Across the cave Liking heard Lynn moan while touching her swollen belly. He stared at her exotic black body stretched to its limits with his offspring. The shape-shifter had lost her ability to change form. It often happened with pregnancy or so he'd been told. Her belly had become so distended that there wasn't a way to sit comfortably, much less change to a bird and take to the sky.

He turned away from her, feeling the breeze at the mouth of the cave. It shouldn't be long before she birthed, her waxen form bringing something new into the world. He couldn't venture a guess to what their union would produce.

"You need to leave me Liking," said Lynn. He glanced up long enough to see her move from the chair to their bed. "You shouldn't see me like this."

He stayed at the mouth of the cave watching the sunset. He sat there every evening, contemplating the decisions he'd made to leave the flyer village and stay with the enemy. The choice had made him an outsider with his people who could scarcely forgive his mistakes before the war with the shifters, much less bedding with one. Although their first time had not exactly been intentional.

"What did you say, Lynn?" He looked at her pained face. The silver lines around her black eyes drew tight. Her thick black skin looked thinner today, showing a few details of her nipples and naval.

"You need to leave. The time has come." Her words came between hard breaths.

"But won't you need help with the birth?" Liking took a step towards her, then stopped as she held up one clawed hand.

"No! I don't want you to see it."

He looked at her for a minute and knew better than to question her decision. Shifters were stubborn and his woman was especially difficult. Still, he didn't want to leave her. She would bear more than one child. He'd felt the heads and found two or maybe three in her womb.

"I will go but not far. Yell for me when you'd like me to return."

"Liking, do you love me?" Lynn asked while rubbing her stomach in obvious pain.

"Are you sure you want me to go?"

"Answer my question."

He didn't want to, but he supposed it was love he felt for his strange mate. When he'd found her lying in the rocks, damaged from battle, all he'd known was pity. The first time they'd mated and she'd pretended to be Anzele to trick him, he'd hated her. Now, love seemed close enough.

"Yes. I love you, Lynn."

Liking flew from the mouth of the cave and landed on the ground a few feet away. The flyers had all but destroyed the shifters and now he was fathering a new batch.

A flyer the father to shifter children, how bizarre?

Throughout history a mating like that had never taken place. Shifters mated with humans because of their weak genetics, the shifters felt like they created purer children. It was also easy to trick humans. Legend has it that shifters would breed with human men as they slept or came to them as any number of beautiful visions.

Shifters were only females. No male had ever been permitted to live. Shifters had their reasons for it, none Liking understood. It didn't matter. Lynn had chosen to mate with a flyer and hopefully she'd accept the outcome.

Lynn had to have been desperate to mate with him on the beach so many months ago. Liking wasn't foolish enough to believe that she loved him, even with his offspring in her womb. She hadn't chosen a mate for love. On that strange morning when she'd come to him, in the guise of Anzele, the woman he'd thought he loved, it had simply been the end of her mating cycle. She'd decided to trick a flyer into lying with her instead of risking going to the human city, where their paranoia made anyone different a possible victim for the mobs to burn or beat. The choice had been logical and he'd been foolish to think Anzele would come to him on the beach of his home. The morning had shown him the truth. Instead of a lovely flyer naked in his covers, Lynn was in his bed.

It didn't mean he loved those babies any less. After he'd nursed Lynn back to health, he'd tried to leave. He never knew if it was loneliness or fear that made her tell him about her pregnancy. It didn't matter. Once those words left her black lips, he had to stay. There was something beautiful growing inside her, and he wanted to be part of it.

He worried a bit about the birth. He'd never heard of a woman doing that alone, but he knew better than to argue with Lynn. Her culture was different. He'd respect her wishes and hope for the best.

There wasn't anything to do but wait. Liking knew childbirth could be a long process but he didn't want to travel far. He walked through a small stand of trees to a wide stream that trickled over rocks producing a soft music. There, he froze. Just beyond him, he heard a woman's voice singing. Curiosity drew him closer to the sound.

The woman obviously thought she was alone. She'd stripped herself of clothing, and rinsed her things in the running water. There she crouched, naked and unashamed on the bank. Her long dark brown hair clung to her body, damp and sticking to her breasts and back.

Liking took a step back, trying to keep hidden in the foliage. The honorable thing would be to turn away, but Liking had given up on honorable years ago. Besides, self-indulgence was much more fun.

The woman was beautiful. She stood and hung her dress from a branch to dry, giving Liking a complete view of her body. Her breasts were small, her body looked athletic with small waist and hips.

It had been a long time since he'd seen another person besides his Lynn. He'd almost forgotten what real skin looked like. It was so different from Lynn's thick black covering. Part of him longed to touch it just to remember what a regular woman felt like.

