Chapter 6

I diot. You stupid, stupid idiot.

Levi groaned as he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

To say he'd had better nights of sleep would have been a distinct understatement. He wasn't sure he'd slept a wink – and it was all his own fault.

He'd so nearly given in last night – he'd wanted to kiss Margot so badly, the heat within him almost unbearable. She'd been so close to him, her soft pink lips so close to his own, her breasts pressed against his chest, her arms around his shoulders. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had to force himself to step away from her and leave her where she was in the living room of his great aunt's apartment.

You already know it wouldn't work out, he berated himself. I can't offer anything a woman like her deserves. And she told you herself that she'll be going back to the magical world as soon as she finds this flower she needs. You saw how determined she was. She said she needs this. The only thing I can do is try to help her.

Even if it meant she went back to the magical world and he never saw her again, Levi knew he could feel satisfied with himself, knowing that he'd helped Margot achieve her dreams. If that was the one service he could perform for his mate, then he knew he could live happily, knowing she was happy.

He didn't know if Margot could tell how close he'd been to kissing her yesterday evening. All the other chimeras he knew had mate bonds with other chimeras, or at least other shifters, like his Great Aunt Aida's belated bond with her dragon man.

Levi didn't know if a human would feel the connection they had with each other the same way a shifter would, or even if Margot, even as a witch, would know much about mate bonds. Shifters tended to be a little cagey about that with non-shifters.

But it doesn't matter anyway, Levi told himself as he stood up, groaning a little as his back protested. He'd spent the night curled into a pretzel shape on one of the armchairs Aida had had scattered in seemingly random corners of the shop, in amongst all the chaos of the bookshelves. It definitely hadn't been designed for someone of his height to even sit in, let alone attempt to sleep in.

Sighing, he supposed he'd better go see if Margot was awake. He didn't have the faintest clue how he was going to help her find the flower she needed to prove herself as a witch, and he knew that it would almost certainly be prohibited for people to be roaming around the wilderness of the mountains at this time of year. Girdwood Springs was surrounded by a national park, and most of it was completely untamed.

If I could shift, this wouldn't be an issue, Levi thought grimly as he mounted the stairs. If he could shift, he could simply spread his eagle's wings and soar through the air, taking Margot wherever she needed to go. He would have been able to find this snow flower in no time.

But that doesn't matter, Levi thought, as renewed purpose flowed through him. Whether he could shift or not, he'd help Margot. He wouldn't let anything stand in his way. She'd get what she needed to prove herself as a witch, and he'd do everything in his power to help her.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he knocked gently on the door. It was early after all, and if Margot was still sleeping he didn't want to startle her.

No answer.

He knocked again, before calling, "Margot?" through the wood of the door.

Still no answer.

Perhaps she was a sound sleeper, or perhaps she'd closed the door to the bedroom, Levi thought.

Grimacing, he realized he'd probably have to go inside. He hadn't seen any bags with Margot, and she hadn't mentioned that they'd need to go collect her luggage from anywhere. But he'd just have to hope she had sleepwear with her. Somewhere.

"Margot, I'm coming in," he called again, but still there was only silence from beyond the door.

He really hoped she hadn't been so horrified by his behavior yesterday that she'd fled in the night, Levi thought, as he opened the door.

But apparently that wasn't the issue at all – nor was it that Margot was still sleeping. He could detect sounds and smells from the kitchen from the moment the door creaked open.

The smell of… something , anyway, though it took him a moment to place it as – as –

Burning!

Racing through the living room, dodging around piles of books as he went, Levi found himself standing in the kitchen doorway, looking at Margot – who was wearing a very short nightgown, showing off a pair of extremely shapely legs. Her head was buried in a book – some romantic bodice-ripper if the cover and title, The Duke of Passion , were anything to go by – holding it in one hand, while her other hand was gesturing vaguely toward a pan on the stove, which was where the burning smell was coming from, a spoon slowly revolving above it as if by magic.

Or , Levi thought as he stood in the doorway, literally by magic.

"Something's burning!" Levi said, as, tearing his eyes away from the sight of Margot's legs, he dashed across the room.

