Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
As they got closer to Yellowstone, Cole’s stomach tightened and tumbled. It was anxiety, not fear, with a dash of curiosity thrown in for good measure. This was a world that he shouldn’t know about, yet he had an invitation.
It was the kind of thing most humans never learned about. He imagined that explorers centuries ago must have felt the same as they headed off, not sure what they’d find or exactly what they were getting into.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Akai asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“Yes. Nerves are normal when stepping out of your comfort zone. Are you okay?”
Akai was silent for a moment too long.
“Are you having regrets?”
“No.” Akai sat up and leaned between the seats.
Did he voice his denial a bit too fast? Should he be worried about being uninvited? “What then?”
Akai looked down and sighed. “I’m bringing a human to solstice and telling a lie that he is my mate. I thought it would be easy, but I am finding it is not.”
“Because you don’t want a mate.” They had discussed this.
And agreed. Cole hadn’t wanted a mate a week ago.
A week ago, the idea had seemed too far-fetched for him to even consider, but if other humans did it, why not him?
It wasn’t as though he had many ties to the human world, and he’d still be able to see his family even if they could never learn about the monster side of his life.
Even if his father fired him, he’d be able to find other work.
He didn’t need to totally disappear into the monster world.
Akai made a noise that could mean everything or nothing. “It wasn’t something I was considering, monster or human. Initially, I only asked you, so you’d drive me.”
“I know. I’m not stupid.”
“I’ve noticed. And I like the sex.”
“Same.”
Akai grinned, all sharp little teeth. “Especially in the morning. It’s like you don’t want to waste any opportunity my cock juts out.”
Cole shrugged. “I didn’t hear you complaining.”
If he ignored the way Akai had turned him down when they’d stayed at the monster house, which in hindsight was a good thing, and Akai had made it up to him later.
“I am not complaining…I am conflicted.”
Cole wanted to press, but he wasn’t sure he’d like the answers if he did—and that was assuming Akai was ready to talk, which he didn’t appear to be.
“Turn left up here.”
“Are you sure?” There wasn’t a road.
“At the trail. Trust me.”
It must be one of those wards that hid things. So even though it looked like a trail to him, maybe it wasn’t. That didn’t stop him from being careful. He followed the trail about a hundred yards before reaching a clearing, where Akai directed him to park and got out.
Should he get out or wait in the truck?
He couldn’t see anything but trees. Akai confidently walked toward the trees and disappeared.
The seconds ticked past, and his nerves increased. What if Akai had abandoned him there? No, Cole turned and checked the backseat; Akai had left his bag full of jewelry. He must have gone to speak to someone.
If he couldn’t see anything monster-related, did that mean there were monsters walking around his truck? He kept his hands on the steering wheel like it was a traffic stop and waited.
Seconds became minutes.
How long did he wait?
There was a cold, creeping sensation that he didn’t belong there and that he should leave. Was that more monster magic?
Sweat beaded under his arms and between his shoulder blades. Akai would lick the sweat up like it was as delicious as honey…maybe it was to him.
The nerves twisted into sharper anxiety with a dash of panic. Was this whole thing a mistake? What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been, not with his brain anyway. That he couldn’t tell anyone about Akai had to mean it was wrong, right?
Or had he created some kind of hallucination, and Akai wasn’t real?
Had he lost his mind?
Was he in a coma?
Had he never woken up, and had dreamed the last seven years?
No…all those physio and psych appointments, they had to be real. But if they were real, then Akai and monsters were real. Unless he was dead.
Just as he was about to launch into a fully-fledged existential crisis, Akai stepped out of the trees. Cole sagged with relief as the tension that had gathered in his muscles melted away like storm clouds in the sun.
Then another man appeared. He had massive wings and crackled with power.
Akai beckoned him over, and Cole got out of the truck. He wiped his hands on his jeans and hoped he appeared calmer than he felt. Not that it mattered since Akai could hear his heartbeat and smell the sweat on his skin.
“Hi.” Cole offered his hand, hoping that was the right thing to do. “I’m Cole.”
The monster clasped his hand. “Bob.” His voice was deep like thunder rolling through the clearing. “You may go and set up, Akai.”
Akai glanced at Cole and hesitated.
“I will bring him to you if he is allowed through,” Bob confirmed.
Cole forced a smile. Of course his entry wasn’t guaranteed, but he and Akai had acted as though it were a formality, not a pass/fail exam. “Hopefully, I’ll see you soon; otherwise, you know where to find me.”
He tried to keep his tone light but wasn’t sure he succeeded from Akai’s stricken expression. But Akai nodded and retrieved his things from the truck, then disappeared into the trees again. If he followed, what would he see?
“Why don’t we have a seat?” Bob indicated to a couple of logs that Cole hadn’t noticed before.
“Sure.” He walked over and sat, expecting this to be like the nightmare where he was handed an exam paper only to realize he was naked, and everyone was staring.
He rested his elbows on his thighs and laced his fingers, not sure what kind of questions to expect.
Akai hadn’t given him any kind of heads up, so maybe he didn’t know either… or wasn’t allowed to say.
Bob sat diagonally opposite him, instead of directly in front, which made this feel like an informal talk, not a prosecution.
However, his anxiety didn’t dial down much.
