Page 97 of The Wild Man
Alexander is my and my father’s middle name. I’m man enough to admit, my eyes became watery when momor told me she wanted to name our son after me and peepa.
My throat is tight when I give the nurse our daughter’s name. “Josephine Athena.”
“Beautiful names,” the nurse says.
Our daughter’s name is after both of our noeny’s. We couldn’t have thought of a better way to honor the parents we no longer have.
Momor looks at Josephine, and I know what she wants. I carefully settle our daughter in her other arm. Her gaze goes from one to the other, her eyes shining happily.
“I love you, Josephine.” She presses a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Alexander.” Our son’s forehead is next.
When she looks at me, I lean down and kiss her lips.
I was content out in the wild all alone, maybe even happy. It wasn’t until I had momor that I knew what true happiness is.
This woman and our two children will forever and always be my life.
* * *
“Look what I found, Daddy!”
Josie comes running up to me and holds out her little hand. In her palm is a rock nearly the size of her hand. It’s black and smooth and closely resembles the shape of a heart.
“Do you think Auntie Cammie will like it?” she asks, her gaze hopeful.
“I think she’ll love it.”
With a squeal of delight, she runs off, immediately going to her brother to show him her treasure.
My sister still collects rocks. Any time we visit her, she always tells the kids a story about where one came from. Even after hearing many of the stories, their favorite rock is the one I gave her the first time momor and I visited her.
When Peepa, Noeny, and I came to the wild for our last visit, I did find a rock to bring back to Cammie. Although I had forgotten Cammie and the reason why I needed to, I kept the rock all of those years. When I gave it to Cammie and explained what it was, she burst into tears. She now calls that her favorite rock.
A loud yip echoes in the forest and a moment later, a pair of pups comes bounding across the ground in front of me. Alex and Josie laugh as Loki playfully jumps on Ares’ back. The pups roll around until Ares pins Loki to the ground. Loki and Ares, along with Nala, are Devika’s pups. Devika and Nemu are the only two wolves we see now when we come to the forest. Teeja and Vena have been gone for a few years now, and we believe Drefan and Khelan have moved on to other parts of the forest.
With a smile on her face as she watches the rambunctious pups, momor walks over and tries to sit beside me on the log. I grab her waist before she can and drag her down onto my lap.
We’re in my old tree hut. It’s nearly the same as when we left it all those years ago, except it’s been cleaned up a bit. We don’t come as often as we used to, but we still like to bring the kids out here a couple times a year for a weekend. Momor thinks it’s important for our children to know where I spent most of my life and where she and I met. I love that she wants to share my past with them.
“Do you ever miss being here?” she asks.
I pinch a piece of fruit between my fingers and bring it to her mouth. Her eyes smile as she opens her lips to take it. Any time we’re out here, this is what we do. We feed each other like we used to.
“Yes and no. I miss the freedom and the quietness. The simplicity of living in the wild and not having to worry about what I do, or say, or how to act.” The arm I have wrapped around her pulls her closer, and I lower my voice. “I miss having you naked all the time and being able to fuck you whenever or however I want.”
Her eyes flicker with heat and she shifts on my lap. “Maybe we can have Dad or one of my brothers watch the kids one weekend and we make a special trip out here.”
My cock twitches in my jeans, and I barely hold back my growl. To have my momor naked and readily available for an entire weekend?
Fuck yes.
“Did you ever imagine your life would turn out this way?” momor asks as she watches our children play with Loki, Ares, and Nala. Devika and her wolf mate, Treyvan, lie on their bellies close by.
Honestly? No, I always thought I would die like my parents. By some wild animal, stronger and smarter than me. Maybe a bear or cougar.
I kiss the side of momor’s neck. “No. I never expected to find you, but the moment I did, I knew my life was about to change.”
She lays her head on my shoulder and kisses the underside of my jaw. I still have the beard and long hair. The one time I mentioned cutting it, I thought momor was going to attack me. She got a cute, crazed look in her eye and demanded to never mention it again.