The Gift She Gives Ch. 01

She then frowned, she could have just easily said yes. "I'm-I'm originally from New York. But that was a long time ago." She didn't miss the look the two men gave each other.

"But you live here now?" Anya asked, she was holding her son's hand and was smiling over at the little boy intermittently.

Vesper shrugged, "I did, at least until today I did."

"What do you mean?" Grigory asked.

Vesper watched as the young man at the long table put some cash on his bill and then he walked out the door, his eyes settling on her for the slightest moment. The ache in her back was an increasing and Vesper was starting to think she may have to rent a hotel room in town, at least for one night.

"My mother died this morning, so I suppose it's time for me to move on." It had almost been time for them to move anyway. They only ever stayed in one area for about seven or eight years. It had been seven years in St. Paul four months ago.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Anya's green eyes clouded in sadness as she looked at the young light-haired woman.

"It's okay. Really, it's been a long time coming." Vesper tried to assure them but was still feeling the ache of her loss, in the now constant pain in her back.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress was back and she gave Vesper a curious look at seeing her sitting with the family.

"We'd like hot fudge sundaes all-around." Yakov said decisively and Vesper widened her eyes at him as a waitress walked away.

"It's really late. Where are you staying? We could drop you off." Anya asked a while later as they walked out of the diner.

Vesper shifted her backpack uncomfortably. Shaking her head, she looked down the dark street they stepped out onto. "That's alright. I'll find my way. Thank you for the ice cream."

"Vesper," Anya walked closer to her and put a hand on Vesper's clothed elbow, "My son was blind until you touched him. I think you owe us an explanation."

Vesper felt the air push out of her chest and she gasped, tears filling her eyes, was this how it would start? Was this when she would finally get locked away?

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." She said, fear evident in her voice as she backed away from the pregnant brunette.

"I know you're scared, Vesper, and I know that even when I assure you that you needn't be, you will remain so." Yakov's deep voice was meant to be comforting, but the rumble that came from his throat afterward made her shiver and turn to look at him.

"I don't know any of you." Vesper wiped at the tears she hadn't even realized were falling from her face as she shook her head.

"Do you know anyone? Anyone other than your mother?" Grigory asked, he was holding a now sleeping Penny.

She shook her head. Her body was starting to be violently painful and she had to let the backpack slide down her left arm and she barely caught it in her hand before it hit the ground.

"You are in pain." Yakov stated with a frown on his face.

Vesper shook her head to deny it, but her body shook with the stinging sensation that was slowly working through her as she stood in the darkness outside.

"We live a few hours north of here, in a big house in the middle of the woods. We have plenty of space if you'd like to come stay with us. It's safe there." Anya said and once again, Vesper heard a rumble coming from within the men.

"She could be dark." Grigory said, darkness?

"Dude, she healed Sammy, she's totally light." Anya glared at the man beside her.

Light? Dark? What were they talking about?

"I-I don't think I'll make it a few hours to anywhere." Vesper heard more rumbles, she wished they would stop, she was almost positive that they were all communicating somehow without speaking.

"Be honest with us, are you a danger to us, to our children?" The tallest man asked with a sigh.

Vesper dropped her mouth open and shook her head fiercely, "No."

"Then why do you want not to be touched?" Grigory asked.

Vesper shook her head again, fresh tears falling, this was all too much, "I can't."

"Let's go get the kids in the car." Anya said softly and lead the way. Vesper wasn't forced to follow, But she did anyway.

She watched silently as the men strapped the kids into their car seats in the third row of the minivan before the three of them all turned to look at her.

"You're in physical pain. Why?" Yakov asked, and it was clear to Vesper that he was expecting an honest answer.

"I-I haven't been home since yesterday. My-I need to take off-I need to-." She couldn't say it. Her body was screaming for relief but she couldn't even say it.

"Yakov, Grigory, Get in the front. I'll sit in the middle with Vesper." The brunette told them, once again putting her hand on Vesper's elbow, the other going to the backpack that Vesper was having trouble holding, and she took it in her own grasp.

Grigory immediately took the backpack from Anya and tossed it into the middle, between the two seats. Vesper didn't fight them, and moved carefully onto the seat behind the driver. She allowed him to shut the door and she waited as the three of them got inside the van. She didn't even move until Yakov had pulled onto the road.

"When you touch people, you heal them?" Anya asked softly.

"Yes."

"And if there isn't anything wrong with them, what happens when you touch them?" Green eyes searched hers.

