A Royal Mate

Almost Forever

Their wedding was only a week away. Liam was getting more and more nervous as the day drew near. He and Si discussed where they should go for their honeymoon, and since she was often uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time, they decided that they would go to Applewood, but take a real honeymoon after the cubs were born. They have spent every day since the baby shower deciding what to keep at Pallios and what to send to either the Palace or Applewood. Liam pampers Si every chance he gets. He stills feels the guilt of making her think that she is less than desirable to him.

They spend a lot of time going through the shelves of the library. It turns out that Si's family was the keeper of all the lineages within Cordina for both nobles and commoners, shifters and humans. There were several writers and it seemed like each one lived to be at least 250 years old before the next scribe takes over.

"How can that be?" Si asks, "No one lives that long."

"Well actually shifters age a lot slower than humans, so we will live longer than our human counterparts." Liam states.

"So you and the kids are going to outlive me?"

"Love, no, when a shifter takes a human mate, they become like us in some way, I have heard that some actually become shifters themselves. So you and I will be together for a very long time."

"Well, if that is true, will I become a shifter?"

"Well since you are pregnant, we won't know if your body took to the transference and changed."Liam says, "but I know that will age as I do now. That I can tell."

Liam can tell that Si is getting tired, so he carries her back to their suite. He lays her down in their bed. Kissing her forehead, he stays until she has fallen asleep. He creeps out of their suite and heads back down to the library. He noticed a pattern to the scribes, they were all directly in Si's familial line. There seems to be one in every 250 to 500 years. His mind is racing, could this be what he has been seeing in her eyes? He has scratches, that have never went away, he remembers the night she left them on him. He never said anything about them, but if he is correct, then..., he could think of that until he had answers.

He had sent Dax and Collin a text asking them to meet in the library. He found them along with Louis, Leah, Em, and Julia waiting for him. Liam explains to them some of the differences that he has been seeing in Si, since she has been in Aenidaea.

"Li, this started before your dinner, at the tea, Lisa was being Lisa and trying to find Si's breaking point. Si did not give her an inch until Lisa mentioned marrying you and having your heir. I swear, I sensed something, something very possessive, if she was a shifter, I think she would have shifted and fought Lisa." Leah states.

"She is definitely bolder and has more self-confidence." Em chimes in, "I have never seen her more sure of herself, and Si was very shy about public displays of affection."

"Well, she certainly isn't shy anymore." Louis chuckles.

They decided to split up and look for anything that could point them as to what is going on with Si. They did not fear for her life, but rather, needed to know what to expect, it was becoming clearer that Si, was not a typical human. Liam had some ideas, but he did not want to voice them just yet.

Liam took the furthest shelf in the room that he and Si were in earlier. He looked at all the people that have been scribed in Si's family line. All have been women, all seem to write that they started changing at around 25 years of age. More questions, more answers needed. Liam turns to get the next book when knocks one over, and a key falls out. He picks it up and there is a folded piece of what looks like parchment paper, he unfolds it and studies it. He realizes that it is a map of the library. He quickly tries to ascertain his location on this map, he sees a picture of the key he is holding in his hand.