Chapter 4

Thank goodness Constantine sent detailed directions. He told me some of the small mountain towns don't show up on the satellite map and he was right. There were no results when I typed "Fate's Falls" into my rental car's GPS. Literally none.

I love Rosetta like a sister and a best friend, but Constantine's number is the only useful information she's given me for this trip. Her text replies have fallen into three categories: brief, evasive, and emoji. Not a big deal if I were back home, going about my normal, predictable life. But I'm here, thousands of kilometers from my safe little studio apartment on the third floor. I'm driving up an actual mountain, on a narrow road bordered by trees as tall as my apartment building. Maybe taller.

If I took a wrong turn or had some sort of freak automotive failure, I'd be screwed. There hasn't been a single town since I began my ascent. But there have been plenty of wildlife warning signs. Deer. Moose. Bears. No thank you to those and all others. I'm not a fan of big furry things.

So, yes, I'm a bit peeved with my cousin for leaving me hanging. For potentially putting my life in danger. Even so, I'm still relieved she's going to be there with Constantine when I arrive.

I haven't stopped thinking about my phone calls with him. It's likely I've built our connection up in my head, made more of it than it actually is. Rationally, I blame my recent lack of dating. Of course, I'd respond to a friendly, helpful, deep-voiced man. I'm only human.

Still, we spent hours on the phone the past couple of days. He called multiple times. We texted too. They weren't just casual conversations between two people whose best friends are getting married. Honestly, we barely even talked about Ro and Dak. We talked about my art, his businesses, our likes and dislikes for lots of day-to-day stuff. Lots of getting to know each other. Yet, even from the first call, it felt as if I already know him.

The way we connected so naturally… that's how I've always expected a real relationship to feel. The long-term, there's no doubt it's going to last forever, kind.

I definitely need to leave my apartment more. Interact with people, face-to-face. Put myself out there, in the dating trenches, until I find somebody I'm comfortable with. Someone who'll be easy to talk to and give me tingly feelings. Somebody like Constantine.

Sighing, I glance at my phone where it's sitting in the dashboard mount I brought along. According to the route I manually programmed into the map app, the Fate's Falls' outpost should be directly ahead.

"Continue on this road for five-hundred meters, then your destination is on the right." By the time the artificial voice has finished her instructions, there's a single-story building within view.

I assumed it'd be small gatehouse at the edge of town. I assumed wrong. The closer I get, the larger I realize it is. The front portion of the building looks like a log cabin—like an old-time outpost—but the rear section is sided with metal and there are two large bay doors, the kind you'd see on a warehouse. This isn't just a security guard's station for a gated community.

Maybe I'm in the wrong place. Seems unlikely, given the specific directions I received, but out here in the middle of nowhere, it kind of feels like anything is possible.

Heart racing, I pull into the parking lot, the gravel crunching under my tires as I park across from the only other vehicle in the lot—a large, dark, four-door pickup truck. With its tinted windows and the sunlight shining in my eyes, I can't make out the passengers in the front seat of the cab. I hold my foot on the brake pedal and keep the engine running.

My pulse kicks even higher as the truck's passenger door opens. Then everything in the world is right because my cousin is running across the parking lot, waving her arms, calling my name. I put the car in park and turn off the engine, hopping out as she reaches the driver's door of my rental.

"You're here!" Squealing, she pulls me into a hug before I can even close the car door, bouncing me around in a semi-circle before releasing me and standing back, still holding my hands. "I didn't realize how much I missed you, but holy shit, I've missed you!"

"You've been too busy being in love to miss me, which I'm very happy about, and I'm sure your parents will be, eventually, too."

The twist of her previously smiling lips tells me I should've left her parents out of this reunion moment.

"Sorry. Forget I mentioned them. The next couple of weeks are all about you," I say, checking her over, head to toe, then back again. "Mountain air, love, and constant boinking agree with you, Ro. You're practically glowing."

A laugh lighter than the brilliant sunshine overhead floats from her fresh smile. "I have literally never been happier. And every day when I wake up, I'm even happier than the day before. I didn't know life could be like this."

