“Thanks for the ride,” I say as I climb out of the car, feeling a pang of loneliness. In a short period of time, I have become very attached to Nox. He’s handsome, kind, funny, and a balm to my turmoiled soul.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow after lunch?” he asks, and I feel slightly better. He seems as reluctant to part as I am.
“Yeah, I can’t wait,” I tell him, leaning against the doorframe of the car and peering back at him. His handsome face is illuminated by the interior light, and the gold flecks in his eyes are more prominent, almost swallowing the rest of the brown.
“Good, because I think with a few more missions, we might reach the boss level, and we can take out the bad guy,” he gushes, and I smile at his nerdiness. He put on glasses to play the game, but he took them off again to drive. He looked super cute in them too. It kind of gave me some naughty schoolgirl and professor fantasies. I had to stop myself from squirming on the couch while sitting next to him. I was worried I said something out loud at one stage, because he inhaled deeply, stiffened, and gave me a weird look, but he didn’t move away from me or comment, so I might have been imagining things.
“I can’t wait. Hopefully the weather clears tomorrow, because I’ll walk down the beach again. If not, I’ll catch a rideshare. Can you give me your address so I know which way to send him.”
“Oh, how about I come and get you instead, and we have a meal somewhere before going back to my place and playinggames? There’s this amazing little café up on the cliffs on the other side of my place at the lighthouse.” Nox’s cove ends in large cliffs that are inaccessible, and a lighthouse sits on top of them. It’s a popular destination for both locals and tourists alike. My grandparents took me a couple of times when I was younger.
“I can’t believe it’s still there. I’ve been a few times when I used to visit my grandparents,” I tell him as the wind swirls around me, and I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself.
“It closed down for a while but was recently purchased and renovated. They do good, wholesome home cooking, and it’s really popular for dinner, but I should be able to get us a late lunch, early dinner reservation. Shall I pick you up at about three?” he suggests.
“I’d like that. I’ll see you then.” I reach out and give his hand a squeeze, and I get a jolt of static. He frowns as I pull away. “Shit, sorry,” I apologize, and he shakes his head.
“No reason to apologize, it’s not like you did it on purpose.” He puts his truck into gear. “Go inside, it’s starting to rain again. I don’t want you getting sick and not being able to come out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I step back, slam the door shut, and look down at my hands. The stupid marks beneath my cuffs are tingling, and all of my previous worries flood back like a tidal wave. He drives off, and I wave as the lights of his truck disappear. The rainfall becomes steadier, so I hurry inside and sneak through the house quietly, not wanting to wake Granny and Grampy. The lamp on the bedside table of the bedroom I’m using is on, and I quickly strip off my sundress. I reluctantly replaced the clothes Nox lent me before I left. They smelled so good, like a warm churro, and it made my mouth water. I’m so glad nobody saw me sniffing them when I first put them on, because they would have thought I was crazy.
I throw on the tank top I use for pj’s, unclasp the wedding cuffs from around my wrists, and place them on the bedside table. Sitting on the bed, I study the marks around my wrists. They seem to have gotten a little darker, the gold color looking more prominent. I have no idea how I am going to hide these for a long period of time. I can’t wear the cuffs while I’m at work. I sigh and drop my hands into my lap.
The feeling of dread has returned as I climb between the sheets and shimmy down, shivering at how cold they feel. The storm has settled a little, since the thunder and lightning has blown past, leaving only rain behind. The gentle pitter-patter sound against the roof is soothing, but I toss and turn, and my thoughts return to the beach this afternoon.
I’m almost certain I got a visit from the shifter goddess Aramis. Who else could it have been? She made it sound like there was no getting out of this at all. As much as I want to run away from this whole situation, I don’t think she’s going to let me. She made it sound like she would come and get me if I didn’t present myself to the shifters.
I heave out a sigh and roll over, pulling the blanket up over my head so only my face pokes out. I feel tears prickle in my eyes as I try to come up with some kind of solution, but I can’t think of a single thing. She didn’t even give me a chance to argue with her, just disappeared into thin air with her dogs. Who would have thought the shifter goddess would have poodles?
I don’t get much sleep, and eventually, I come to the conclusion that I’m going to have to accept this is my destiny, but I’m going to take a couple of days to enjoy being free first. I need to make arrangements for my bakery, because I bet they are not going to allow me to continue working there, and I want to enjoy the company of a man whom I choose, not one the goddess has chosen for me. That’s a whole other bone of contention—one I think that annoys me even more thanbeing selected as the shifter queen. I’m going to have to choose complete strangers to be my mates, men who have been marked by the goddess, and I’m just supposed to say, “Hey, want to be my husband for the next forty years?”
Do shifters even have divorce? If I don’t like them, do I get to try again? How am I expected to know, and how long do I get to choose? Maybe I can take my time, like I can get to know the men the goddess selected before I have to make a choice. How am I supposed to deal with three husbands? That’s how many wives Lucas has. I mean, they seemed happy, and they looked like they got along, but what if the men I choose hate each other or get jealous? I wonder if there is an option to choose none. I can be the spinster queen. It’s not like I need to produce an heir.
I finally fall into a fitful sleep full of growling, pissed off shifters and the pretty brown and gold eyes of the human man I spent the day with.
When I wake up the following morning, my head hurts, and my eyes are sticky, like I’ve been crying in my sleep. Not even a hot shower makes me feel any better.
“You look like crap, Colbie girl,” my grampy says as I enter the kitchen. He’s sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him and the newspaper in his hand. Granny is washing a few dishes at the sink, and she turns to look at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Ugh, I slept so badly. I need coffee,” I mumble, and she grabs the pot off the warmer and pours me a cup. I wrinkle my nose, spoiled by having access to the coffee machine at work, but I thank her. The two of them chuckle at my dramatics.
“What did you get up to yesterday?” Grampy asks, putting his newspaper down as I take a seat next to him at the table.
“I went for a walk and got trapped in the rain. When I tried to take shelter under someone’s porch, they invited me insideto warm up. I ended up playing video games and having dinner with him.”
Grampy’s eyebrows jump. “You went inside a strange man’s house?” He sounds a little surprised. “You don’t usually make rash decisions.”
I shrug and look between them. “I don’t know, there was something about him that made me feel comfortable.”
Granny’s eyes narrow, and she nods. “You’ve always been a good judge of character.”
“I’m hanging out with him this afternoon too,” I tell them, and Grampy purses his lips but doesn’t argue with me. I appreciate that. Although they worry, they acknowledge that I’m an adult who can make my own decisions.
I lift up my coffee mug to take a sip, even if it’s a little sludgy, and my granny gasps.
“What are those?” she asks, hurrying over to me and snatching the hand holding my coffee mug. Coffee sloshes over the side and down my hand, but thankfully, it’s not too hot. I grimace as she runs her finger over the marks. Fuck, I forgot the cuffs.
Grampy jumps to his feet and grabs my other wrist as Granny releases the one holding my coffee mug. “Colbie girl, is there something you need to tell us?” he growls, shaking the hand in front of my face.
