in a blue jumpsuit that khan had all but threw at her before he had exited the room demanding that she wait there, for what Neema remained unsure. His monosyllabic behaviour annoyed her but she listened to him in hopes that he had sent someone to her room to to show her to her siblings

It really annoyed her that Khan could just switch back to normal while Neema was left reeling with the after effects of their interlude in the bath. It had only been a couple of hours since she had met and mated with him but she could already see that her attitude towards him had begun to change. She could pretend it was for the sake of her sibling's survival and comfort that she listened to him and voluntarily touched him but deep down Neema was aware of what it really was.

The bite mark had left her craving his presence against her better judgement and disdain, she was trapped with wanting him against her will and soon her will would not even be against him. The weak bond was becoming stronger and she loathed but desired it.

The turning of the door handles had Neema discarding her thoughts and flying across the room to yank it open to see the face of the same talkative maid who had escorted her to the preparation rooms.

Sahina was such a pretty female, she looked exotic with long dark hair and matching eyes that glistened, her skin was the colour of almonds and shone with radiance. For a maid she was well put together with freshly painted nails and glossy lips that were tinted up in a warm smile. Neema subtly looked down at her pasty skin and half groomed nails, next to Sahina she was sure that she would pass for the maid and not the other way around.

"Hi Neema, it is good to see you again! Your mating was so un real, everyone is still talking about the way you bit Khan" she squealed, her body bouncing in excitement and joy.

Neema cringed at the high octave her voice reached, the she wolf was way too excitable for so early in the morning. Neema did not know how any man could deal with her high pitched voice, the bite on her neck was a clear indication that someone could tolerate the sound and perhaps even revere it.

"I don't really wanna talk about that, can we just see my siblings" said Neema as she continued her fast pace down the corridor following Sahina in her sullen silence. She'd had more than enough time to dwell on her mating and did not want to pay it anymore mind than was necessary. She had two things that were at the forefront of her mind and no talk of her mating was going to disrupt her from achieving those things, firstly she needed to find and hold her babies.

They were not her children but with the absence of her parents and her older sister she'd had to provide them with that role. Caillum could still remember their parents and would sometimes ask about them but mentioning them often got him upset, the only time Caillum called Neema mama was when he was tired or upset.

Jana was only a baby when they had gone missing so she had called Neema Mama from the moment she had learnt to speak at two years old. Jana was a slow learner when it came to speaking but she was a lot smarter then her language passed her off as. Neema was the mother of both so any problems they had were an example of her failing to be a good parent, the role she was forced to play was both a curse and privilege.

"My little munchkins" Neema cried with joy as her siblings came hurtling towards her as she entered the large room, Jana squealing at her presence. Kneeling on the floor she gathered the children into her awaiting arms as her ears were filled with the constant chatter of her littlest sibling. Jana was dribbling all over her arm in her excitement as her high pitched voice was babbled on in her mostly unintelligible words.

Caillum mostly quiet in the crook of her arm but that was his nature from young. He had barely said a word to her in the past 10 minutes she had been holding them but Caillum had always been a boy of little words, unlike Jana he could pronounce better than Neema sometimes but he barely said any. Lifting his face, she gently kissed his brow and whipped the clinging tears from his long lashes, the big grin on his face assured her that he was not hurt.

"I thought we would never see you again, like everyone else" Caillum sniffled. For such a small child he had been through so much heartache, not only had their parents gone but so had their older sister. She had been taken no longer than a year later at another underground raid by wolves, Neema vowed that as long as she lived she would never leave him, she would sacrifice all she was to make sure he never felt abandonment ever again.

"Oh baby I would never leave you! I was just a little ill but I'm better now" she promised.

The little white lie was believed by neither of them but it was easier then recounting the truth, neither her nor Caillum were prepared for the actual truth.

Kissing his forehead and Jana's ruddy cheeks she slowly climbed off the floor, slobbering both their faces with kisses as they clung to her in joy and fear. Both her sibling had been cleaned up, their once grimy skin and dirty hair had been washed and their dry lips and flaky skin looked radiant. Caillum's hair had been given a much needed trim causing his wavy hair to become curlier in its shortness and Jana's unruly hair was placed into little neat pigtails. She knew they wouldn't last for long because of the girl's wild behaviour, when Jana was left to her own devices she was an erratic and boisterous child.

