Their Marked Baby Boy

12

There were only a few people in the canteen this early, so it was fairly quiet. This time, I went with Dan as he collected a tray of food, but before we left, he spoke quietly to a man behind the counter who nodded before handing Dan a sippy cup of what looked like milk.

We settled at a table, and Dan placed a bowl of fruit and the sippy cup in front of me. I looked at it confused.

"It's a special formula, Dr Stevens suggested it while we work on your appetite to get you to a healthy weight."

I inspected the drink, I'd known I was underweight and thus seemed better than being made to eat so much. I took a small sip and was pleasantly surprised at the sweet taste.

I drank it happily, picking at the fruit as I did. I managed to drink it all and eat most of the fruit before I was full.

Dan seemed pleased at the small amount of fruit left and placed the bowl and cup back on the tray.

"Ready to go?" He asked

"Yep, where to?"

I followed him as he returned the tray, taking his hand once it was empty.

"Well, it will be a little while until your mates come to meet you, but the room should be ready, so I thought we could wait in there. I can tell you the information I've got about your mates if you want."

I nodded as we navigated the halls. The idea of meeting my mates made me nervous, and I found myself biting at my nails.

"Hey, it's alright." Dan moved my hand. Replacing with the paci hanging from my dress. "I'll be there the whole time."

He squeezed my hand as we entered the room. It definitely helped to know I wouldn't be completely alone with them. 

The room was fairly simple, just a large table surrounded by chairs. I took a seat as Dan took out a few things from his bag, including my sketchbook and pencil case, which he placed within my reach. He also took out a small folder as he sat next to me.

"Ready ?" he asked.

I nodded nervously, watching him open the folder.

"OK, so the first one I've got info on is Alexander. He's a werewolf and the alpha of a pack."

"What does an alpha do?" I asked. I'd heard the term before and was pretty sure it meant he was in charge, but I didn't know much else.

"He's responsible for running the pack. He has to keep things in order and deal with any issues." Dan answered. "Then there's Caleb. He's a vampire and acts as a luna. He basically supports the alpha and takes care of some of the more social impacts."

"Do vampires really drink blood?" I asked nervously.

"Yes, but usually it's sourced from animals. Sometimes vampires might drink from their mates, but only with consent, and it's more of a bonding thing than just for food."

I nodded in in understanding but shivered slightly at the thought of being bitten.

"Then there's Sebastian. He's the one who lived in a different community to the others. He's also a werewolf, and he's a graphic designer."

I stayed quiet as I took in the information. It was a lot all at once, but at the same time, it didn't tell me much about them at all. I was glad,though, I didn't want to get to know the people I would spend the rest of my life with through a piece of paper. I wanted to talk to them and learn about them that way.

A comfortable silence filled the room. I continued the drawing of Dan whilst he worked on his phone. An hour had passed when I began to squirm in my seat.

"You alright, Lucas?" Dan questioned

"Hmm?" I looked up, sucking on my paci, but still squirming.

"Do you need the potty?"

My eyes widened at his question question. I nodded, embarrassed. I couldn't believe I hadn't realised sooner.

Dan took my hand, leading me to the connected bathroom.

"Do you need help?"

I shook my head no as I pulled down the pull-up and lifted the skirt of my dress. I emptied my bladder and let Dan lift me up so I could wash my hands in the sink.

When we walked back into the room, there was an obvious difference. Or I suppose three obvious differences. Three men stood at the table, looking at my open sketchbook.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Sorry, we just stepped out for a potty break." Dan alerted them our presence.

The men turned to look at me with large grins.

The man on the left was the tallest. He was well built with muscular arms visible coming out of the sleeves of his t-shirt. He had brown hair, shor on the sides but longer on the top with the front  falling sightly onto his face.

In the middle, a shorter man stood (although he was still much taller than me). He looked more graceful, but he had a definite strength about him. His jet black hair was straight and fell just above his shoulders.

Finally, the man on right stood, seeming more nervous than the others. His short hair fell around around his head in messy curls, blonde with hilights of every colour scattered throughout.

I noticed that each of them shared the mark that was on my face. The firsts on his shoulder, the seconds on his hand, and the thirds just below his neck, visible thanks to his shirts v-neck.

But more than that, I realised that these faces weren't new to me.