My Hunted Mate

Corinna

It's nearly a week later before Kai, Dahlia and I make it to Helena's house to visit Atticus. As soon as Kai parks the car, he jumps out, making his way around to my door, to help me out of the car, one of the many things that was starting to get difficult to do by myself now that my bump was that much bigger.

Dahlia lingers back as she answers her phone, that began to ring as she exited the back of the car. She wanders a few feet away, talking back to whoever is on the other end of the device.

Kai and I make it up to the front door, but before we get a chance to knock, it swings open. Atticus doesn't get a chance to greet us, the second he flings open the door, the noise of Dyna screaming and crying inside the house meets our ears and he runs back inside to her, without a word.

Glancing over at Kai, I raise my eyebrows while stepping into the house, gripping his hand in mine and leading the way into the living room. We leave the door open behind us, so Dahlia can come in when her phone call is finished.

Unable to help it, I bite down on my lip when I see the mess the room is in. All around the floor toys belonging to Dyna are flung about, along with clothes, seemingly both clean and dirty. The coffee table has multiple beakers half-filled with juice sitting on it, along with a few dirty baby bowls and plates.

In the corner of the room, Atticus is taking a packet of wipes away from Dyna and shoving the unused ones she had just thrown on the floor back into the pack, causing her to scream, her eyes begin to glow with fire as she throws her tantrum.

Kai takes a step forward, standing in front of me as if to shield me from danger, at first I nearly roll my eyes but then I remember back to went the small child burned my flesh with her hands.

" Mine! " Dyna screeches, point at the wipes in her father's hands.

" No. These are not for playing Dyna. * He tells her sternly, crouching down to her height.

Kai and I watch stunned, as Atticus’ eyes begin to glow to match his daughters, when the small child sees this, she falls quiet for a moment then a few seconds later her eyes go back to normal and she stumbles over to her father, directly into his arms with a little giggle.

By now Atticus’ eyes have also return to their natural state, his lips stretch into a grin at the sight of his giggling daughter, he picks her up with ease, tossing her in the air and catching her, making her erupt into hysterical laughter.

Settling Dyna on his hip, Atticus" eyes finally fall on Kai and I. * Thank you for coming back, I apologise for the mess, I'm still... adjusting. * He noticeably cringes at this statement, with pain in his eyes

" Don't worry about it. " Kai tells him, sending a weak smile in his direction.

The three of us stand around in awkward silence until we hear footsteps, followed by Dahlia's bouncing off the walls, getting closer to us as she wanders through the house.

" Sorry about that guys! That was Lila, she wanted to know we were all sa- " Dahlia informs us, she enters the living room looking down at the phone in her hand with a small smile, but it falls and she cuts herself off, freezing completely when her eyes land on Atticus.

" Dahlia? " Atticus breaths, a look of shock has washed over his face, the same look that has taken over Dahlia's.

" Atti? " She gasps, squinting her eyes for a second and shaking her head, as though she is hallucinating.

All of a sudden, both of their faces light up and they both let out cheerful laughs, full of disbelief. Dahlia quickly crosses the room, wrapping an arm around Atticus regardless of the toddler he still holds. Kai and I both exchange looks of confusion. " You two know one another? " He questions, when their hug ends.

" We met in Paris, back in the fifties! " Dahlia laughs, her gaze lingering on Atticus, a clear fondness is gleaming in her blue eyes.

" The fifties? As in the nineteen fifties? * I interrupt.

" Yes! Oh Cori, the fashion in Paris then was beautiful! Elegant! * Dahlia gushes.

* And you were anything but! * Atticus laughs, earning a smack on the arm.

" Please! I am and always have been a perfect lady. " Dahlia argues, giving us very formal curtsey.

" Of course, of course. A perfect lady who could drink any man under the table, hustle any man into bankruptcy and not to mention other things. " Atticus bellows, sending her a sly wink at the end.

" Yes, please refrain from mentioning the other things, that is my sister after all. " Kai cringes.

" So you two... You.. " I hint, not wanting to say the words if I'm wrong. "We may have, yes. " Dahlia smirks, with a knowing look.

" Well then. " I mumble.

" This is your little girl? " Dahlia changes the subject, smiling down at Dyna, who has been watching her intently since the moment she entered the room.

Atticus and Dahlia continue to catch up while the four of us clean the large mess throughout the room, it didn’t take long for Dyna to warm up to Dahlia, which set everyone at ease, knowing that our arrangement would work out well.

When the sun starts to set, we say our goodbyes and start our journey home. In the car on the way, I can't help but ask the question that has been playing on my curious mind. " If Dahlia and Atticus met in the fifties, how come you didn't recognise him? " I say, turning my body in Kai's direction.

" At that point I had responsibilities, I had found the house, the clan had grown so much it was too awkward to move everyone and I couldn't abandon them to continue to travel to places I'd been plenty of times before. " He shrugs.

" Phoenix and I thought the idea of settling anywhere was too boring, why sit still? We've so much time, we may aswell enjoy it. When we knew Mal wasn't going to be alone, we took off exploring, actually went our separate ways for a decade or two. " Dahlia chimes in from the back seat.

" If you were all still travelling together in the twenties, when did you start the clan? " I question.

He momentarily takes his eyes off the road to glance at me. " How do you know we were still travelling together in the twenties? *

My cheeks instantly flush. " I may have looked through some pictures when I was looking for your ring. " I point towards his chest where the ring is surely hanging beneath his shirt.

" Cheeky. " Kai purses his lips. " By the twenties, I had turned many people, not all of whom wanted to follow me around. Some did but not too many, I was still able to keep tabs on them, it was when the vampires that stuck with me started turning people and they wanted to stick with us too, that it became too awkward to keep travelling, that was probably around the mid to late thirties. "

As the drive continues, Kai and Dahlia tell me some of their many stories from their many years of life, and although I find myself laughing along and engrossed in the stories they tell, even though my ageing is slowed by both my wolf and witch side by at least thirty years, I can't help but think about how short my life will be in comparison.