"Oh!" Margot looked up, her cheeks pink, as she practically flung the book away from her, sending it flying over the breakfast counter and out into the living room, presumably from whence it came. "Oh my goodness!"

Before Levi could do anything, the pot that had been on the stove was suddenly levitated from the hotplate and dumped out into the sink, where the contents sizzled for a moment, the smoke dying slowly away.

"Oh, dear," Margot said, looking forlornly down at it. "I am so sorry. I'd only meant to make us some breakfast, but I got caught up in… in reading a book, and I guess I just…"

She looked truly miserable, and Levi wanted to reach for her, to tell her it was okay – it didn't matter, it was only some… well, whatever had been in the pot. It was definitely unrecognizable now.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm just glad you're okay. Nothing's on fire, so no harm done."

Margot still looked a little desolate. "I guess I really am bad at cooking," she murmured. "I'd just wanted to thank you for your hospitality."

"Must have been a pretty engrossing book," Levi said, glancing over his shoulder to where she'd flung it. "Happens to the best of us."

Margot colored a little. "Um. Yes. It was. Very very engrossing."

"And I guess you weren't kidding about the burning things," Levi said with a small laugh, hoping she'd see the funny side of his words – he'd never been very good at amusing banter.

To his relief, Margot's lips finally twitched into a smile. "Yes. I suppose I should have known better. But perhaps I can make some coffee? I think it would be quite difficult to set that on fire, at least."

Levi laughed softly. "You have a point there. And maybe let me take care of the… the…" He peered over the rim of the sink. No, he really had no idea what Margot might have been trying to make.

"It was supposed to be scrambled eggs," Margot said, frustrated. "But obviously that is not how they turned out."

"They look pretty scrambled to me," Levi said, as he went to the fridge to find more eggs. The remark earned him an outraged little yell, and a light tap on the back of his head with the wooden spoon Margot had been magically stirring the pot with. "Okay! I deserved that. I'm sorry."

Despite everything, Levi felt his mood lightening. If Margot had noticed anything about how he'd felt yesterday, she'd clearly chosen to politely overlook it. And it didn't change anything about the fact that he'd still do whatever it took to make sure she succeeded in whatever she needed to do.

She's still my mate, even if I can never claim her the way I want to.

Still, it made him ache as they bustled around each other in the kitchen, Margot taking care of the coffee while he washed out the pan and started over again with the scrambled eggs.

It was as if they'd already known each other for years, and knew exactly how to move around each other in the cramped space of the kitchen.

You could have this every day, if you'd only tell her… Levi thought wistfully – but he knew it wasn't true. How could he ask Margot to give up everything she clearly cared so deeply about, for him? A chimera who couldn't even shift?

"The coffee is prepared!" Margot announced with a flourish of a teaspoon. "Do you have it with cream? Or sugar?"

"No, just black is fine," Levi said, glancing up from where the eggs were almost ready. "Take a seat at the counter and I'll be there in a moment."

Thankfully, Levi belatedly realized as he walked to the counter a moment later with the plated eggs – which were no gourmet presentation but they looked edible, at least – Margot had chosen to sit on the living room side of the counter rather than the kitchen side. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his eyes off the sight of her bare legs otherwise.

"So," he said, as he placed the eggs down in front of her, and lifted his coffee. "Do you want to tell me more about this snow flower?"

"I wish I could," Margot said, as she lifted a forkful of eggs to her mouth. "Oh, goodness," she said as she chewed. "This is quite delicious!"

They ate in silence for a few moments. Levi hadn't realized quite how hungry he was, but then, he supposed, he'd dashed off to sleep on the armchair last night after only having had his very late lunch of goulash and Christmas cake yesterday.

"My apologies, I forgot what I was saying for a moment," Margot said as she finished off the last of her eggs. "I meant to say, I wish I could say more about the flos nivis. But so much of the knowledge about it has been completely lost. I only know it grows here on these mountains, and it blooms only during the coldest days of winter."

