Chapter Ninety-Seven

"Yeah, might as well, I didn't realize they even had a daycare," I said with a nod as I leaned back in the seat, stretching out. "So I'm going to guess that a raven shifter is what it sounds like?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Correct. Sometimes I forget that you only know what I've taught you. Vampires, recreants, witches, mimics, and elementals are the only ones you know of, correct?" Damien asked as he turned the car around to head towards the daycare after texting Octavia to find out where it was.

"I remember you told me I would wish I didn't know was out there, but now I think it would be better if I did know," I responded, then shook my head with a giggle. *'I know I'm definitely going to regret saying that, but I am right. Not knowing would be much worse at this point.'*

"Well, as far as I am aware, there are shifters of almost every kind. There are some who can take on multiple forms, and there are some who can only take one form, like the mimics."

"That must be why they got so upset when Samantha called them werewolves because werewolves exist and the mimics don't like them?" I asked, recalling when I first met Octavia and Kerr, Samantha had made the mistake of calling them werewolves, and none of them appreciated it very much.

"Yes, as they explained, they can take the form of the wolf. Unlike the shifters who break their bones to turn into wolves. The same goes for other types of shifters. They turn into the animal, rather than taking the form of the animal." Damien explained as we pulled into the parking lot of the daycare. It stood off to the left of the inn and was basically in the center of the town. *'How did I not see this before? We've driven past the inn at least a dozen times.'* I thought as we took the babies out of the backseat, and walked into the building, looking around hesitantly. The entire front entrance was filled with babies' toys, set for all ages, while the windows were dimmed so not too much of the sunlight came into the room.

We waited by the front desk for a few moments when a younger mimic came to the front, holding a small child in her arms, who couldn't have been older than a few months. She looked about the same age that Azeneth and Ciaran appeared to be. "Hello, Bast and Damien, please, come on back and look around." She said with a kind smile, motioning with her head for us to follow her past the desk and into the back.

"Octavia already told you that we were coming?" I asked as Damien and I followed her into the back room, where about five women were watching after a group of babies and a few toddlers.

"Yes, she told us all that you would be coming here soon, and told us about your babies." The woman said as she laid the baby down in a cradle, then held her hand out to me, "I'm Laura, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Damien said after shaking her hand, then looking around the room. "Octavia told you about our babies? Do you think that is something you are prepared to handle, should the situation arise?"

"To be entirely honest with you, Sir, I'm not sure. But Octavia said that her mother would come to specifically watch your babies if you wish her to."

"I forgot about Anissa!" I gasped as Damien and I walked around the room, looking at their baby locks, and the toys they had available. There were a few rooms off to the side, where there was a line of cradles, and mats, for napping. And another room for what I assumed was for the older kids to have their snacks, and watch tv. "She dealt with Octavia's powers when she came into them, so it makes sense that we could leave the babies with her."

"Yes, I failed to recall that fact as well. But I think being surrounded by multiple women to care for them would be best, as Anissa may get overwhelmed to care for them on her own, should something happen." Damien agreed with a nod as we walked back into the main room where the women were waiting, their nerves obvious as they watched us look around. The sound of Azeneth crying pulled our attention to her instead, as Damien kneeled to set her carrier down, so he could make her a bottle. "Would you mind telling me what Octavia has told you about our children?" Damien asked them as he made two bottles, assuming her crying would wake Ciaran up as well.

"She said they are vampire, elemental, and human. And that they age faster than normal children, so they usually need to be fed more often. But she didn't say what they drank, however. I see you are making them baby formula. So, that's what they drink?" Laura asked, watching with a soft smile as Azeneth happily began drinking her formula, making soft cooing noises as she did so.

"Yes, they drink formula, as my body stopped making milk the day after they were born," I said with a soft laugh, watching as the woman all relaxed, knowing they wouldn't have to feed the babies any blood, as they clearly thought they would have to. *'If I was in their shoes, I think I'd be weirded out by that too. Feeding a child blood just sounds weird, and is seriously off-putting.'*

"Do you know when you would like for us to start watching them? I'm only asking so we know when to have Anissa come in." One of the other women asked softly, jumping up softly when Damien looked at her. I could see the apology in her eyes when she returned Damien's gaze.

"What are your hours?" I asked, noticing there was a coffee table set out on the table off to the side, so I went to make myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a danish while I was at it.

"We are open twenty-four hours. If you're alright for staying a few minutes, the other women who work here are coming in to meet you, so you can know the entire staff who might be watching your children." Laura said as she joined me at the table to make herself a cup of coffee as well.

"Sure, thank you," Damien said with a nod as he went to a rocking chair and sat down, pulling Ciaran into his arms, rocking softly while the baby drank.

I sat down next to him and picked up Azeneth, who had already fallen fast asleep, rocking softly as we waited.

The wait was only about five minutes, before a dozen more women came into the backroom of the daycare, and introduced themselves to Damien and me, shaking out hands before they sat down in the chairs that the women had set out.

