Chapter 17
Seventeen
Miles
"This place feels... magical," Duckie said with a sheepish laugh. "Which it clearly is, but..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze.
We were at the Silent Creek Park for our official second date, and the place was as beautiful as it'd ever been, maybe even more so after the 'maintenance' Elian had done.
As a dryad, he was connected to this land through his magic, and he must've given every single tree, bush, and weed a boost over the last week.
Flowers bloomed everywhere, and the air was thick with the scents of roses, lavender, jasmine, and about a dozen other flowers I couldn't name.
The trees lined a narrow path that led deeper into the park, and we strolled down it, talking in the tall firs, lush evergreens, the cedars, the maple trees, and the ferns and shrubs surrounding their roots.
Save for the narrow path Elian had left for visitors, every patch of earth was engulfed by some kind of flora.
I knew Elian and Alden also had their personal garden somewhere in the park, a place only they could access.
They grew food there as well, and sometimes they shared it with the rest of the clan.
The apples and peaches grown in Elian's garden were the sweetest I'd ever tasted, and over the years, we'd had more than a few clan parties simply to eat them.
"It's been a while since I saw trees this thick, this healthy," Duckie murmured, reaching up to run his palm over the trunk of a large cedar tree.
"It's all because of Elian and Alden's magic."
"They live here? In the park?"
Nodding, I pointed deeper into the park toward an area that was cut off from the trails. "They have a place back there. No one can reach it unless they invite you there."
"That's so cool."
"It is. Come on, I know a place where we can sit and chat for a bit."
I led Duckie through the trails, and we stopped often so we could admire the flowers, or interact with some of the park's tiny animal residents. In my previous trips, I'd met squirrels, rabbits, snails, bugs, and even a few harmless snakes, all of whom were friendly to everyone who visited them.
They were all under Elain's protection, which meant my owl was not allowed to hunt them.
Only the other animals—the real animals—who lived in the park could do that.
Mateo and I had learned that the hard way when we'd tried to grab a squirrel at the age of thirteen and gotten tangled up in the tree vines.
April—Dad's familiar—had had to find Dad, who'd then contacted Alden, who'd told Elian, who'd come found and freed us.
We'd learned our lesson, that was for sure.
"Here we are," I said as we stepped into one of the many clearings scattered across the park.
This one had a few fallen tree logs set up around a tree stump, making for a perfect sitting area.
The stump had small branches sprouting out of its sides, which told me it would be a tree again someday if Elian had anything to say about it.
"Wow," Duckie said as he let go of my hand and turned around in a circle to take everything in. Leaning down, he slipped out of his shoes, and then removed his socks, humming as he dug his toes into the wet grass.
Smiling, I did the same, and I had to admit it felt nice. The grass was too wet to sit on, but it felt wonderful as it tickled against the soles of my feet.
"I really, really like Mistvale," Duckie said after a moment, his voice full of conviction, and I smiled.
"Yeah, it has that effect on people."
Taking my hand again, Duckie tugged me over to one of the fallen tree trunks, and we sat down straddling the log so we could face each other.
Keeping hold of my hand, Duckie smiled, his dark, almost black eyes full of warmth. "Thank you for bringing me here. Actually, I wanted to thank you for everything. For giving me a place to belong. For finding my mom. For making me feel safe again."
"I had help."
"I know. I want to thank Mateo too, and I will later.
But Miles, I... I never thought I'd have this.
Any of this. For years, I'd convinced myself I was safest in my duck form.
That the life I was living was all I needed, even though it hadn't been much of a life at all.
I'd forgotten what it meant to live, or maybe I'd never had the chance to learn.
But you—you and Mateo—you saved me. You showed me everything I'd missed out on, and then you shared it with me.
It...I just... I'm grateful. And I'm glad you're my mate. "
A lump stuck in my throat, and it took me longer than I wanted to admit to get rid of it. With a cough, I squeezed Duckie's hand as I gathered my thoughts.
"I'm so glad Mateo saw you that day at the shelter, that he recognized you and brought you home.
Living in this town, I had hope I'd find my mate sooner rather than later, but I was still worried.
I was worried if he'd—if you would—be able to accept the fact that Mat and I are basically a package deal.
I'd worried that I'd be expected to choose, and I'd been even more afraid that I might want to.
I know how all-consuming mate bonds can be, and I'd been terrified that Mat would be left alone. "
"Never," Duckie murmured, and I nodded quickly, knowing he meant it.
"I love how easy it is with the three of us. There's no comparison, no competition. We just are, and I'm so very grateful for that."
Duckie's eyes sparkled brightly as he closed the distance between us and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. I loved that he'd started initiating kisses, loved that he felt confident enough in our relationship to do so.
Squeezing his hand tighter, I kissed him back, humming against his soft lips when he teased at mine with his tongue. Welcoming him in, I caressed his tongue with mine as a shiver passed through me, as I yearned to close the distance between us, to press myself against him.