"Well, seems like you've arrived at the right time for that," Levi said, as he glanced out of the kitchen window to where there was snow piled high on the sill. "It's been record low temperatures all this week. If your flower is going to be blooming, it's definitely doing it now."

"Then we should hurry!" Margot said, a new light entering her eyes. "I'm so glad I was finally able to get something right!"

Levi tapped at his phone, bringing up his weather app. "Well, according to this, the temperature was the coldest it's been all year last night," he said thoughtfully. "So today seems like our best chance."

"Then we should set out at once!" Margot stood up, a determined gleam in her eyes. "I'm sure that together, we'll have no trouble finding the flos nivis. I feel like I could do anything, as long as you're by my side."

Levi wasn't sure he felt quite so confident about it, but he was determined to help Margot. "You did bring some cold weather clothing, didn't you?" he asked, as he too stood up. "It'll be even colder up on the mountain than it is in town. And we should definitely bring some snacks and supplies. It's amazing how much energy walking in snow conditions uses up."

"All taken care of," Margot said, and, reaching down she lifted up the tote bag she'd been carrying yesterday, patting it with a smile.

Levi eyed it dubiously. "It's… all in there, is it?"

"But of course! All stored in the pocket dimension in my bag," Margot laughed. "Oh… but of course, I keep forgetting. I guess in the non-magical world you have to carry everything you need around with you."

"Uh, yeah, that's… usually how we do things around here," Levi said, eyes still on the – completely normal-looking – tote. "My stuff is all in my suitcase in the bedroom. I'll need to go get changed if we're going up into the mountains."

He neglected to mention that it was all still in his suitcase because he hadn't even bothered to unpack it and put it in Aida's free wardrobe space, since he'd been so determined to make this the shortest possible trip: arrive, sort and get rid of the bookshop's stock, put the place up for sale and then leave.

He actually hadn't even cared if whatever real estate agent he appointed to handle the sale got a good price for the place or even if they swindled him blind, since he'd never expected or wanted to have to deal with the sale in the first place. But watching Margot as she wound her way expertly through the piles of books his great aunt had left everywhere, as if she'd been living here for years instead of only a few hours, looking as if she was right at home with the homey, worn furnishings, made an ache start up in his chest that he quickly decided he'd need to ignore.

And it seemed Margot hadn't been lying about her tote bag containing everything she needed, either. Right now, she was reaching inside of it and pulling out an amazing array of winter clothing, from snow jackets to hiking boots to mittens to scarves.

"Do you think this will be enough?" she asked, gesturing to the massive pile of clothes she'd heaped on the sofa.

"Uh, sure. It should be," Levi said – and he was pretty sure she'd pulled out enough to last several days in the snow, let alone what he hoped would only be a few hours. "But I better go get ready myself. We don't want to leave it too late."

"No indeed!" Margot gave him a brilliant, sparkling smile, her green eyes dancing with light, and Levi felt his heart miss a beat. "The early bird catches the slug!" She paused. "Is that the right way of saying it?"

Levi smiled. "Close enough."

"Hmm. I should ask Monty if he wants to come, I suppose," Margot said, glancing over her shoulder and into the living room. "Oh – there he is."

Levi looked past her to where he could see an enormous fluffy black ball asleep on the sofa, in amongst all the books. As he watched, Monty half opened his large yellow eyes, just far enough that Levi could see them glitter with what was a clear signal to leave him where he was.

"Well," Margot laughed. "I suppose that answers that question." She turned to him, eyes shining. "Shall we get ready to go?"

Of course, the hiking trails that Levi thought would have been incredibly beautiful in spring, fall and summer were all closed, with signs up saying that access to them was prohibited. They passed the park ranger's cabin, barely visible beneath its mantle of snow.

Levi felt a twinge of guilt as they snuck past it – he hoped some diligent park ranger wouldn't get in any trouble due to their trespassing, since really this was all on them.

"Are you cold?" Margot asked, her breath misting out from above her several layers of scarves, and glancing up at him. She'd definitely brought more than enough clothes – she now resembled an ambulant snowman more than anything else, so padded up with winter gear she was.

