“Didn’t I do that when I moved here?” I laughed, happy for a change of subject to give me a few seconds relief from worrying about Vallis.
“You started it then but it’s an ongoing process,” he nodded. “We live long lives. I think it’s a process that happens over and over. It’s like we’re always correcting for balance. We don’t want to be too far from the group but we still want to be our own person. Plus, if you are worried about this guy, I’ll be around. If the vibes are off, I’ll sock him.”
“Don’t get into a fight,” I laughed.
“I’m not. I’ll put a giant sock over his head,” Dad laughed, resorting to humor as he’d done for as long as I could remember. “Just remember what I said when you started dating.”
“If they don’t know the meaning of no take their balls as a trophy?”
“That’s my boy!” he grinned and got up to get more coffee from the kitchen.
CHAPTER SIX
Vallis
Fallen Star Territory
I lost track of time inside my wooden box, buried deep beneath the ground. Soil still trickled in and now a fine layer covered my naked torso. It was as if the dirt sucked up all the oxygen and shrank the box. Each waking breath took more effort than it should’ve and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t relax enough to get back out of my body. My breaths came in heaves and my sleep was as fitful as it could be in such a tiny, confined space. I hated Pami but more than that I missed Lero. Part of me, hoped he ignored all my protests and showed up. Maybe I couldn’t get myself out. Maybe my body was already in the early stages of dying. Soon I’d be seeing dead relatives I never knew on this side of the door, squeezing into the wooden box with me.
I dreamt of Lero. Of kissing him and running my hands through his soft, thick hair. I dreamt of him feeding me and bringing glasses of water and coffee. I dreamt of walking through tiny caves with him and part of my dream self hoped that against the odds his bear had come to free me from my body. Each time I woke it was a fresh hell. The box was hot and sweat formed in every crevice of my body.
Eventually, I woke up in a strange house. It wasn’t Lero’s and for a second I thought it was a dream. An elf sat next to a man who looked like he slept on the floor. I stomped my foot testing to see if either of them looked at me but neither did. Asingle finger tapped my shoulder and I turned, ready to swing to find a bear shifter who smelled sort of like Lero looking up at me.
“Are you okay, friend? Not many astral travelers pass through my magical workspace,” he said.
I put the dots together. He was the guy sleeping on the floor. This was Lero’s grandpa. I almost told him the whole truth but then remembered I couldn’t. I couldn’t speak aloud of the curse. I couldn’t even tell him as much as I told Lero. Maybe Lero being my true-mate loosened the magic a little.
“It’s alright. You don’t have to talk,” he said, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. “Go get some water over there at the table. It’ll be alright. Every difficult time has to end.”
I crossed the room to the table and only when I lifted the cup did the elf guarding him turn to look.
“Xenos?” his voice cut through the house, loud and sharp.
I wasn’t Xenos but the elf didn’t budge up from his spot. I drank both glasses of water and then greedily ate the sandwich sitting nearby too. I never did get clarification on the food situation but if I was a dying man maybe they’d forgive me. I waved my goodbyes and left through the front door, making sure to close it behind me. Outside, I didn’t know which way Lero’s house was. So I sank down shifting into my bear form. It was so much easier to do in spirit. Every part of me ached and creaked as I walked but I kept on with my nose to the ground until I found Lero’s house. I possessed only the energy to make it onto the porch before crashing onto it and falling asleep.
I woke up to warm hands brushing through my fur. Lero sat against his front door on the porch. I moved so that I restedmy head in his lap. I was still tired but whatever the strange bear had fed me made me less achy or maybe that was from stretching my legs.
When I had the strength to get inside and shift back into my human form I told Lero what had happened and that was the day he started snatching food left out for the spirits. I knew it couldn’t bring us good luck but more than ever I wanted to stay alive to be with him. Maybe the spirits wouldn’t mind so much. Maybe they’d let us by with it for a while.
He told me all about his parents’ visit and how his ‘match’ true-mate responded to his Uncle Preston. The Snow Demon was handsome, but not more handsome than me, or so my mate assured me, blushing. His parents had gone home, and everyone had the sneaking suspicion that his carrier was pregnant. It should’ve been the time of our matingmoon and the secret, quiet celebration of him possibly having another sibling but anxiety tinged every word he spoke. It was as if I watched him come unraveled before me and part of me hated myself for it. I hadn’t killed Broug, but I had brought this mess to his doorstep.
Closing the space between us, I pulled him close, intent on apologizing again for the chaos. Only when I opened my mouth, I didn’t have a chance to speak. His lips were on mine as if I were his oxygen. He collapsed against me, letting me take on his full weight as his warm, giving tongue swept around my mouth, circling my own tongue. I kissed him back, allowing my worries to fall away for a moment. All the stories were real. The true-mate response magic really didn’t care about what situation it found you in. Its one and only goal was to bring true-mates together. Everything else was collateral damage to it.
Lero walked backwards until the backs of his knees found the sofa. Then he maneuvered both of us down onto it with me on top of him. His strong, muscly arms and legs wrapped around me, creating a cocoon of his scent and embrace. We kissed harder. His teeth scraped over my lip. If I had blood to give, it would’ve flowed. I shook my head to quiet him when my bear whispered questions about whether or not we’d even be able to exchange our claiming vows in this form. We’d cross that ramshackle bridge when we got to it.
I lost track of time like never before as our tongues danced between our mouths. I was so hard that it hurt and pain isn’t easy to come by in the astral realms. Everything inside me ached for him and my bear butted his head against the inside of my ribs. He wanted to walk that secret pathway and be nose to nose with the bear who dwelt within our beautiful mate. He couldn’t yet. We needed the aforementioned claiming vows for that.
“I should feed you,” Lero said in between kisses as time crept its way back into our perception.
“I’ve eaten,” I said. “I want you instead.”
“I want you to stay,” he said and kissed me again before I could object.
I wanted to stay too. The longer I thought about it the surer than ever I was about the fact Pami was going to have to die. Even if I managed to escape, she’d follow me across the realms hunting me down like her brother hunted down books stolen from the Fallen Star. I wanted a life with Lero and I wanted to properly mourn my best friend’s death. Could one second of my life ever feel normal again?
“Food,” Lero shouted coming back to his senses again.
This time I pushed myself up off the sofa, taking him with me. I carried him into the kitchen and laid him on the bare kitchen table. The things I’d do with him on this table when everything was said and done. The things I’d do to him in every room of this house when everything was said and done. I swallowed down a growl. Lero’s sweet, aroused scent infiltrated every air molecule in the kitchen. It was impossible to breath without pulling his scent down into my lungs. With each inhale, I wanted him more.
