Chapter 5 #2
“That would be great.” The words were out of Calvin’s mouth before he could stop them.
It really would be great – and it was way too easy to let his imagination spin out from there, imagining evenings spent with Diana, Ash and Bella, cozily roasting marshmallows in front of the fire in winter, eating more of those amazing peach popsicles in summer – he could see himself giving Diana’s place a new lick of paint if she wanted him to, replacing the worn old carpets, putting a new hinge on –
Calvin was abruptly jerked out of his imaginings as Bella gave a quick bark, as if to assent to what Ash had just said.
Smiling, he leaned down to scratch behind her silky soft ear. Probably it would be better not to get too lost in thought right now. After all, he still had to actually tell Diana they were mates… and figure out what to do about this so-called curse.
First things first, he told himself firmly. First, I have to get to this campsite.
“Oh, wait – here,” Diana said, scribbling on a piece of paper. “Since you don’t have a phone. Here’s some directions for how to get to the B&B from here – it’s not that far, but the turn-off is surrounded by trees, so it’s easily missed.”
“Thank you,” Calvin said, taking the paper gratefully. It was bizarre to think how, even with his wyvern’s impeccable sense of direction, he’d become so dependent on Google Maps. “Again – I really appreciate it. See you at ten tomorrow?”
“Sounds good,” Diana said, her smile lighting up her whole face, her eyes sparkling, dimples forming adorably in her cheeks.
I sure could look at that for the rest of my life, Calvin thought wistfully, as he forced himself to turn away. Let’s hope I can sort out whatever the hell is going on, so I can.
As much as he already knew Diana was the only person he wanted to spend his life with, he couldn’t saddle her with the curse of never using anything electronic ever again.
I’ve got to figure it out. And in the meantime, stop touching stuff!
He grabbed his bag, and, with one final farewell, slipped out the front door as quickly
as possible. It was highly likely that Diana would go outside at some point tonight and realize that it was much warmer outside than she thought, but for now, he was going to do his best to try to preserve the illusion.
Tomorrow, he told himself firmly, as the heat hit him like a wall. I’ll explain everything to her tomorrow.
Standing outside the front door, he took a moment to look around.
Down the side of the house, he could see compost bins and vegetable patches. It was obvious that she was an avid gardener.
Turning around to face the front, he spent a moment taking in the view, which he had barely noticed on the way in due to how distracted he’d been.
Diana’s house really was lovely, its pale green walls and white trim almost disappearing amongst the rambling garden. It was the kind of place that a homeowner’s association in the city would turn its nose up at, but Calvin thought it was delightfully rustic, and – well, natural.
Native flowers and grasses sprung up every which way amongst larger trees and shrubs, shading the area from the worst of the heat and creating a riot of color.
Barely visible dirt paths led into secret dens, hidden from the world by densely interwoven branches.
It was clearly lovingly tended, and Calvin could only imagine that it would be a magical place for a child to grow up.
Birds hopped and twittered amongst the plants in the dying twilight, and bushes rustled with the movements of unknown small animals. The heady fragrance of the flowers was almost overwhelming, and Calvin took a moment to just breathe it all in.
Our mate created all of this, his wyvern said appreciatively, and Calvin could only nod in agreement.
A series of high-pitched squeaking noises caught his attention, and he looked around in confusion, trying to locate the source.
His jaw dropped in astonishment.
There, hovering only a few feet before him, was an indescribably small hummingbird.
He watched, entranced, as the tiny bird seemed to float before him, suspended in mid-air as it fed from a flower, its brilliant colors practically glowing in the sunset as its wings buzzed and hummed.
He stood there for he wasn’t sure how long, simply happy to watch the impossibly tiny creature, before, eventually, it had had its fill, departing for places unknown.
As he looked up, movement caught his eye – and then the curtains on the front window snapped shut.
Had Diana been watching him watch the hummingbird?
Well, he didn’t mind. He could only assume that Diana enjoyed the bird life around here as well, if her incredibly bird-friendly garden was anything to go by.
Still, he had probably lingered longer than was entirely appropriate, even if he did have a good reason for it.
Reluctantly, he walked up the driveway toward the road, pulling out the map that Diana had given him.
We must treasure this map always, his wyvern declared. Our mate is a master cartographer.