"Oh no, not really," Levi assured her. "I might not be able to shift, but I do have some of my shifter abilities, and a pretty high tolerance for cold is one of them."

Most shifters ran hot, after all, and they healed fast from injuries as well. Levi couldn't do either as well as a chimera who could actually shift, but he still was able to cope with both better than a regular human.

"Only I have a spell that will surround us with a little ball of warm air, if you do happen to start feeling the cold," Margot said. "I promise, I know how to do that one. You will not be set on fire. Not even a little bit."

Levi opened his mouth, then closed it again. He wasn't sure what to say to that – it wasn't that he didn't trust Margot's spell-casting abilities, but…

"I'm fine," he said.

They trudged up the beginning of the trail, still just visible in the snow.

"You don't happen to have a spell that helps you find the flos nivis , do you?" he asked, as the snow became deeper. It was fresh and fluffy, and soon he was sinking in it up to his ankles.

"No, I'm afraid not," Margot said. "But I can tell you a few things about it. The flower itself is white, with a bluish tinge. Sometimes the buds can look pink. And it's an evergreen tree, so it will still have its leaves even at this time of year. Also, unlike a pine or a fir, it doesn't have needles – its leaves are a distinct star-shape. And if it gets old enough, it can grow into quite a mighty tree!"

Levi nodded. He supposed that, at least, gave them something to look out for, and it would be pretty difficult to mistake it for any of the other evergreen trees they were trudging past. Still, given the size of the mountain, it still felt a little like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The snow got deeper the farther they went up the path, and the farther down in his chest Levi's heart sank. He was pretty sure a tree as unusual as the snow flower sounded would be pretty remarkable – so the fact he'd never heard of anything like it before probably meant they weren't going to stumble across it while walking along one of the obviously well-worn hiking trails. He'd looked through a few books Great Aunt Aida had had in the bookshop about local flora, and none of them had mentioned anything that sounded like what Margot had described either.

"I wonder if it may be a little deeper in the forest," Margot wondered aloud, clearly having had the same thought.

"That might be true, but I don't know how I feel straying too far from the path," Levi said, even as his sense of duty to his fated mate rebelled – really, their mate bond dictated he should do whatever Margot requested of him. But it also meant keeping her safe, and traipsing through the forest in the middle of winter didn't seem a great way to do that. "These woods are pretty thick, and you'd be surprised how quickly you can completely lose your way."

"Oh… yes, I understand completely," Margot said, nodding. "I'm always losing track of where I'm headed. It's why I learned how to cast a trail marker spell so quickly, so I wouldn't get lost quite so frequently."

"A trail marker spell?"

Margot nodded. "It's quite simple once you know how. It does exactly what it sounds like – marks your trail for you! So if you take a wrong turn or some such thing, you can easily find your way back."

"Well…" Levi said, frowning. He still wasn't quite sure it was a good idea, but nor were they going to find the snow flower like this either. "If you're really sure it works, could you cast it now, so that if we leave the path we can find our way back to it if the weather turns bad?"

"Oh, yes, of course!" Margot nodded vigorously. "Don't worry – I've used it hundreds of times and it's never been wrong. I'm very experienced. You see –"

Once again, she made the curling motion with her fingers he'd seen her make when she'd been casting the spell on the cakes back at Aida's apartment. A warm, glowing ball of magic grew in her palm before she released it – but this time, instead of the light dying away to nothing after a moment or two, it stayed where it was, like a glowing lantern hovering a few feet above the ground.

"I can see how that would be useful," Levi said, impressed. It was clear that despite her conviction that she was a complete failure, there were many spells that Margot could cast expertly.

He supposed he hadn't tried the cake yet to see if it had remained completely fresh overnight, but she'd certainly seemed to know what she was doing then – and as for the eggs this morning, that hadn't been Margot's magic that had caused that. That had seemed all down to just how very engrossing The Duke of Passion had been.

"It'll stay here until I recall it," Margot explained, as they left the path. After a few steps, she cast another glowing ball of light, and left it hovering in place. "We can follow them back to the trail."

