Anira

"We're driving down the hill road late, but fed; Arow hasn't said anything since he sat down at the table with me.
"How long are you going to stay silent?" I ask while driving.
"Anira, you can’t imagine, can you?" His tone is cautious.
"No, so why don't you tell me? Auror can irritate me just as easily as a kick when we're distracted."
"I've never seen anyone speak to him the way you did. I felt the power emanating from you from outside, Anira."
"Call me Ann."
"You're the mate of the most powerful leader ever born; do you really think I'll treat you any way other than with great respect?"
"Calling me Ann isn't disrespectful."
"But it wasn't authorized by Auror."
"And what I think doesn't matter?"
"Yes, but right now Auror must be fuming like a caged animal for not being able to follow you here; he doesn’t know how to handle what he feels."
"It's just a workday, Arow; it's not like I won’t be home at the end of the day."
"The bond is still weak, Anira; your humanity tells you that, and it's normal, but for a Férnus, it isn’t." I take a deep breath, parking the car in front of the clinic.
"You're right; I don’t know. It would be much easier if he explained it to me. Auror only knows how to spit orders; he doesn’t seem like the same being who was in bed with me." Arow’s little smile doesn’t escape me. "And yes, my damn body and mind want to stick to that irritating mountain of muscles, but I have a commitment to my patients, and I’m not going back."
I get out of the car, not before seeing Arow raise his hands in surrender.
As soon as I enter the clinic, everyone looks at me as if they were seeing a colorful, prancing unicorn.
"Good morning," I say. "What do we have today?" I ask as I head inside.
I stop before crossing the door, and everyone remains standing, staring at me."
"— I don’t have anything? — I ask, beginning to get irritated.
"Er... — Alenna starts to speak.
"Yes?" I take a deep breath.
"There are two visits, one at each end of Forty Mile, with cracked hooves and inflamed udders," she informs.
I see that Michelly is frozen and not looking at me completely; in fact, both their gazes are down. I take a deep breath and try to calm down; they’re like Arow, with the scent, the leadership, and everything else.
"Yes, my scent must be completely affected by Auror’s; yes, we’re going through the bond. I’m his mate; I’m as surprised as you because everything seems to have happened too quickly."
"Do you know about the Férnus?" Alenna’s voice is lower than usual.
"Yes, and believe me, I still think I’m dreaming or in some kind of hallucinogenic reaction; I just don’t know when I took the damn drugs," I say. "Now, let’s get to work; it’s not like you don’t know me."
Everyone quickly moves and starts working. In the morning, I went to a farm to tend to some cows with a limp. We only stopped for lunch, and in the afternoon, I took care of the breeding cows. Throughout, whenever someone saw me, they acted exactly like the girls at the clinic, as if I had a horn in the middle of my forehead.
No one looked me in the eye; they always seemed to address Arow, and it was irritating, but I didn’t say anything. I don’t know the laws governing the Férnus; I just want my day to end so I can go home."

***


Auror


"I spent my day trying not to think that Anira was far from me, unprotected, or even at some kind of risk. Restlessness takes over me, and not being able to go to her makes anger run through my veins.
I sent all the staff away as soon as they finished their duties. It's getting dark, and I haven’t heard the sound of her car. Unable to contain myself any longer, I decide to go get her, even though the sun is still high. Wandering around the house won’t help me.
I march to the door, and when I open it, a body throws itself against me, wrapping its arms around me and making all the anguish that existed before disappear. My restlessness certainly didn’t allow me to hear the truck arriving.
"Ann? Ann, what happened?" She’s crying. "Anira, tell me what happened?"
Without getting answers, I scoop her up in my arms, noticing that she didn’t even close the truck. Her body clings to me as she continues to sob, and now the anxiety of her not being here is replaced by the desire to know who made her cry.
I take her to our room and lay her on the bed, but her arms hold me to keep me from leaving.
"Don’t leave me here," she pleads, and I sit beside her, holding her in my arms.
"Are you going to tell me what happened, or will I need to kill someone?" Seeing my mate cry doesn’t give me the kind of feeling I’d like to have with her near.
"I just had a bad day." She doesn’t look at me and curls up a little more.
"A bad day how, Ann? Where was Arow? Why the hell did my mate come home crying? I need answers without having to drag them out of someone." I try to control my impulse to growl while she calms down.
For a while, I let her feel safe by my side until her eyes, red from crying, open. Her hair is so shiny it almost hurts the eyes. This is how angelics show their feelings, whether they are happy or sad."
"I worked all day, but was completely ignored; no one looked me in the eye or spoke to me. It was as if I were invisible. I felt horrible and excluded, like they didn't want me around." She buries her face in my chest again.
Then I understand what she’s feeling and try to explain.
"Anira, everyone who didn’t look at you or speak to you did so out of respect." Hearing my words, she looks at me, confused. "My scent, Ann, it’s completely dominating you. They know we’re mating and strengthening the bonds."
"Is that why you didn’t want me to go out?" Her gaze is full of curiosity.
"No." I take a deep breath, remembering Black's words. "I don’t want to share your attention with anyone, and if possible, I wouldn’t allow anyone to look at you or have the privilege of your presence." I meet her gaze, and she smiles.
"Jealous?"
"Possessive, Ann." I lower my head. "So possessive that I almost broke my damn vow and went out during the day so everyone would see me. I wanted everyone to know, not just by the scent, but by my unhappy face, that I was sharing you with them."
"I wanted to come home all day." Her confession makes me even more possessive.
"Why didn’t you come?" I lift her head so she looks at me.
"Because I was angry. I wanted to show you that you don’t control me and that I can work. I’m not your prisoner, Auror. We don’t have another vet, and I love what I do." I huff, wishing I could tie her to the bed. "Don’t huff and roll your eyes at me."
"I thought you’d go mad. You haven’t lived with us, but you’ve been handling everything very well. I still believe you’ll take the truck and disappear, and damn it, I won’t even be able to fetch you and bring you back on my shoulders."