Rightfully Hers

VII

Author's note at the end.

JADA

I never thought of having children. I'd always assumed my future was inevitable; I'd spend my entire life hunting alongside Julian. It was a future I did not dread, but rather embraced.

Julian had lost his other half and I never imagined having a person who fit perfectly with me. I never missed it. When Julian's fiancée, Delilah, was still alive, I'd never been jealous of their relationship. He'd always dreamed of meeting his mate and having a large family, while I was content with being the favored aunt.

Staring at Arabelle, who was sitting comfortably in her dinosaur car seat diagonally behind me, I finally thought of a life that included a child.

Or, more specifically, a life that included Arabelle.

I shouldn't be thinking this way. It's not right for me. I couldn't live a life where I could call Isabelle my wife and Arabelle my child. I had duties I had to follow and a title I had to keep. Hunting was my entire life, and I couldn't bear to be stripped of that.

Hunters are a species, just like werewolves, but it is also a job. Hunting is a profession, and Hunters are the only species that are qualified to work in such a field.

If I became attracted to Isabelle- if I admitted my attraction to Isabelle to anyone other than Julian, I could lose my career, but I could also be stripped of who I was. If sent to the Elders, they had the power to devoid me of any quality that would differentiate me from the Humans. I would, undoubtedly, become a Human.

Arabelle's mouth was moving a mile a minute. I couldn't pick up on most of it, but I knew it had something to do with a boy in her class and how he somehow resembled a weasel. Or something along those lines.

Arabelle looked nothing like Isabelle. They had the same lips, and the same facial shape, but all her most noticeable attributes were not hers. Her eyes were a deep brown and they were wide and curious as she stared out the window and talked continuously. Her hair that was french braided today was also brown, a few shades lighter than her eyes.

Isabelle was a light haired, light eyed woman, absolutely nothing like her dark featured daughter.

It made me curious. I'd never heard of Arabelle's father, but the little girl seemed to have an idea of where he was and why he wasn't in her life, because she never spoke of him, and made no indication that she missed his presence in her life.

When Isabelle was telling me about her life earlier that morning, there was a large gap between the age of three and fifteen. I knew she was pregnant with Arabelle at fifteen, but never what happened in the time between her younger years and her teen years. I didn't ask, because the dark expression that hung over her face made me keep quiet.

On one hand, it hurt that she was not comfortable speaking with me about an obvious dark part of her life, if it had been like that. On the other hand, I was grateful she hadn't opened up to me. It would make it so much harder to leave when this mission was over.

If I didn't get to know her, she wouldn't have depth, not to me. She would still be my other half, and I'd always be attracted to her, but I wouldn't have truly known her. If I continue learning about her, it'll hurt more to leave her behind.

Arabelle broke me out of my thoughts when she screeched. I swerved slightly and glanced back in horror through the rear view mirror. She was fine, only tapping a tanned finger against the window vigorously with a look of awe on her face.

"Jada! Jada! Can we get tacos? Please! Please? I'll do anything for a taco!" She cried out, tapping wildly against the window with that persistent finger.