They continued on, the deep snow making their progress slow, but steady. Margot paused to cast balls of light as they went, and sure enough, when Levi glanced behind him, he saw a trail of them marking the way back to the path, and safety.

But it didn't change the fact that looking for the snow flower wasn't getting any easier. No matter how much he looked around him, Levi couldn't see anything that fitted the description Margot had given him.

"It seems like it should stand out amongst all these fir trees, shouldn't it?" Margot asked, a little apprehensively. "It is terribly inconvenient that it only flowers in winter. If it were spring, we wouldn't have to be walking through so much cold snow like this! Or… I suppose, I could have been wrong all along, and this place just isn't the Mountain of Sources after all."

"We'll find it, Margot," Levi said, what he hoped was reassuringly – he really didn't have a lot of practice at being reassuring. But he thought it had worked, judging from the brilliant smile Margot flashed him.

Even though he was a shifter, Levi still found he was feeling the cold. It was already freezing in town, but here on the mountain it was colder still – and seemed to be getting even colder, even though it was mid-morning.

As they walked, they passed a ramshackle old cabin that was obviously left over from when this had been hunting grounds.

Levi only knew a little of Girdwood Springs's history, mainly gleaned from when he'd been flicking through books on the subject before he prepared to toss them into a box marked ‘FREE' and set outside on the curb.

But he did know all of this land had once been privately owned by the Girdwood family, and they'd left it in trust to be used only as parklands, in perpetuity.

In a way, he supposed, it was comforting to know such a beautiful place would be safe forever.

"You said they grow into quite large trees, didn't you?" Levi asked.

"That's right," Margot replied, nodding. "But they get really big only once they get older –"

She cut herself off as a howling wind cut suddenly through the trees, chilling them both to the bone – Levi could feel it even through his snow jacket and sweater, and the natural heat of his shifter body. He could tell Margot was feeling it too, if the way she suddenly huddled down into her very many layers of clothing was anything to go by.

Could it be –?

Levi didn't want to believe it, but grimly, he realized it was true.

A snap storm.

The temperature was plummeting, and Levi could hear the tree trunks groaning as they too were suddenly chilled, their sap hardening within them. And that wasn't all – he could smell snow, fresh snow. A moment later, and large, icy flakes of it began to descend from the sky, faster and in larger amounts than should have seemed possible in such a short amount of time. The wind picked up again, sending the hard snow flurrying against his face, chilling it to the bone.

"Quick!" Levi yelled above the sound of the howling wind. He wrapped an arm protectively around Margot's shoulders, pulling her against him. "Let's get back to the trail!"

But he already knew they wouldn't have time to get back to the trail and then follow it back into town. The storm was already upon them, fast and furious.

The cabin, Levi thought, as he pulled Margot's shivering body even closer against him. Just as she had said, he could still see the trail marking spell glowing even through the snowfall. He hoped he could still find the cabin itself – they'd passed right by it, so the trail marking spell should be able to guide them that way. But he knew that it was easy to miss things even a few feet away from you in such conditions.

Thankfully, however, he was just able to make out the side of the sturdy cabin, illuminated in the glow of the trail marker. Gasping as the cold air closed around them like a fist, he guided Margot to it.

Either the door had never had a lock on it, or it had rusted away over the years since anyone had last used this place, because it opened with only a few quick tugs. Quickly, Levi ushered Margot inside, and then, together, they heaved the door closed again against the wind, the snow spiraling all around them.

Levi let out a sigh of relief once the door was finally closed against the storm, but they still weren't exactly out of their predicament – the storm might have been shut out, but it wasn't any warmer in here than it was outside. He was still shivering, and he could see Margot was too, despite her layers of clothing, her breath misting the air in front of her face.

"You said… you said you had a spell that could envelop us in a ball of warm air?" Levi asked. He hadn't been entirely sold on the idea before, but now, he was willing to take the risk.

Margot nodded, her teeth chattering. "I – I c-c-can c-cast it, if you l-l-like?"

