Chapter 11

“Ithink that went well,” Luna said, as Henry pulled up outside the BB.

Between the two of them, they’d decided it’d probably be better if Henry was the one to drive them home. Even though Caleb – What a very nice dragon he was, nothing like I thought a dragon would be! – had told her that her curse probably wasn’t life-threatening, just inconvenient, Luna had decided she’d probably prefer it if the car didn’t inconveniently happen to suffer a brake failure and careen into a ditch.

And anyway, even if I do trust Caleb’s assessment of the situation, I don’t trust the person who’s behind this not to start escalating things, she thought grimly as she got out of the car. I have no idea who he is or what his goal is.

Unfortunately, Caleb’s dragon luck hadn’t seemed to work so well on her curse – when he’d used Google to try to look, they hadn’t gotten back any helpful results whatsoever.

Anyway, perhaps it’s best to focus on one problem at a time.

They’d get Henry’s curse sorted out first. Then they could deal with hers. Somehow. Even if it meant just texting the guy back with HEY! KNOCK IT OFF, CREEP!

Which, Luna realized, was something she probably ought not do, in case it caused him to get even more pissed than he apparently already was.

It would be kind of satisfying though, Luna thought wistfully, as she walked toward the BB with Henry at her side.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he said as they mounted the steps to the front door. “You mentioned you thought things had gone well, but you’re looking kind of… pensive, I guess.”

Luna gave him a thin, tight smile. “I guess I am a bit. I’m worried about tomorrow. I mean, if things don’t go well, it’ll be all my fault, right? It was my idea, after all.”

“Well, we’ll deal with that if it happens,” Henry told her, his voice reassuring. “But it won’t be your fault, either way. Who curses someone?” He laughed. “Especially someone they’ve never met.”

“We don’t know you never met her yet,” Luna pointed out as she opened the front door. “She’s doing identity theft – or at least photo theft – on her website, so we don’t actually know who this Madame Fortuna is or what she looks like.”

“That’s a good point, I suppose,” Henry mused. “But still, whoever she is, whatever happens, it’s on her. Or it could be a him, I guess. We won’t know until we actually see whoever it is.”

“Assuming they even show up.” Luna sighed. She’d liked her idea to begin with, but now she was filled with a sense of foreboding. What if it all turned into a disaster?

Like Henry said, we’ll deal with that when it happens,she told herself firmly. Right now, it’s late. We can’t do anything about anything until tomorrow.

She shifted the lazily sleeping Fillmore in her arms, tucking him up like a football as she opened the door to her own room. He didn’t stir at all when she put him down in the basket in the sitting room, lined with a blanket of his she’d brought from home.

She and Henry looked down at him fondly for a moment, his little pink tongue lolling from the side of his crooked mouth, his bulging eyes firmly closed.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but after the day I’ve had, I could follow Fillmore’s example pretty happily,” Henry said, glancing at her. He cleared his throat, and suddenly, Luna was very aware of how close he was standing to her – and how alone they were. And how few steps it was to the bedroom.

“Since you don’t really need me to protect you from the curse – and I can’t do that anyway – I guess it’d be better for me to sleep outside in hellhound form,” Henry said after a moment. “Since the animals won’t come after me that way.”

Luna stared at him, wondering if perhaps he was making some funny little joke.

Is he… is he serious? Is he actually offering to go sleep outside? Didn’t we kiss at the bakery?! Doesn’t he know what he’s doing to me??!!

Luna couldn’t tell right now if Henry was feeling the same way, but ever since they’d gotten into the car to drive back here, she’d been crackling with tension.

It was as if all the revelations of the past couple of days had finally settled down in her mind – Henry was a hellhound, and he was her mate, and that meant they were made for each other, and also he was hot as hell.

Luna didn’t usually like to take things this fast in her personal relationships – she had a job that involved a lot of travel after all, and that made getting serious kind of difficult. And she wasn’t really into sleeping with people she hadn’t yet made some kind of commitment to – it just wasn’t really her style.

But we’re soulmates,she thought, gazing desperately up into his eyes. Isn’t that the most… uh, commitment-y commitment there is?!

Luna cringed internally a little. Wasn’t she supposed to be a writer? Couldn’t she come up with something a little better than that?!

But it did no good. Whenever she gazed at Henry, it was like all coherent thoughts fled her mind.

“Uh.” She licked her lips, still unable to tear her gaze from his. “Well, I mean, you could do that,” she said haltingly. “Or. Or you could. Stay here. With me. In my room.”

Henry blinked, his surprise written clearly across his face. “Stay with you?”

Suddenly, Luna had the awful feeling she’d said something wrong. Maybe this was totally taboo in shifter society? Maybe there was some kind of… protocol around mate bonds that she’d just unwittingly stumbled across?

“Oh – I mean, of course, you don’t have to!” she said quickly. “It was just a suggestion!”

Oh my God,she thought to herself, smothering the urge to say it out loud. She felt like she’d already spent enough of her time around Henry muttering self-deprecations under her breath every time she said something stupid in front of him.

