Chapter 64

Sixty-Four

WESLEY

I wandered the woods with a golden dragon flying overhead. As I was in my Stag form in the dream, I knew it was a dream, and couldn’t call to him, but followed at a run from below, chasing, and begging him to come down. When he vanished into the distant tree tops, I wandered that way, slowing my pace as the dark rose up around me.

The shadows never touched me, though from time to time, the normal trees would morph into things with faces. A clear path of glowing mushrooms and spider webs glistening in the light trickling through the trees guided me through the darker sections. I expected to find the wolf pacing as he often did, or the glowing, but sleepy, eyes of something lingering at the mouth of a cave. This time it was a golden dragon, curled up nose to tail. The creature almost as big as a hillside, it snoozed, opening an amber colored eye to gaze my way.

I hesitated, fearing my Stag form would trigger a chase. Many times I’d chased the golden dragon, but never found him, until now. We both waited in breathless stillness, until he huffed and closed his eye and nestled his snout within the nest of his tail. Time ticked away slowly, feeling like days until I crept forward, fearing he’d snap, change, or even fly away. But I needed to sit with him. I missed him so much.

I tiptoed forward, finding a soft spot of grass near where his tail and neck met, laying across each other like a big cat. He radiated the heat of a warm fall afternoon, and I sank down beside him, feeling like I could rest for the first time in a while. He moved, and I stilled, fearing he’d attack or run, but his tail slipped around me, curling me in against him in a gentle embrace. I closed my eyes and laid my head down to bask in the rare moment of peace.

Ripped from the dream by my phone alarm, I cursed and nearly hurled the device at the wall. But I silenced it, reminding myself it was only a dream, and got up to get ready for work. Mundane life serving the Summer king, could have been worse than rising to work a mortal job. I hurried through my routine, threw on my shoes and headed for the door.

The intensifying of the cool mornings, and crumple of fallen leaves beneath my feet brought a wave of sadness to slow my step. The trip to town, usually a quiet time to reflect, made me clutch my jacket and wonder why I’d agreed to live in this small nowhere town where snow fell and everyone knew my name.

Okay, it wasn’t nowhere. It was growing. From a tiny blip on the map with a single road through town and no stoplights, to new housing developments, several greenhouse farms, orchards, and the most popular bakery in two hundred miles. I’d like to think the latter was all me and my brilliant marketing, but Sebastian and Liam’s baking did most of the work.

A black SUV slowed beside me, passenger window rolling down.

“Want a ride?” Sebastian asked.

I shook my head, though the brisk chill stung my cheeks. At any other court I would have been afraid to turn down the ruler. But Sebastian, as king, was an enigma. Approachable and calm, gentle, yet firm, and rarely, though completely possible, terrifying. All the kings had an inner darkness. Out of all of them, Seb, with the help of his mate, Liam, controlled his best.

Spring never left his realm without his two paramours. They were anchors to keep him balanced. And if either lost their mates, disaster. I didn’t need to be a seer to know that. But the thought made me worry about Finn. He would always be Finn to me. Even if he and Xander, the werewolf king, were one and the same, two sides of a cursed coin.

“I’d like to walk until it snows.” Once the leaves finally fell from the trees, their vibrant colors fading to brown, then I’d give up hope for the year. For now, I clung to it, as if walking through the depths of fall could bring him back to me.

“I’ll have a cup of tea waiting for you,” Seb said and the window went back up.

The SUV drove a few blocks up to park behind the bakery and teashop duo. The parking lot out front was full with customers streaming in and out at the early hour as they made their way to work. The town carved a few more roads and a handful of small shops drew crowds. Wolves and fae, side by side with humans, like some supernatural utopia or some bullshit.

I sighed. Not my utopia.

A kitten wiggled his way up out of the collar of my coat to merow in my face. I scratched his head understanding more than any other.

“You’re probably not cold, are you?” I asked. Whatever this little king’s darkness was, I had yet to encounter it.

He licked my chin, then ducked back inside the coat. Xiao would stay out of sight until I reached my office. The witchchild didn’t always accompany Sebastian and Liam to the bakery, but often enough that I was careful with my little guardian.

Winter had yet to fall, but no one had heard from her. Ari raged over her attacking Xiao when she’d slithered her way into Sebastian’s realm. But Xiao was fine. Ari struggled with their temper, a trait I was certain they inherited from Sebastian, which meant their power went a little wild. Seb and Liam scrambled to contain it, and teach Ari better control. But the tension in the pack house became unbearable, so when I’d left, Xiao had asked to stay with me.

I suspected the discomfort under Sebastian’s roof had been a careful ruse to get me to accept a companion to watch over me. Not that Xiao talked to me much. He was a fluffy white kitten who slept on the pillow beside my head and kept me from descending into broken hearted loneliness. I preferred the cool calm touch of the little Winter over the creepy puck watching Sebastian, any day.