There was no time to even consider the memory of what Margot had told him about her accidentally blowing the roof off the herbology department's greenhouse or setting anyone's beard on fire. They both needed to warm up – now.

"Go for it."

Margot clearly didn't need to be told twice. Magic glowed in her palms, and then Levi felt as if he'd – somehow – walked into a balmy spring day, warm air wafting around him in a way that was extremely pleasant. He found that he was feeling comfortable again in no time..

"I guess I don't need this anymore," he said, as he pulled his winter cap off his head – in fact, wrapped as he was in all this winter gear, he was now starting to sweat a little. He shed his jacket and sweater, hanging them up to drip dry on a hook by the door.

Margot too was rapidly shedding all the layers she'd encased herself in, letting out a woo of relief as she shook the rapidly melting snow out of her long blonde hair.

It was amazing how comfortable he felt here, Levi thought as he wandered around the cabin. It was small, but that didn't matter – Margot's spell had made it warm and cozy.

But, he thought, frowning as he went to the cupboards that lined the walls, it was clearly many, many years since it had seen any use. There were no supplies here – not even incredibly out-of-date canned food, or moldy bread, or anything at all.

No bed or anything either, Levi thought as he glanced around. The whole cabin was completely and utterly bare. And who knew how long it'd take for the heavy snowfall to pass?

"Goodness, what an adventure!"

He turned in time to see Margot gazing around them with large eyes. She didn't seem especially fazed at all – but maybe she just hadn't realized yet that they'd be stuck here for an indeterminate amount of time with no food and nowhere comfortable to sleep, even if, at least, she'd made it warm enough that there was no chance of them freezing to death.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I am quite hungry," Margot announced, as she strolled around the room. "Would you like something to eat?"

Levi shook his head. "I already checked, Margot. We have absolutely nothing to eat here. We might be here for hours, and we ate all our snacks earlier."

Margot turned to him, her eyes wide with surprise. "But of course we do!"

"I looked in the cupboards – they're totally bare," Levi argued, frowning. "And I'm not sure we can gnaw on the wooden walls."

Margot laughed. "Oh – what a silly suggestion. No, we shouldn't need to do that . I have absolutely everything we might need right here!"

She lifted her tote bag from her shoulder. It just looked like an ordinary tote as far as Levi could tell. How could it have everything they needed inside it?

But then, the memory of what she'd told him before they'd left came rushing back. Something about her not needing to carry luggage because she had a – a pocket dimension? – that she carried around inside her bag with her.

Still, how much could it possibly contain? Levi thought, as he eyed the bag dubiously.

"But before food, let's get some light in here," Margot muttered, as she rummaged around in her bag. "I don't know about you, but I just can't eat in this gloomy light."

Levi realized that Margot had absolutely not been joking when she'd said that they had everything they needed in her magic bag.

She pulled out an entire array of candles, big and small, and arranged them around the cabin, before lighting them all with a quick flick of her finger. Immediately, the once-gloomy cabin was bathed in flickering golden light that slid through Margot's hair, turning it to spun gold, and illuminated the flush of her cheeks in the warm air.

Levi swallowed. He'd already known how attracted he was to Margot. But now, as she busied herself laying out a soft rug that she had also – somehow – pulled from the depths of her tote, he was finding her almost irresistible.

But I can't, he thought desperately, even as he felt heat gathering within him. How can I tell her she's my mate, when I couldn't even help her do this one thing that she needs from me?

Despite everything, they hadn't found the snow flower before the storm had closed over them. And by the time it passed by, the snow would be even thicker on the ground than it was already. The conditions would make it almost impossible to travel anywhere across the mountain on foot.

And I can't shift, he thought miserably. If only I could, all of this would be so easy.

Within him, he felt his chimera give a quick twitch of its tail.

It would be, wouldn't it? it said with a lazy yawn.

Levi felt a sudden fury rise up within him. It was his chimera's fault he couldn't be the mate Margot needed.

If it would reveal itself, then none of this would be happening. He could fly them across the mountainside in the blink of an eye, alighting here and there to search, before soaring off again to inspect another location.