When she finished making sure that they had been fed and well cared for she allowed her siblings to grab her hands and force her into one of the little chairs by the children's tables. Once they were sure she was comfortable and not going to move they kissed her before they ran off, Caillum holding her a little longer than Jana did. Every now and then one of them would run back to make sure she was still there, or they would call out her name to make sure she was watching.

Grinning to herself Neema took in their navy clad bodies as they ran around the room, occasionally interacting the odd child or two. The nursery was everything she had imagined it would be, the walls were painted a bright sunny yellow with one of the walls being covered in children's paintings of the wildlife. Little handprints were on the wall alongside a colourful childlike rendition of the alphabet, the nursery looked like a place where her siblings could have fun while learning

As the room was on the ground floor it had large glass doors that led towards a playground, that had a large pit with pale white grains and apparatus that the children were climbing on. The laughter and joy of children rang throughout the room and the outdoors. She was happy that her siblings had found a safe haven in their new home it did not matter that her experience in the compound had not been the greatest she was just glad that she could witness the glow in their eyes.

She reluctantly agreed that the compound provided better conditions for young growing children than any village she had lived in.

//---//

As the day progressed her siblings had grown in confidence and had wanted to explore the foreign toys that were outside, Neema had followed them like the dutiful hovering parent she was and had taken a seat on one of the many benches. The sun rays were absorbed into her skin, rejuvenating her body with energy and happiness.

"Are they your children?" Questioned a familiar voice behind Neema.

Tilting her head upwards she squinted her eyes to put a face to the familiar voice, hoping that she would recognise him Neema was stumped when no name matched the face.

"Umm yeah they are my siblings. Do I know you?" She asked the tall brown skinned male who blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, umm sorry I am Carson" he mumbled as he scratched the back of his neck in nervousness, his long curly hair lay in a wild disarray and slightly shrouded his face from her sight.

"I was, uhh, in your room umm earlier on" he mumbled as Neema's eyebrows shot skyward at his words, what the hell had he been doing in her room.

Carson's face turned completely red at the realisation that his words had been misconstrued.

"I- I went to get Khan when, you guys were in the bathroom, he umm, he told me to get out. I don't know if you remember." His words tumbling out his mouth in disarray as he rushed to explain,

As he was speaking he flicked his hair out of his face to reveal piercing grey eyes, the colour of them were so astounding Neema felt her breath leaving her. The sorrow she saw in those silver orbs caused her heart to ache for his pain, the poor boy looked so awkward in his body she was sure he had been bullied. He hunched forwards as if he were trying to make himself less noticeable.

She felt herself frowning at his actions and words, if this was the male that Khan had screamed at, she would be livid, Khan had no reason to treat him so harshly. The poor boy looked so harmless and unsure of himself, it was completely unnecessary to be so mean.

"Oh yeah I remember that. Why don't you take a seat?" she exclaimed, he looked like he needed a friend and she was in as much need as him.

Shuffling down on the bench to make room Neema glanced at Carson, his body was impossibly thin for a werewolf, where their bodies were typically bulky from young Carson was tall and thin. Wolves typically reached their pubescent years before most human males so by the age of 18 they were pretty much grown looking men, yet Carson stood before her looking fragile, it was quite a contrast. She was 100 percent sure he was a wolf, they all had something about their aura that made them noticeable and though she would normally avoid a male wolf this boy seemed trustworthy.

She wanted to ask him what was different with him but she didn't want to be impolite, he had probably spent the whole of his life explaining why he was the way he was and Neema did not want to become one of those people.

Making small talk they both got acquainted with each other, at first Carson mostly listened to Neema speak as if he was afraid he would be reprimanded for giving his opinion. Slowly his shell began to fall away as he began telling her stories, he had only begun talking to her when it became apparent that Neema was trying to have a conversation and not dictate the speech.

"Both of my parents are wolves but my mum is really diluted and she is not my fathers true mate so I came out wiry, it also did not help that my father was too old to have me. My other siblings are typical wolves though" he grumbled out abashedly. Neema felt her heart weakening for the struggle and self-depreciation he must have had all his life, it was not his fault that he was this way and she hated that they treated him badly because of his condition.

