“Niv,” Juno said carefully, her voice hovering somewhere between disbelief and nervous amusement as she stood just outside her house, trying very hard to process what she was looking at.
“Yes?” Niv replied, turning her head slightly toward her, completely at ease.
Juno hesitated for a second, then gestured vaguely.
“Your mother is… giant.”
“I am right here,” came a voice from a few metres away, flat and unimpressed.
Juno flinched slightly and looked properly at her.
Niv was already massive, something Juno had grown used to over time, but standing next to her now made it very clear that she had not been exaggerating. Bahl was even taller, easily a full head above Niv, with a broader, heavier presence that made her seem even larger than she already was. Her antlers were more imposing as well, longer and more complex in their branching, though they showed signs of age and wear, with a few broken tips and rough edges that made them look like they had seen a lot over the years.
Her face carried that same sense of age. Not old, not frail or diminished in any way, but weathered. There were faint lines in her dark skin that spoke of time and experience, giving her a harder, more seasoned look than Niv. If anything, it made her more intimidating, not less.
Her eyes, though, were unmistakable.
The same gold as Niv’s, bright and sharp and currently locked entirely on Juno.
They hadn’t moved since she had stepped outside.
Juno swallowed, suddenly very aware of herself standing there in comparison to… all of that.
“Well,” she said, forcing a polite smile despite the tension sitting heavy in her chest, “I’m Juno. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I am Bahl,” the larger woman replied without hesitation. “And I do not trust you, human.”
Her English was noticeably clearer than Niv’s, which somehow made the statement land even harder.
Juno gave a small, awkward nod.
“That’s… uh, fair enough,” she admitted.
“Mother, be nice!” Niv cut in quickly, stepping slightly between them, though she still only came up to Bahl’s shoulder. “Juno is nice!”
“She is human,” Bahl said bluntly, her gaze not leaving Juno for even a second. “I do not like her.”
Juno decided very quickly that this was not a situation she should insert herself into.
She kept her mouth firmly shut, her hands loosely at her sides as she stood there, trying to look as non-threatening as possible while two very large, very capable women had what was clearly a familiar kind of argument right in front of her.
It was strange, though.
When she had first met Niv, the whole… lack of clothing situation had been very distracting. Now, standing here in front of both of them, it barely even registered. The tension in the air, the way Bahl’s posture was angled, the fact that she could very clearly see the size of her teeth when her lip curled slightly, all of that made it very easy to focus on other things.
“Juno,” Niv said suddenly, glancing back at her, her tone shifting into something hopeful. “Could we do the hot meats? I will give Mother part of my share.”
Juno blinked, pulled out of her thoughts.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” she said quickly, nodding. “We can do that. I’d be happy to share with your family.”
“See?” Niv said immediately, turning back toward Bahl with a look of triumph. “Juno is nice. Be nice, or I get angry!”
Bahl let out a low, rumbling snarl at that, her expression tightening for a moment as she looked between the two of them.
Then, slowly, her posture eased.
“Fine,” she said at last.
Juno let out a quiet breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding, the tension in her shoulders easing just a fraction.
That… could have gone worse.
“I’ll be right back then,” Juno said, giving both of them a quick nod before turning on her heel and heading back inside.
She moved a little faster than she normally would have, her steps quick and slightly uneven as she made her way through the house and into the kitchen. Her heart was still beating a bit too fast, and there was a strange, jittery energy sitting under her skin that she couldn’t quite shake. It felt oddly similar to when she had first met Niv, that same mix of nerves and disbelief, except now it was dialled up even further because somehow there were two of them, and one of them was even bigger and significantly more intimidating.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered quietly to herself as she reached the chest freezer and pulled it open, the cold air spilling out around her hands. “Just cooking. Just food. That’s normal. That’s fine.”
She rummaged around for a moment before pulling out the last of the venison she had stored away, along with a pack of pork sausages she had been saving. It wasn’t anything particularly fancy, but it would be enough, and hopefully it would help smooth things over a bit.
With everything gathered, she headed back outside.
