Chapter 38
WHY DO I HAVE A BELLY BUTTON?
MORGAN
When I woke, I was alone in bed. I blinked and tried to get my bearings. How long had I slept? It felt like twenty hours, but I doubted it was that long.
The room was lit with a single table light on the far side of the room, which is where I found my mate. He had a headset on and was bent over a desk. I didn’t know what he was working on, but he looked absorbed in his task.
The world outside the second-story window had taken on that warm glow that only happened at either sunrise or sunset. I looked around for a clock and found my phone charging on the nightstand. Excellent. My mate was so thoughtful. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to plug it in.
I glanced at the screen.
The good news: I’d only slept away the daylight hours. The bad news: I had forty-six missed messages. Oops.
I opened the messaging app and saw Violet had been messaging endlessly over the last few days. She was going to kill me for not calling as soon as I could. I’d meant to, but then… well… I got distracted. I was a terrible, terrible cousin.
I didn’t read the messages. I didn’t need to. They would just be varying levels of panic and worry.
I pulled up her number, but I hesitated before placing the call. That wasn’t like me, but…
Now that I knew the truth about my birth, what would I say to her? Her dad died because of that stupid crystal. And she’d been right there, helping me any way she could, while I tried to find it again. Knowing that it was all for naught? Yeah. That was a tough truth to accept.
No. I couldn’t face her questions yet. I needed a hug from my sexy mate first.
I dropped my phone and scrambled out of bed, pulling the sheet with me and wrapping it like a toga around my body.
Nelson must have heard me, because he turned as I approached.
The bright smile on his face when he saw me had me diving into his arms. He pulled off his headset with one hand and tugged me into his lap with his other.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “How do you feel?”
“What are you doing?” I asked, not ready to talk about my mixed-up thoughts quite yet. The strangest things covered his desk. I had no idea what it all meant. “Are these the geocache things you talked about?”
While we were trapped in that cabin, he’d described all the cool things he’d found and the fun things he’d hidden.
But seeing them was something different.
I picked up what looked like a pinecone, but it definitely wasn’t.
Nothing on the table was what it appeared to be, from the Oreo cookie to the AA batteries to the rusty bit of rebar.
“This is wild,” I said, rolling a small bolt between my fingers. “It looks just like the real deal.”
“Right?” Nelson nodded. “I bought a lot of these online, but now that we aren’t traveling for our work as much anymore…
” He shrugged. “I was thinking of getting a 3-D printer so I could try making my own containers. And maybe make some more complex caches, where you have to solve a series of clues before you find the main cache.”
“That is so cool.” I wiggled, thinking about the possibilities. “Have you hidden things in Willow Lake?”
“A few…”
“What about here at the inn?”
He nodded.
“Has anyone found them?”
“I don’t know if anyone has looked. Geocaching tends to be more of a human pastime, but I’m not going to post about caches in Willow Lake on a human website.”
“Are there geocache sites just for supes?”
“A couple, but it’s a pretty small community.”
“I want to look. Can you teach me?”
“Just because you’re my mate doesn’t mean you have to participate in everything I do.”
“Of course not.” I kissed his cheek. “But I really want to learn this. I want to try it. I might not like it, but I think I might.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s like a big adventure.” I shimmied. “I’m totally going to wear my cape, and maybe carry around a wand, even if I can’t actually do magic with a wand. And I’m going to pretend we’re hunting for a dragon hoard.”
“Maybe don’t say that to Ogden. We don’t want him thinking we’re going to carry out a heist at his house.”
I stared at my mate. “He has an actual hoard?”
Nelson nodded. “He does.”
“Do you think he’ll let me see it?”
Nelson laughed. “Probably not. But you sound a lot like Jeremy right now.”
“He’s the snoopy human, right?”
“He is.”
“Hmm…” I stroked my chin. I wasn’t sure if it was such a bad thing to be curious.
“Don’t be surprised if Jeremy comes to you with a bunch of randomly bizarre questions.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you know he was listening in earlier, right?”
I nodded.
“So, I’m sure he’ll have questions. It’ll probably be something you’d never think about asking, like if you have a belly button.”
“Why wouldn’t I have a belly button?”
“Because you technically weren’t carried in your mother’s womb.”
“Huh. You’re right.” I adjusted the sheet so I could see my belly button. It looked normal. I poked at it. It felt real too. But what did I know? It wasn’t like I’d seen many in my life. “Why do I have one?”
“Probably because your human form was made to match humans.”
“Huh. I guess.” I poked at it a few more times before Nelson captured my hand in his.
I looked at him.
“Do you want to talk about that yet?” he asked.
“I’m not sure there’s much to say… I mean I don’t feel like crying anymore, so that’s good.
Not for the moment, anyway. It’ll take a while to process, but the reality is that my life doesn’t change all that much.
” I fiddled with the bolt-like geocache container.
“I’m super disappointed that I won’t be able to run through a meadow of wildflowers with a herd of other unicorns, because that would have been epic. But…”
“If you want to talk about it with someone neutral, some of the other guys have seen a therapist,” Nelson said slowly, like he wasn’t sure how I’d respond. “They are a supe, so they know about our world.”
“Yeah. Maybe,” I said. “Let me think about it.”
It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about everything yet. It was all so new. I hadn’t had time to decide how I felt about it.
“I was thinking maybe I should go too,” he said quietly.
For some reason, that made it easier. “Yeah… We could maybe both do something like that.”