"Liking." Lynn's shrill scream pierced the air.

Without another thought, he rose from the bushes and flew to the cave. From the corner of his eye, he saw the strange woman gasp, then run into the forest. Apparently she was shy.

"Liking!"

Shifters gave birth much faster than Liking had anticipated. He entered the mouth of the cave to find the first child in Lynn's arms while the second crowned between her legs. He wasn't sure what to expect. He'd seen women give birth in the village, but never a shifter. What he saw now took his breath. Quickly he took the baby from Lynn's arms while she pulled the second from between her thighs.

The child he held looked like a girl. She was black from head to toe with silver rings around her eyes like her mother. The only difference between her and Lynn were the wings jutting from her back. Although he was a wind tamer, wingless, those had to come from the flyer genetics. This child had truly been blessed. Wings had skipped many generations in his family and were cherished above all the features a child could have.

Liking cleaned the fluids from his daughters body, then wrapped her in cloths. To him, she was beautiful and the most perfect thing he'd ever seen. He just hoped Lynn would be as accepting of her.

Shifters weren't tolerant of odd physical traits, and Liking feared that any child that wasn't up to Lynn's standards would be turned to the wilds without her care. It was common practice to do so among her people, although most of her people were dead.

Humans had become too dangerous to seek out for breeding. The prejudices so inherent to mortal men made venturing near them costly. Still, he was sure if he hadn't given Lynn offspring, she would've gladly bedded one.

"Liking," called Lynn again. This time she handed him a child still heavily encased in membrane. "If it is a boy, get rid of it."

A panicked repulsion filled Liking as he removed the membrane from a perfect baby boy. The child looked just like him with black hair shading his head, pale flyer skin, and long fingers. There were no wings on this one, just as Liking had no real wings. The child's eyes even resembled Liking's.

After cleaning the baby, he wrapped him in cloth and set him next to the first. Tears filled Liking's eyes. He had a son, and male children weren't permitted in shifter society. He couldn't kill this child, but there wasn't much he could do to protect him from Lynn.

"Here's the last."

She handed him another girl. This one would be Lynn's favorite. She was sleek with no wings and looked identical to her mother. Liking cleaned this one off and set her next to her brother.

"Are the girls okay?" Lynn sounded fatigued. "Please, are they okay?"

"They're wonderful." Liking sniffled. "Two girls and one boy. They are so beautiful."

"Kill the boy." Lynn leaned back, clearly exhausted. "They grow strange."

Anger flashed through him. If she'd been in better shape, he would've tossed her out of the cave. The boy baby had grown inside her, next to the girls. To hate a baby because of his sex was twisted. This was his child, his image.

Liking swallowed his anger. He had to deal with her carefully. Her mental state would be unpredictable for the next few hours. Besides, he had to think about the care of all his children.

"Maybe humans and shifters create strange boys, but this one is my son. He's a flyer, just like his father." Liking picked up the boy and touched his tiny chin. "He will be strong and smart. There's nothing wrong with him. I bet he'll even watch out for his sisters."

"Kill him or I will." Lynn spoke without emotion. "Are the girls perfect?"

Liking's heart seemed to fall into his stomach. He couldn't understand loving something so much, feeling it kick one moment, then be ready to destroy it the next. His son wouldn't turn strange. That came from a man living with such dominating, power hungry women.

There was another problem he hadn't faced. The winged child might also be rejected. She was a beautiful daughter, a perfect merge between their lines, but he wasn't sure if Lynn could see that. Lynn grew blind to so many things.

"One has wings." Liking felt his knees grow weak from the confession. "She is also beautiful."

"Let me see her."

Liking took his first-born daughter to Lynn. She unwrapped the child, holding the naked and protesting girl up to the light. Lynn took one look at her wings and sighed as if finding some terrible deformity. Still, she stroked the child's face and managed to act like a mother. Liking saw the disappointment though; another child that wasn't up to her standards.

"I suppose I should've expected problems mating with a flyer. Human blood is weak. Their characteristics never become involved." She handed the girl back to Liking. That's when he realized the look of disgust was as much for him as the children he'd sired.

"So sorry my bloodline got involved." Liking placed the winged daughter next to her sister. He picked up his son from the loose nest he'd made in the corner of the cave and held him tightly against his chest. "I won't let you kill my son."

"When I'm well, you won't be able to stop me." Her eyes sparked silver, ignited from the black face. "You can't watch him close enough." The look on her face was murderous and not just for his son. Liking was sure she'd turn her anger on him too. "He will die."