Vesper shrugged, "Nothing, I guess. But I don't usually-." Vesper stopped when the woman reached out and laid her bare hand on Vesper's face.

Vesper gasped, jerking back as the two men in the front started growling,GROWLING, from their seats. Grigory turned around and slammed his hand down onto Anya's knee.

"Ouch, Fido. That hurt." Anya yelped, Squeezing the strong hand on her knee.

"That was so stupid, Anya. She could have done something that changed you." Grigory hissed at her.

"But she didn't. I still feel as bloated and pregnant as ever. Bond secure, happy, and in love. Though Sergei seems to be a little pissed now." Anya frowned.

"Sergei? Is that your baby?" Vesper asked.

Anya snorted, "God, no. Sergei is my mate, my husband. It's something I left out before. Grigory and Yakov are my mates as well. And Yegor. They're a pack. A wolf pack."

Vesper looked at the woman confused and watched as she chuckled, "You've never met another nonhuman before? That's interesting."

Vesper frowned, and then winced, "Another? I-I've never met any."

"Let's get this all off you." Anya ignored the statement and moved her hands to the zipper of Vesper's jacket. The article of clothing came off quickly and Anya didn't stop there. She grabbed the lower hem of the girl's shirt and tugged it off, as well.

Vesper turned red, no one had ever seen her this naked, not in a very long time. Even her mother had refused to look at her body. Especially after her wings had began to grow. The woman beside her was staring, eyes wide and her mouth dropped open. She was looking at the binding around her chest and waist.

"Why are you wearing this?" Anya gasped, reaching for the Velcro edges as more grumbling came from the front of the van.

"Anya," the man driving said, as if he was frustrated with the woman, But they'd never said anything aloud, "We should wait."

"Heck no, Yakov. She's in pain. This needs to come off now." Anya ripped open the top strap and Vesper hissed as her back exploded in a mixture of bone shattering pain and a blissful release of pressure.

"These are wings, Vesper, and they shouldn't be tied up like this. Jesus, this looks painful." Anya frowned as she pulled open the bottom straps.

Vesper felt tears fill her eyes as the pressure holding her wings down was removed and the circulation was returned to them, creating a sting that made them shift. Her legs were still strapped, though, and she could tell that Anya realized this, too.

"Stand up, Vesper." The bossy brunette ordered and Vesper immediately did as she was told, Shaking a little as her leg straps were pulled apart and her big wings instinctively spread open, needing a good stretch.

"Christ, Anya." Yakov growled as he felt the air whip around in the car and saw the flutter of thick paper like yellow, black, brown, and white patterned wings in the rear view mirror. He wasn't sure what she was, but it wasn't an angel. Her ability to heal would seem to put her in the category of light, but he'd never met a nonhuman who had wings similar to a month, nor had he ever heard stories of one.

Anya's eyes were transfixed on the shaking, thin, white haired woman. She was ethereal, beyond beautiful. Her wings actually consisted of four, two upper and two lower, all springing from the same area of her back. Unlike Alexandru and Mr. Hughes, this nonhuman's wings appeared connected over her spine, whereas the men she knew who had wings, had them at their shoulder blades. Anya's pussy twitched in appreciation of the beauty before her and she could feel Grigory's rumble for her to exhibit control. Always the levelheaded buzzkill, that one.

Vesper sat back down, her wings down but not extended to each side so she could be more comfortable. Looking behind her, she could see that the two children were sound asleep. She was thankful for that, it would have bothered her for them to see how ugly she was.

"What are you?" She heard Anya ask and looked over at her with a face covered in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Vesper felt her gut tighten and her mouth ran dry.

"What kind of nonhuman are you?" Anya asked more specifically, pulling a blanket off the floor from behind her seat to hand it to the naked woman. Grigory was growing impatient with her constantly checking out the woman's body.

"I don't-," Vesper shook her head, " I don't understand what you're talking about. There's no such thing as nonhuman."

Anya snorted, "Sweetie, you look like a Brian Froud drawing, you're as nonhuman as they get!"

"Anya, she's scared. Leave her be." That was Yakov.

"I'm not trying to be cruel. I'm sorry, Vesper. I don't want to scare you. But surely you can see the difference between yourself and say, the waitress at the restaurant." Anya said more gently.

Vesper smooshed her mouth to one side as she considered what the woman was saying, still not quite believing her. There was no such thing as a nonhuman. There just wasn't.

