Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (36 page)

Connor
stepped behind
his
mate and placed
his hands on her shoulders. He
peered down at
his
children and spoke calmly. “Alright that is enough bickering for now. Pearl, tell me what happened and then your mother and I will discuss an appropriate punishment.”

Pearl wasn’t smiling any longer and she averted her eyes
in shame
. She was trying to shrink away just like her mother
does in an embarrassing situation
.
At least she hasn’t learned to bite her bottom lip.
“I didn’t mean to do it on purpose, Daddy. I swear. It’s just… I saw Mommy’s friend, Mrs. Burrow
’
s in the market with us. I waived at her like I do with G’ama. The lady blinked at me and I quickly
covered my wave with a
big
yawn. I stretched out as far as my limbs would go and then I pretended to
fall a
sleep.”

Pearl quit talking so Sarah finished the end of the story. “And then Mrs. Burrow came up and wanted for her to wave again. Pearl did make a small mistake, but her quick actions kept her secret safe. Our son here keeps annoying her with guilt.”

“Oh he has, has he?” Darrel’s eyes found
his Daddy’s
and his toothless smile waned. “If that’s the case, what should we do about the two of them?”

“Two? But Daddy…”

“Darrel,” Connor
silenced him and continued talking. “It isn’t
appropriate
to keep flaunting a mistake
which you very well could have made yourself. It also isn’t nice that you been making your sister feel guilty
for something that was an innocent accident
. Until you realize how hurtful your actions are, you t
w
o will have a similar punishment. Am I clear?”

He shied away
,
like his sister.
“Yes, sir.”

Sarah and Connor
sealed off
their
mi
nds from them. They knew that their parents
were deciding their fate.
Eventually
they
concluded and Sarah
explained
“Daddy and I have decided that no action will result in these minor transgressions
,
” T
hey looked at both
of them
with open expressions “
but if it happens again the two of you will be in timeout for the next four hours;
together
and alone for that entire time.”

They understood.

Soon it was time for sleep because tomorrow
i
s going to be a big day.

Early the next morning
they
were all excited about the big reveal.
Connor
carried Pearl
in one arm and the house warming gift in the other
and Darrel wen
t with his mother. The four of them
walked through the green woods
,
once the sun was almost high in the sky. Ther
e was still plenty of time so they
decided to have a nice casual stroll through the woods.

Once they
made it through the trees
they
saw some company. Jillian and Jack were a
ll excited as they
animatedly
spoke with Connor’s
grandp
arents.
Jenny
stood
off to the side of the group, standing in the path of a gentle breeze.
They were all speaking by the
truck,
obviously
they weren’t waiting for
the babies.

A sly smile crept on Connor’s
face.

Once they
were within one hundred feet
,
Pearl mentally called
“G’ama!”
Jenny
, along with everyone else shifted their eyes to
their
approach.
“How was work yesterday?
Did you have fun?”
D
uring her mental contact
Connor monitored both of his
children’s telepathy, jus
t incase they intentionally bro
k
e
the rules.

Jenny
’s golden hair billowed
out as she made her way up to them
. Her chocol
ate brown eyes were locked on her grandd
aughter in a loving way.
Jenny
used her calm and rich voice. “Everything went wonderfully, Pearl. Actually I wish more newborns could speak like you do. We have a
little
girl in
pediatrics
who cries and cries yet we cannot figure out what her ailment truly is.”

“Maybe we can help, G
’
ama.”
Darrel suggested.
“We can enter their minds…if Daddy gives us permission
, that is.”

His mom
looked at
Connor
with a wondering expression.
He then looked at each of his
children calmly. “We cannot do that, Darrel. A human bab
y’s
mind is just to
o
fragile
compared to yours and your sister’s
. No one would dare attempt to enter a mind
of one so
young and weak. Sorono is an exception
for he has millennia worth of experience
,
so don’t even
bring
that
up
. Darrel, even if
you
attempted to
enter the child’s mind, she would
go into a coma
and could even die
.” Connor
then pointed to
Darrel’s silver haired
grandfather. “I know just how dangerous it is because your Grandpa did it to me once.
It wasn’t something anyone should ever feel.
We don’t ha
rm anyone unless it
i
s in self-
defense and no other option i
s available.
”

Darrel looked at his white haired grandfather and then to
his daddy
. Then his mental voice went silent.