It was true. He'd always considered himself a powerful male but a shifter could take on any form and the strength associated. There was no way he could protect his son from her unless he killed Lynn, and no way to make her nurse him.

He supposed he could take the baby back to the flyer village but Liking had betrayed them by mating with the shifter. Flyers, winged and wingless would easily recognize the boy as Liking's blood. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Fine. I will set the child into the forest and let nature take its course. It won't be murder, but you should still get your way."

"Agreed."

Liking looked at his son, the way his lips pressed together as if waiting to suckle. He rose in the cave, with the child in his arms and flew down to the forest below. Part of him wanted to run away with the baby, but that left his daughters under Lynn's care. Maybe he should've let Lynn die on the beach. She was certainly not fit as a mother. There was also little doubt Lynn would try to hurt the winged daughter.

Near the stream, a sound caught his ears. His only hope was the woman had returned, tending to her laundry. Perhaps she would take pity on him and the babe. The stranger might be his son's only chance.

He crept through the underbrush. His son seemed content with the journey and didn't make a sound as they crept toward the stream. Sure enough, there was the woman. She was still naked, with long brown hair flowing down her back.

"Excuse me," Liking looked at the ground as he approached. "Please don't be afraid. We need help."

The woman turned and started to run, but at the same moment Liking's son let out a whimper so soft and sweet it stopped the woman in her tracks. She grabbed her wet dress from the limb and held it in front of her.

"What do you want?"

Liking swallowed down his tears. "My son will be killed if I don't find someone to care for him. Please good lady. Will you take my son? It would destroy me to know he'd died."

"Your son?"

The woman came forward with the dress wrapped around her. Liking held his baby lower for the woman to look at. She slid the babe's wrap open and breathed out loudly. Immediately the baby reached for her.

"Where is the mother?"

Tears flowed down his cheeks. There was nothing he could do to stop them, or adequately explain the series of errors that had brought him to the position he currently existed in. Still he tried.

"The mother is a monster. I would've left her long ago except she became pregnant with my babies. She just gave birth and ordered me to kill my son. I am of the flyer line and she is of the shifters."

The woman took a step back, but the cooing of the baby brought her closer again. Her bottom lip quivered as if she didn't want to take the responsibility thrust on her, but the baby already had a hold of her heart.

Just then the wind picked up. Liking knew what was coming. It was Lynn. He felt it as if she were an evil released on the world. She'd done battle against his people and killed many friends. Lynn was the last of her kind, the last of the line of demons smart enough to learn to shift their form in order to survive. There was a presence to her, a terrible energy that was hell to live with.

To verify his fears, he heard her voice cutting through the air. "Liking?"

"It is his mother. Please hide." He put the baby in her arms and led her to a pocket of dense foliage. He left them there. "Don't move or hurt my son. I beg you good woman, stay hidden. We'll talk more when Lynn leaves. Please, don't hurt my son."

"Liking, where are you?" Her voice had grown shriller.

"Here." He stepped from the woods. "What do you want?"

"I'd like some help cleaning the babies. I'm sore from the labors." She sat on a rock next to the stream and dipped her soiled feet. "Did you dispose of the male?"

"I left him in the woods. I can't hurt my child. You should be ashamed for asking me to do such a thing."

"The woods will take care of the task for you." She motioned him closer and handed him the winged child. "Will you bathe her?"

"I suppose her deformity sickens you." He took the winged babe and held her the same way he had his son. "You can't see her beauty."

Liking wondered why he'd stayed with such a cruel creature, then he looked at his daughter. This was why he'd stayed, the only reason to be with Lynn. A trick made him sleep with Lynn, kindness made him tend her, but fatherhood had forced him to settle.

"No." Lynn rinsed her legs, washing the last of the birth from her body before starting to clean the baby. "I'll try to find something to clip her wings. She should look fine then. It won't be a problem." She glanced at them and rolled her eyes. "Please bathe her."

"You can't clip her wings." Liking held the baby close. "It is a beautiful thing to be born with wings."

"You have no wings. Why should you care?" Lynn unwrapped her baby, moistened a cloth and started cleaning her little body.

"The gift of flight is a precious thing. I am a wind tamer and don't need wings. She might need them to fly. Flyer blood works like that. A daughter may not follow exactly in her father's steps." He sighed. "There is also blood in wings. Clipping them could kill her."

"I'll think about it. Will you please bathe her?" She pointed to the stream, seeming to grow impatient.

"Certainly."

Lynn finished washing her baby, then cuddled her, speaking to her softly as if she was the most precious gift in the world.

"Are you done washing that baby?" She spoke sharply, as if her love couldn't encompass more than one thing.