The air felt a little heavier as she stepped back into the yard, though that might have just been her nerves. She set everything down near the barbecue and got to work, focusing on the familiar process to keep herself grounded. She poured in the charcoal carefully, adjusted it into place, then added a fire starter and lit it, watching as the flames caught and began to spread slowly through the coals.
Behind her, she could hear Bahl speaking.
It wasn’t English this time. The sounds were rougher, a mix of unfamiliar words broken up by low growls and almost bark-like noises. Juno didn’t understand any of it, but she could feel the weight of the attention on her all the same.
She glanced back briefly to see Bahl pointing at her, clearly asking something.
“The Mother wants to know what the bar-be-que is,” Niv translated helpfully.
Juno nodded, turning back to the grill as she waited for it to heat up.
“It’s for cooking meat,” she explained, trying to keep her tone steady and informative. “Humans can get very sick from eating raw meat, so we need to cook it, or process it in a way that kills harmful things in it.”
“Harmful things?” Bahl asked, her voice cutting in directly this time.
Juno paused for a second, then glanced over her shoulder.
“Do you know what bacteria is?” she asked.
Bahl hesitated, her expression shifting slightly as she considered the question, then she shook her head.
“Have never heard of that.”
Juno nodded slowly.
“Well, they’re… very small living things,” she said, doing her best to simplify it. “They’re everywhere, including inside you and me. You can’t see them with just your eyes, they’re too small, but there are tools humans use to look at them. Some kinds are bad for you and can make you sick, while others are good and help your body work properly. You’ve probably got a lot of the good kind that lets you eat raw meat without any problems. Humans don’t have that in the same way.”
Bahl watched her closely as she spoke, her gaze intent, then gave a small nod.
“I see.”
By that point, the grill was ready, and Juno turned her attention back to it, laying out the venison and sausages across the surface. The sound of the meat hitting the hot grill filled the air almost immediately, followed by the smell as it began to cook.
Niv moved up beside her without hesitation, leaning in slightly as she watched, her attention completely captured. There was no attempt to hide it either, her interest plain on her face as her mouth opened just slightly. This story is hosted at novelping . com.
Juno glanced sideways and almost laughed.
Niv was practically drooling.
A quick look over confirmed that Bahl wasn’t much better. There was a thin line of drool trailing down her chin as well, though she at least looked like she was trying to pretend it wasn’t happening.
“Hot meats best,” Niv declared proudly, her tone full of confidence as she looked between Juno and her mother.
Bahl’s gaze remained fixed on the grill, her expression unreadable for a moment before she gave a low, thoughtful sound.
“We will see,” she said.
“Niv, could you get us some plates?” Juno asked, doing her best to keep her voice steady as she focused on the grill.
“Yes!” Niv replied immediately, bright and eager, before turning and heading inside with quick, bounding steps.
That left Juno alone at the barbecue.
Well, alone with Bahl.
Juno became very aware, very quickly, of the weight of the other woman’s gaze. It wasn’t subtle in the slightest. Bahl wasn’t even pretending not to stare, her golden eyes fixed entirely on Juno as if she were trying to figure her out piece by piece. It made the back of Juno’s neck prickle, and she had to resist the urge to fidget under it.
Instead, she focused on the food. She flipped the meat carefully, adjusting the sausages and turning the venison so it would cook evenly, trying to look as normal and unbothered as possible. The smell rising from the grill helped a little, grounding her in something familiar.
To fill the silence, and maybe to calm herself down a bit, she started humming under her breath without really thinking about it. It was quiet at first, almost absent-minded, the tune slipping out naturally as her mind tried to latch onto something comfortable.
A moment later, a shadow fell over her.
Juno froze mid-motion, her hand hovering just above the grill before she slowly looked up.
Bahl was standing closer now, much closer.
“What are you doing?” Bahl asked with a neutral tone.
“Uh,” Juno started, blinking. “Humming a song?”
Bahl tilted her head slightly, as if considering that.
“Continue,” she said.
Juno hesitated for half a second, then nodded.
“Sure,” she said, a little awkwardly. “I can, uh, do lyrics too, if you want?”
There was a brief pause, then Bahl gave a small nod.
“Yes.”
Juno swallowed.
Right.