I should be overjoyed for her, not overflowing with jealousy. Green is not a good color for me. I'll get over it. A deep-voiced distraction would help, though. "Is Constantine just going to wait in the truck?" I ask, attempting to twist around to face the vehicle that's now behind me. "I know you're going to think this sounds silly, but we've talked a lot the past few days, and I'm excited to meet him in person."

Rather than let me shift position, Ro blocks me. "It's not silly at all, and I know he's super excited about meeting you, too, but there's something I need to tell you before he comes over."

"What is it? God, Ro, you should see your face. It must be horrible. Is he—" No. I refuse to say any of the superficial words aloud. "Is his great personality compensating for something beyond his control? It has to be something external if you think you have to prepare me for it. You wouldn't have me staying at his house if he's a monster."

Ro makes a strangled sound, her fair complexion burning bright red. "Boy, do you know how to pick the words." Shaking her head, she retrieves her phone from her jeans' pocket, swipes and taps a few times, then takes a deep breath. "First, I'll show you a picture of my fiancé."

"Seriously? You're going to dangle that mysterious comment, then leave me hanging while you show me a picture of your fiancé?" This is getting weirder by the minute. I already know Dak's not a garden-variety white guy, otherwise her parents wouldn't have taken issue with his skin color.

Constantine must be the same nationality as her fiancé. Though, why she thinks she needs to ease me into it is beyond me. There's not a racist bone in my body. She knows that. Probably better than anyone.

I can't help cracking a smile when she hands me the phone, displaying what's obviously a Halloween party picture. "He's really tall and built like a brick shithouse—definitely your type. It's great that you found someone with a fun-loving personality to match yours. But why aren't you in costume, too?"

"I'm not in costume because he's not in costume." Her expression is stone-cold serious when I look up from the image. "He's an orc. For real."

"Very funny, Ro."

"Scroll backward and forward. You'll see."

There's no way she's serious. She's setting me up for something.

"Nice try. No matter how much you rave about it, I do not want to see a picture of his dick. I'm happy to accept your word for it being enormous."

"You have to see it to truly believe it, but you're just going to have to take my word for it because there are no pictures of Dak's dick." She makes a swiping motion with her finger. "Scroll."

"I just flew across the country, then drove up a damn mountain. I'm exhausted. Too drained to joke around. Can we please just go into town so I can clean up and relax? We can play your ‘I'm marrying a big green monster' game later."

"Just scroll," she says, sighing. "Please."

"Fine." Since I'm already expecting more of the man-in-costume pics, it doesn't surprise me when that's what I see. Except, there are a lot. Like, a lot.

Based on the backgrounds and Ro's various outfits, the pictures span multiple seasons. Her clothes range from her shop coveralls to jeans and sweaters, a puffy parka, shorts and tiny tanks, and plaid pajamas. There's even one where they're both wearing dressier clothes—Ro in a body-hugging purple dress and him in black slacks and a dress shirt. Dozens of photos, and in all of them, he's green. Literally green. Head, hands, arms…green. Then there's his flat, inhuman nose and distinctly pointy ears. Eyes so dark they appear completely black.

"I don't understand," I say, meeting her eyes. "This isn't a joke? How can it be anything other than a joke?"

"The world we live in is home to many species of sentient beings. Some of them can pass as human and choose to live in the mainstream. Those that look different have to live in secret, sometimes in towns like Fate's Falls, where they're protected from outside threats."

"This is insane, Ro. Either you're playing the biggest joke of all time on me, or you've wandered past the edge of sanity, and I need to get you off this mountain and into therapy."

"I'm perfectly sane, I promise. And not joking. Not lying." She takes the phone from my trembling hand and stuffs in her pocket, then pulls me into a hug. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought you out here. I could've told you I'd gotten married after the fact. I could've kept everything from you for the rest of your life. If you want to turn around and go back home, I'll understand."

I ease back from her embrace so I can look at her. Inspect her. Ro has never had a good poker face, mostly because she doesn't bother lying. She's as transparent as they come. Transparent. I gasp, covering my mouth. "Are invisible people real?"

"Um…maybe? There are none in Fate's Falls, but it's not like we have one of every flavor on the monster menu."