Instead, here he was, relying on Margot herself to – uh –

Pull an entire picnic basket out of her tote bag?!

It wasn't that he minded relying on Margot – that was what the mate bond was, after all. They were supposed to help each other, be there for each other. It was more that he hadn't been able to offer Margot literally anything.

"There," Margot said, with an air of satisfaction as she opened her picnic hamper to reveal a full set of plates and cutlery strapped into the lid, and, inside the basket itself, what looked to be an incredibly hearty meal, which quickly revealed itself to be roasted chicken drumsticks, potato salad, corn on the cob, and green beans.

As he watched, Levi felt his stomach rumble – he really hadn't realized just how hungry he was.

"Wow. This all looks absolutely incredible," Levi said, as he came and sat down with Margot on the fluffy rug she'd laid out, surrounded by the flickering light of the candles.

"Oh – I didn't cook it, I'm afraid," Margot said, biting her lip. "It was cooked by my cousin – she's a real expert. And she's friends with a unicorn shifter, who gives her all her produce."

"Well, that pretty much guarantees it'll be delicious," Levi said, as he reached for a plate and began serving up Margot a generous helping of potato salad. But that must have meant that Margot knew about unicorns and the power they had to give any plant life, and, more than that, to make them lusher and greener than any human hand could, and to grow fruits and vegetables more delicious than any others. "Did you notice, then, that the ingredients of the Christmas cakes we ate were grown by a unicorn?"

"Oh!" Margot said, her eyes widening. "I thought I recognized that taste. Well, well, well. I can't tell when someone's a shifter, of course, but you must have known that that nice Sylvie was a unicorn right away."

"Not her," Levi said, as he began piling his own plate high, as Margot tore into her chicken drumstick with gusto. "Perhaps it's her supplier. She may not even know."

"Or," Margot said, once she'd swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "her mate is a unicorn shifter."

Levi froze, a forkful of potato salad halfway to his mouth.

"You – you know about mate bonds?" he asked, after he'd managed to unfreeze himself.

"Oh… not very much, of course," Margot said. "Only that they exist, really. Well, of course you would know how cagey shifters can get about things like that!"

Levi nodded slowly, as he finally remembered to eat his potato salad. Margot was right – the recipe itself was delicious, rich and creamy, but these were definitely potatoes that had been tended by a unicorn.

He supposed that did answer his question about whether Margot knew about mate bonds – but she didn't seem any the wiser as to their own connection.

That, at least, should make it easier to give her up, Levi thought as he chewed on a – again, delicious, the skin crispy and spicy – chicken drumstick. He knew now at least that he wouldn't be condemning Margot to a life of feeling incomplete, like half of her soul was missing. She'd probably just think of him – hopefully fondly – every now and then, as someone who'd tried to help her when she was in a pinch.

"Oh, but that reminds me!" Margot cried suddenly, as she set her now empty plate aside – she'd polished off her food in record time. "I brought cake!"

Sure enough, when she reached into her tote, the next thing she pulled out was the box of cake Sylvie had given her at the market stall. And sure enough, the cakes looked just as delicious as they had then. Margot's spell had clearly kept them completely fresh.

"Which one do you want to try first?" Margot asked, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

"Well, I have to admit, I don't have much of a sweet tooth. This angel cake, with the vanilla cake and whipped cream would be my first choice," Levi said.

"As for me, I'm going to try the cherry pie," Margot said, reaching into the box and pulling out the sliver of pie, with its sugared lattice and glistening, dark red cherries. "And here's your angel cake."

The angel cake tasted just as good as it looked, the cake moist but light, the whipped cream frothy with just a hint of sugar, and something that Levi identified after a moment as lemon rind and violets.

Even knowing the ingredients had come from a unicorn, the cake was unbelievably delicious – Sylvie was clearly a genius baker, with or without any help.

"That is incredible," Levi murmured, as he licked a scrap of cream from his thumb. "You have to try a bite, Margot."

But Margot was clearly in raptures about her cherry pie. Her eyes were closed, her mouth chewing slowly, her lower lip glistening with just a hint of cherry syrup. Her cherry pie was obviously just as delicious as his angel cake.

