“Speaking of work,” Gale continued, “I should probably get back to it. But it really was great to meet you both – I’ll let the others know what’s going on, and we’ll see you tonight.”
“Fantastic,” Henry said, and Luna nodded her agreement. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Same here,” Luna said fervently. “Thank you. I mean it.”
Gale waved off their thanks with a smile. “Don’t mention it. See you both later!”
They both watched as Gale exited the dining area through a staff door, Luna feeling a little shell-shocked.
“Just when I think there’s nothing left to surprise me…” she murmured.
Henry also looked a bit overwhelmed as he nodded, which was reassuring, in a way – at least she wasn’t the only one here having a strange day.
“What should we do now?” she asked.
Henry looked contemplative for a moment, before looking down at the table.
“Get a new chair, and then eat some cake?” he suggested.
There was still way more cake there than any sane person would ever be able to eat.
Luckily for Luna, she wasn’t having the sanest day.
“I think that’s an excellent suggestion.”
Chapter 10
“This looks like the place,” Henry said as together, they made their way down the path through the woods. At the end of the path stood a wooden building with stairs leading up to a brightly painted door – and since there weren’t any other structures around, Henry had to assume this was the ranger’s hut they’d been told by Gale to meet him at, along with the other shifter residents of Girdwood Springs and their mates.
“You said you met this… this dragon guy before,” Luna said, glancing up at him.
“I did. It was while I was chasing off that bear I mentioned,” Henry told her. “He must have sensed me and come to investigate. Dragons can be… pretty territorial, I’ve heard. I haven’t actually met many.”
“Well. I’ve never met evenone,” Luna said. “So this’ll be an interesting new experience for me, I guess.”
Henry laughed softly as they made their way up the stairs to the bright red door of the cabin. “Don’t be too sure – there’re more shifters around than you’d think. You could have been talking to one and never known it.”
“Okay, that’s… well, I don’t know if that’s a comfort or not,” Luna laughed. “But you’re right – if you hadn’ttoldme you were a hellhound, I never would have guessed.”
Henry smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear.” Before he knocked on the door, he glanced over his shoulder one last time.
No bears, no deer, no raccoons, no squirrels. Nothing stirred. He was safe.
“It really does seem like when you’re nearby I don’t have any problem with animals,” Henry said. “Nothing’s bothered me all day.”
“Well, except for that one moment when I ducked away to grab some napkins at the bakery and that bird flew into the window,” Luna pointed out. “Luckily it didn’t seem hurt – itdidlook pretty annoyed when I came back though. And ityelledat me.”
Henry laughed softly. “It certainly did do that,” he said, recalling the way the large black bird had let out a loud, indignant shriek before it had unruffled its feathers and taken off again, disappearing into the forest.
Luna hadn’t even gone very far away – clearly, whatever effect she had on the curse, it was only effective when she was pretty much right next to him.
“Anyway, are you ready for this?” Luna asked. “Do you think they’ll really be able to help us? And, um. There’s not anything I should be warned about that’s rude to say in front of shifters, is there? Any topics of conversation I should avoid?”
“Not that I can think of,” Henry said. “And honestly, shifters are pretty used to having to blend in with people – even if youdidsay something, I’m sure no one would take offense. They get that you’re new to all this.”
Luna nodded, but Henry could see she was still a little nervous, her hands clenched by her sides.
Comfort her, you clod,his hellhound growled – and for once, Henry was happy to admit his hellhound probably had a good suggestion.