My phone buzzed on the nightstand where I’d left it.
“It’s been doing that on and off all day.”
“It’s Violet. She’s worried. I should have called her as soon as we had cell service…”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “I can call her if you don’t want to.”
“No, I do, I just… a lot has happened. I’m not sure what to even tell her.”
“Just start at the beginning,” Nelson said. “You’ll figure it out. If you want some space, I can go down and grab some sandwiches. You’re probably getting hungry.”
As if on cue, my stomach gurgled. He laughed.
“Okay.” I nodded.
I waited until I was alone to dial Violet’s number. She answered on the first ring.
“Morgan?”
“I’m safe,” I said. “We were stuck in a cabin without cell service.”
I could hear her bite back a sob. She sniffled. “Fuck. I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Where are you? I looked through that damn hotel from top to bottom. Are you sure you’re safe? Say the code word if you’re really okay. Fuck, if you’ve been taken hostage again...”
“Purple toe lint.”
She exhaled. “Thank fuck.”
“I’m in Willow Lake.”
“Where?”
“At the inn? It’s an old pack house, I think. Across the road from the lake.”
“Okay. Don’t leave. I’m coming.” And then she hung up the phone.
I’d thought she’d have more questions. But maybe she was just saving them until she was here. I hoped there was a place she could stay in Willow Lake. I guess if all else failed, she could sleep on the floor in this room.
Normally I would have offered her the bed, but I couldn’t kick my mate out of his own bed… and I’d never let someone, not even my cousin, sleep in a bed beside Nelson. He was just too cuddly for his own good.
Nelson returned a moment later with a huge plate of sandwiches and an equally massive plate of sweets. It was so wonderful to have fresh food. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to eat soup again.
He went to set the plates on the desk but then frowned when he saw all his geocaching supplies still there. He pivoted and set them on the night table instead.
“These look amazing,” I said, grabbing a cupcake first.
If Violet was already here, she’d have scolded me for that.
“Did you talk to your cousin?”
I nodded as I swiped my finger through the cream cheese icing and licked it off. Nelson stared at my finger. He swallowed, then took a large bite of his sandwich.
“She’s coming here, is that okay?”
“Of course,” he agreed. “She’s your family. I’ll mention it to Jake. We’ll make sure there’s a bedroom ready for her.”
“Okay. Good.”
“She’ll always be welcome here. You know that, right?”
Here. Like this was my home now too. Little fizzy bubbles fluttered through me. I liked that idea.
Then Nelson frowned down at his sandwich.
“What’s wrong?”
“Some of the others want to celebrate that you’ve been found.”
“I wasn’t really lost,” I pointed out.
“I guess it’s a matter of perspective,” he said. “But that doesn’t change things. They want to get together at the pub tonight.”
“Because of me?”
“Don’t feel like you have to go,” Nelson said quickly.
“They’re holding a party for me? Of course I have to go!” I glanced around. “Galloping glitter, I don’t have anything to wear! Can I order clothes for delivery?”
“Willow Lake isn’t big enough to offer services like that.” Nelson shook his head. “You can borrow something of mine.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you have anything that isn’t black or gray?”
Nelson glanced toward his closet. “Uh, no?”
Before he could open his mouth and try to champion the world’s dreariest colors, someone knocked on the door. I pulled the sheet tight around me as Nelson crossed the room to see who it was. It wouldn’t be anyone I knew, so I stayed put. Violet might be fast, but she wasn’t that fast.
“What the—?” Nelson muttered when he looked through the peephole. As soon as he opened the door, he was pushed aside by a moving pile of clothes.
“We’re here to rescue Morgan. Again,” came a voice from under the heap of colorful fabrics.
When the massive pile was dropped onto the bed, I finally saw Jeremy and a few other people.
Jeremy was the only one who didn’t look uncomfortable.
“Since you didn’t bring any luggage, we figured you’d need to borrow some clothes.
We brought a bunch of stuff, but between all of us, there must be something that’ll fit you. ”
I eyed the jumble of textures and colors. “Really? But I don’t know you…”
Jeremy rushed over to me.
“Watch out, he’s a hugger,” someone shouted, but before I could react, Jeremy had already pulled me into his arms.
“You’re our new BFF. Of course we’re here to help,” Jeremy said, as if that made sense.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever had a BFF before. I had Violet, though, so maybe. But this felt different. It felt like happiness. Laughter burbled up inside me. And little bubbles burst from my mouth.
Jeremy’s eyes widened. “That is freaking awesome. I have so many questions. But first, let’s find you something to wear.
” He beckoned to the others who were still hovering in the doorway.
“Come on, Ash. Simon. Jake. Ryley. Get in here. Let’s go.
” He clapped to get them moving. “We have a unicorn in need. I repeat, we have a unicorn in need.”
Simon, who I’d met this morning, hunched in his hoodie. “I don’t know why I’m here. My mate is the one who likes clothes.”
Jeremy just waved away his grumbling. “You’re here because you’re our BFF too. Come on, come on. The party is going to start any minute now.”
I glanced at Nelson. Just by the look on his face, I knew that if I didn’t want this, he’d send all these people away. I smiled, loving that he had my back if I needed it.
But I was okay. Good, even.
“I’d love to see what you’ve brought,” I said.
“Great!” Jeremy held out his fist and left it there until I bumped it with mine. “So, what is your favorite color?”
“All of them.”
“Excellent. Let’s get started.”