Seven
Riley
As the dawn light filtered through the curtains, I roused from a nightmare-soaked sleep. Even sleeping in my comfort form hadn’t kept the memories at bay.
With a yawn that ended in a bark, I hopped down from the wardrobe and shifted back into my human form. The chill in the air made me miss my fur, so I rushed to the bathroom to take a steaming hot shower rather than tinker with the aging boiler to heat the cabin.
The water cascading over my body worked out all the kinks from my weird sleeping position.
I shouldn’t have spent the night shifted, especially since I hadn’t checked out the cabin for any traces of magic.
My paranoia had kept me safe these last few years out on my own; I couldn’t abandon it now.
Not knowing that there were warlocks here in town.
Refreshed, shaved, and teeth brushed, I ventured into the bedroom to find some clothes. I made sure all my shit was packed, because as soon as my car was ready, I was out of here.
Greyhaven was a bust. As much as I respected the goddess mayor, I couldn’t trust her after the way she’d pushed my boundaries the day before. She knew how I felt about warlocks and had sprung one on me with no notice.
Thinking about her office the day before brought Gareth to the front of my mind.
His shocked face had lingered in my thoughts since I’d realized what he was to me.
It surprised me how torn I was over leaving my mate behind, but until I got the curse broken and had time to heal, I wasn’t sure there was anything I could offer a mate, especially one who happened to be a warlock too.
He couldn’t help what he was. Had he been anything else, there still would have been issues. This was just too much to handle.
I shoved the thoughts into a box, locked it and hid the key, then focused on checking my things. I wanted to make sure that as soon as I could leave, I would. There were stories of other sanctuaries. I’d head their way and check them out.
First, though, I needed to see about my car.
If I could afford to fix it, I’d get that done as soon as possible, then ask around about the other supernatural havens.
They had to have more information about them here.
If not, maybe I could find a coven. Witches weren’t as bad as warlocks.
They focused more on spells, and some used the elements.
Warlocks… they came from the fae, so were by nature capricious.
They could use spells to focus their magic and were more powerful than witches.
I remembered my mom explaining the difference.
Warlocks had many names, like mages or sorcerers, and were mostly male.
They were made of magic, while witches used tools to focus what magic they were born with.
A druid might also be useful. They were born from the elves and were closely tied to the earth. They worshiped the earth, moon, and sun. I’d never met one, but a place as rich with supernaturals as Greyhaven had to have a tribe of them.
Tasks done, I stood and thought about all that had happened in the last couple of days. The box in my mind rattled as thoughts of my mate tried to escape. I shut that down.
My stomach growled. I’d been neglecting eating and looking after myself since I’d arrived in this strange place, so I went into the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat, not wanting to venture out unless absolutely necessary.
The pantry, fridge, and cabinets were bare.
Guess it meant going out to eat somewhere or getting groceries, neither of which I wanted to face.
My stomach gave another grumble, making the decision for me.
After getting myself ready to go out, I headed for the door just as someone knocked. I yanked the door open, not giving myself a second to overthink it.
On the other side of the door was a tall…
person. Their gender was indistinct. They’d bundled up against the cold, and all I could make out was a pair of storm-gray eyes until my gaze caught on their wings.
Snow dusted their feathers, though I could see they were a dove?gray color, shades lighter than their eyes.
“Hi, I’m Rayna,” they said in a pleasant, female-sounding voice muffled slightly by their scarf.
“I’m in charge of the post and deliveries for Greyhaven,” they continued, as I stood staring at them.
“Here.” They presented me with a gift basket.
The cellophane held a dusting of snow. “They ordered this for you.”
Taking it, I stood mutely. The basket was heavy and contained perishables and some canned goods. Basically, everything I’d been heading out to get.
When they realized I wasn’t about to speak, they smiled again.
I could tell by the crinkling of their eyes.
“It’s the wings, right? I’m a nephilim. Y’know, the race born of half-human and half?angel pairings?
” I still couldn’t speak. They pushed down their scarf.
“Pronouns, then? I go by she/her, if you don’t mind.
I’d rather you just used my name, but whatever. ” Her mouth turned down.
Shit, I was making Rayna feel bad. Just that realization had me breaking out of my frozen state. “Sorry, Rayna. I wasn’t expecting all this. To be honest, I’ve been off my game since I stepped foot in Greyhaven. You just surprised me, is all.”
A smile lit up her face. Her eyes flickered, then changed from gray to ocean-blue, the effect even more startling when everything else about her face appeared normal.
Sure, she was pretty, with pink bow lips, a straight, pert nose, and sandy-brown eyebrows.
Nothing out of the ordinary. “No worries.”
My stomach let out a loud grumble.
“Guess you really need some of this. Was nice to meet you, Riley. See you around.”
Unlikely, I thought. Then I closed the door. Food and then a progress report on my car.
“Well, you see, we have to order that part in, and that means a trip all the way to Farmsworth, since that’s where we get our big stuff sent to.
” Walt was looking at me with genuine sorrow on his part.
I really felt like he didn’t want to be keeping me here against my will, but the reality was that my car was fucked.
The mechanic looked under the car again.
Since he was a cyclops, his kind was gifted with the ability to work metal.
Being a mechanic was a genius job for him.