If he failed, he wouldn’t be allowed in, which felt like a big deal even though a month ago, he hadn’t even known he’d wanted this.
“You found Akai and helped him?” Bob’s question was innocent enough, but there was something beneath his words that put Cole on edge. Bob was one of the few people who knew Cole had shot Akai.
“It was the right thing to do since I was the one who hurt him.”
Bob smiled. “You weren’t scared?”
“A little, but…” He shrugged, not wanting to mention how he’d seen Akai once before. “Like I said, it was the right thing to do.”
He wasn’t sure when getting into bed with Akai had felt like the right thing to do, but once the idea had taken hold, he hadn’t been able to shake it.
And once, just to try it, hadn’t been enough.
Even though he’d known seeing Akai again would shake up his life, he still couldn’t have imagined sitting there being interviewed by a monster.
Bob considered him for several seconds. “He wanted to bring you as a thank you.”
“He wanted me to drive because he can’t fly yet.”
“And you want to be here, why?”
That was much harder to answer. This was clearly the essay part of the exam. “Meeting Akai introduced me to the monster world, and the more I learn, the more interested I am.”
“Many will be able to smell your fear.”
Cole licked his lower lip. Clearly, Bob was one of those monsters. “Is it wrong to be afraid of the unknown? That doesn’t mean I don’t want to be here.”
“It also doesn’t mean you won’t return with friends and guns.”
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“People who want to hunt and kill and take,” Bob continued, describing Cole’s cousins perfectly. Was he hinting that he knew about their past connection? Akai claimed it was a secret that he had gone after them.
“I am not that kind of person. I saw a wolf and fired over its head to scare it away. I did not expect the wolf to take flight.” No human could’ve predicted that.
“Yet you are the kind person who is unbothered by lying, letting others believe you are his mate because it makes your life easy. Word will spread that you are his mate, and you are not.”
Cole chewed on the question as he stared at his hands.
To him, that was a white lie, and yes, it made things smoother, but what was wrong with that?
He also didn’t want to drop Akai in the shit by saying it was his idea, but it was hard to avoid.
“Akai wanted to see how I’d react to being surrounded by monsters, and I agreed it was a good idea.
What harm is there in letting them think we are mates? ”
Bob shook his head. “They opened their home to you and trusted you, and you, and Akai, misused that trust for your own gains.”
“Oh.” That made it sound far worse than intended. “Can you clarify the mates thing, because by human standards we are definitely…” Hooking up? Dating? “Seeing each other.”
“Seeing each other?” Bob tilted his head. “You are doing more than looking at him.”
“Err…” Heat bloomed on his cheeks and spread fast. “Yes. We are seeing where it goes.”
“There are only two options. Mates or nothing.”
“We know. But it’s not easy to figure out, because he’s…” He looked at Bob. He had a human mate, according to Akai.
“A cryptid?” Bob offered.
“I can’t take him home to meet my parents or my friends.
I don’t know how to have a monster mate.
But there are humans here with mates, and I’m hoping to find out how they marry a human life with having a monster mate.
” As the words slipped off his tongue, he realized the truth in them.
He wasn’t there for the monsters; he was there for the humans.
He wanted to see people who’d figured out how to make it work because if they could, perhaps he could, and maybe Akai would see that it was possible.
“I don’t know if Akai wants a human mate. ”
Bob nodded. “He is young and has had to negotiate the loss of his sister and the relocation of his family. I am not sure he knows what he wants yet. But he invited you and wants to pretend you are his mate. Perhaps to see how you fit in his life. I will allow you in, but you must maintain the pretense.”
“I thought you didn’t like lies.”
“I am not sure it is a lie, but a truth still growing.” Bob held out a metal token engraved with some kind of symbol. “This will grant you access to solstice. Your vehicle must remain here. You are free to leave whenever you want, but you must hand your token in when you do.”
Cole nodded. This was temporary.
“Perhaps next year will be different.” Bob stood. “Get your things so I can show you where Akai will be setting up.”
“You didn’t tell me what mates means.”
“There is a binding ceremony, as many monsters live far longer than humans. It would not be right to allow that loss.”
“Of course.” He was too scared to ask what happened in cases of divorce, and the human had overstayed their life span. Was the magic broken and the human left to die? Was that so bad if they had lived far longer than they could’ve ever imagined?
“It is something you need to be sure about. Something Akai needs to be sure about, given the long and complicated past you two have.” Bob fixed him with a look that stripped away all lies and bared his soul.
Cold raced down Cole’s spine. Bob knew.
Somehow, he knew about Cole’s cousins and Akai’s sister and everything.
His mouth opened, but no words came out. Did he pretend to be ignorant or ask questions?
“It is complicated,” he agreed rather lamely, because there was nothing more he could say without incriminating Akai. But if Bob knew and Akai hadn’t gotten in trouble yet, was there really a problem?
Or did Bob only suspect? In which case, he couldn’t confirm.
His pulse drummed in his ears as he stood there under the thunderbird’s sharp gaze. Was Bob assessing if he knew the truth?
Did Bob think he was hanging out with the monster who killed his cousins unwittingly?
He swallowed the urge to say something.
Then Bob nodded. “He will be waiting for you.”