Talia laughed.
"I saw his little bat wings. They were little tiny things that sprouted from his back and he was so proud of them."
Cedric smiled and put a finger to his lips.
"Shhh. Don't let him hear you say that. He's so proud of them."
Talia glanced over at the sleeping boy.
"Oh believe me, I was praising him to the moon. He thought they were the best thing since sliced bread."
She turned back to Cedric. "You're not concerned that—"
"That what?" He raised an eyebrow. "That he's a half-vampire and has learned how to transform himself into a bat AND a wolf at a very young age?"
She nodded.
"I would be much more concerned if he didn't have his other uncle to show him how to be a good vampire. I'm afraid I would only be able to help him when he becomes a werewolf and that won't be for quite some time."
"Yes. I heard Vander say that he can't transform into a werewolf until he hits puberty."
Cedric nodded. "To transform into a werewolf, he would need a large amount of androgens. He's simply too young to produce very much testosterone at this time."
Talia grimaced. "I can imagine how scary it would be to have your body pumped full of hormones and then suddenly grow fangs and claws and hair everywhere…"
Cedric chuckled. "You make it sound so unpleasant."
"No no!" She waved her hand. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that it would be a shock to someone…"
Cedric leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.
"Don't worry. I understand what you mean. It does involve a bit of pain during the transformation, but the trade-off is immense power to do things that the normal human body cannot do."
He turned back to the little sleeping boy. "Once he reaches puberty, I can guide him into werewolf-hood."
Talia nodded. With Cedric to guide him, Devin was going to be just fine. The thought took her back to the vampire.
"Are you concerned about Vander at all?" Talia asked.
"Are you asking me if I think he is dangerous?" Cedric raised an eyebrow. "The answer is yes. Vander is a very dangerous being."
"However," he raised up a finger. "While you were sleeping, the day we took you back from the church, he and I have hashed out the details."
Cedric leaned back against the pillows and gathered Talia into his arms.
"It is quite obvious that Vander cares very deeply for Devin. He is also looking for his brother in the same manner that I have been looking for my sister."
"We have a hunch that the two of them are together at this time, which means if we find him, we will also find her, and vice-versa."
"Since we both are going after the same objective, meaning we are both trying to locate Devin's parents, if we join forces, there is a higher chance that we can meet with success."
"I've been looking for Viviene all by myself for over a year with no success. Perhaps with Vander aiding my search, we can cover a wider area."
"There is also Devin. It's actually a good thing for him to have one more person who really cares about him, aside from me and you."
"Now, having said that, I do have one major concern."
"What is it?" Talia looked up at him.
"He seems to also be fixated on you."
Talia pursed her lips. "But I'm marked."
"But he cannot smell a werewolf mark, or so he's told me." Cedric twisted his lips.
Talia snorted. "Isn't that another good reason why you should put a ring on me?"
She stuck out her left ring finger which had nothing on it. "Humans and vampires can't smell werewolf marks."
Cedric rumbled something deep in his throat.
He got off the bed and went to his trunk, muttering to himself. After rummaging around in his things for a few minutes, he found what he was looking for.
"Let's try something, shall we?"
He pulled out a thin strip of dark brown leather that had been used to tie a bundle of books together, a needle and thread, and a small knife and brought them to the table on the other side of the pot belly stove.
"What are you going to do?" Talia's eyes widened with surprise.
"I'm going to mark you in the human way so an anosmic guy like Vander doesn't have to rely on his deficient nose. He can see this mark quite clearly."
He reached out and grabbed her hand. With a quick motion, he measured out the size of her ring finger using the leather and then he cut it down to the size of a small ring with the sharp knife.
"Hmm. You have very small fingers." He chuckled as he threaded the needle and began sewing the ends together using a few quick movements of his hand.
Then he ran the threaded section over a candle flame and burnished the entire thing with a leather cloth.
"Hold your hand out and let's see if it fits."
Talia held out her hand, and Cedric slid the ring onto her finger.
"How does it feel? Is the inside smooth enough?"
Talia grinned. "It looks so cool, and feels very comfortable."
She flexed her fingers and held it up, admiring the way the dark leather looked on her finger.
"It fits perfectly. Thank you!"
Cedric pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the ring that he had just placed on her finger.
"There you go. Marked with a kiss. Now do you feel more like my mate?"
Talia nodded with a big grin. "I like this ring very very much."
Cedric laughed and tapped her nose.
"Don't get too attached to it. It's just a space holder until we get to Faria and I can get a real ring on you. There are goldsmiths and jewelers who create jewelry with amazing craftsmanship."
He began playing with her fingers.
"I will put a ring on each of your fingers and your toes. I'll put gold bands on your wrists and ankles, and gold chains around your neck and waist. I will put tiaras on your head and jewels in your hair."
Talia laughed. "I don't need all that, but I do need to get you a ring so you can be marked too."
Cedric smiled with indulgence. "I don't need a ring as a mark."
She wrinkled her nose. "If you don't get ring-marked, then how will other females know you're my mate? I can't really mark you since I'm a human."
His amber eyes grew resolute. "It's not necessary because I will never accept another mate."
"But the females will come after you." Talia reasoned.
"And?"
"Wouldn't it be easier if you had a way to signal that you're mated?" She pursed her lips.
"It wouldn't matter Talia. I would never allow them to get close to me."
"And how would you prevent them from getting close, hmm?"
"Unless they wish to die an unpleasant death, it would be wise for them to keep a distance from me."