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Her sister sniffed as a tear slid down her cheek. “And you look more like Mom every day, Diane. Sometimes, I swear, it’s like having her here.”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
Diane tickled Amber’s little belly where it peeked out from her pajamas. Chubby legs kicked as baby laughter filled the darkness. Grasping little fingers found Diane’s shirt, grabbed and held on tight as Diane leaned down and brushed a kiss over her forehead. That little sound came again, the cutest little purr, stronger, almost teasing. A sound of happiness as Diane hugged the baby against her and blew another kiss against her baby-scented neck.
Rachel’s hand pressed to her lips as she fought back a sob, the pain and fear trembling through her body as Amber suddenly tensed. She struggled against Diane until she could turn and stare back at her mother in confusion.
“Ignore Mommy,” Diane advised her and tickled her belly again, bringing a hesitant little chortle before Amber looked to her mother again as though asking permission for such a simple joy.
Diane lowered her lips to Amber’s ear, her gaze meeting her sister’s. “Mommy forgets that was a nasty old Breed-type serum that bad old doctor gave you,” Diane reminded the mother rather than the child she was talking to. “What did she expect, hmmm? Wolfie growls maybe?”
Rachel shook her head. “It isn’t funny, Diane.”
“Well, you know, we need to make it funny, or our little chimp here is going to think we don’t love her as we should.” Diane lowered her head further and growled against her niece’s little shoulder.
Amber’s little gale of laughter was followed by that cute little purr. The second the sound slipped free her gaze moved quickly to her mother once again. Rachel hadn’t heard it that time, she had been concentrating on the baby laughter instead, the fear fading away as her daughter seemed to enjoy this moment of unexpected pleasure.
“Rachel, you have to enjoy the changes that aren’t harmful to her,” Diane chided as she continued to draw the little chuckles from the baby. “Every time she purrs or makes a sound you consider odd, I bet you’re crying. Becoming frightened.”
“Diane, it’s wrong,” Rachel whispered raggedly.
Once again Amber gave a frightened little start as her lips puckered and she turned to her mother for solace.
“I wish I could smack you.” Diane sighed in disappointment. “You’re letting your own stress affect her and steal her childhood. Give her some laughter, Rachel. Play with her. Let her purr or growl or whatever she needs to do. She’s so precious. Too precious to be made to feel unaccepted.”
Diane continued to speak with gentle affection as she tickled, petted and teased the baby. Finally, she had Amber’s attention once again as Rachel watched her with sudden understanding and agonizing regret.
“How are the other children reacting to her now?” Diane asked, knowing Rachel had mentioned problems a few months earlier.
“They growl at her, snap at her without thinking.” Rachel reached out and tickled Amber’s tummy as she kept her tone soft.
Amber was no dummy. She watched her mother somberly for long seconds before Rachel was able to draw a smile from her.
“Those little hybrid brats giving my girl a hard time?” Diane whispered as Amber curled closer to her and gave a sleepy little yawn.
“They don’t mean anything—” Rachel began to protest.
“Geez, Rachel, I know they don’t mean anything by it.” Diane sighed
as she rocked the baby gently. “It’s the changes in her scent that frightens them perhaps? They’re just babies too.”
She wanted to give her sister something to hold on to, something to ease the fears Diane knew tormented her.
“Not David,” Rachel whispered as she ran her fingers lovingly over Amber’s heavy curls. “Callen and Merinus’s son isn’t a baby, Diane. He growls at her if he doesn’t stop himself first. Just having her around seems to irritate him. Low, involuntary growls rumble in his chest before he becomes angry and simply leaves the room.”
Rachel’s voice trembled painfully. “He’s being groomed for his father’s position, trained to take over. He’s the children’s alpha, do you know the implications of his rejection of Amber?”
Diane smoothed her hand down the baby’s back as she made a tiny sound of distress once again. “What are the implications, Rachel?” she asked gently, though the look she shot her sister was berating. “David is in puberty, he’s going through maturation of not just human hormones but also the animal ones. He was Jonas’s favorite before Amber. Subconsciously, perhaps he resents her for the love Jonas has for her, and his animal DNA is simply reacting.”
Jonas loved children, but David had been his favorite before Amber’s arrival. Once Rachel had given birth, Diane heard Jonas had fallen head over heels for the infant. Nothing in this world mattered as much as Rachel and the child he claimed as his own. Though Diane knew David still received quite a bit of attention from the director.
“When it’s all said and done, he’s still human,” she reminded her sister. “Have you told Merinus?”
Rachel rolled over to stare at the ceiling, one arm across her stomach as she scowled heavily.
“Rachel?” Diane urged her.
“I’m not going to Callan or Merinus,” Rachel muttered, though this time, she kept the anger and any pain she felt out of her tone.
