Eighteen
Riley
Riley:
Pax, where are you? I’ve found my fated mate!
Sending a text wasn’t necessarily the best way to discuss everything with my brother, so I kept it brief, just giving the most important details. I sent the message, then waited for Paxton to either call or text me back. Hell, a decent length email would be good.
We went so long without checking in with each other.
There’d been a time, just after we parted ways, that it was a couple of months before we spoke again.
Things had been so tense between us, our relationship so fraught, that I’d thought our sibling bond was irreparable.
Then, one day, Paxton had called about something random.
I still can’t remember the conversation.
It was as if our last fight hadn’t happened.
As I waited for my brother’s response, my thoughts kept going back to how crushed Gareth had looked when I’d asked for some space, then his brave counteroffer. The idea of dating without expectations intrigued me, honestly. My mate had inner fire and wouldn’t let me walk all over him.
He was right to make the offer. If given the chance, I would have hidden away from him and this whole situation. It was funny that he knew me so well after only a couple of days together.
So what if Gareth couldn’t undo the curse on me?
He was my mate; he was worth more than his magic to me.
We hadn’t spent nearly enough time together, but my inner animal, that mysterious amorphous creature, trusted him.
Legend had it that when a metamorph bonded with their fated mate, the creature took its true form for the first time. I wondered what mine would look like.
The phone rang, and I stared at it for a minute, long enough that the call went to voicemail before ringing again. I answered before it happened again. “Riley? Seriously? Your mate? Tell me everything! Are you okay?”
I launched into my story. Paxton had known that I was sick of living like a nomad. Hell, he was too. His curse got to him a lot, making it easier to be on the road all the time instead of settling somewhere just to be ignored. I didn’t know which of us had the worst curse.
Despite the delayed effects on me, we’d had a lot of good times over the years.
We’d spent many hours commiserating over the pitfalls of our travels, so he knew about my search for this haven and all the months I’d passed nearby trying to find a way in.
I’d been trying to time it just right too, so that I’d have a full month.
There was nothing like accidentally staying somewhere and making it a temporary home for less than a week. I’d gotten it down to a fine art.
All throughout my explanation Paxton added comments like, “Fucking dragons!” and “A goddess?” then “Seriously? You shifted and ran?”
“Not one of my finer moments, but I panicked! You know some of the shit that Boyce did. He did some of it to you.”
“That’s fair. Sorry. I’m not judging. I’m not even sure how I’d react if I was put in front of another warlock and knew they were my fated mate. Honestly? I’d probably wolf out and hide in the woods for days.”
We both laughed. It lightened the mood. “Pax? I want you to come here. He might not be able to break the curse on me, but he should be able to do it for you.”
“I—” There was a long pause. I thought that maybe the call had dropped out. Signal wasn’t the best here in town. The Wi-Fi had to be magically boosted to be a somewhat decent speed. “Do you trust him? Is he…? Are you sure he won’t turn on me to get to you?”
My heart landed somewhere in my stomach.
Then I thought about the week I’d been left alone, Gareth keeping his promise to Hestia to stay away from me unless I approached him.
He confessed to helping Oscar with the spell and “chancing” upon me in the grocery store, letting me decide whether I would talk to him or not.
There was also the parade and every kind word he had said to everyone.
What people had told me about him. I thought of Tatsuya, of how suspicious he had been of me. No, Gareth was genuine.
“I promise that’s the last thing he would do. He wants us to be free.”
“Do you think the wards will let me in?” It shocked me that he was actually considering coming to Greyhaven. I’d been prepared to have to persuade him a bit more. Maybe I’d sold it with my stories of the place.
“As long as you don’t want to harm anyone inside, then you should be fine. I wonder if you’ll get the dragon welcome wagon, or if Fen is finished with his hours?”
“Hours?”
Laughing, I launched into the story I’d heard about Fen and how he’d gotten his flying ban. Pax didn’t find it nearly as funny. “What if he’d been hurt?”