Calvin wasn’t sure he would go that far, but the map was certainly good enough to do the job, and he definitely appreciated that she’d gone to the trouble of making it for him.
In the end, the B&B was less than a half-hour’s walk away, and he made the most of the time, enjoying the deep greens of the evening as the temperature finally started to drop. His mind was awhirl with the day’s events, but as always, nature provided a balm that soothed his racing mind.
Before he knew it, he was walking down the dirt road that Diana had indicated in her instructions. According to the map, there was a smiley face at the end of the road – he could only assume that that represented the B&B.
The final sliver of sun dipped below the horizon, and as if on cue, fairy lights twinkled into sparkling life in the trees around him. The effect was enchanting, and he stopped walking for a moment to enjoy it.
I really hope that I can take Diana here once everything has been sorted out.
He continued on his way, rounding the last bend in the road.
The first thing he noticed was the mansion, looming up before him in the darkness. Even though it wasn’t brilliantly lit, his shifter eyes were more than up to the challenge of checking out every detail.
It was definitely impressive. While he wasn’t an expert on older styles of architecture, he knew enough from his work in construction to be able to tell that it was very well built, and impeccably restored. Obviously whoever had renovated it knew their stuff.
The second thing he noticed – well, technically it was his wyvern who noticed it first, though Calvin was only a moment behind – was the blond man who was walking out the front door of the building.
The wyvern’s eyes narrowed.
Shifter, it hissed.
Calvin felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, and his muscles tightened in preparation… but he wasn’t about to go into attack mode just yet. Surely Diana wouldn’t have sent him to stay somewhere dangerous.
Still, who knew what could be lurking in the woods?
“Hi there!” called the other shifter as he waved at Calvin, a big smile on his face.
He doesn’t seem too threatening, Calvin thought, while his wyvern snarled. Maybe this is the smiley face that Diana drew on the map.
The shifter paused for a moment, his smile faltering a little, and Calvin was pretty sure he’d just realized that Calvin wasn’t human as well.
Calvin tensed.
But then the other man’s smile returned, and he approached Calvin once more. His manner was so easygoing and unconcerned that Calvin felt himself relaxing.
“Hi, I’m Kieran. You must be Calvin X,” the man said, sticking out his hand.
Calvin reached out and shook his hand, even as he felt his eyebrows rising in confusion. “Calvin… X?”
“Oh! I’m sorry,” Kieran said. “Calvin XXX, I should’ve said. I just wasn’t sure if you, ah, wanted me to say it.” His expression turned curious, and mildly scandalized. His voice lowered. “Is that your screen name? Are you on OnlyFans? Don’t worry – I can keep a secret.”
Now, Calvin knew that his eyebrows were marching right off the top of his forehead. The whole scenario was so confusing that he wasn’t even concerned about dealing with another shifter anymore – clearly the only threat here was to his sanity.
Diana, he thought with a burst of realization, and he had to fight the urge to facepalm. She didn’t know my surname when she made the booking, so she just used a placeholder.
“My name’s Calvin Strickland,” he said, stopping the farce before it could continue any further.
“One of the locals here made the booking for me, and she didn’t know my surname, so she must’ve just put that – that XXX in.
No OnlyFans account here.” He nodded appreciatively at the mansion.
“Though I am a fan of what you’ve done with this place. ”
It was clearly the right answer – Kieran beamed. “Thanks! Though my mate Natasha deserves most of the credit. She’s the brains behind the operation.”
Calvin’s eyes drifted up to the top of the house, spying an iron weathervane in the shape of a griffin.
Is that just for decoration, or is it a statement about the owner?
His wyvern tossed its head disdainfully. A griffin? How passé.
Kieran followed his gaze, and laughed ruefully when he realized what Calvin was looking at. “Is it too obvious? I just couldn’t resist.”
Calvin laughed, feeling at ease. “Well, I’m pretty sure your average traveler wouldn’t think anything of it, besides that it looks cool.”
His wyvern bellowed its displeasure at the thought of a griffin looking cool, but Calvin kept on talking.
“I’m a wyvern shifter, by the way.” He dropped his voice conspiratorially. “Though I don’t think I’d ever put up signage advertising the fact – the publicity would definitely go to its head, and it’s already pompous enough as it is.”
“Oh, a wyvern shifter?” Kieran looked intrigued. “I’ve never met one before. Well, not that I’m aware of, anyway.”