"Not yet." Liking wiped away more of the birth. "Go back to the cave. I'll care for this one here."

Lynn stood, then looked at him. He expected a fight or more comments about the winged child. Lynn shook her head slowly but no degrading words were spoken. She simply held her baby closely and walked over to Liking.

"Have you thought about names for our babies?"

The babe in his arms made a small noise, something between a laugh and a coo. It made him smile despite their situation. "This one I'll name..." he paused to think about it, "Celia."

"A flyer name?" Lynn shook her head again, showing that look of disgust again. "I should've known."

"Can't anything about them be from me? If you thought me so awful you shouldn't have shifted into Anzele's form and mated with me. Did it sicken you to ride on me?" He felt his eyes flare, lighting brightly. "You didn't act disgusted at the time. I guess being in heat changes many things."

"Don't be so dramatic." She rolled her eyes.

Hitting the mother of his children was crossing the line. He'd never felt the urge to strike her until now. The hatred of him and his kind tore through him and he nearly gave in to temptation.

"You look down on me and my kind. Well at least my kind still lives." He stood, wishing he'd never helped her. The flyers were better people than this animal before him. What other than a beast would harm her own children?

"Fine, she will be Celia." Lynn looked at her baby. "This one I will name Elise."

"That's pretty. Now go and let me tend to my daughter." He made sure to emphasize the word, my. Every breath would have to be gone from his body before he'd let that shifter clip Celia's wings. "I don't require your help."

"Very well. Don't be long though. Celia will be hungry soon."

Liking waited until Lynn shifted into wings and took off into the sky with her babe cuddled tightly against her. He finished washing Celia then wrapped her back in cloth before she could catch a chill. As soon as he was certain Lynn had gone he ran back to the spot where he'd left his son.

"Miss, are you here?" he called out softly.

Sitting in the middle of the underbrush was the strange woman, holding the baby as if he were her own. Liking relaxed. This woman had already fallen in love with the baby. The way her face lit up, assured him he'd done the right thing.

"Sir, what is your name?" she asked.

"Liking." He smiled broadly. "And yours?"

"I am Sarah." She nuzzled the baby. "I don't know how a woman could hurt a baby." She touched his face, tracing his little cheeks with her index finger. "He's wonderful."

"Does this mean you will care for my son?"

"If it pleases you." Her lovely blue eyes looked up at him. It reminded him of the ocean near his village. "I can't properly feed the boy, but there are goats at my cabin and those will provide decent milk. It might not be mother's milk but he won't starve."

"Oh sweet Sarah, I am forever in your debt." He dropped to his knees with one arm hugging his daughter.

"Is this Lynn going to hurt Celia?" Sarah reached to the babe in his arms but stopped short of touching her.

"I hope not." Liking unwrapped his baby and showed Sarah the black wings. "Lynn wants to clip her wings. In my culture it is unthinkable."

"She does look like her mother, except for the wings. May I touch her?"

Liking nodded. He wasn't sure what this woman would think of such a strange looking child. The boy could pass for human or wingless flyer but Celia was a new mix and nothing in this world looked like her.

"Celia is beautiful in her own way. Unusual." Sarah reached to touch the child, letting her fingers run down the babe's wings. "I don't live near humans. If you need me to care for Celia, I will." She smiled at the little girl. "Don't let that woman clip the babe's wings. I think one day she'll need them."

"You don't hate her for being different?" Liking was shocked. Humans usually loathed all who weren't like them.

"Of course not. No one should hate a baby." She hugged the boy against her. "If the need arises, I will gladly care for her. I mean it." She touched Celia once more then took a step back. "Would you like your son to be called Liking also?"

"No." The name Liking wasn't going into legend as any hero. He'd been the villain too many times and was sure stories were being told about his indiscretions. "He deserves his own name. I was thinking of Faller."

"I like it. How do you like it, Faller?" She held the baby up and he started laughing. "I think he likes it too."

"Would you wait here a moment? I will take Celia back to Lynn then I would like to take you home if it's okay?" He looked at Celia. "I just want to know where my boy lives. I promise not to trouble you." He looked at the ground, unsure of what to do next. "If that's okay?"

"I would like you to visit your son. It would be wrong for him not to know his father." She smiled at Liking and his heart filled with joy. "Are you sure you should take Celia to her?"

"Surely Lynn won't hurt her, at least for a few weeks." He stroked the baby's face. "If Celia does come to danger, may I really bring her to you?"

"Of course. I may not know much of shifters or flyers, but you can instruct me as to their care."

"You are truly a miracle Sarah. I'll be right back."