She turned her attention back to the grill, though her focus was now split between not burning the food and the very large, very intense woman standing right beside her. It felt a little surreal, like she had somehow ended up performing in front of an audience she absolutely had not prepared for.
Still, she started again, this time letting the words come along with the tune.
“I’ve been cheated by you since I don’t know when,” she sang, her voice a little tentative at first, “so I made up my mind, it must come to an end…”
It was… kind of terrifying, honestly.
Bahl didn’t react much outwardly, which somehow made it worse. There was no smile, no obvious sign of approval or disapproval, just that same steady, unblinking attention.
Juno pushed through it anyway.
“Just one look and I can hear a bell ring,” she continued, her voice gaining a little more confidence as she went on, “one more look and I forget everything…”
She kept going, trying very hard not to think about how strange this entire situation was, or how she had somehow gone from being slapped by her ex to singing in her backyard while grilling meat for her very intimidating… in-laws.
“Mamma mia, here I go again,” Juno continued, trying to keep her voice steady even as she could feel that intense gaze still locked onto her. “My my, how can I resist you?”
A very heavy pause.Juno barely had time to register it before Bahl’s expression shifted, her eyes narrowing sharply as her lip curled just enough to show a hint of those very large, very sharp teeth.
“Are you courting me?” Bahl asked, her tone dropping into something suspicious and distinctly unfriendly.
Juno nearly choked on her own breath.
“What?” she blurted out, turning to her so quickly she almost dropped the tongs. “No! No, that’s just the lyrics of the song!”
Bahl did not look convinced.
“Is my daughter not enough for you?” she snarled, the words carrying a low, dangerous edge that made Juno’s stomach drop.
“Most human songs are about love!” Juno said quickly, the words tumbling out in a rush as she tried to explain herself. “I can, I mean, I can sing something else if you want, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just a really popular song and—”
She was saved, somewhat, by the sound of the door opening behind her.
Niv returned carrying three plates, walking over to the picnic table and setting them down with a bit more force than strictly necessary. Then she turned toward her mother, her entire posture shifting as she fixed her with a hard, unmistakably angry look.
“Be. Nice. To. Juno,” she said, each word deliberate.
Juno let out a small breath, trying to ease the tension before it escalated any further.
“It’s fine,” she said, glancing between them. “From what I’ve heard, she has every right to be suspicious of humans. There are a lot of bad eggs.”
“Even she admits it,” Bahl said immediately.
“Partok is bad,” Niv added, her ears flicking back slightly.
Bahl gave a short, dismissive sound.
Niv stepped forward a little, her voice gaining strength.
“We are not all good,” she said firmly. “Humans are not all bad. Juno is good human. Barry and Lou good human. Make judgement when know.”
Bahl’s gaze hardened again, though this time it was directed at her daughter.
“You are a whelp,” she said bluntly. “You do not know better.”
“Food is done!” Juno cut in quickly, far louder than she had intended, her voice carrying a note of desperate enthusiasm as she reached for the plates.
She moved fast, almost tripping over herself in her haste as she started piling food onto them, making sure each plate had a generous portion of venison and sausages.
Niv didn’t seem particularly concerned about the tension that was still hanging thick in the air. Instead, she reached over, grabbed one of the plates Juno had just prepared, and turned to her mother with a look that was equal parts smug and annoyed.
“Here you go, stupid head,” she said, thrusting the plate toward her. “Bad manners. Eat hot meats.”
Juno nearly choked.
Bahl, for her part, looked like she was about to explode. For a brief, very alarming moment, it genuinely seemed like she might lunge at her daughter right then and there. Her posture stiffened, her lip curling back just enough to show teeth, and her grip tightened slightly as she took the plate.
But then she paused. There was a slow, deliberate inhale, like she was forcing herself to calm down, and then, with visible reluctance, she accepted it properly.
She looked down at the food in her hands, her expression still guarded as she picked up one of the venison steaks. She brought it closer, sniffing it carefully, her nose wrinkling slightly as she took in the unfamiliar scent of cooked meat.
Juno found herself holding her breath without even realising it.
Then Bahl took a bite. There was a brief moment where nothing happened, where her expression remained unreadable as she chewed… and then something shifted.
