze at him defiantly. "Perhaps this time you might put me with child, if those hips still remember how I liked to be served."

Tonguing his cheek, he collects both of our children in a swift move, hardly disturbing them. "I'm going to put our children to bed. You'd do best to be prepared by the time I come to the bedroom, or I'll start without you. I've yet to decide which part of you I'd like to use first, but rest assured, love, I intend to make a mess. Find my belt."