Twelve
Caelan
Walker and I had kissed. We'd actually kissed.
Ten minutes later, I sat on the couch, my ears trained on Walker as he puttered around the kitchen area making himself something to eat. I still couldn't believe it had really happened. My life had taken more turns in the last twenty-four hours than I ever could've imagined, and I was still playing catch-up.
This day would be perfect if it weren't for the fact that I'd just found out the man who'd tormented me the most in my human life was still alive, still in the human realm, and knew I was here too. I'd never ever expected to see Andras again, and I couldn't help but feel afraid of what he might do if he got me again.
When I was human, Andras had been all I'd known from the time I was eight, and I'd loved him and hated him equally. It was only after I met Damien that I understood what love and care truly meant. Day and I were never in love with each other, but we do love each other like family, and we'd do anything for the other. Day had shown me that what Andras had done to me wasn't love, wasn't anything good.
The 900 years I'd spent in Otherworld had helped me overcome everything Andras had put me through, and I knew he wouldn't be able to break me as easily now. I wasn't a scared kid anymore, I wasn't alone, and I wasn't going to let Andras get away with everything he'd done—everything he was probably still doing to others—any longer.
"Caelan, you okay?" Walker asked, and I glanced up at him, pushing away all the thoughts clogging my mind. I slid over so he could sit on the couch beside me, and he smiled before taking the seat.
"I'm fine," I assured him, my eyes flitting to my hands curled in my lap. Now that we were here, now that all the lies and pretenses were gone, I didn't know how to act. I knew how to act when Walker was angry at me, or annoyed, or when he just didn't pay me any attention. I didn't know what to do when I had all his attention, when he'd kissed me just minutes before, when he knew what he meant to me.
"I'm glad you switched back," he said, and I shot him a curious look. Reaching out, he brushed his fingers over the edge of my ear, making it twitch. "You look more like you in this form."
The first thing I'd done when I'd felt my magic fully restore was to change back into my true form, because like Walker said, I felt more like myself when I had my fluffy ears and tail, when I could turn my fingers into claws.
"Thanks," I mumbled, and we were quiet again. For some reason, I'd had this fantasy that the moment Walker knew, everything would suddenly be perfect. We'd slot in like puzzle pieces and live happily ever after. It was a stupid hope, but sometimes it was all I'd had.
The reality was mighty different. I couldn't have felt more awkward if we added Walker's dads into this mix, and I had no clue what to do next. I was the older one of us, shouldn't I know better?
"Why is this so awkward?" Walker asked, braver than I was, and I shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Maybe because we haven't actually spent that much time together in recent years?" I suggested, glancing at him.
"And whose fault is that?" he asked with a raised brow.
Mine, of course. Everything that had gone wrong between us had been because of me.
"Shit! I'm sorry, Kitty. I'm trying to be better, I swear."
I dipped my head, then snuck a peek at him again. "You called me Kitty."
Pink colored his cheeks. "Yeah. Would you rather I didn't?"
"No, no. I...I like it. I'm just curious why," I said, and he shrugged.
"We were so close when I used to call you that, and I guess I just want us to be like that again," he said, and I sighed.
"Me too, Walker. Me too," I agreed, and he smiled at me. My eyes roamed over his face, and I took in everything now that I could without fear of his annoyance. His dark hair was a mess like always, his amber eyes bright, the green flecks shining when the light hit them a certain way. He had freckles on his nose, barely dark enough to be visible, but I could count all fourteen of them. He still had the tiniest bit of baby fat clinging to his cheeks, rounding them out slightly, and I was pretty sure he'd punch me if I told him I wanted to pinch his cheeks.
"What do you think about going out on a date?" I asked, realizing we'd just been staring at each other for the past few minutes. Lord, I really hoped Ro'Shassz wasn't anywhere around. He'd have a field day with this.
"A date?" Walker asked, sitting upright on the couch before folding one leg and turning around so he was facing me. "I've never been on a date."
I blinked, knowing I should've expected that but still kinda surprised. I'd assumed Walker had been with other people, mostly because unlike me, he didn't know we were mates, so he was free to do so.
"Would you—" I started to ask again, but he cut me off.
"Yes!" He grabbed my hands in his, almost jumping in his seat from excitement. "I'd love to."
Walker
Caelan was taking me on a date. No biggie, right? Then why did my skin feel like it was buzzing? Why couldn't I sit still? Why couldn't I decide what to freaking wear?
"Here," Ro said, and I looked up at him as he dropped three pieces of clothing in my lap. He'd carried them over with his tail—growing in size to do it—and I stared down at the light jeans, dark brown shirt, and a tan sports jacket.
"Thanks, Ro. You're a lifesaver," I said, and he shook his head, shrinking back to his usual size.
