Chapter 17: Chapter 17

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The gift of family

Is the most precious of all

Your family is like a shield

And help during the darkest times

-PenaciousShewa

“Honestly Keevan, I really love my father, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I know I am to rule after him, but right now, all I want is to learn from him and of course, have a wonderful time with my family.” Kayola confesses.

“I know, Kayola; but all I am saying is that you should prepare your mind and heart for anything. That is what a leader does. Alpha Stocles died suddenly, and it took a toll on your father because he was not ready” Keevan says.

“What do you mean?” Kayola asks, sitting up straight and glaring at him.

“I am not insinuating anything; I am just saying that we should always be prepared for whatever life throws at us. One thing is for sure, when they finally leave you for the great beyond, what will keep you going is the memories you have built with them.” He replies cautiously, sensing Kayola’s anger.

“Keevan! Can you stop talking about death? Gosh!” She gets up from the tree stump on which she was sitting and walks out on Keevan, but he quickly pulls her back to him.

“I am sorry, baby” he coos, “I am truly sorry. Don’t be mad at me, okay?” he apologizes and promptly kisses her on the lips. Soon, Kayola gets into the kiss, forgetting that she was pissed some seconds ago.

Keevan is Kayola’s mate, and they were officially pronounced mates on the night of Kayola’s 18th birthday. Kayola is not to mark Keevan until she turns twenty-one. At twenty, she is growing pretty fast, and preparing to lead the pack. She loves Keevan so much, and although they fight sometimes because of her unavailability due to her intense training and of course, school, they are still so much in love, and Keevan excites her in ways unimaginable. He just knows how to kiss away her fear, worries, and anger.

Keevan is the grandson of the old Beta. He is twenty-one, just a year older than Kayola. He is tall, with a slim build. He has soft, green eyes and he is strikingly cute. He will soon become Kayola’s partner and Beta. He is very skilled in archery, and he goes on patrol with Milos sometimes. He is so skilled with the arrow, that he can shoot at unbelievable distances and still hit the target. This is one of the skills he uses to impress Kayola whenever they go out on a date.

“Excuse me, Miss Kayola,” a voice interrupts their make-out session, and they quickly break off the kiss. They turn to look at who it is. It is Telsa, one of the maids. Plump, round-faced with shiny blonde hair styled into a tight bun above her head. Her cheeks are red from the embarrassment of seeing the couple kiss.

“Yes, Telsa,” Kayola answers, smiling softly, “what brings you here?”

“The Luna and Lady Petra asked me to come to get you,” she replies, not looking up at Kayola.

“Yes, I’ll be there soon, okay?” she dismisses Telsa.

She turns to face Keevan, “I am sorry, but I have to go,”

“It is okay, I just hope that one day, we will be able to spend quality time together as a couple without any interruption,” he says with a sad look on his beautiful face as he walks with her towards the mansion.

“Keevan, we have discussed this several times, and I have always told you that you are mated to an Alpha in the making, and you are also a good warrior. We cannot afford to while away time, baby. Duty will always call” she replies.

“I perfectly understand. That was just wishful thinking,” he sighs. Soon, they arrive at the mansion. They hug and part ways.

As she enters, Telsa directs her to the kitchen. Here, she finds Wanda and Petra in aprons, covered from head to toe in flour. Kayola shakes her head at them.

“Mum, Aunt Petra, have you been fighting again?” she asks with a smile on her young face.

“She started it!” Wanda yells, pointing her index finger at Petra and laughing hysterically.

“No, you started it!” Petra argues, faking her anger.

Soon, they are covered in more flour, and Kayola collapses on a nearby chair, laughing out her insides.

Amidst giggles, she says, “Mum, I should be the one doing this, and you should be the one reprimanding me, but I guess it is the other way round,”

“Whatever!” Wanda and Petra say together, and attempt to dust the flour off each other’s bodies, laughing really hard.

“Aunt Petra, I was having a good time with Keevan when Telsa came to get me. May I know why you asked for me?” Kayola asks, exhausted from laughing.

“Well, we baked some gingerbread cookies, and we wanted you to have some” Wanda replies, rolling her huge eyes.

“Thank you, mom!” Kayola exclaims and flies off the chair, dashing at the tray of cookies Petra is carrying.

“Stop there, fast fingers,” Petra teases, “I hope that Keevan has not been throttling you?”

Kayola widens her eyes in shock and answers, “Of course not, Aunt Petra. We are being careful.”

“That’s my girl,” Wanda says in a tone that clearly suggests that she is proud of her daughter.

Petra hands her as many cookies as she wants, and amidst chatter and laughter, they eat their cookies, each woman with a glass of milk to go with it. Later, Kayola has to retire to her room for the night. She kisses both women goodnight and goes up the stairs to her room. As she climbs, she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen, and she gasps in pain. She waits for the pain to pass and thankfully, it does.

She ignores what she just felt and enters her room. She undresses and showers with warm water. Feeling much better, she slides under the bed covers, and in a few minutes, she is sound asleep.

*******************************************

Kayola wakes up very uncomfortable. She gently pulls down her duvet and attempts to stand up and visit the bathroom. As she does, she realizes that she is covered from her torso down to her feet in blood. She rushes to the door of her room and screams.

“Mum! Mum!”

Within seconds, her parents rush into her room, wondering what the problem is. They observe her closely and immediately know what is wrong. They ask her to calm down and explain that it is her period and that she is not dying.

Milos goes on to tell her to be careful around Keevan, and that she will be in heat more often, and can now have pups.

“I’m still a baby, Father; I don’t wanna have any” Kayola says.

Her parents nod and hug her. Then, Milos leaves for his routine patrol, while Wanda teaches her how to wear a sanitary pad.

She goes to school and all is well for a while until that sharp pain comes back.

Period cramps.

Kayola pulls through school and goes straight to her room. She stays in bed and soon, it is time for her routine training. Milos knocks on her door and comes in at her invitation.

“Baby girl, why are you not dressed as usual?” he asks, checking her forehead for a fever.

“Dad, my abdomen hurts”

“They are called period cramps, Kayola, but I assure you that soon, you will be fine”

“Thanks, Dad, can I please stay in today?” she winces.

“I’m afraid not, darling. Part of your training as my predecessor is to be able to endure pain and perform your duties. You have to meet me downstairs in five minutes okay?” With this, he kisses his daughter gently on the forehead and excuses her.

Kayola drags herself out of bed, and dresses up in a jiffy, and joins her father in the kitchen. Petra prepares some herbs to relieve Kayola of her pain. She drinks it and leaves for the training ground with her father.

Thank you so much for the likes, comments, subscription, reading, everything! I know that it might seem like this story is slow-paced, but I promise you that we are building up!!

Love,

PenaciousShewa