The rough tree bark under me, the cool breeze caressing my cheek and sifting through my hair, the chittering of the small wild animals, the rustling of the tree on the leaves.
.. one by one, they all disappeared, until all I could hear was the sound of Duckie's lips moving against mine, until all I could feel was the warmth of his body, and my lungs were bursting with the scent of him.
He was all around me, and I was happily drowning in him.
Duckie
Making out with Miles was quickly becoming an addiction I didn't want to let go of. He felt amazing in my arms, and I wanted to keep holding him, keep touching him, for the rest of our lives.
But alas, even shifters had to breathe at some point, and I was forced to pull away so my lungs could function again.
We gazed at each other as we caught our breaths, and I was thrilled to see my need reflected back in Miles's brown eyes, his pupils blown wide as he panted.
My eyes slid lower, to his lips that were slick with my spit and bright pink from all the kissing.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, drawing my gaze lower to his quickly rising and falling chest, and then lower still to the bulge in his pants.
My gaze lingered there, a mirroring ache in my groin making me crave his touch, making me want to touch him.
Out here in the open probably wasn't the best place for that, though, especially when it would be our first time. And my first time ever.
As if to prove my point, the sound of someone—or multiple someones—approaching reached my ears, and I turned toward the source of the sound as two men stepped into the clearing.
It wasn't hard to tell who they were since the blond-haired, lavender-eyed man with a gentle aura and a large basket clutched in his hand was a unicorn, and the greenish-black-haired man with brown skin and bright green eyes whom the trees seemed to lean toward was a dryad.
They were the couple Miles had told me about, the one who called this park home.
"Hey, guys. Hope we're not interrupting," Alden said, though judging by the sparkle in his lavender eyes, he'd either guessed or heard what we'd been up to.
Feeling my cheeks heat up, I resolutely pushed past my embarrassment as I stood up, giving them a friendly smile. "Hello."
"Duckie, meet Alden and Elian. Guys, meet Duckie. My mate," Miles added, and the soft pride in his voice made my heart tumble over itself in my chest.
"It's nice to meet you," Elian said, his voice a contrasting mix of rough and smooth, like the rustle of the leaves around us.
"We won't stay long," Alden said with a wink, then placed the basket on the tree stump. "We brought you some food for your date."
"Thank you."
I loved how close everyone in this clan, in this town was. Everywhere Miles or Mateo had taken me so far, the people had welcomed me with open arms. I'd never experienced acceptance like this before.
As promised, they didn't stick around for long, but their arrival did help me get a hold on my lustier thoughts, and after they left, Miles and I turned our attention to the food.
"Oh my God," I mumbled as juice from the apple I'd bitten into trickled down my chin, quickly wiping it away as the sweetness coated my tongue.
"Right? Try the peach next. You'll be in heaven."
I took my time with the apple, then tried a peach, and yep. If that wasn't heaven, I didn't know what could be.
"Noel—he's an elf, part of the pack—makes the best apple and peach pies with these. I'll see if I can get him to make one for your welcome party."
I blinked, puzzled, as I sucked some of the peach juice off my thumb. His gaze fell to my mouth and he swallowed hard. Flushing, I drew my thumb away, and he returned his eyes to mine, giving me a sheepish smile.
"A welcome party?" I prompted when it looked like he'd forgotten what we'd been talking about, and his cheeks went a little pink as he cleared his throat.
"Oh yeah. When a new member joins our clan, whether on their own or as someone's mate, Noel likes to throw a party so they can meet everyone in the clan. He's done them for as long as I've known him."
A party to welcome me into the clan? It sounded both wonderful and a tad overwhelming. What if someone in the clan didn't like me? Or thought Miles and Mateo could do better?
Of course, that was unlikely considering how pleasant everyone had been to me so far. The people in this town were far too nice for that.
"Don't worry. He won't do it until you're ready for it.
It can be a little overwhelming, meeting everyone," Miles said, as if he'd somehow read my mind.
I supposed I wasn't the only one who'd gotten worried by the idea.
"The next party will be big, though, since we'll also be celebrating the baby dragons. "
Maybe that would make it easier to handle, since the babies would probably get all the attention.
"It could also be a going-away party for them," I said, remembering what Cam had shared the other day.
I didn't know them well enough, but I knew Cam's parents were an integral part of this town.
Raiden was the leader of the clan and the guardian of Mistvale, after all, and Cam would have big shoes to fill if he agreed to take his place.
"Yeah," Miles agreed, then shook his head. "There's no point worrying about it now."
Humming, I offered him another apple, and he smiled as he took it from me, then bit into it, his eyes staying on mine as he licked the juices off his lips.
Who knew watching your mate eat an apple could be an erotic experience? I was learning all kinds of new things with Miles, and we were just getting started.