Moonlight

Chapter 5

When Adley returned from his morning run, he was eager to show Merissa a place he'd seen. Getting her to hand over the laptop was not easy, she was entrenched in searching for information regarding the past.

"Just a couple of minutes, okay?"

With a huff, Merissa pushed it over the table. Adley searched for the real estate then found the listing. When he had it, Adley shifted so that Merissa could see the screen as well.

"It's a little far out of the city. Is it even within the limits?"

"Yeah, it's in your father's territory. Just chill, I wouldn't risk your life like that."

Merissa bit her lip as she watched Adley flick through the pictures. It was more than just a little out of the city. It could be described as country.

"It's okay, I guess. It would be a long drive."

"Half an hour."

"Yeah but that's going through the lower territory. What happened to not risking my life?"

"Fine, so it would be a two-hour drive going around the forest."

Merissa turned on her seat, taking Adley's hands.

"I know you're trying your best but don't you think that something closer to our friends and family would be ideal?"

"For a vampire, sure. For a werewolf, we need big open spaces, forests to run through. What if you're carrying three wolves in there?"

"You think they won't be a mixture?"

Adley shrugged. His hand reached out, pressing gently against the soft material of Merissa's shirt.

She could see the unease on Adley's face. Merissa thought that maybe he worried about something and couldn't say it. Reaching out, Merissa pulled Adley's shirt and kissed him.

"We will find the right place. Even if it's land and we build, it will be okay. Just so long as you keep it in my father's territory."

"But you understand that going a little more rural is ideal, right?"

Merissa nodded, gritting her teeth. There had to be a line in the sand somewhere. She wanted to be close to her father and her friends. Morning breakfasts with the girls were necessary, otherwise, she might go insane. Now that Lennon and Lyla had Sammy, she wanted to be around for them too.

"Don't rush into this. I don't want a place that only suits us now and not in five years time. We have a few months before the babies arrive and even then, we can still be looking once they're here. Dad can look after them."

Adley chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yeah right. I can see that happening. I'm sure he'd unload them to Carson to deal with."

Leaving Ris to look at the listings, Adley wandered into the kitchen to make breakfast. With his toast cooking and the coffee slowly brewing, Adley leaned on the counter and looked at Merissa. His mind questioned her diet, wondering how it would be now that she was pregnant with his babies.

Like the past few days of this odd domestic bliss, Adley emptied a bag of blood into a jug and warmed it for Merissa. Taking everything to the table, Adley watched as she sipped the blood, more focused on the screen in front of her.

"This one might be ideal."

"Too suburbia, there's nowhere to run around."

"It's right next to the nature reserve."

"Well, that's great except they will still need to run around. Are you prepared to let young children run through the streets of a morning like I do?"

Merissa sighed, closing the tab on the website. In time, the perfect place would show up. All they had to do was be patient and search all options.

The need for acreage was understandable to Ris but thoroughly annoying. She liked to walk to the shops to pick up everything that she needed, meet with her friends and an easy hunt when searching for a meal. Moving to the country, even if it was a short distance from the city centre, was a pain in the backside.

"How about we make a checklist? Then we can find something that we both like."

Ris looked up with a lot of curiosity. Adley didn't wait for her response, already out of his seat and searching through a drawer in the hall stand. Finding a pen and a notepad, he returned with eagerness shining brightly in his smile. Merissa couldn't help but smile back. She liked that while he kept firm in his requirements, there was a lot of flexibility. They might have to make some sacrifices but she knew that the babies needed to be free to run around rather than cooped up in a house in the city.

Adley split the page into three sections. One for each of their desires and the third for the needs of the children. He started writing in their column, forest to hunt, land to run.

"Okay, what does Merissa want?"

"Close to dad and our friends. That needs to go onto your list because Lyla and Lennon will need us and I want to be a part of Sammy's life."

Merissa never spoke of Nironsa much, feeling low because of everything that happened. Her uncle wasn't in their lives much but in the beginning, when she was first adopted and brought into Gamichee and Marguerite's home, he was there.

She liked Nironsa, he was fun. Merissa didn't understand why Gamichee and Nironsa had fallen apart but the brothers rarely spoke to each other soon after Merissa's tenth birthday.

Merissa believed that his son, Sammy was a second chance at reconnecting to the part of the family that she missed. Nironsa was gone but they had Sammy. She wasn't about to let go.

Looking down at the notepad, Merissa smiled softly. Adley had written friends and family across their columns. He'd also added short driving distance underneath it. Merissa would prefer to walk but if it meant that they could find their happy medium then she'd accept that they'd have to drive.