Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“There’s nothing in the house, but there is plenty of room out back,” said the bigfoot who owned the house.
Akai glanced back at the truck, where Cole was waiting. He’d said this was a safe place to stop and that he didn’t need to hide. After two human motels, he was over crawling around next to Cole. “You said there was room?”
“Yes, but it’s first in best dressed, and it is after dinner, so you are late. But there is room out the back to camp. A few others are also out there.”
Camping out back was not what he’d had in mind. It wasn’t very private. He was so used to having Cole to himself that the idea of sharing him with other monsters was terrifying. Not only that, but it was the first time Cole would see other monsters, and everyone would assume they were mates.
The bigfoot stared at him, waiting for a response.
Akai forced a smile. “Okay…and the bathroom?”
“Through the back door, and the first door on your left. Breakfast will be served from sunrise, just follow the corridor to the dining room.”
“Thank you.”
“First time bringing a human mate?” the bigfoot asked.
Was it that obvious?
“Yes.” Not that they were mates. It was almost impossible for him to exist in Cole’s world unless everyone saw him as a dog, which wasn’t what he wanted to be. He wanted to be able to hold his mate’s hand and kiss him. “It’s all very new.”
The bigfoot slapped him on the shoulder. “Humans adapt very well and can make very good mates once they let go of human expectations.”
Like being seen with his mate in the human world?
“Being around other cryptids will help. You lot spend too much time alone.”
He liked being alone, mostly. He’d liked it better with his sister.
He didn’t need anyone else, but he was enjoying being with Cole far more than he’d expected, and not only because of the sex—though that was very good too, and he’d had more of it in the last three weeks than he had over the last three years.
Today, they’d listened to music, monster and human, and podcasts, and they’d stopped at another abandoned mine. Or at least nearby and eaten sandwiches beneath the trees, and he’d found some tasty larvae beneath the bark to snack on because human food was fine, but he needed other stuff too.
Akai shrugged. “We like to move around. Itchy wings and all that.”
“Not all of us have the urge to move house every couple of months.”
Months? He usually moved more frequently than that, though over the last eighteen months, he’d stayed closer to Cole’s cabin than he needed to, hoping to see him. Drawn to him…
“Do you want him to park there?”
“Have him drive around. There’s a track.” The bigfoot pointed to a dirt track running past a large shed.
“Great, thanks,” Akai said with forced enthusiasm. At least the weather was mild, and the sky was clear. He walked back to the truck and leaned in the open window. “Follow the track and park around the back. The house is full, so we’re joining the others out the back.”
Cole lifted his eyebrows.
“We got here late.” They probably shouldn’t have fucked after eating sandwiches, but it had been warm and sunny, and the light had been catching in Cole’s hair and eyes, and he hadn’t been able to resist.
Cole licked his lip. “How many others out the back?”
“I don’t know, but the house is full, so there will be lots of monsters around.”
Cole swallowed loud enough that every monster in the house probably heard. “Oh.”
“You’ll be fine. Think of it as practice for solstice?”
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. Keep your claws to yourself.”
Akai lifted his hand and grinned. “Just my claws?”
Cole leveled a gaze at him and put the truck into gear. “You know what I mean.”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on doing anything. I don’t like an audience.”
Cole’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m sorry, how many times have you distracted the driver with your tongue in my pants? Do you not think that is public?”
“No, we are inside, and no one can see.”
Cole shook his head and sighed. “I’ll see you ‘round there.”
Akai followed the truck, stretching his wings as well as his legs. He’d jumped off a few logs at lunchtime to see if his wing could take the strain, and it had held up, though he wouldn’t have called it a glide. He should wait a few more days and see a healer at solstice instead of pushing.
Cole parked to the side, and while the truck was off, he was still inside. He saw Akai and got out, bag slung over his shoulder. “Tell me there is a bathroom?”
Akai led him over to the house, noting the three monsters sitting around a fire staring at them. “I’ll wait here?”
“You don’t have to. Do you want to sleep on the ground or in the tray of the truck?”
There wasn’t enough room to stretch out on the tray. “Ground.”
“Then find us a spot and set up. The sleeping mats and blankets and such.”
“You’re okay?”
Cole appeared rather too calm.
“Freaking out on the inside. I’ll be fine.” Cole put a hand on his chest and leaned in and kissed him, then went into the house, leaving him to set up.
He glanced at the truck and then the monsters around the fire.
He couldn’t avoid this forever. With a grimace, he made his way to the truck and grabbed the gear out of the back, before walking over the fire where the others were sleeping.
There was a small tent set up, and while he wasn’t sure who it belonged to, it probably only slept one.
“Hi, I’m Akai. My human is Cole.” His human. The words had rolled far too easily off his tongue.
“Hey. Set up and join us,” the jackalope said.
“Your kind doesn’t usually stop at rest houses,” said the lizard-like monster.
“Humans can’t fly, so adjustments were made.”
There were murmurs of agreement. The jackalope talked about how their great aunt had a human mate, a woodcutter, and how she’d only been to solstice once after taking him as her mate.
He spoke as if it were a warning about human mates, but perhaps his aunt had never liked solstice.
Some found it too busy and noisy and preferred smaller gatherings.
Going to solstice was important to him, and he wasn’t giving that up for anyone. But with Cole, he wouldn’t be able to fly there; no, they would drive together, and it took less time, and he could carry more. Both of which negated the awkwardness of pretending to be a dog for the trip.
Cole chose that moment to reappear. He sat next to Akai and smiled rather tightly.
Akai did some quick introductions, and everyone was very polite about the human sitting with them, even though Akai could tell they weren’t too sure about him.
It wasn’t long before they all found excuses to go to bed.
“Was it something I didn’t say?” Cole whispered.
Akai kissed his temple. “No. There is a long history of distrust, and some are more wary than others.”
“And at solstice?”
“It’s mixed. But you find the pockets that you want to be with.”
Cole nodded and stared at the fire. “It’s kind of like the night we met.”
“How so?” There were no guns, and he wasn’t bleeding.
“The fire, the stars.” Cole leaned against him. “We’re staying for breakfast, right? Some giant hairy dude said it starts at sunrise.”
“That would be one of the bigfoots who runs the place.” And it was going to be so much harder to get away without breakfast now that Cole knew they were invited.
“One of the bigfoots?” Cole’s eyebrows lifted.
He thought Cole understood that the monsters he’d heard about were different types. Perhaps it was the shock of seeing a bigfoot face-to-face. “There are heaps of them, much like there are plenty of harpies.”
One of the monsters who’d gone to bed smothered a laugh.
Akai leaned down and whispered in Cole’s ear. “Let’s leave this for the moment.”
“Okay, but we’re staying for breakfast.”
Akai closed his eyes and barely smothered a groan.
“You said it was a practice for solstice.”
He regretted saying that now, and he’d only said it because Cole was uncertain about staying at the monster house, because it was a deviation from the route, and it was full of monsters. Akai had wanted to not hide for a bit…but perhaps hiding was better.
It was definitely easier than putting his fake mate on display over breakfast.