"I'd expected this behavior when you were sixteen, Walker. But I guess you're a late bloomer," he teased, and I rolled my eyes at him, even though he wasn't wrong. I hadn't been all that exciting as a teenager. Back then, I'd still been a little wary of the human world, and I'd kept my distance from most people, even the high school kids I'd studied a semester with to see what it was like. I'd quickly realized I much preferred Pops to teach me things, and I hadn't lasted long in the human realm before I'd been ready to go back home.
As if I'd summoned him, magic stirred in the room and then Pops was there, his long hair in a braid, his green eyes bright as they latched on to me. "I heard through the grapevine someone has a date tonight," he said without preamble.
"It's me. I'm the grapevine," Ro piped up, then tilted his head at Pops. “Hey, Arty!”
"Hello, Ro,” he greeted the little jerk before turning to me. “I thought I'd pop by and see if you needed any help" He picked up the clothes from my lap. "Hmm. Good choice."
"Ro picked them," I said, a tad dumbfounded, before leaping to my feet and grabbing his arm. "Pops! What am I gonna do? I'm freaking out! I've never been on a date before.”
"Hey, hey, calm down," he said, dropping the clothes onto the bed and putting his other hand on my shoulder. "Take a deep breath, little one."
Pops' old nickname for me helped almost instantly, and I took a deep breath. "Sorry. I guess I got a little overworked."
"No worries. You'll have a great time, Walker. Don't worry. Caelan isn't a stranger, remember? You've got this," he said, and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was freaking out because it was Caelan. Because I was going out with my mate. There was no room for error. I'd already messed up one too many times when it came to Caelan, and I couldn't afford another fuckup.
"Is that why you came here? To give me fashion advice and stop me from freaking out?" I asked, and Pops chuckled.
"Yes and no. I wanted to see how you were doing, but I'm also here because of what happened to Caelan. I need to talk to him, and then I'm going to ask some of the demons to keep you two safe until we know what's going on," he said, and my brows shot up into my hairline.
"You're siccing the demons on us?"
"For your safety. It's either that, or you two pack up and come back home. Your choice," Pops said, and I thought about it for all of ten seconds before deciding having a demon tailing us was the lesser of the two evils.
Figuring out our relationship was already an uphill battle, and I knew it would only get worse if the Otherworlders started sticking their nose into our relationship.
"Okay. Does that mean we don't have to check in with all the demons, or is that still happening?" I asked.
"I think you should do it anyway. If the person who captured Caelan really wants to try again, why not give them a chase? Maybe it'll make it easier for us to get them."
"Yeah, I don't want them to think we got scared either," I said, and Pops nodded.
"Let me talk to Caelan. Don't leave the apartment until a demon comes to pick you up. I'll text you their name and picture, so make sure it's them before you leave, okay?"
"Yes, Pops," I said placatingly, and he raised one brow at me that immediately made me duck my head.
"Sorry," I said, and he smiled.
"It's okay. Now get ready for your date. I want to hear all about it later," Pops said, and I grinned at him. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, and I breathed deeply.
I quickly changed my clothes and walked over to the mirror to get my hair in order. Huh. I really do look good , I realized, eyeing myself in the mirror. My hair was still a mess, but the clothes looked good on me. I brushed my hair into something resembling order and debated for a moment before putting on some lip gloss and the slightest hint of eyeshadow. My dads had always taught me that wanting to look good was never a bad thing, and Dad had passed on his love for nail paints and makeup to me. If I had more time, I would've painted my nails now. Maybe after I got back, I would put it on. There was just something so satisfying about decorating your nails, like a reflection of yourself.
When I was ready, I took a deep, steadying breath and walked out of the bedroom, screeching to a stop when I got a good look at Caelan. He wore black pants and a pale blue shirt that clung to him, a leather jacket thrown over it. He was back in his human form since we were going outside, and his black hair was styled perfectly to look just a little mussed.
"Wow," I murmured, and he blushed, ducking his head. I'd never known Caelan to be this...shy, and I wondered if it was because he was with me or if that confident playboy thing had been just an act. Whichever it was, I was curious to find out more about Caelan. I wanted to know everything about him.
Ro'Shassz
I wasn't sure if I wanted to be here, but it was also my duty to keep Walker safe, so I had to suck it up and do it anyway. Sneaking into Walker's jeans' pocket had seemed like a good idea when I did it, but now I wasn't so sure. Damn, maybe I would've been better off staying at the apartment and catching up on my TV shows. Fuck Walker and Caelan for turning me into a freaking mother hen. I hoped they both went to bed horny and unsatisfied for what they were doing to me.
Step : Avoid losing my mind while I accompanied Walker and Caelan on their first date.