*

Sarah wasn't sure what she'd gotten herself into. A handsome man had just asked her to care for his newborn son. It was unimaginable but she couldn't turn him down. The baby was the most precious thing.

"Faller," she whispered and listened to the baby coo. "Sweet little Faller."

She set the baby on the ground while she adjusted her damp dress. It wouldn't be prudent to walk through the woods with her lacings undone. She'd managed to slide the dress on while Liking bathed the babes, but she could accomplish little else while crouching in the brush. It would also not be wise to hang around and hope that Lynn woman didn't decide to go after the boy personally. Already Sarah knew that she'd fight to protect this innocent child.

"Sarah?" Liking had returned sooner than she'd expected.

"Over here."

Sarah finished tying the laces below her breasts, then picked up the baby. Liking came out of the brush. At first he seemed troubled, but when he looked at her, the worry faded.

"I guess we'd better get going." Sarah hugged the baby. "Do you want to hold him a bit?"

"Actually, I'd like you to hold him while I fly you home."

"Excuse me? Fly?"

"I don't want there to be signs or any paths to your home. With us walking, we're bound to break branches and such."

There was bound to be a trail from her walk to the stream. She usually went to the upper section of the stream for bathing. The rocks were larger there, giving her space to dry her things. She'd been on her way there, but several locus spiders had scared her from the path, turning her this way.

"You're worried about Lynn coming after the baby." The possibility existed. If she believed the boy lived, she might try to murder him.

"I don't think she'd hurt you, but she is against my son surviving." Liking swallowed hard. "I can't lie. She might try to harm you. Does that change things?"

"I want to care for Faller." She sighed, from washing to motherhood, in less than an hour. "Please, fly us away from here quickly."

Liking wrapped his arms around Sarah. He was strong, incredibly so. It was shameful, but she liked the feeling of his arms around her. He held her closely, while she cradled the baby, and they rose above the trees. It was a little frightening. Never before had she left the ground. The fear mounted as she looked down, trying to gain her bearings to direct him to her home. It made her dizzy. She clutched the baby in one arm and grabbed at Liking with the other. The view was amazing, but oh, the ground looked so far away.

After circling twice, Sarah caught a glimpse of her thatched roof and directed him to land. Gently, he set her on the ground a few feet from her front porch. She giggled a little as they landed, causing a strange look from Liking.

"I've never flown before. That was wonderful. Terrifying, but wonderful."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Please come in."

Sarah led him up the steps to her front door. She opened it, suddenly feeling embarrassed for living in the one room cabin. It was silly, she supposed. From what she could tell Liking lived in a cave. At least that was the only thing she'd seen in the direction he'd come.

"Sorry Faller, I don't have a crib for you yet. You'll have to sleep with me." She laid him on her bed then wrapped blankets around him to keep him from rolling off. "Would you hand me those matches?" she pointed to the mantel while she picked up several candles from the table by the bed. "I don't want to open the curtains in case your friend hunts you down."

"Set the candles on the table."

She set them down, not understanding what he was doing. All of a sudden the candles came to life, each with a flame flickering from their tops. He picked up each candle and placed them around the room.

"How did you do that?" She smiled and realized that she must've looked much like a surprised child.

"It's one of my gifts." He sat in a chair by the table. "I'm a little too far from home to be practicing though."

"Are you okay? You look a little pale?" Sarah went to the bed and sat next to Faller who had fallen asleep.

"I need to feed this far from home. I haven't fed in a long time."

"Feed?" She'd heard the rumors although she rarely went near humans. "Do you mean steal lives?" She took a step back remembering the night demons she'd seen on her travels.

"No. That's a lie. We borrow force. Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything to you without your permission."

"How do you borrow force?"

He smiled at her, then looked over at the baby on the bed. "I would touch your face and you might feel sleepy."

"Will you do it to me?" She followed his gaze to the baby. "I need to know everything Faller will need."

"Babes can't take force. He would be half grown before he could feed."

"Show me anyway." She looked at him and felt a tingle of attraction. It might be nice for him to touch her. "I'm curious. Please."

"Sure."

Liking stood and went to the bed where she sat. He was very attractive, with long black hair and dark eyes. As he touched her face, she found herself wondering what his lips would feel like against hers. Then he smiled and the flash of sharp teeth nearly made her reconsider.

"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked.

"No. Just hold still."

He touched her face with soft hands. There was a tingle then came a loud popping sound like a bolt between them. Liking fell to the floor. His mouth hung open and for a moment he shook.

"Are you alright?" Sarah went to the floor next to him. "Please be alright. Say something."

"You're not a human."

Sarah's heart sank. He'd discovered her secret.