The Union

The clear night sky was crowded with stars. The moon hung high above, full and proud, as if surveying its domain. The leaves were pleasant hues of brown, orange and red. If he were driving down this road during the day, Samuel would have been inclined to enjoy the scenery. However, it was night, and the deep breathing of his wife in the passenger seat next to him reminded Samuel of the importance of this trip.

It began about four months ago. Bethany was only five months pregnant at the time, and they were just getting used to the idea of bringing another life into their brood. Their daughter, Michelle, was a bundle of energy, and now they were going to have another one on their hands. Samuel opened the door to his house, eager to tell Bethany what he just found out.

“Beth, honey, guess what?”

“What? Did something happen?” she replied.

“Inara, the matriarch of the Earth Dryads, wants to have a meeting with the two of us. We are allowed to bring along one other person we trust as a witness.”

“What would Inara want with us?”

“I don’t know, the messenger didn’t say,” Samuel replied. “But since I’m the head of our clan, and she’s the Matriarch, it must be something important.”

“I guess we’ll just have to go see her and find out what she wants,” Beth remarked.

The next night, the two of them, along with Bethany’s cousin, Eric, made their way to the meeting spot. It was located outside the city, in a forest. Even after Samuel drove to the area, they still had to walk through the trees for a few minutes until they arrived at the designated place. It was a small clearing in the trees. Samuel could tell it had been used as a camping spot. In the middle of the area, a small fire was blazing, lighting up the immediate area. Sitting in front of the fire was a woman with light brown skin and long brunette hair. A striking feature of this woman was her green eyes. They were the color of emeralds. The woman was wearing a sheer blouse that was the same green color of her eyes. The light of the fire allowed Samuel to see that she wasn’t wearing anything under the blouse. She also had on black pants that were tight enough to show her lithe form. She wore no shoes on her feet and, even though it was a warm summer night, seemed to be using the fire to keep a chill away from her toes. Behind her stood two women dressed comfortably for the warm weather in t-shirts and shorts. These two women were also barefoot and shared the same emerald eye color as the woman sitting by the fire.

“Good evening, Inara,” Samuel said, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

“Welcome Samuel, Bethany,” Inara replied, nodding to each in turn and smiling. “Please, sit and get comfortable. I’m sure Bethany is probably a little tired from walking through the trees in her condition.”

“Oh, it wasn’t too bad,” Bethany said. “It will probably be worse in the next couple of months, though.”

Inara’s smile widened. “Yes, I know what you mean.”

Samuel cleared his throat. “So, Inara, what did you ask us here for?”

“Well, in the past, we Earth Dryads have only had a very informal truce with you werewolves. However, recent events have occurred that call for some drastic action.”

Samuel nodded in understanding. “Yeah, things have been getting crazy around here.”

“Exactly. As you may or may not know, we Dryads have sons and daughters like everyone else, but only our daughters are blessed with the gift of magic, be it earth, fire, whatever. I also know that you werewolves come in both sexes. So I would like to propose a formal alliance between my Earth Dryads and your wolf clan.”

“An alliance? What kind of alliance?” Bethany asked.

“Well, I have a daughter who is three years old right now, and she is starting to show promise with her abilities. I also know that you have recently found out you are having a son.”

“How did you know that?” Samuel asked, surprise in his voice.

“We have our ways,” Inara replied with a wink. “What I’m putting on the table is an arranged marriage. Your son, if he has the Mark of Caleb that designates him one of your kind, will marry my daughter Jasmine when they are old enough. This will unite our families.”

Samuel stared into the fire, thinking over Inara’s proposal. “What do you think, honey?” he asked, looking to his side.

“Well, I think it’s a good idea. It would definitely benefit both families to have an alliance like this.”

“True. This alliance would make our families stronger.” Samuel stood up and held out his hand towards Inara. “As the head of my clan, I accept your proposal, Inara, to join our families.”

Inara stood and accepted his handshake. “Come back to this spot when she is ready to deliver the child. Someone will be here to help and make sure things run smoothly.”

The pain-filled moan from his wife brought Samuel out of his reverie. “Just hang in there Beth,” he said to his wife, patting her on her leg to try to comfort her.

Bethany sat in the passenger seat, both of her hands holding her prominent, round belly. “It’s not like I can hold him back if he’s ready to pop out,” she said in between the sharp pains emanating from her stomach region.

“Are we there yet Daddy?” a young voice called from the backseat of the car.

“Yes, hun, we’re almost there. It won’t be long now,” Samuel replied to his daughter.

“Why are we driving all the way out here and not to the hospital?”

“It’s part of the deal our family made with the Earth Dryads, Michelle.”

“What deal Daddy?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said, ending the conversation. He peered into the rearview mirror and saw Michelle cross her arms and begin to pout. She was just old enough to understand when her father wanted to shut down a discussion, but still young enough to hate having her questions go unanswered. She looked up and, seeing him looking at her, fixed her mouth into a sneer and grew her canine teeth a little.