Autumn stabilized. No one left the realm or had been allowed in. Nearly a year passed without a word. Sebastian and Kiran agreed the realm seemed solid to them, but neither knew what went on inside of it. Was Finn reliving the horrors of his past over and over? Had the monster taken control?

Oberon sat with me sometimes. At first it scared the fuck out of me. He had a don’t fuck with me aura like none I’d ever met. But he’d also moved my things to storage when I’d gone missing, and taken care of all my accounts, even the stash of funds I kept locked away for a rainy day, returning everything better off than when I left.

I didn’t thank him. Old rules were hard to break, and while he wasn’t fae, his power eclipsed a lot of the remaining fae. If anyone should have been a werewolf king, it was him, mostly because he has no interest in leading.

From time-to-time he’d tell me a story about Finn. Another lifetime and a glimpse more lighthearted than most of the memories I’d seen. The Finn Oberon knew, while a little too serious, was clumsy and curious. He was well liked, despite many fearing the dark side of him, and had adored all of his children and lovers over the years. The last part made Sebastian cry.

Would my Finn remember him? Would my Finn ever come home? Or would all that remain be Xander, the werewolf king, who kept everyone in line with brute strength, practicality, and doom?

I made my way into the shop, accepting the tea from Sebastian as I headed to my office trying to shrug off the lingering chill and the melancholy.

“Do you need help?” Liam asked.

“Can I bring you something to eat?” Seb added.

I stared at them both for a beat, trying to guess intentions they likely didn’t have. “I’m fine.”

As the marketing and project manager, I took over the logistics of the growing appeal of a bakery located in the middle of a fae realm. Seb and Liam crafted the world with layers of wards to protect the locals, while others traveled through. I’d never met a ruler willing to let others traverse their realm, but the magic led travelers to the shops and out, no one stayed, or at least not beyond those accepted by the pack.

“Can I bring you a sandwich?” Seb asked. “Or a muffin? I have some carrot cake ones. They are vegetarian.” He wrung his hands. “Not vegan, but that’s okay, right?”

I swallowed my sigh and nodded. “Sure. Bring me a muffin.” Xiao wiggled in my coat, and I added. “Maybe some macarons, too?”

“I’ll be right in with that stuff,” Liam said, tugging Sebastian away. Neither would be fooled by Xiao hiding in my jacket, but they didn’t bring him up either. I hoped to protect the little king from any future trauma. Was it moot? Probably. But I was already too close to him to see his future. No one asked either, for which I was grateful. Mostly they fussed over me like mother hens until I snapped at them, and then they left me alone to grieve in peace.

I entered my office, set down my laptop bag and opened it while I pulled out my planner and sipped my tea. Events from the beginning of October through Christmas kept the bakery and tea shop hopping. Liam had mentioned wanting to expand into catering next year, and I was trying to find a way that could work without tripling their staff and space. One of the pack began wedding planning, building a beautiful location that could be rented for the event with the option of enjoying the changing weather, and an indoor pavilion. Catering weddings seemed like the best place to start, and I knew Sebastian’s cake recipes would draw more business.

Xiao crawled out of my coat, but I didn’t take it off. I was always cold these days. He made his way to a set of crafted wood paper organizers and curled up on the top one. “You could talk to them,” I said. He curled himself nose to tail and closed his eyes, not acknowledging my comment. Lately he’d been avoiding the witchchild when possible. I didn’t know why they were fighting, or even if they were, but I wouldn’t throw him to the curb either. Most days I appreciated the company, even if it felt like I always had a babysitter.

Liam came in and set a sandwich and a muffin on the corner of the desk, and two cookies beside Xiao on the paper tray. “Ari’s home today. The sandwich is a vegan avocado, tomato, and grilled mushroom on sourdough.”

“Alright,” I said.

“My offer still stands. If the holiday planning is too much…”

“It’s fine.” Busy was better than endless hours of thinking. “You can put the order forms out. I’ve got everything entered into the system for a seamless process. We’ll need to look at either expanding the bakery early next year, or buying a bigger building if you continue to grow like this.” If he hadn’t turned the other half into a tea shop, he would have had enough space.

“None of us expected the shop to be this popular. Either of them,” Liam said.

“Sebastian’s omega aura combined with his power as Summer king draws them,” I said. Twice I’d left the area, only to be drawn back by the subtle warmth of his realm. Not that I’d ever gotten a distance that the sensation faded. “The excellent food helps,” I added, as not to disparage Liam’s magic with sweet bread, sourdough, and the dozens of pastries the shop now offered.

Liam snorted. “Thanks.” Unlike fae of the past, no ripples of magic came from his words. Not even a flicker of obligation. How did they do that? “Eat something, please.” He stared at me a few moments longer before leaving the office and letting me work. I had calls to make, meetings to plan, advertisements to design.

Toby popped his head in to get approval for some art he was taking to the printer, but the day flew by. Xiao vanished after lunch, likely portaling himself back home. Sebastian and Liam looked in on me, or threw occasional questions my way. I added a dozen more things to my ever-growing list, but kept working, scheduling interviews from nearby towns in papers and online media for Sebastian and Liam, food reviews, and even a handful of small party events that would draw more business and need an increase of staff.