"I'm a little confused, how can he mate with someone who wasn't his mate". She wondered aloud.

Carson had told Neema that his father had three mates, not all at the same time, but still three was a lot to have for anybody. It made no sense whatsoever, if they could do procreate with more than one woman then Khan did not really need her to have his pups. He could maybe find another female who would enjoy his company and be willing to have his children. She did not really want to give up the w brute after their interlude in the bath but she also was not prepared to have his children straight away, if ever.

"Well wolves have a true mate but we live for a long time. So imagine your true mate has not been born yet. Do you just wait 500 years for her to be born? In that time would you not want companionship?"

When Neema shot him a quizzical look he attempted to explain it further.

"Each wolf has their true mate and say a couple of potential mates. A wolf's heir would come from their true mate because genetically speaking they would have the strongest pups because their bond or compatibility would be the strongest. We have laws around mating but we can basically have multiple mates, some at the same time but mostly at different points at time" Carson finalised.

Neema was thoroughly shocked she struggled to find the words to express what she was thinking. For the longest time she had been taught that wolves could only have one mate all their life which Carson had only proven to be a lie. She feared what would happen to her and her siblings if she was not Khans true mate and he ended up finding the woman who was. She had become slightly attached to him but more importantly she needed him to secure her families place in this world. Her thoughts ran rampant with different scenarios as she tried to grasp the situation at hand.

Silence descended between the two as Neema tried to absorb all of his words and decipher the true meaning behind his words, Khan could have another mate. She assumed she was his true mate because of the connection she had started to feel towards him, the bond had strengthened so much in the space of a day. Even when she was away from him she felt the urge to just be in his arms, it was a craving that tingled along her skin.

"How comes you can have more than one mate?" Neema blurted out.

The question had been plaguing her mind since he had first told her about it. At her abrupt question Carson's face lit up. "Humans can have more than one husband or wife right. Well so can we".

He admitted it was a bit more complex then just that, but that was pretty much the reason.

Neema guessed it made sense, wolves lived longer so it was only fair that they would not be alone forever but still she didn't like the idea of Khan replacing her and it kind of removed the glamour that was felt about mates

//--//

As Neema hugged Carson goodbye she remembered to ask him if he knew where the teenage humans from her compound had been placed, his cheeks had turned a bright pink as he agreed to show her where they stayed tomorrow. Neema reluctantly agreed that tomorrow would be a better day to find the blonde child as she would have more time to spend with her, she felt bad that she had forgotten to find her and only hoped that the girl would be okay for one more night.

Clasping her siblings hand she led them towards the door of the nursery with the intention of taking them to her room, as she opened the door Sahina appeared out of nowhere.

"Damn it woman, where did you come from?" Neema gasped out clutching her chest as Sahina almost scared her to death.

"I was waiting outside the door for you" she beamed.

Bending down to ruffle Caillum's hair and tickling Jana's little stomach, she ignored the glare Neema was sending her. Shooting up into a standing position she clasped Caillum's hand and encouraged Neema to follow her down the hallway. Sahina was always way too excited for Neema's peace of mind. Couldn't the woman just be normal for one day? That's all she asked.

Grudgingly following her down the corridor Neema took in her surroundings trying to remember her way but after three or four turns she gave up. All the walls were painted the exact same nude colour, there was not one painting or picture on any of them so she could not differentiate one corridor to the next. She really did not know how Sahina navigated the corridor with no confusion.

After 5 minutes they finally reached the landing that led to her and khan's quarters.

Grasping her sibling's hands, she pulled them along to the adjoining room to hers, pushing open the door she was completely surprised to see that the walls were painted a light blue. It was a pleasant change from the full nude walls of the corridors or the dark, gothic, maroon of khan's quarters. The colour was a pleasant change from the darkness of her old room and would be the perfect knew beginning her siblings needed.

"So guys what do you think of your new room? Cosy right?" She grinned down at her siblings.

Jana was completely oblivious to her words as she was to busy plucking at the blanket on the king sized bed.

Caillum though was grinning widely, his smile matching that of his sisters.