The Chronicles of Amon book 1 LINK

  Chapter 6.

  The young male sat watching from his perch at the edge of the nest. Daylight was fading quickly. Soon now he would edge his way closer to his mate. He had learned to draw comfort from being close to her and the infant. For now, though, he kept his distance.

  He felt somehow disconnected, not really a part of the intimate scene playing out before him. From the day of his son’s birth the young male had known somehow that he could never share the bond he saw growing between his mate and their child.

  He felt an emptiness inside . . . a longing for the peace and security he remembered from his own childhood. His mother had been gone a long time now, carried away in the night by some unseen predator. He still missed her. He remembered her scent. He remembered the warmth of her caress; the comfort and security he felt, bundled securely in her arms. Her passing had left a void within him; a sad emptiness which he longed to have filled.

  For a time, that emptiness seemed to lessen, replaced as it was by the presence of his mate. Their shared intimacy helped to temporarily satisfy his longing. But the arrival of the infant had wrought a change. Now he was no longer the center of her attention. Now she spent most of her time caring for the infant. His advances sometimes went unnoticed. At others they were flatly rejected.

  Instinctively he knew this was necessary and deliberately suppressed his feelings. But still, in the quiet moments, the emptiness within him welled up.

  Now, watching the tender scene before him, he felt a warmth within him that seemed to more than compensate for his pain. The interaction between his mate and his child brought forth a feeling he had never before experienced.

  The child was stirring. He was making strange sounds, quietly cooing and gesturing to his mother. The young male sensed that something had changed between the two.

  He moved closer, noticing the change in the mood. Looking down, he saw two big round eyes looking up at him.

  “M-m, m-muh-m, M-mah-m, M-mah-ma, M-ah-ma.”

  The two sat there staring in wonder at their son. What few vocalizations they were capable of producing came forth spontaneously. Quietly they whimpered and cooed, to their child and to each other. The young male reached down and gently touched the infants cheek. Their eyes locked.

  “Ah.” The father grunted softly, gently.

  “Mmmmm-ph,” said the infant in reply, reaching out to grasp his father’s huge finger in his small grip.

  “Puh, puh . . . Pah!”