"What are the baby's names?" One of the women asked, watching Damien as he continued to rock Ciaran to sleep.

"Ciaran and Azeneth," Damien responded, not seeming to notice that all of the women were staring at him. Either he didn't notice, or he didn't really care. *'I bet Damien's used to women staring at him, but then again, these are mimics. There's no way they're staring at him in that way, so it must just be fear, which makes the most sense. Even if they were looking at him in that way, Damien loves me, and our children. He's loved me for years and I know he wouldn't care about another woman's attention anyways.'* I thought as I shook the thoughts loose to return my attention to Azeneth, who was watching me closely like she knew what I was thinking.

*'Are you reading momma's mind, Azzie? Is that something you can do? Or maybe you're like your father?'* I thought as I looked down into her beautiful wide eyes, and found myself getting lost in the forest of green that was her eyes. I could feel an urge in my head like something was trying to force it's way to the front. *'Is that you, Azzie? Are you trying to tell momma something?'* I asked her, then felt like another person in my head was agreeing with me, but could do nothing more than a nod.

"Bast, what's wrong?" Damien asked, bringing my attention back to the room around me, making me realize that everyone was looking at me like they were waiting for me to answer a question I hadn't heard. "Is there something wrong with Azzie?"

"No, I'm sorry. Did someone ask me something?"

"Brenda asked if we would like to drop the babies off in the morning, for our meeting with Octavia," Damien said, narrowing his eyes softly, his eyes filled with curiosity and worry as he watched me closely, then glanced down at Azeneth.

"Sure, that would be good, yeah," I said with a nod as I kneeled and put Azeneth back in her carrier, then saying goodbye to the women as we walked back to the car. "Damien, Azzie was trying to use her abilities!" I gasped after we'd driven away from the daycare, and were headed back home.

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning to face me, his eyes wide in shock and bewilderment.

"I could feel her trying to get into my head, but the most she could manage was telling me that she agreed with what was going through my head," I said, trying to explain what happened, but I knew I wasn't doing a very good job, as the bewildered look in his eyes hadn't eased any with my explanation. "Okay, don't get mad, but I was noticing the way the women were staring at you, and I know that's because of what and who you are, but my thoughts got away from me a little bit. Then I told myself that even if you were looking at them in that way, that you wouldn't care anyway, because you love me and our babies. Then, I looked down into Azzie's eyes and I could, feel her trying to push past my borders, and speak to me. But the most she could do was nod, like another person in my head nodding." I said, then groaned and shook my head.

"I believe I know what you mean, kitten. She was trying to speak to you, but instead, you could only understand her feelings about what she thought, and not the thoughts itself?" Damien asked as we pulled into the driveway, and carried the babies into the house, before laying them down in their cradles. Damien took my hand and led me into the kitchen, where he turned on the oven and sat down at the table while we waited for it to heat up. "I'm still curious as to why Sinclair could understand their exact thoughts, while we couldn't?"

"Hmm, I actually forgot about that. Do you think he's done hunting yet?" I asked as I clicked on Sinclair's name, but didn't dial yet, as I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be interrupting his feeding.

"With Sinclair's speed, yes, I believe he should be. But I'm not sure if they left themselves a marker at the entrance. Go ahead and call, if you wish." He responded as he poured me a cup of water, and set it down in front of me.

I nodded and dialed Sinclair's number, waiting for him to pick up the phone.

"Is everything alright, little Bastet?" Sinclair asked, picking up the phone after only a couple rings, his deep voice filled with worry.

"Yeah, Sinclair. Everything is fine. Would you mind coming over for a few minutes? Something happened today, and Damien and I wanted to see if maybe you could help us make sense of it?" I asked, then turned my attention to the front door, where I heard a soft knocking.

"He's outside," Damien said with a chuckle as he walked to the front door and opened it, showing that Sinclair was indeed standing there. He nodded softly to Damien before walking into the kitchen to sit next to me.

I shook my head and ended the phone call, then stood to put the pizza in the oven, before sitting back down and glancing towards the baby's room. "Azzie was trying to communicate earlier, but the most she could do was show me what she was feeling. Damien and I were curious if you might know why they could talk to you in the womb, but not us?"

"Hard to tell, as I said, I think my abilities had a lot to do with it," Sinclair responded with a shrug, then leaned forward, smiling. "What happened before she tried?"

"I was just thinking about some things, and then looked down into her eyes, and I kind of got stuck, and then I felt her," I said, blinking a few times, then gasped. "What if the eye-contact is what helped her? I could feel something like I couldn't look away. Either that, or she didn't want me to."

"Only one way to find out," Sinclair said with a shrug as he stood, but was stopped by Damien who jumped in front of him, putting his hand on Sinclair's shoulder.

"You will not be waking either of my children up. It's something that can wait until the morning." Damien said with a growl, shaking his head.