David
suddenly broke the short silence. “Come on everyone.
It’s eleven thirty. How about we get a move on?”

As they
all began walking togeth
er down the road Pearl gained Connor’s
attention.
“Daddy, is it alright if G’ama holds me?”

Jenny
smiled and easily took her off
his
hands.

Since both of Sarah’s hands were in use
,
Connor
placed
his
hand on the small of her back and
they
walked the rest of the quarter mile while c
onversing with everyone. Soon they
saw the plastic shielded house. The only physical thing one could see
i
s the size of the house by looking at the roof. Everyone has ea
ge
rly awaited this day; besides Jack and
him
self
.

“Everyone w
ait here. I’ll be right back.” They waited by the driveway as Connor
moved the
plastic aside and put the gift
out
o
n the patio table.

Then
he
rejoined them.

Connor
was the first to hear the familiar sound of the motor that belonged to Mark’s jeep.
They
all stood shoulder to shoulder by the newly paved driveway.

As Mark pulled the brown jeep into the driveway
they
could all see Kara’s excited expression dominating her features. Her quickly darting silver
eyes took everything in. Rhoda
did her very best not to laugh.

As soon as the jeep’s ignition was choked off, they stepped out of their vehicle. Mark shut the driver
’
s door and said “Sweetheart, welcome to our new home!” Kara’s grin somehow grew even more pronounced. Then Mark waited until
she
moved around to take his hand. Once she
stood at his side and before them
all
,
Mark’s eyes found
Connor’s
. “Buddy, if you please.”

His
power was already rising to do
his
instant bidding.
Connor
had the mental image of the plastic peri
meter already fixed in his
mind
’
s eyes
. It was then that
his
instinct called Pressure to obey
his
whim.

Then everyone watched as the plastic
lifted off the ground and it slowly revealed the look of the house. Once the plastic cleared the roof
,
he mentally
bunched it together and tossed it in the construction size trash container that still remained off to the side of the front lawn.

Now everyone could see the newest house to
the
road.

The home Mark designed was a Deck House.
The driveway had a branched walkway
that led to a raised patio.
In front of the house
opened up as
a large patio deck that had a
long picnic table
,
all made from oak
,
and surrounding the platform is a
safety
railing.
Above the patio was an overhang that would be perfect for shade or shelter from
the sun and
rain.
Off to the
end
of the patio
laid
a large gas grill. The house itself was single storied and squared.
The roof
had been
shingled properly and off to one side held a satellite dish.
The house itself was painted dark silver
,
with small sprays of black
for contrast
. Off to the right of the house
sat a new garage that remained
closed. Mark’s second surprise would be for her a little later. Then the backside of the house went right up against the forest. The front yard was showing a lush green
lawn
and gave a pleasant
spring
smell
.
Things were simple
,
yet flashy enough for
Kara
.

From the look on Kara’s face, if she was in her wolf form her tail would be wagging. Mark asked “What do you think?”

She sent him a wry grin. “I’ll let you know later.” From the look in her eyes it wasn’t hard to see were her thoughts were heading.

While holding hands, Mark led his mate along the walkway. Since Changers are more animalistic, they rely on their other senses more than
others
do.
Their sense of smell is unrivaled.
Kara sniffed everything as she
passed by it. As they moved, the others
silently followed. Everyone
moved
in silent awe of the newest home.

They
didn’t stay too long on the patio as
they
headed for the white front door.
His
sister said she’d open the gift later.
Kara continued sniffing as they
went inside. Once there
,
everyone focused
on what they saw
,
silence reined.

The living room had a large flat screen TV that
would put
D
eputy Burrow’s
to shame
. The flooring was
all
tiled and centered in the room
i
s a large sofa that could seat six adults
,
easily. The walls were painted with a semi-gloss beige color and the roof
had been
pop-corned
,
in the center of the ceiling
hung
a fan that
was already running. Off to the
left
sat
an empty fireplace and to the right…

“Kara, did you paint that?” Sarah asked
while pointing to the painting Connor
was staring at.

It
looked
a portrait painting of Mark in a business suit
with
a
nineteen forties mafia
style
hat and Kara wearing a maid’s uniform
and holding a feather duster in her right hand
. His arms were wrapped at her waist while she looked up at him lovingly from behind.