“No, no, of course I want to,” Henry said, a low growl edging into his voice – which immediately sent a warm shiver coursing down Luna’s spine. “I just… wanted to be sure that you know what this means. We’re already mates, of course, but doing this… it’ll mean we’ve truly sealed our bond. And I have to be sure you want that before I do anything else.”

Luna blinked at him. She thought she’d made herself perfectly clear when she’d leaned across the table at the bakery and kissed him – but perhaps Henry was just the old-fashioned type. Or maybe he really did just need to be told twice.

Before she could second-guess herself, Luna reached up, pressing her palm against his cheek. Henry gasped as their skin made contact, and Luna knew why. She felt it too, after all: the sizzle of electricity between them where they touched, like a tiny spark of lightning jumping between them.

Is this what it means to be mates, then? Luna thought. Those flying sparks?

She didn’t get much longer to ponder the question, though, because in the next moment, Henry’s arms were wrapped around her, as he lifted her up with no effort whatsoever and crushed their mouths together.

The sound of her own racing heart filled Luna’s ears as she kissed him back, opening her lips and letting his tongue sweep inside her mouth, hot and insistent.

Luna didn’t think she’d ever been kissed like this before – she hadn’t even known kissing could be like this.

Oh, wow,she thought, as, unable to stop herself, she groaned into Henry’s mouth, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and pulling him, somehow, even closer. She didn’t want for there to be anything between them – she wanted him to know that she accepted him just the way he was, hellhound or not, cursed or not.

When she could at last bring herself to pull back a little, Luna felt light-headed, her breath coming in quick, short gasps. Warm desire welled up within her like floodwaters, washing everything else away.

“That was – that was –”

“Amazing,” he finished for her, staring down at her with eyes that were smoldering with desire.

Desire for her, Luna thought dizzily. She never thought of herself as someone who could elicit such a response in someone else – usually she thought she was kind of goofy; funny, maybe, but not very sexy. But the way Henry was looking at her now made her believe she’d transformed into the goddess Aphrodite right here in the middle of her BB room.

Hey, I’ll take it,Luna thought as, unable to help herself, she stood on the tips of her toes to lean up to kiss him again – a long, searing kiss that only fanned the flames of her desire for him into a wildfire, raging up through her chest.

“Does that answer your question about whether I’m sure I want to do this,” she asked breathlessly once she managed to pull away once again, running the tips of her fingers over the back of his neck and winding them through the hair that lay against the back of his collar.

“Uh, yeah, I think it does,” Henry said, sounding just as breathless as she did.

He looked stunning too – his lips swollen from their kisses, his eyes hooded, his cheeks faintly colored. She’d never seen anything more gorgeous in her life.

“Come on,” she gasped, as a wave of undeniable lust coursed through her, sending a shiver straight through her, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. “I think we need to take this to the bedroom.”

Ordinarily, she might have blushed to say something so… so… forward, but right now, Luna simply couldn’t bring herself to care. All she wanted was to feel his skin against hers, to know that they were truly bonded – just the way Henry had said they would be.

I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life, Luna thought, as they made their stumbling way across the room to the bedroom door, unable to stop kissing for even the short moment it took to make the journey. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.

It was true – now that they’d met, Luna knew that this was always what she’d been waiting for: this perfect moment, this perfect man.

And Henry definitely is that,Luna thought, as she kicked the bedroom door closed behind them. My perfect man. And maybe I can be his perfect woman.

But then, as Henry lifted her up in his arms to bear her away to the bed, Luna found she didn’t really have much use for thinking anymore.

A huge yawn split Luna’s mouth wide open as she sat under the sunshine at a table a few yards away from the main hub of the festival, her hands wrapped around a piping hot, fresh cup of coffee.

“Tired?” Henry asked from across the table, where he sat with his own cup of coffee.

“Well, if I am, whose fault is that?” Luna snapped at him, playfully rolling her eyes.

“Hey, don’t blame me, you were the one who wanted that last time,” Henry said, a wicked grin spreading across his face, a twinkle in his eyes.

Luna felt a blush rising up her cheeks at the memory of the night before and she cleared her throat, trying not to let it show how flustered she was – without, she had to admit, very much success.

“This isn’t the place!” she all but yelped – but that only made Henry’s grin grow even wider. “Hey, stop looking so smug.”

“I’m sorry,” Henry said, not sounding very sorry at all. “I just can’t help it. You’re so cute when you blush.”

And that only made Luna blush even harder – but despite the embarrassment, she had to admit to being absolutely elated as well.

Last night had been like nothing she’d ever dreamed could be real. Of course, she’d enjoyed it – that went completely without saying! – but more than that, she had discovered just exactly what Henry had meant when he’d told her their bond would be sealed. She felt closer and more connected to him than she ever could have imagined possible – and she’d also noticed the change in him, too.

He was smiling more. Laughing. She hadn’t really had anything to compare it to before, but now she noticed that his shoulders seemed more relaxed – his everything seemed more relaxed. He radiated a special something that she hadn’t noticed before.

