Heath
His favorite place to run was the nature preserve about a mile down the road from his house.
It was serene, with animals carved into the wood of several tree stumps along the paths.
They were subtle, blending into their surroundings.
But if you looked closely, you could see a bear cub, a few raccoons, and a family of squirrels created from the dead wood.
It was also full of life, providing a haven for birds, squirrels, rabbits, deer, and pretty much all wood-dwelling creatures indigenous to the area. Leaves on many of the trees were beginning to turn gold, orange, and rust, heralding the beginning of autumn.
He didn’t know what to make of this. Someone bent on violence who reveled in the fear of his victims would have wrenched his arms back painfully, shoved him off the path, and possibly threatened him with a weapon. Those things didn’t happen.
But when he’d thought about meeting the woman he was destined to love for the rest of his life, this was not the scenario he’d envisioned. It would be a story to entertain the families with for generations to come, that was for sure.
The man who had detained him had been standing in Heath’s peripheral, to the left. Now, he moved out of Heath’s view.
A frantic conversation in hushed whispers ensued somewhere behind him. She had to be telling this guy about the mate bond. After what felt like a good two minutes, the male stepped forward where Heath could see him.
“Let’s talk at your house,” he said. “We’ll meet you there.”
So, they knew where he lived. That wasn’t surprising, though. Clearly, the two had done their research to know where and when he ran to plan this ambush.
“Under the circumstances, don’t you think I have a right to know who you are?” Heath asked.
This male was obviously close to his mate in some way. The fact that she had observed silently in the background indicated that the questions the man was asking were important to her. He might even have done all of this for her, and not himself.
“We’ll tell you everything, but not within sight or hearing of other people.”
“Ok, but you won’t be able to get through my wards. Can you at least give me a name?” Heath asked. Surely it was no longer necessary to maintain so much secrecy.
With an impatient-sounding grunt that seemed familiar to Heath, the man removed his helmet. Heath blinked repeatedly in shock at the sight of Jace’s face.
“007? What the hell? You couldn’t ask me about this potion maker like a normal person?” Heath asked in astonishment and irritation.
He had suspected an acquaintance, or citizen in town that he would recognize, but didn’t know. Heath and Jace weren’t buddies, but they had worked together for years. They respected each other, and got along. Why would he go to these lengths to hide his identity?
“I’m sorry we had to be all creepy and covert. I would have preferred asking you like a normal person,” Jace said in his un-Jace-like voice as he unlocked the cuffs. “You’ll understand when we explain.”
Heath looked around, hoping to get a glimpse of his mate. She was nowhere to be seen. Was she hiding in the shrubbery?
Burning with curiosity, Heath turned, and began running back to his house. And here he had thought it would be a boring Friday night. Not so much.
A motorcycle, probably the one he’d heard on the road, was parked in front of the house when Heath arrived.
Two people in jumpsuits and helmets stood by the front porch, the bulkier one obviously being 007.
The slender one, who had to be Heath’s mate, appeared jittery and nervous.
Oddly, they both had an aura of masculinity, but that couldn’t be right.
Heath waved his wand to drop the wards, leading the way inside. Rascal was thrilled to have company, weaving around their legs, and meowing happily with as much affection as the cat lavished on Heath.
Taking a moment to push up his sleeve, Heath admired the intricate mark that reminded him of a Celtic design. It was beautiful. He stopped in the kitchen to get a bottle of water, then turned to face his guests.
“Can I get either of you something to drink?” Heath asked.
She shook her head in silent refusal of a beverage. Jace had taken his helmet off, leaving it in the mudroom, but the woman still wore hers. It was strange.
“A beer would be great, if you have one,” Jace said.
Heath pulled two locally-brewed ales out of the fridge. 007 had the right of it. This night definitely called for alcoholic beverages.
Jace turned to the woman who looked like she was thinking about running for the door. This was a rather unsettling and unusual situation, but wasn’t she happy to have bonded someone? She still seemed manly to Heath, but that wasn’t important at the moment.
“I know you’re freaking out, and you’ve been through the wringer,” Jace said in a soft, soothing tone Heath had never heard from him before. “But you wouldn’t have bonded Heath if he wasn’t trustworthy.”