"You can heal people, Vesper, just by touching them, and not that 'laying on hands' bullshit that the evangelists on television do. You can really do it. Plus, you have these really pretty wings. The designs are amazing. Have you ever seen anyone with wings like yours?" Anya asked.

Vesper shook her head, "No, my mother told me that my wings were a curse, that if anyone saw them, I would be caged."

Anya frowned, looking up at Grigory as he turned to look back at them.

"Being nonhuman isn't a curse, Vesper. If you allow yourself to be happy for who you truly are, it can be immensely fulfilling." Anya nodded as he spoke, it had been very true for her.

"But I'm not-." Vesper started to say again, but stopped and shook her head.

"Your hair is white, like, really white, and your eyes are violet, you don't even look human, Vesper. Is there anything else different about you?" Anya waved a hand at the body that Vesper had covered with the blanket.

"My ears are deformed." Vesper said quietly and jerked a little in her seat as one of the men in the front growled from somewhere in the base of the throat.

"Nonhumans are not deformed, Vesper." Yakov, the man driving, said heatedly.

Vesper frowned, it seemed pointless to try to argue with this man about what he'd said.

"Show me." Anya put a hand on Vesper's knee, and she waited as Vesper considered doing so for quite a while.

Eventually, Vesper reached up to the braids of hair circling her crown and began removing the pins. Gradually, the thick tendrils and locks fell fully down her back and she was able to lift the chunks around that were closest to Anya to show her the way her ears were pointed just so, at the top, rear portion.

"She's an elf!" Anya exclaimed and Grigory chuckled.

"Elves don't have wings, Anya." He explained with a smile.

"Fairy? Fairy godmother, sprite? Oh, is she a gelfling? That would be bitching if those really existed." Anya listed off creatures excitedly, getting shakes of the head each time.

"Contrary to your extensive viewing patterns of nonhumans, Anya, there's no such thing as a gelfling." Yakov rolled his eyes.

"Sergei said to leave her alone for now, Anya. Let her rest." Grigory said a moment later and Vesper watched as the brunette frowned and rubbed her nose.

"You know, it's not really fair of him to exert himself just because I'm curious." Anya muttered, settling herself back in her seat.

"He doesn't like you getting all riled up, he doesn't want the pups out too soon." Yakov told her.

Anya smiled, looking at the young woman at her side. "I'm a light siren, Vesper, I'm a non-human just like you. Grigory and Yakov are werewolves. I'm bonded to them along with two other wolves named Yegor and Sergei. Sergei's the alpha, and my legal husband."

Vesper nodded, not quite believing what she was being told. It all seemed so far-fetched.

"So your mother was human. What about your father?" Anya pressed, sighing when she felt Grigory reach back and put a hand on her knee.

"I never met my father." Vesper said quietly.

"Did your mother ever talk about him?" Anya squeezed Grigory's hand with her own.

Vesper shook her head, "No, but he is most likely dead now."

"Why do you say that?" Yakov asked from the front.

"Because I was born in 1918. I'm 87 years old. The idea of him being alive still is ludicrous."

Anya's Green eyes widened a moment before she moved a hand up to cover the loud guffaw that escaped her throat.

"I'm so sorry, Vesper. I am not trying to be rude. It's just that, it's just that it's so hard to believe that you think you're a human when you barely look old enough to vote, and you have wings."

Vesper frowned, she wasn't angry at them. She truly wasn't, but it was just so difficult to hear them talk about her in such an open way. If she was nonhuman, why hadn't her mother ever told her that? Why had she treated Vesper like some sort of unnatural child? It would explain a lot, she thought to herself as she looked out her window at the dark night sky, it explained everything, in fact.

She shrugged at Anya and then looked to her side out the window. "I guess my mother never knew, I guess she never knew that nonhumans existed. She was scared of me, of what could happen to me if someone ever found out that I wasn't like everybody else."

"Well not everybody is actually like everybody else, Vesper. It's really late and I know you're tired. I won't ask you any more questions, I know I've asked you some very personal ones. We still have a ways to go before we get home so let's just sleep for now, okay?" Anya smiled understandingly and patted Vesper on the knee softly.

Vesper took a deep breath and nodded, knowing that when she closed her eyes, she would be asleep instantly. It had been such a long time since she'd last done so. As much as she was curious about herself, especially with all this information that they had given her about why she was like she was, it was very overwhelming. She was grateful that the inquisition was ending for now.