A Boar's Temper Tantrum

Mother Annaria beamed at me. “Of course he is, my dear. He is waiting impatiently beside the Goddess to welcome you home. Whenever that is, no matter how long he has to wait.”

“I-is he mad at me because of…” I lowered my head in shame. “You know.”

“Because you’re having sex with Gerald again to try to protect your daughter?”

I nodded as my head dropped more. “Yeah.”

She shifted on the bed so that she was sitting next to me with her arm around my shoulders. “I spoke to him last night along with Giselda, and Milton.”

“You did?” I whispered.

She took my hand. “I did. Giselda said that she misses you and she wishes she was here to protect you. Milton wanted me to tell you thank you for helping Giselda while she was still here. He wanted me to tell you that when you came home, he was looking forward to getting to know you without the whole Gerald thing hanging over your guys’ heads.”

I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Did Logan say something?” I asked almost silently.

“Yes. He said that he was so proud of you and that it takes a strong woman to sacrifice herself for her children. He thinks you are incredible and you are still the woman of his dreams. You are still the woman of his dreams. You are still the only one he wants. Trust me, daughter, when you get back to his side, he’s never going to let you go.”

“That will be so nice,” I said, smiling softly.

She straightened up with her eyes on the door. “I should go, but if you need me, for anything, I’ll be just a call away.”

I hugged her. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

She got up and within seconds, she was slipping between the cracks inside of a pod. I drew my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I heard claws scraping along the hardwood floor before it was replaced by soft footsteps. I stiffened as the footsteps neared the door. When the door was opened, I tried to make myself as small as possible. He stopped by the bed, grumbling under his breath.

“My human wants me to apologize to you,” Kraven growled.

“Do you want to apologize to me?” I asked.

“No! I don’t think you deserve it. I think you are lying and manipulative. I don’t trust you,” he hissed.

I searched his face for a moment before sighing. “Then I will just say that I accept Gerald’s apology.”

He narrowed his eyes on me while his jaw ticked angrily. “You have no idea how badly I want to hurt you!” He spat before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “But my human is already furious with how I’m treating you, so I will compromise with you. Don’t do anything stupid and I won’t hurt you.”

“Okay,” I murmured.

He shook his head and I saw the instant change in him as my Gerry took over. “Are you hungry, Banannie?” He asked as he held his hand out.

I hesitated before reaching out to take his hand. “Yes.”

“I got us some rabbit. If it’s not enough, I can go hunt some more,” he told me as he led me out of the room.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” I whispered.

I gasped when I walked into the kitchen to see that every available counter was covered in skinned rabbit. I glanced at him as I paused, ignoring the way he tugged at my hand.

“I-is this for me?” I inquired, shocked.

“Yes. I mean, you’re pregnant and I don’t want you to be hungry and–”

I walked across the room to pick up a rabbit, turning back toward him as I took a bite. “I’ve missed you, Gerry. This is the boy that I fell in love with,” I said softly around a mouthful of food.

He tilted his head as he studied me. “Annie?”

“Mhmmm?”

“Do you think we could be a family? Like a real family? If I kept Kraven at the back?” He asked.

“Gerry…” I swallowed hard. “I don’t think…” I fell silent as my promise to Mother Annaria rang in my head. I swallowed hard. “Do you think you could really do that? Because back there,” I said, waving my hand toward the bedroom, “he seemed like he was in control. You have always had a hard time controlling him when he wanted something. Can you guarantee that he won’t hurt me or our daughter?”

He sighed as he gripped the back of a chair at the table. “No. I can’t. I want to be able to say that I can without a doubt, but we both know that you are a lying whore,” Kraven finished, making me groan.

“Why do you hate me so much, Kraven? Like really?” I asked. “What did I do that was so wrong?”

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Because you chose someone else, Annaria. You betrayed me. After everything I did for you, you still chose him! Am I not supposed to be angry?” He spat.

I lowered the rabbit from my mouth as I studied his face. “Kraven, you should have chosen Giselda. The minute you saw her, you should have walked away from me.” I paused for a moment before sighing. “No, not walked. You should have run to her. You betrayed her. I didn’t betray you. Why can’t you see that?”

“Because I loved you! I still love you. You were the only thing that I ever loved so deeply and you deserted me,” he almost yelled, making me flinch.

“Are you saying that you went feral because of me?” I asked.

“YES! THAT’S WHAT I’M FUCKING SAYING! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” He roared.

I lowered my head sadly. “I’ll take the blame if it makes you feel better about abusing me.”

He stormed across the room to grab my arms roughly so he could shake me violently. “YOU HAVEN’T EVEN BEGUN TO SEE ABUSE!” He let me go and I flew backward, hitting the wall hard.

I slid slowly to the floor as I struggled to catch my breath. The vine embedded in my body immediately began to flood my system with a feel good solution that had my pain disappearing. He crouched in front of me, and my arms went instinctually around my stomach to protect my daughter. He gripped my chin hard enough to make it bruise immediately.

“Y-you’re hurting me,” I whimpered.

“Good! You’re lucky I haven’t choked the shit out of you. Let me make this very clear to you! You are mine! You will always be mine! And if anyone thinks they are going to take you from me, I will kill them too. Just remember that if you are thinking about running, I will find you, and when I do, it won’t be pleasant. I will hurt you and anyone you’re with.” His grip tightened on my chin. “I will break you, Annaria, and when I do, you will never forget who owns you.”

He pushed my head back into the wall behind me, making me moan in pain. He held my gaze for a moment before standing up to walk toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He froze before looking at me over his shoulder. “Out! I don’t answer to you, slut! You answer to me. If I want to fuck someone else while I’m out, I will.”

I lowered my head to hide how hard I was clenching my jaw. “Okay. I understand.”

“Whatever!”

He stomped out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. I flipped the door off before leaning my head back against the wall.

“Fuck whoever you want, Kraven. It’s just one less time that I have to be the one under you,” I mumbled under my breath. “I hate you! I will always hate you! You say I’m manipulating you, but these glimpses of the boy I fell for aren’t going to make me forget all of the things you did to me.” I wiped a tear off my face. “You don’t do that to people you love,” I sniffled before giggling a little. “Stupid pregnancy hormones screwing with my emotions.” I placed my hand on my stomach as I looked down at it. “You will be safe, no matter what. I promise.”