Page 53 of Zodiac Beasts

“I like this.” He finally said, his pupils shifting then shifting back, like an excited and accidental reflex. “I like everything about all of this. I don’t think anyone has ever given me anything more impressive than the sight of you in that dress.”

If I was blushing before, I was on fire now.

“The fit turned out perfect. No alterations required.” I demonstrated with a spin, and he looked utterly mesmerized. I didn’t know what else to say to a compliment like that. It probably said a lot about my life that I felt more comfortable being told I was ugly than I did being told I wasn’t. Which was probably why I followed up the statement by awkwardly fumbling and changing the subject. “So what do we need to do for inventory tonight?”

“Let me close up, and I’ll give you the walkthrough.” Ceto sidestepped me and locked the front door of the shop. He peeked outside, then closed a curtain over the glass. “The sun will completely set soon, so it’s late enough to call it a day. I’ll start by securing the entrances and exits, if you’d like to wait in the back. It’s important to have all entrances sealed before we get too close to Purnima.” The statement rang oddly dry, but knowing it was his birth month, I didn’t question the added precautions.

“All right.” I nodded, before I headed toward the back room. He was unusually nervous, but I assumed it was with good reason. I didn’t know how wards worked, but full moon glass seemed plenty effective, so I wasn’t terribly worried. Everyone else was putting so much significance on a silly thing like the night of the full moon, but I was safe from moon beams, and I expected we’d be working too much to think about it any more deeply than that.

And I was right, as hours passed by at a breakneck pace, sorting out materials, stock, and supply orders until late into the night. We worked together like a well-tuned machine, running on nothing but good conversation and cupcakes.

It was somewhere around midnight when we finally both stopped to take a breather.

“I had no idea how much we had back here. It’s almost like the building is larger inside than it appears from the outside.” I huffed as I sat on an unopened box.

“It is.” Ceto confirmed, while he stacked a bin of buttons atop the bin of zippers. “Those who set our wards enchant the space, so we have storage beyond the limited real estate granted by such a tightly built, old city. Technically our shop floor would be little more than 150 square feet, but the wards allow us an additional 250. Our backroom has similar expansion.”

I blinked to process that. “How is that possible?”

“Worm holes.” He stated plainly. “Technically the space you’re sitting in exists in an entirely different dimension. We’ve simply established a treaty among the dimensional wizards that allows us to lease it.”

I got up and moved to sit on a box in what I assumed was this dimension’s space. “By treaty, do you mean you write them a check every month?”

“Correct, as always. Every dimensional portal in existence is held open by money.” Ceto chuckled as he stacked the last box filled with thread at the top of his sewing materials. “Why don’t we take a break? There’s still a few more hours of work left to do, but you can rest upstairs if you’d like. I wouldn’t recommend going outside, obviously.”

“In your bed?” I asked, because my mind immediately went where it shouldn’t.

Ceto choked on nothing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that question made my low-emotion companion blush. He hesitated to respond, as though he didn’t know how, only to finally tell me, “I have a couch, too, but whichever you prefer.”

“I guess I haven’t actually seen your home yet.” I swung my feet, while I watched him tidying up his sewing station.

“Would you like a quick tour? It’s not much, as I don’t rent out any wormhole space up there, but I wouldn’t mind showing you.”

“S-sure.” I tripped over the simplest response. I might not have thought anything of it normally, but between Marcus and Linda, everyone kept implying full moon nights were something special and intimate, and the thought of being in his home for the first time was especially so.

“Come on then.” Ceto tipped his head toward a single red door in the back corner of the storage area. He unlocked it, and it opened to a flight of stairs in a narrow brick lined hallway.

“Weirdly spooky.” I followed him into the shaft toward the second floor.

“Apologies. I’m better at clothing design than I am interior design.” He shrugged off the statement. “I try to keep a fairly simple space.”

He unlocked the door at the top, and entered a small entryway with yet another locked door. I couldn’t help but wonder why all three doors in his space were locked, while also in a locked shop with a locked store room. The amount of security seemed excessive, but surely he had his reasons.

The last door opened into a quaint room, colored in soft tans and yellows. A vase of lavender flowers rested on a decorative table in the corner, while large, ornate bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. A plush, Victorian couch rested in the center with a coffee table that had legs carved to look like dragons claws. The furniture had a hint of medieval vibes, while the mixed scent of lavender, leather bound books, and chocolate cookies was more than inviting.

“This is beautiful.” I said without thinking, as I surveyed the books on the shelves. Most were nonfiction or text books, but I didn’t miss the section filled with sci-fi, fantasy, and thrillers.

Ceto adjusted the glasses on his nose, before he glanced toward what I assumed was yet another locked door. “This is the den, the kitchen is here, and my bedroom and bathroom is over here.” He walked me through the brief floor plan of his apartment consisting of all of four rooms. Every single door was locked in between. “Like I said before, if you ever want to prepare lunch during a shift, you’re welcome to come up here and use it.”

“Will I be provided with a key ring?” I teased, as he’d literally used a different key on every single door.

Ceto offered a slightly strained smile. “There are some things about shifter hierarchy that I’m glad you don’t have to understand.”

Sore subject, I suppose.

“I’m hoping one day I’ll have some clue how it all works.” I sighed, as he walked me back towards the stairs. I glanced sidelong at a window framing the full moon. Was an Omega’s transformation like a Betas, an Alphas, or something else entirely? He avoided the moon for a reason, obviously, but he avoided it through inventory every month. So was he more like me?

Was I allowed to ask? I knew so little about him. Neither one of us knew the other’s species. Maybe when it was just the two of us, in a safe place like his own home, he might be willing to tell me.