A Cold Wind Blows (Forgotten series, #3)

Chapter 19

A few days later

He was out there again. Had been there day and night for the past few days but it seemed like an almost compulsive urge for him rather than a conscious decision. He seemed at odds with himself, he knew the rules but something was driving him to invade the space around my den. I didn't like his presence but I understood compulsions.

Like my compulsion for blood. The need to bring a fight to the bitter end, not to be satisfied until their heart stopped pumping. I needed blood coating my teeth and fur. There was an overwhelming compulsion and craving for it. It was a compulsion which was currently being driven by Gabriella. The female was a talker. An incessant chatterbox that liked to fill the air with nonsense simply because she could not stand the quiet.

"Azrael is still pacing out there. I swear I should go out there and pinch his ear." She was cleaning and Uriel was playing with Eli and Caden, it was easy to drown out their happy little shouts but Gabriella's voice was digging in deep, I couldn't drown it out. I sat on the couch with my knees up as Nina rested on them. She was cooing at me as she waved her arms around. I allowed her to hold my fingers as she did so. She seemed amused by it and it was better than her picking up on my agitation with the other female. She gurgled happily, a wide, gummy smile on her face.

"Mama! Gunna get me!" Eli screeched happily as he ran towards me. Uriel was crawling after him with small growls, Caden on his back. I looked at Eli as he pressed his face into my legs in an attempt to hide. Nina's arms jerked in surprise, her eyes wide as my legs moved underneath her. I focused on her, it was easier to ignore him calling me his mama than to experience the harsh pain and panic that came from hearing the word escape his mouth.

"The bear can chase you but I will protect you if need be." I snapped my teeth in his direction and Eli gave a shrieking laugh before he turned and ran back towards Uriel. It was good to pretend with him, Uriel said it helped create longer lasting bonds. It helped his mind flourish.

"Mama gunna ge'chu!" He giggled hysterically as Uriel gave a low, playful growl and reached for him. I turned back to Nina. Uriel said it was good for me to engage her in light play. She was on limited 'tummy time' and so I was to engage her in play. Allowing her to grasp my fingers helped with her hand eye coordination and the face to face time taught her how to focus her vision. It was easier for me to engage her when I was focusing on helping her reach milestones. It was concrete, there were very few feelings in the process that would incapacitate me. It was easier to push everything else away.

"You know, I can't believe he is still pacing out there." Gabriella's voice was sharp and it drew my attention. The female needed a lesson in being quiet. I tolerated her to a point but that was simply because Uriel rarely came without her. I tolerated her because of him. He was a good male, I had never seen Caden engage with someone like he did with Uriel. He needed that outside influence, he couldn't keep sticking to my legs, it wasn't healthy.

"Gabriella... leave it, love." Uriel's voice had dropped an octave and the female puffed up slightly. It wasn't a challenging posture but my own posture stiffened in response. There was too much agitation in it for me to be comfortable with it.

"I told him, Uriel. I told him and he didn't listen." Her words were harsh and I pulled my fingers from Nina's hands, her smile disappeared but I ignored it in favour of pressing her to my chest. It was usually the easiest way I could get my wolf to calm down. When we held the small life, my wolf focused more on her rather than on the people around us, especially if they were agitating us. The bathhouse came to mind. We liked going there but we disliked how crowded it could be. It was hard to protect all our futures when it was just me and her.

"You know what this means to him." Uriel rose up on his knees, staring at his mate as he carefully pulled Caden off his back. I stood up and ushered the boys towards their room. They didn't need to hear the dispute. They protested slightly but I gave them a look that had them falling silent.