“Did you just bare your fangs at me?” Samuel asked her, still looking in the mirror. Michelle quickly put her teeth back to normal and looked down at her feet. Although he didn’t want to admit it out loud, Samuel was a proud that his daughter could control that at her age.

Samuel drove on for a few more minutes before slowing down and turning onto an unmarked road that led through the trees. Even though it was autumn, the trees overhead still formed a full canopy that blocked out most of the moonlight, causing Samuel to turn up the intensity of his headlights. He drove carefully along the winding path until he found the symbol he was looking for. He stopped the car and opened the door. The chill seasonal air blasted into him, causing Samuel to shiver while he hiked up the collar of his jacket.

He hurried around to the other side of the car and opened the door. He held out his hand for Bethany to take hold of. “Michelle, grab those blankets next to you and come on.” The three of them began walking through the forest, the lights of the car behind them illuminating their way. Their pace was set by Bethany’s pregnant waddle and need to stop a few times and wait as the pain of her impending delivery washed over her.

It took the trio approximately ten minutes to walk the one hundred yards to the clearing that was their destination. Samuel had to constantly keep his eye on Michelle as she walked slightly behind him, her eyes wide and trying to take in every detail. The clearing was small, about twenty yards across. The moon couldn’t be directly seen through the trees here, but there was still enough light from it and the stars for Samuel to see.

Samuel walked Bethany and Michelle into the middle of the clearing and stopped. “Michelle, lay one of those blankets down right here for Mommy.” His daughter just nodded and did what she was told.. When the blanket was laid, he helped Bethany get comfortable and prepared for what came next.

As Samuel knelt in front of his wife, he heard a distinct sound from behind him. He turned around to look at the source of the noise. As he watched, the soil at the edge of the clearing began gathering into a mound. It grew higher until it reached the height of an adult. The soil then began compacting, taking on the form of a woman. Samuel could see the details of flesh beginning to appear. It started at the bottom, the feet filling in with pigmentation and becoming a light brown color. Samuel followed the progression as the color traveled up the form’s long, statuesque legs, to the full hips. The waist followed, then up to the full breasts and shoulders. Then came the face, including emerald-green eyes, and brunette hair that fell down to the middle of the form’s back.

“Hello, Inara, nice to see you again,” Samuel said, recognizing the nude form that was walking towards them.

“Hello to you too, Samuel. And how are you, Bethany?” the woman asked, oblivious to the chill in the air.

“I’ll be fine as soon as this is over,” Bethany managed to say.

Inara looked over and smiled at Michelle. “And how are you, young one?”

“I’m a little cold,” Michelle responded.

“Um, Inara, your form is a little distracting right now. Do you mind?” Samuel asked.

Inara smiled at him and shook her head in wonder. “Sometimes I forget that being a dryad gives me different perceptions than others.” Inara looked at Michelle and winked. In an instant, denim jeans, a green shirt, black vest, and black calf-length boots appeared on her body. Michelle’s eyes grew wide and she started giggling. “Okay, let’s get on with this,” Inara said, kneeling next to Bethany.

“I didn’t expect the Matriarch of the local Earth Dryad family to be here herself,” Samuel said, trying to make conversation.

“Well, it is my daughter that’s a part of this deal, so it seemed the prudent thing to do for me to show up.”

“I guess.”

At this point, Bethany was closer to delivering her child. Samuel was sitting behind her, propping her up against him, and Inara was kneeling down in between Bethany’s open legs. As Samuel watched, Bethany began pushing with Inara’s coaching. Bethany reached back and grabbed Samuel’s hand. At one point, Samuel could see hair growing on the sections of Bethany’s skin that was exposed. He also felt her nails lengthen and the claws digging into his hand.

“See, honey,” he said, looking at Michelle, “this is why we didn’t go to a hospital.” Michelle just nodded in response. Bethany’s cries of pain echoed throughout the clearing. Samuel kept calmly talking into Bethany’s ear, trying to soothe her.

“Okay, this is the last one,” Inara said. With one last, long scream that almost turned into a howl, Bethany pushed. Inara quickly grabbed another blanket and wrapped it around the small form that was in her hands. Inara extended one of her nails into a claw and gently pricked the bottom of the child’s foot, causing it to cry out. “Here’s your son,” she said, holding the baby up. Bethany smiled and took her son into her hands.

Samuel took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his wife’s face. “So are you satisfied, Inara?” he asked.

“Not until you check to make sure he has the Mark.”

Samuel leaned over to look directly into his son’s eyes. They opened briefly and a connection formed between father and son. In that brief moment, Samuel saw a flash in his son’s eyes. This caused the father to smile. “Yes, he has the Mark of Caleb,” he said to Inara.

“Then this boy, when he comes of age, will marry my daughter Jasmine, signifying the union between our families. And what will my future son-in-law be named?”

“Thomas,” Bethany said. “We decided to name him Thomas.”

“Well, Thomas, welcome to the world, and the family,” Inara said to the baby. She leaned over and placed her hand on his forehead. “I’ll be watching over you.” Inara stood up and took a few steps away. She then smiled and waved to Michelle before turning back into soil and disappearing into the ground.