After a slow, jerky nod, the helmet came off, and Heath was staring in shocked confusion at Clark Voudrie. How did this make sense? He wasn’t gay, or even bi, but Clark was a man.
Heath had always been very aware of Clark without knowing why. That had to have been the influence of the inactive bond. He still didn’t comprehend why they would have bonded, though.
“Hi,” Clark said with an awkward wave.
“I don’t understand.”
“You will. I think we should sit down for this conversation,” Jace said.
“Wait, wait. I need to eat. Are you guys hungry? You can talk while I cook,” Heath said. “And you can drop the weird voice, Jace. No one else can hear you.”
“Actually, I can’t,” Jace disagreed. “It will be several hours before the potion wears off.”
“We both took a potion to change our voices,” Clark said. And his, her voice did sound different. “Do you have any wine? I could use a glass.”
“Yeah, hang on,” Heath said.
He wasn’t into wine, but Nadine liked it, so he tended to keep a couple of bottles on hand. Grabbing a bottle of Pinot Grigio, Heath opened it, poured a glass, and handed it to her, him? This was so confusing.
Jace uncapped his ale and took a swig before speaking, “It’s a long story, but we should start at the beginning.”
007 did most of the talking, with Clark adding occasional details. Heath was so stunned that he kept forgetting he was supposed to be cooking, and just stared at them before getting back to the task at hand.
Clark and Jace had both removed their jumpsuits at some point during the explanation. Seeing them in normal clothes made it feel more like a friendly get-together, which helped him focus.
When the casserole was finally in the oven, Heath led them to the living room.
“Let me see if I’m following, here,” he said.
“Your dad went missing, and you had a vision of Mars, prompting you to disguise yourself as a man, and apply for the monitor position. You and Jace have been friends since you were kids, so he offered to mentor you, planning to help search for your dad. You’re also mates, but didn’t know it until you met here. ”
“Yeah, it seemed crazy to me that I found one mate here. But two? I’m still reeling,” Clarke said.
Her seeming manly, and fooling everyone on campus made sense now that Heath realized she had charms, a potion, and tailored clothing to pull it off. It was still strange, but logical.
Clarke had explained that the degrees and teaching experience were legitimate. She had simply dropped the E from the end of her name, and gotten an ID showing her gender as male. With that having been said, she seemed more at ease in his company.
Heath hadn’t been worried about that. Clarke was obviously an excellent teacher, who knew her subjects well. He was already thinking of ways to get her a position at Venus when her dad was located, and this was over.
That would be ideal, with him and 007 working at Mars. As a mated male, Jace wouldn’t continue as a monitor. But Dean Stanhope would happily offer him a fulltime teaching position.
“I knew you had at least one more mate, because your mark was open on the bottom, when mine is closed,” Jace said.
“But you had so much on your plate already, worrying about Charlie. I should have said something. You probably would have been calmer when you bonded Heath if you had been expecting to bond another mate.”
“Jace, it’s ok. I understand why you didn’t say anything,” Clarke assured him. “Multiple mate bonds happen. I should have expected it anyway.”
“A mate mark was one of the first things that popped into my head when you suddenly started wearing muscle shirts, Jace. Then, I figured I had to be wrong, because you’d be proud, and show the mark off.”
“It drives me crazy that I can’t show it off, and tell everyone,” Jace said with some angst. “There would be too many questions, and everyone would want to meet her.”
Heath would now be in the same boat. It was a complicated situation. They would get through it, though.
Having three of them in the equation now meant one more brain to figure out what could possibly have befallen Charles Voudrie. Jace and Clarke would help Heath and Nadine try to protect the students. That was a given.
“Would you mind letting me see the charm? I’m curious about this magic,” Heath said.
That was true, but it was also a lighter topic that might help them all relax while they waited for dinner to cook. He’d heard of enhancement products, but hadn’t been interested in how they worked until now.
Clarke unclasped the leather bracelet, and leaned over to hand it to him. Suddenly, there was absolutely no doubt that she was female despite the short hair, masculine clothing, and lack of makeup. That was a much more radical change than Heath had expected.
“Wow. I hope I have the opportunity to meet your Uncle Harry at some point,” Heath said sincerely. “This is one powerful charm.”
“Now you see why I was so shocked when Clarke walked into the training center that first day,” Jace said. “She is, and always has been, very feminine. It blew my mind.”