And, looking at her now, it was taking every ounce of Levi's self-control not to lean in and kiss her, right on her perfect mouth.

"Oh… wow," Margot said, when she finally opened her eyes again. "That was heaven. Here – let me get you a little bit!"

So saying, Margot sliced off a little bit of her pie with her fork, and then, to Levi's horror leaned over, as if she intended to feed it to him.

She was way too close, and Levi knew if she came any closer, he'd lose his composure and do something he knew would only cause both of them pain.

But as Margot leaned in, her warm, cherry-scented breath brushing over his face, Levi found he couldn't tell her to stop – nor could he stop himself, either, from raising his hand and cupping his palm to her flushed cheek as she drew nearer.

Margot blinked, stopping, the fork still hovering in front of his lips.

"Levi?" she asked, her voice a little breathless, her eyes wide.

As quickly as Levi had raised his hand, he dropped it again, grimacing.

"I'm sorry, Margot," he said, shaking his head as he pulled away. "I shouldn't have done that –"

"But why not?" Margot burst out, interrupting him. "I've been wanting you to do that since – since –" She blinked, a little frown of her own crossing her lips. "Well, I actually don't remember. But almost as soon as I met you, I'm sure. I thought you were going to – to kiss me last night, but then…"

She trailed off, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She put the fork with its morsel of cherry pie aside, and then buried her face in her hands.

"Oh boy, I really have embarrassed myself now, haven't I?" she moaned. "I'm so sorry – I completely misread things, I guess. Can you please just forget I said that, so we can go back to enjoying our cake?"

Levi stared at her. She'd been wanting me to kiss her?

Perhaps that wasn't so surprising – the mate bond did work that way. Perhaps Margot didn't know what it was, but she could still feel its effects.

Still, seeing how mortified she was, Levi couldn't help himself from reaching out and drawing her hands away from her face, holding them between his own.

"Margot, believe me, I wish I could kiss you," he said, his voice husky.

"Then… why don't you?" Margot asked in a small voice. "I promise, I'd really like that very much!"

Levi swallowed. He could feel the truth pressing up against his lips, and he realized he couldn't do anything but tell it.

"Because… because you're my mate, Margot. We share that bond, just like you've heard about."

Margot stared at him, her green eyes wide. "We're mates?

Levi nodded. "Yes. But Margot… I'm not someone it's good to share a mate bond with."

Shaking her head, Margot only kept staring at him. "I don't understand. Why not?"

"For the reason I told you earlier," Levi said, pain creeping up his throat. "I can't shift, Margot. I can't do any of the things a shifter should be able to do for his mate. It happens sometimes in chimera shifters – you said yourself how much they love to keep themselves to themselves, and how reclusive and mercurial they can be. Mine just won't show itself, no matter how hard I try to coax it to the surface. I don't think I'll ever be able to. And a shifter who can't shift is…" He trailed off, shaking his head. He couldn't quite bring himself to finish the sentence.

"What?" Margot's eyes were suddenly blazing. "Only the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I've ever met?" she asked, as she pulled her hands free of his grip and raised them to his face. "The person who went completely out of his way to help me find the flos nivis , even though he only just met me and had never heard of it until just then? Who took me to see the Christmas marvels, even though he wasn't a wizard-errant at all? Who gave me somewhere to stay when I didn't have anywhere? And who – for some reason – can see Monty, when no one else here can?"

"Margot…" Levi said, his heart in anguish.

"Do you think I care about whether or not you can shift?" she asked, without taking the slightest bit of notice of him interrupting her. "When I can see who you are in your heart?"

Levi closed his eyes, wanting to block out her beautiful, sincere expression.

But it was no good. He knew he couldn't resist her any longer.

In the next moment, he'd swept her up in his arms, pressing their lips together – and after a moment, he felt Margot's arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him even closer still.

"Margot," he murmured when he could finally bring himself to pull away, taking a moment to appreciate her flushed, breathless state, her disarrayed hair, before he pulled her in again for another heated kiss.