Without another word, she tore into it.
Any hesitation vanished completely as she started eating with an intensity that was honestly a little terrifying. She didn’t just eat the steak, she attacked it, ripping into the meat with sharp teeth and powerful bites, barely pausing as she worked through it.
Juno just stood there and stared.
What she had put on that plate would have easily been enough to feed two, maybe three people, especially with the sausages added in. Bahl went through it like it was nothing. In what couldn’t have been more than two and a half minutes, the entire plate was cleared, every last piece gone.
Juno blinked a few times, still trying to process the sheer speed of it.
Bahl finally lowered the empty plate onto the table with a soft clink, then she looked up.
Her gaze locked onto Juno again, just as intense as before, though now there was something different behind it.
Something… approving.
“I like you,” she said simply.
Juno froze.
“You can be Niv’s bond-mate.”
There was a beat of silence, then Juno let out a slow breath, her shoulders sagging slightly as the tension that had been coiled tight in her chest finally started to ease.
Well.
That was one way to pass the test.
Marie had always known that Juno wasn’t particularly clever. It wasn’t something she said out loud in so many words, but it was a truth she had carried with her for years. Juno struggled when things got complicated, struggled to make decisions, struggled to stand her ground when it mattered, and that was exactly why Marie had always stepped in. Whenever there was a problem, Marie had been the one to fix it, to guide things back into place, to make sure everything worked out the way it was supposed to.
That was how it had always been.
So when she saw that thing in Juno’s house, that massive, unnatural creature that had no business being anywhere near her, Marie didn’t panic for long. The initial fear had been overwhelming, yes, enough to send her running, but once she had some distance and time to think, it settled into something much more manageable.
This was just another problem, and Marie was very, very good at solving problems.
Juno, in her usual way, had clearly gotten herself into something she couldn’t handle. She probably didn’t even understand how dangerous it was, letting something like that into her home, trusting it, getting close to it. It was reckless, naive, exactly the kind of thing Juno would do without someone there to guide her properly.
But that was fine, Marie would handle it, like she always did.
Once the problem was dealt with, once that creature was gone, Juno would calm down and realise what had happened. She would understand that Marie had only been trying to help, that everything she did was out of love. And then things would go back to how they were meant to be. Juno would come back with her, back to Auckland, back to a proper life where she belonged.
Juno just didn’t realise how much she was loved yet.
“Not much further,” Marie said, leaning slightly forward in her seat as she looked down the road ahead. “It’s at the end of this road.”
The man driving gave a small nod, his hands steady on the wheel as the vehicle rumbled along the gravel. There were a couple of others with them, local men who had been more than willing to help once she explained the situation, though the way they had looked at her at first suggested it hadn’t been entirely out of kindness.
“A few years back we had a problem with one of those wild folks attacking one of our own,” the driver said after a moment, his tone casual in a way that didn’t quite match the words. “Had to put it down. We’ll do the same if your friend’s in trouble.”
Marie nodded, satisfied.
“Good,” she said.
She had gone to the police first, of course. That had been the sensible thing to do, the correct thing, but they had been completely useless. They wouldn’t act without proof, without someone being hurt, as if she was supposed to wait around and let Juno get mauled before anyone lifted a finger.
It had been infuriating.
Still, she had adapted.
When she stopped at a pub for lunch, she had brought it up, mentioned what she had seen, and it turned out the locals knew Juno. That part had irritated her more than she expected. The way they spoke about her, the way they seemed to care when Marie suggested she might be in danger, it felt… wrong and unnatural.
They didn’t really care, they couldn’t.
No one ever had cared about Juno except Marie.
Not her parents, who had barely paid attention to her unless it suited them. Not those so-called friends who drifted in and out of her life without any real loyalty. They were all temporary, shallow, meaningless.
Marie was the only one who had ever truly stayed, the only one who had ever truly loved her, and now she had help.
She glanced ahead again as the end of the road came into view, her lips curling slightly into a small, satisfied smile.
They would take care of the monster, just like they said they would. Juno would be safe again, even if she didn’t understand it at first, and once everything settled, she would come back where she belonged.
Back to Marie.
And then everything would finally be right again.