Claws

In my Veins

APOLLO

     The next few months passed in a blur.
     I stayed with Kye, who treated me very well. He kept up my agility, obedience, and protection training— albeit in a sloppier fashion than Luka for lack of experience.
     Blizzard, now in her second trimester, began to show. I spent many days tending to her every need. The metaphor "wrapped around her finger" very much applied to she and I. The bird became sassier in her pregnancy— she knew Joan wouldn't discipline her.
     The pack's general disdain for me died down over the months. Most of them still didn't like me, but now it was more about fear and taboo than my previous altercation with Blizzard. I was still an outcast.
     Then there was Luka. At least twice a week, I saw him for desensitization therapy. With every session, he grew less and less fearful of me. Every session, I proved to him that he could trust me again.
     All in all, things were going as okay as they could.
     I laid in Blizzard's bed with her, humming and planting ring kisses on my mate's head.
     For the first time in weeks, I thought of Kennedy. I missed him. But I had more important things to attend to, now.  I couldn't help but feel guilty for abandoning him, though.
     "Apollo?" Blizzard hummed back, "Can you make me some sautéed liver?"
     "Yeah, baby." I planted a big smooch on her forehead and slid out of bed.
     Joan and I were on first name basis now. She didn't even look up from her spot on the couch when I exited Blizzard's room and started rummaging around the kitchen.
     I had no idea what I was getting into when I agreed to breed Blizzard, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
     The smell of frying liver was delicious. I decided to add another helping, half for me, half for what Blizzard would inevitably eat off of my plate.
     Adding a dash of salt and pepper, then garlic, and onion powder, the spreading scent of my cooking had the blonde bird poking her head out of her room. Slinking to my side, she wrapped her arms around my waist, kissing the base of my left wing as she did so.
     "Smells good." My mate purred into my back.
     "Thanks. It's about done." I replied.
     Two claws reached forward and picked up a slice of liver between them like a pair of chopsticks.
     "It's hot!" I warned her.
     Heeding my warning, the bird blew on the piece of meat a few times before plopping it on her tongue.
     "Mmmmm." Blizzard hummed, "It's done!"
     Reaching for another slice, the other bird's hand was pushed away as I gently diverted the grabber. "Plates? Utensils?" I offered with a chuckle.
     The two of us enjoyed our lunch at the kitchen table. The look of joy on Blizzard's faces as she tore through the flesh with her fangs was enrapturing, and she caught me staring.
     She said it before I could. "I love you, Apollo."
     "I love you too, Bliz." I purred back.
     I stayed with my mate and her Mistress until the sun went down, and a deep, smooth voice called me through my bird collar, "Apollo, time to come home."
The walk back to my temporary home in the late summer heat was contemplative.
     Even though I hadn't met Aspen—we'd agreed on that name— yet, I loved him with my whole heart. I didn't want to say goodbye to him as soon as Blizzard and I fell in love with him all over again.
I guess I opened the front door a little too quickly, because when I entered, I had two humans staring at me.
"Oh," I startled, "Hi Kye. Hi Luka."
"Hey." Luka greeted me. Kye waved.
A rash decision reached my lips before my brain could argue.
     "How much human money do you have, Luka?" I asked quickly before adding, "What is it? Dollars?"
     My Master gave me a confused look. "....Yes, it's dollars. And I don't know, maybe one-point-two million?"
     "How about you, Kye?" I intruded on the other human.
     Luka stopped me. "Apollo, that's personal."
     "Around two million." Kye answered anyways. To Luka's shocked expression, he looked offended. "What? I invest heavily."
     "Okay." I was deep in thought. "What does a place like Blue Moon cost?"
     "That would depend on where it is." Luka responded. "Apollo, why are you asking all these questions?"
     I sighed deeply. Shifting my weight around on my feet and chewing on my lip, I eventually got out, "You're going to think I'm crazy...."
     "But?" Kye pried.
     "But.... But what if we left?" I managed to spit out. "What if we made our own ranch? Somewhere that Blizzard and I could raise Aspen."
      "Hun—" Luka began, then was cut off by me.
     "Please just listen to me!" The growl in my voice silenced the human. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just please listen." Another sough left my chest as I ran two dull hands through my hair. "I— I can't do anything about it here, it's completely out of my control. But if we settle our own ranch, we can keep Aspen."
      Luka's face distorted into a human emotion I couldn't quite place. "Apollo—"
     This time, it was Kye interrupting him. "I would be okay with moving somewhere with you guys. I hear Florida is great for reef keeping, and you can't get farther from Blue Moon."
     "Well—" Luka began again, just to be stopped by me.
     "If we pick up and move I promise I'll be good."
     "I was going to say," My Master emphasized, "I'd be okay with creating my own program centered around the humane treatment of lionhearts."
     My jaw dropped. I floundered for words. "Really?" I questioned, stupefied.
Kye laughed dryly. "Someone has to."
     "Yeah," Luka agreed, "Someone has to. Might as well be us."