His Other Half

Eighty-three

Unedited

Ahsha

"By taking the Oyeyemi oath your mates have shown to us that they are willing to support you and your people," Marie spoke. "And?" I pressed. "We acknowledge that they are trying," Charlotte said. "And?" I motioned. "They do seem to care about you a great deal," Nana said. I smacked my lips. "Come on now. Do they get to stay or not?" I asked. "They can stay but make no mistake we will be keeping an eye on things. If the three of them so much as look like they're—,"

"They won't," I said. Abeba looked at me before smiling. "You did very well." She praised. Confusion coated my face. "Thank—you," I said. Nana, Sam, Charlotte, and Marie laughed. "As you mentioned there are certain tests the daughters of Abeba have to overcome. The women in this family have always struggled to find and hold on to their love, and even in the face of your grandmothers you never wavered. You did it." Nana said.

I let out a deep breath. "However that does not mean you can slack off. You will be thrown curve balls and need to sort yourself out." I agreed. All our heads turned to the large clock that sat on the wall as chimes rang out. "It's time for you to go." Marie smiled holding her hands out. I hugged each of them before getting to Abeba. She draped her arm around me.

"I won't apologize for being tough on you or your mates. You and your brother are ushering in a new era for our people and the company you keep will impact that. You will be an amazing Queen." She added with a smile. I hugged her tightly. "I trust that you can handle whatever comes next but should you need any of us just call." "Thank you," I said as Yasmeen and Talli rushed to me. Looking up I saw Asir and Ashraf behind them. "Hello, my loves." "We wanted to say goodbye before you left," Talli pouted. "Not goodbye, just a see you later." I corrected making them smile.

"See you later, mommy." They both said before locking their arms around my neck. We stayed like that for a while before Nana and Sam stepped in. "You'll see her when the time is right," Nana whispered to Talli before looking at me with a big smile. "You keep saying that. When will the time be right? In the next nine months? Or in a couple of years?" I questioned.

Her smile only grew. "You'll know when you need to know," Sam said. Before I could do or say anything Asir and Ashraf were in front of me. "You two should really sit down and talk to Grandma. Squash this family feud." I said. "We know," Ashraf said. "You must remember she is who you get your stubbornness from." Asir smiled. "Be careful mate." Abeba mugged him.

"I say it with love." He laughed. "To be fair you didn't deny it," Ashraf added. Abeba sucked her teeth and mugged both men before saying. "Aren't you two very funny today?" I hugged both of them and then looked at everybody one more time before I saw a little boy in the distance.

He stepped forward and looked almost transparent. My stomach fluttered. The longer I stared the more his features came into view. I gasped at the sight of him. I hadn't seen him in years "Denver?" At the mention of his name, the little boy grew a big smile on his face. Suddenly my heart started to race, and I looked to my nana seeing her staring at me with a look that told me everything. I turned back to the little boy to find him gone. "Wait—," Everything blurred before a bright light flash appeared.

Omniscient

Malik's body jolted forward as he shot up rapidly breathing as he scanned the room. His chest was on fire and his body was drumming with pins and needles. On shaky feet, he stood and walked over to the mirror and took in his eyes. They looked almost identical to Ahsha and Nasir's. His gaze dropped to his hands feeling power simmer just below his fingertips. "What the fuck?" he whispered before looking at the door and catching a whiff of Ahsha's comforting scent. Malik opened the door to find his mate standing on the other side surprised.