“Oh, yeah, shit. Never thought of that. Fuck, that makes me feel like a shit friend.”
Pax immediately disagreed. “Nah, you’ve got a lot going on there and a time limit.”
“No, I just realized I’ve not spoken to the dragon in a few days.
Maybe I should try to find him. Catch him up on stuff.
He was pretty decent to me after I shifted and ran.
” I’d seen Fen from a distance at the parade, but he’d been busy with his duties.
I’d seen his surprise when he’d caught me standing next to Gareth, though.
Yeah, I really owed him a beer, or five.
“Yeah, you should. Especially if you want to make Greyhaven your home after the curse is broken. It’s important to have friends outside your relationship, right?”
“Totally right. When do you think you can get here?” I asked my brother.
“Well, I’m near Florida and you’re in Montana, so it’ll take me a while to drive there.” Paxton wouldn’t give up his van to fly. There was nowhere he could stash it. “I’ve got a job here…” I let him think it through. “Probably not for another week or so.”
“The next full moon is just after Christmas so…” I trailed off. I was grateful that he was coming at all.
“Yeah, I know. I’ll be there before then. The solstice even.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Me neither. I’ve got a good feeling about this place.”
Our first date was later that day. While I got ready, my brother’s words echoed in my mind.
He was right to have that feeling about Greyhaven, because since I’d been here, my nightmares had settled, with only one the night before keeping me awake.
I blamed not having Gareth next to me and my memories being near the surface.
Gareth came to pick me up at my new, warmer cabin. “This place feels much better. Are you more comfortable here?” he asked, looking around the place. It had pretty much the same layout as the last one, yet it held a more welcoming vibe.
“Yeah, it was great not to wake up as an ice cube,” I joked, suddenly nervous about our date. The draw from the bond tugged at me, making me want to skip this getting to know you phase and just go straight to the orgasms, because they were a bonding activity, right?
“Did you have another nightmare? You had one the other day.”
“I did?”
“You didn’t fully wake up, so maybe you didn’t realize. I just held you for a bit. You settled down not long after.” Gareth’s cheeks were flushed. I was sure mine were the same.
“Sorry—”
“Don’t be. We’d just been talking about your past. It was sure to stir things up.”
“Are you sure you want to do this date thing? I’m a mess, Gar. You might not like what you—”
“Of course I am!” he cut in. “Honestly, I think we went about this backwards. This bond between us is intense and I don’t regret those nights with you, but at the same time, if we want to build something real, we’ve got to get to know each other.”
“Alright. Then show me what you’ve got planned, then.”
“You’ll need to wrap up. This is an outside date.”
A few minutes later, Gareth led me up through the woods lining the town. “Are we going to the ward stones again?”
He laughed. “No, I’ve got something slightly more romantic lined up for our date.”
His hand squeezed mine when I let out a gasp at the sight of the little gazebo lit up with fairy lights. “Wow! This is nice.” In the freezing winter air, I could see the ripples of heat. “Magic or tech?”
“A mixture, and not my magic, just in case it wouldn’t work.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“I tried. There’s a picnic waiting for us. Debra made some brownies. They’re honestly the best you’ll ever taste. Like, ruin you for all other brownies.”
“Well, I need to taste those immediately.”
“First, you need to see this view.” He led me around the gazebo to an uncovered walkway that faced the town. We could see everything below us. Gareth tilted my chin up toward the sky. “Look up. It’s a perfect night to see them.”
The sky was like a dark velvet blanket strewn with diamonds. Stars glittered at us from high above us, making me feel so small next to something so awe-inspiring.
“There’s supposed to be a meteor shower soon. Get ready to make a wish.”
When the first shooting star lit up the sky, I didn’t wish for the curse to end. I wished to have many more nights like this with Gareth.
Once the show was over, we sat under the gazebo for hours and just talked while we ate.
I learned that my mate was allergic to shellfish but had learned a healing spell when he was young so he could still enjoy it.