I nibbled at the muffin, eating only half of it, and picked apart the sandwich. Not really hungry, I got up to stretch. The front of the store sounded busy. Voices loud and grating, I was ready to go home. The idea of socializing, pretending to be a normal functioning person made me nauseous.

Liam stopped in for the fifth time, frowning over the food still on my plate.

“I’m fine,” I said, again.

“Maybe you should go home and rest?”

Because I looked like I hadn’t slept? I knew how big the bags under my eyes were and was too tired to use glamour. The lack of sleep made it hard to recharge, and sometimes when I closed my eyes, I dreamed of him. When I didn’t, I lay there heartbroken, unable to sleep at all.

Toby refused to give me more sleeping potion. Only after pushing myself to the brink, would I finally drop into a restless sleep for a few hours, then wake and start all over. I’d shifted overnight when I couldn’t sleep and ran a dozen miles through the forest to try to calm my racing mind. Liam understood how maddening it was to be separated from a fated mate.

“I don’t know if I’ll sleep if I go home,” I told him honestly. I’d like to dream of him, as that often gave me a few days of reprieve, heart semi-calming and mind easing. I struggled to focus on work most days, but did my best.

Liam sat on the corner of the desk; his gaze concerned.

“Heartbreak won’t kill me.” I repeated the mantra to myself as if it could become a spell by willpower alone.

“I’m going to have Dylan drive you home.” He waved at the computer. “It’s not like you can’t work from home if you need to.”

I stared at the laptop for a minute before shutting it down and packing it up, silently agreeing. The noise from the front of the shop and the mixers in the back had been grating all day. Not their fault as they were the normal sounds of a functioning business. It was me who was broken.

“Xiao should really talk to Ari,” I said as I stuffed my laptop in my bag and swung it over my shoulder. “He seems pretty lonely.”

“It’s fine,” Liam said. “Ari is learning a lot, and Xiao is giving them some space. I’m grateful you’re taking care of him.”

“Small favors to not be a magic world crafted into a pseudo-human being.”

Liam sighed and followed me out of the office. “We all work with what we have.”

I wasn’t surprised to see Dylan waiting for me by the door. But Sebastian thrust a large hot cup of tea and a box of food at me. “Take it with you. Eat something,” he commanded.

And because I served him and he demanded it, I would eat, even if it meant choking it down. I took the boxes and silently followed Dylan to his truck. He drove me home, the mile going by fast as the red and orange glow of the autumn leaves made my heart heavy. He pulled into a little gravel road leading through some trees to a tiny house, and put the car in park.

“You need anything?” Dylan asked.

“No,” I said as I got out. He waited until I opened the door to the house before steering the car back around and out. I put the food and the computer on the kitchen counter inside the door. The whole house was less than five hundred square feet. Not a castle by any definition. But the wide-open lower level, which was all kitchen, a small bathroom with an all-in-one washer and dryer, and fluffy sofa facing a television I used for background noise, made it feel big. The upper loft hosted a queen-sized mattress surrounded by windows looking out into the woods. And after living here for nearly nine months, it felt like home for the first time in my entire life.

“Xiao?” I called, not seeing him on the sofa and wondering if he was upstairs. But I couldn’t hear his breathing either. Maybe he’d gone back to the big house. I sent a text to Liam just in case, worried about the little would-be king.

I’ll keep an eye out for him. Liam replied. Get some rest.

I sighed and headed up to the loft, crawling into bed and lying there, tired and cold, but anxious. The realization made me roll over and stare off into the distance as though I could sense where the feeling was coming from. It wasn’t mine as I couldn’t identify a source for the apprehension. How odd.

I lay there a while. Closed my eyes, and even dozed for a time. The sound of a car pulling up outside and a door closing roused me from a groggy half sleep. Were they dropping Xiao off? He never traveled by car. I hoped they weren’t bringing me more food. Sebastian already raided my house twice a week to clean out my fridge and restock it with ready to eat meals even if I rarely touched the ones from the week before. His compulsion from earlier lingered, but without a set time, I could push it off until it became unbearable to comply.

The scent of cinnamon wafted through my open windows, unfamiliar but warming, like a hot cup of apple cider laced with the spicy bite. The car drove away, though I’d only ever heard one door close. Strange.

A soft knock sounded on my door. Sebastian and Liam had a key and entered all the time. Xiao could just pop in whenever he wanted. No one else visited. Who could it be?

I rolled out of bed, tired and exhausted, fumbling my way down the stairs. The left side of the house was a wall of windows behind the sofa peering out into the woods, but the door stood as a solid barrier of wood without a peephole. On warded land within Summer’s territory, I had never had cause to worry, yet the anxiety in my gut grew as I approached the door, as did the scent of cinnamon and apple.

I braced myself to open it, chiding myself for being a scared idiot. But when I cracked the door, the man standing on my tiny porch made me gasp. “Finn?”