Could this all just be because of our bond? she wondered, as she sipped her coffee, watching him over the rim of her cup. But then, she supposed it must be. And if Henry had grown up hearing stories of finding his one true mate, then she guessed it made sense that it must be pretty amazing to have finally found them.

Not to toot my own horn or anything.

Whatever the cause, she was just glad to see him looking so happy. The only thing that she thought could possibly improve things was lifting their respective curses.

Speaking of…

She glanced over her shoulder, trying to look casual about it, but fully aware that it was probably the most obvious thing in the world. Covert ops, it turned out, was not really her strong suit… but, to be fair, she’d never done this before!

She spotted Natasha and Kieran in the middle distance, setting up a marquee, while Kira lifted some boxes out of a van. She knew that the others were also spread out strategically around the place – Sylvie had even gotten some of the other staff to cover her shift and not gone to work today, which, apparently, was a kind of minor miracle – and they were all keeping an eye out for the mysterious Madame Fortuna.

Which was good, because Luna had to admit that she was a little worried. Sure, the curse she’d apparently put on Henry was harmless – even the bears seemed to want to cuddle him more than eat him – but who knew what other kinds of powers she had?

“Do you really think this will work?” Luna asked suddenly, surprising herself with the question.

Henry smiled, and she instantly felt safe. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

“I do,” he said. “I’ve gotten myself out of way worse situations on my own – even though I don’t want to underestimate our opponent, I’d like to think that the eight of us could defeat one witch, especially in a public area where they wouldn’t want to show off their magic.” His smile widened. “If anything, we almost have too many people for my liking – hellhounds tend to work alone or with other hellhounds, so having this much backup is weird.”

Luna laughed, feeling lighter. “Well, I’ll try not to worry. And I’ll make sure not to eat any poison apples she might offer me!”

She did feel better, though. Henry was right: it was likely that four shifters and four shifters’ mates could safely handle one curse-slinging fortune-teller.

Especially since we have our own lucky charm…

She peered over toward Eula’s stall, where Caleb was dutifully serving up hot dogs to customers. He didn’t appear to be a natural at it, and she had no idea how he’d managed to convince Eula to let him work there, but the only thing Luna cared about was his good luck powers. If the witch did try something, hopefully she would slip on a banana peel before she could finish the job!

Still, Luna was glad that they had decided to leave Fillmore back at the BB, just in case. She didn’t want him to face even the slightest risk. Fillmore had not been happy about it, even when she promised to bring him a treat afterwards… although whether it was her or Henry he would be missing more, she couldn’t tell.

Henry himself was now leaning back slightly in his chair while he munched on a chocolate-dipped banana, seemingly at his ease, though she could see the way his eyes scanned the crowd. She definitely felt safe with a former security guard who could turn into a giant hellhound and who also happened to be her fated mate watching over her.

He was also a good citizen – she smiled helplessly as he hopped up and tossed the banana stick into the trash, while throwing their coffee cups in the recycling.

He cleans up after himself, he sorts his recycling, he looks even better with another day’s growth of stubble, if that’s possible… what more could a girl want?!

“Anything?” she asked as he sat back down, though she knew what the answer would be.

He shook his head. “Nothing. But we booked her for midday, so she might not be here for a while anyway.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally chatting, but mostly just enjoying each other’s company and the festival’s ambience. The day was chill and the ground dotted with puddles, but the weak sunlight took the edge off and warmed her cheeks. Luna closed her eyes so that she could better enjoy the sensation.

She reminded herself that she would have to write her article at some point – and she would, she really would – but this was far more exciting! When would she get another chance to confront a witch and break a curse?

“She’s here,” Henry murmured, and Luna opened her eyes to see a purple van pulling up in a side street. A quick glance around indicated that the others had noticed her as well.

Her stomach did a flip-flop.

Okay. Now or never, I guess.

She stood up, legs trembling slightly, but Henry’s calm, solid presence at her side gave her strength, and she felt her nerves easing.

As far as she knows, you’re just here to talk to her and make sure she has everything she needs to do her job. There’s nothing to worry about.

As they made their way toward the purple van, Luna could see that Madame Fortuna was busy setting up a tiny tent that was barely large enough for two people to sit inside. She was facing away from the two of them, and her head was covered with a shawl; suddenly, Luna realized that she had no idea what to expect.

I’m assuming that she won’t look like me. Or at least, I really, really hope she doesn’t look like me!

Swallowing hard, she came up behind the woman and cleared her throat.

“Uh… Madame Fortuna? We’re the people who made the booking. We just wanted to, ah, check whether you needed anything?”

Madame Fortuna turned – and really, it was kind of an anticlimax. She didn’t look like Luna, but nor did she look like an evil fiend. She just looked like a nondescript, slightly harried woman in her twenties.

Her expression, though…

Her mouth widened. Her eyes narrowed. With a trembling finger, she pointed.

“You!!”

But she wasn’t pointing at Luna.

She was pointing at Henry.