It would be second nature for him to work with machines; he just got how they worked and found the root of the problem quickly.
I thought his massive form would make it difficult for him to do the fiddlier bits, but he was graceful and delicate when he needed to be.
I watched him treat my car with the care it had lacked while in my possession.
“How long do you think that will be?” I hoped for a couple of days, max. Time was not on my side.
“A week at least. Maybe two, to be honest.” He slow-blinked his single eye.
I should have felt threatened by his size, the one eye, the bright red of his skin and alien appearance, but he’d quickly put me at ease.
He had this gentle giant thing going on.
Aside from Rayna, Walt was the first supernatural I’d met who wouldn’t blend in out there in the world outside of the town.
“Aw, fuck!” I thought about alternatives. Could I buy another car? I had some money stashed away. Some less?than?legal cash I’d hidden in various accounts. So what if I’d skimmed off jobs he’d made me do? I’d deserved to be paid for putting myself in danger.
Walt scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, kid. That’s the best I can do.”
“It’s fine, Walt. I get it. Is there anywhere I could buy another car close by? Something that could pull my trailer if possible?” Leaving the trailer was the last thing I wanted to do. It was perfect for life on the road.
Walt blinked his single eye at me again while he thought. “There might be something at the lot. I’m not too hopeful for ya, though. You’d likely have to go out of town to get one.”
Fuck. If I left Greyhaven without all my shit, I wouldn’t get back in, not now I’d spent two nights here.
That was, apparently, the magic number. Mom had two kids, and any more than two nights in a place was counting it as a home, albeit a temporary one.
Something we weren’t allowed to have. If I left, my curse wouldn’t let me back in.
It didn’t matter what I left behind, I would lose it.
“I’ll have a look if you’ll point me in the right direction. In the meantime, if you could order that part just in case. I’ll settle up with you for the part and your time if I find another car.”
The lot didn’t hold a lot. Ironically. There were a few electric and hybrid vehicles, but they were all small city cars that had two seats and wouldn’t cope with hauling a trailer. The only one that was almost what I wanted wouldn’t start when I asked about it.
Greyhaven was conspiring to keep me here.
The note in the basket had been an apology letter from the mayor for “a lack of consideration” of my feelings. While I felt better that she’d at least acknowledged that what she had done was wrong, I still had this urge to flee. It nipped at me all day.
Perhaps it was that I felt flayed open after telling the mayor most of my history. After that, the dreams had been worse. Meeting my mate had opened those old wounds, making the nightmares worse than ever.
Maybe it was that I didn’t know what Gareth was going to do about us being mates.
I knew I owed him at least a conversation before I skipped town, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Fear had drained all reason from me. I knew it was hurtful, that it was a dick move, but I couldn’t do it in case he persuaded me to stay.
A part of me was already tempted by him. That part of me wanted to give in and let Gareth try to fix things for me. I was so fucking tired of wandering this damn country, trying to keep out of his grasp.
The mayor’s number was heavy in my hand. For some unknown reason, I’d tucked the card with the apology into my pocket. For the next week or so, I was stranded in Greyhaven, so I needed to know they wouldn’t ambush me with well-intentioned help. I would figure out the problem myself or leave.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was calling the mayor’s office. “City Hall, I’m Debra. How can I help you?”
“Hey Debra, it’s Riley. Is it possible for me to speak to the mayor for a sec?”
“Hello! Did you get the basket this morning?” Debra’s voice was cheerful.
“I did, thank you. Did you arrange that?”
“Believe it or not, it was Hestia’s idea. I just helped her pick out what to put in. I think she’s in a meeting. They should be about done. Could I put you on hold to check if she can chat?”
“Of course, that’s great, thanks.” It was a relief not to feel any weirdness from the brownie after how I’d run off. The line played the elevator music that most government offices used. It was strangely reassuring that even here, so far from human life, there was something normal.
Debra came back on the line. “You’re in luck. They were just chatting about unimportant stuff. I’ll transfer you now unless you need anything else?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, Debra.” My hands became sweaty, belying my casual tone. I was not good. I was nervous as fuck to speak to the goddess who ran this place. For the next week, at least, I had to be welcome to stay, and I also needed a promise that she wouldn’t push my boundaries again.
“Hello, Riley.” Hestia’s voice was smoothly polite. Not frosty, like I had worried about.
“Madam Mayor, I’m having car issues and need to stay in Greyhaven for a while longer… Will that be okay?”
“Of course, Riley. You’re welcome here as long as you need.”
“About yesterday…” I trailed off.
“I am sorry about that. It was too much, too soon. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”
“It won’t?”
“No. I see it was wrong, though my intentions were pure. You need to seek the warlock out on your own terms, somewhere you have control of the situation. I shouldn’t have ambushed either of you. It was very poor behavior on my part, especially knowing what I do about your history.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, astounded. This conversation really hadn’t gone the way I thought it would.
“Can you forgive me, Riley?” The plaintive tone suggested that my answer truly mattered to the ancient goddess.
“I do.” That was the truth. Like I thought, she had good intentions, they just didn’t pan out.
“Thank you, Riley. I know it’s a lot to ask, but please consider speaking to Gareth about the curse, if nothing else. My heart believes he could be instrumental in helping you.”
“I will. Thank you, Hestia, for letting me stay.”