He avoided it now after a lecture from the ER doctor who had treated him when he couldn’t perform the spell.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said with an embarrassed grin.
“Both for taking my magic for granted and for putting my life in danger.”
I told him about the shit I used to get up to by changing forms multiple times and breaking into places I had no business being. “Looking back, I took a lot of risks. It’s a miracle I didn’t get caught.”
Gareth walked me to my door after hours in the gazebo and kissed me softly goodbye. While I wanted more, I got what he was doing. We needed this to build a solid foundation.
Our second date was lunch at a nice restaurant in town before Gareth took me to the town’s museum.
It was a tiny building next to City Hall that held the story of Greyhaven.
He talked me through the exhibits as if he’d done it a hundred times before, telling me how Hestia had come to the US after establishing supernatural sanctuaries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.
Hestia had tried in Australia and Central America, but those places had gods there willing to set up their own sanctuaries.
Basically, Greyhaven was one of many such towns in a network that covered the globe. All were run by deities from every pantheon, or by demi-god offspring of the original group who established the first places where supernaturals could be safe.
Seeing Gareth’s passion for his hometown and its history woke something in me. It was a desperate need to make this place my home and see it flourish.
Our kiss was longer and more passionate when he dropped me off at my cabin, which almost felt like home. I knew deep in my heart it was Gareth’s house that was my true home, though.
The bar was bustling with activity when I opened the door, stepping from the bitter cold into a sweltering room. It wasn’t a big place. Probably only held about fifty people, leaving room for a tiny dance floor.
Fen was waiting for me in a booth, a plate of nachos and two beers sitting in front of him. I shook off the snow in the doorway and headed over to join him. “Hey,” I called as I drew closer.
His eyes, warm brown with hints of silver and gold, lit up when he caught sight of me. “Hey! I’ve been hoping you’d reach out. I want to hear how things are with Gareth. The town is buzzing about you two.”
The heat rose in my cheeks. “I’m sure we aren’t that interesting,” I scoffed.
Fen laughed, drawing eyes from the patrons at the bar. “I think you underestimate the lack of gossip in this town. And the interest in fated mates. We have so few true pairings here. Everyone wants to know if you’ve bonded, when you will bond if you haven’t. Everything.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. They’ve been talking about how quiet Gareth was the other day when he was teaching his classes and helping out at the greenhouses. He didn’t look upset, so they weren’t too worried, but—”
“But they’ll get worried if they don’t see us together soon?
” Fen nodded. “Well, I’m sure our dates will hit the gossip chain soon.
” I jumped into a long rant about small towns, then told my…
friend about what had been happening with Gareth.
Of course, this led to explanations about why I wanted to slow things down, including shit about the curse and my fears.
It was so fucking uncomfortable. I’d never really been taught to express my feelings as anything but happiness, and that was always the restrained kind, or anger.
So, spilling my deepest fears and regrets? Out of my comfort zone.
I pushed through. Greyhaven was where I wanted to settle, small town gossip aside.
Eventually Gareth and I would be old news.
Hopefully, we’d be one of those golden couples that were the shining example of what fated mates were meant to be.
It was a secret hope that one day I could live peacefully as a metamorph and be accepted.
After seeing the museum, I felt more positive about Greyhaven being that place for me.
“I’m so fucking sorry that you had to live like that, Riley. Shit, metamorphs are rarer than unicorns. You know you’re safe here, right?” Fen sat forward in the booth, looking so genuine and sympathetic that tears welled in my eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Yeah. I thought Tatsuya might have said something before.”
“Suya knows? Fucker didn’t say!” His indignant expression made me burst out laughing. “Fuck off!”
I laughed harder. “Sorry!” When I calmed down, I turned to the reason for meeting Fen, aside from catching him up on the last few days and getting to know him better.
It felt like I had another ally here, aside from Gareth and Oscar.
Which reminded me, I’d need the witch for my plan too.
Oscar had been conspicuously absent the last few days.
“I need your help. I want to set something up for Gareth.”