"You call them monsters? That doesn't sound politically correct. Kind of seems like it'd be a derogatory slur."

"Are you saying you believe me?" she asks, ignoring my question about whether it's politically correct to call non-human species monsters. Her delusions are rubbing off on me.

Now I'm the one who needs therapy. "I don't know what I believe."

"That's okay. This is a lot to take in." Clasping both my hands, she nods. Gives me a gentle smile. "Do you want to see for yourself? In person. Not pictures on my phone."

"See what? The monsters?" The laugh that bursts from me sounds like a crazed cackle. "Who should we see first? Bigfoot? A werewolf? Your orc fiancé?"

"How about a Minotaur?"

My snickering lips snap shut. Eyes wide, my blood flowing hot and cold at the same time, I turn toward the deep voice coming from behind me. "You," I whisper. That's all I can get out while standing face-to-face with a hulking creature who definitely isn't human. But his voice… "Constantine?"

"Yes, Natalie, it's me."

It really is him. But how is it possible? Everything inside me says yes, that's the man from the call. The man I've been thinking about nearly every waking minute for the past two days. The urge to go straight into his arms is overwhelming, as if that's where I belong. Him being a hulking monster with horns and hooves doesn't even bother me. Why doesn't it bother me?

"I think she's going into shock," Ro says, wrapping her arm around my waist firmly. "We should head over to your place so she can lie down."

"Good idea." His amber eyes stay locked with mine. At the end of his wide, flat nose that leans toward being a bull-like snout, his black nostrils flare.

Is he…scenting me? Does he like the way I smell? God, I probably reek after a day full of traveling. Maybe Minotaurs don't find sweat distasteful the way humans do? I have so many questions, the main one being why I'm struggling to stay away from him when all I want is to be wrapped up in his massive arms.

"Come on, Nat. I'll drive your rental car. Constantine will meet us there. Then we can talk about everything while you're comfortable and safe."

My legs could be steadier and my pulse is still hammering, but I'm not on the verge of fainting. I wriggle free of my cousin's hold and take two tentative steps toward Constantine. "You're really not a man?"

"Not a human man, no."

"But a man," I say, rather than ask. Because there's no question that he's manly.

Taller than any human male I've been around. The blue button-up shirt he's wearing looks stretched to its absolute limits across shoulders broader than a football player in pads. His jaw is wide and strong, and his brown skin definitely looks like short, velvety fur. Except on his hands, which are huge. As in, he could crush me with one of them, probably without batting his big, dark eyes. Or, he could do much better things with those big hands. With those long, thick fingers.

A wave of heat washes through me. I very much need to get a grip. "I've been on the go for over ten hours, and I feel grimy from traveling. I could really use a cold drink, a comfortable chair, and a hot shower, in no particular order."

Ro steps to my side, her blue eyes opening wide. "You're okay with…everything? With Constantine being a Minotaur and me marrying an orc? You just flipped a switch and went from borderline hysteria to cool as a cucumber?"

"I definitely don't feel cool." I'm looking at Constantine when I say it. Flirting with him, whether he can read between the lines or not. Maybe I am still a little hysterical. "But yes, I'm okay," I say, turning my attention to my cousin. "You're healthy and happy. I'm sure I'll probably freak out a little—or maybe a lot—when I'm surrounded by all the different types of non-humans, but at the end of the day, they're still people, right? As long as they're not dangerous, their appearance shouldn't matter."

"Out here," Constantine gestures around us, "there are no guarantees of safety. All creatures are potentially dangerous, monster and human alike. But inside the boundaries of Fate's Falls and other places like it, violence and intentional harm are impossible. The land is protected by very old magic, and only those who are pure of heart and have reason to be there can enter. Everyone within the boundary is safe."

"Monsters and magic and secret towns only selected people can enter…" I push down the burgeoning hyena-like laugh bubbling inside me. "None of this is possible. I'm having the wildest dream of my life."

"You're not dreaming." Ro's hand against mine is warm, solid. "This is all very real, and I'm so happy you're here."

"As am I," Constantine says, his wide, black lips curving upward as he holds my gaze.

Definitely the wildest dream ever. I hope I don't wake up too soon.