“That’s a nice creature,” Sam said. “Not a mean one. Chimeras are nice, too. Alejo’s kind of chimera, though he can look like a snake, with a poison tail. It’s so cool. But I like his lion self the best.” He yawned.
Lion?Snake?
She bit back an exclamation. Things had definitely gone sideways, but right there before her eyes was the image of Alejo’s smile. And his steady gaze. She would have sworn—no, she did swear—that he was a good person through and through.
“Get some sleep. We can talk more about those things in the morning, okay? We have all day tomorrow.”
Sam grinned. “Chimera,” he whispered, and snuggled down.
She found Alejo waiting for her in the living room. “Wendy,” he said. “I’m so sorry about all that. I had no idea this was going to happen.”
She wanted to reach up and take his face in her hands, but the way he stood there, looking apologetic and uncertain, she was not sure what to do. That conversation had gone on a long time. Was she about to lose him?
“Alejo,” she said, “it’s all right, if it’s Roxane you’re worried about. We aren’t eighteen. Of course we have pasts. You know about mine, certainly.” She swallowed. “As for the…the shifter thing, well, why don’t we begin at the beginning?”
He let out a long breath, and she could feel him shedding stress. “I was truly going to tell you tomorrow. I had a picnic all planned out, and I was going to lead into it…”
He looked so guilty she smothered a laugh. “Alejo, I don’t even know what to say to that. Or to think. I’m still…I don’t know, feeling unreal? But Sam seems to know. He thinks it’s the awesomest thing in the world.”
“Okay,” Alejo said, but on a question. “That’s…good?”
“Good? Finding out about you seems to have given him the courage I haven’t been able to, try as I might. As far as I’m concerned, you could turn out to be King Kong and I’d be okay with it, because you make me happy. And not just me. Sam is so happy. Also, I really don’t understand about his imaginary friends who apparently aren’t imaginary, but all that can wait until tomorrow.”
Alejo nodded once. “Thank you, Wendy.”
“For what?” she gave a little laugh. “It seems to me I am the one here not doing anything.”
“You,” said Alejo, “are being you. Which to me is the best discovery in the world.”
He said it with such a steady gaze, and such husky sincerity in his voice, that it was her turn for stinging eyes and a lump in her throat. But there were also questions. “May I ask what happened in the phone conversation? You were gone a long time. Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay.”
He pulled her into his arms, saying to the top of her head, “I don’t want to keep secrets from you ever again. Of course it’s your business, if you want it to be. I hope you do. It seems that I’ve got a thirteen-year-old daughter, and she’s coming here. I can take her away somewhere—say the word.”
Wendy gave in to impulse then, and slid her palms up his face. He was taut with tension. “Alejo, you do remember that this is your mom’s house?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“But nothing. This house has been a refuge for women ever since I can remember. And. If Oriane really is your daughter, youknowGodiva will be over the moon. If ever a woman was designed by nature to be a grandmother, that woman is Godiva. Bring Oriane, and her mother, and we’ll cope.”
“That’s just it. Roxane isn’t coming. I want to apologize for how long that took. Oriane and Roxane kept squabbling; part of the problem is that Roxane is locked into a contract with a stiff penalty, and she and Oriane apparently live from paycheck to paycheck. The contract won’t release Roxane for another three months, and Oriane threatened to jump out the window and fly to meet me if she couldn’t come now. Her mother gave in, but—quite rightly—insisted she take a plane.”
“I’m guessing the, ah, shift is new?”
“The puberty surprise,” Alejo said. “In her case, truly a surprise. Some shift early. Others, many mythic shifters in particular, don’t shift until later in life. It can happen at any time. Puberty is the most common.”
Wendy tried to imagine a girl getting her first period, then looking in the mirror and seeing a creature from old myths instead of herself. “My guess is, Oriane freaked.”
“She did. And it wasn’t just Oriane. Roxane is still totally wigged out, though I think I got her to calm down a little, especially after I showed them my lion, and then agreed to Oriane coming here to get a little shifter training. I am absolutely sure the shifter thing is why she consented at all to stick her kid on a plane halfway across the world to a guy Oriane’s never met. The simurgh completely floored them both.”
“Ouch.”
“At this point I don’t know if it’ll be a one day stay or what. Oriane is pretty…confused.”
Alejo stood there, his handsome face worried. Appeal in his eyes. Again, the first move was up to her, and the realization spiraled between the familiar heat, and gratitude, and a surprising surge of strength. What she thought mattered to him.
“Sounds like we’ve got some time to prepare ourselves for Oriane,” she said, and reached for him. He gave a little sigh, and leaned into her hands as she tried to smooth the tension from his forehead.
But touch was never enough. Here came the heat. They kissed, and between kisses, she mumbled, “You showed Roxane and Oriane. Of course you should. You also showed Sam, and I get that it happened inadvertently. But now, can it be my turn?”
