Page 5 of Dante
“Three. That one is by far the best for me.”
Henry typed on the keyboard and then smiled up at me. “It’s now yours. Do you still need one for a month from now?”
“I think so. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be on a weekly schedule, but let’s go ahead and book for a month out as well.”
Henry went back to typing. “October eighteenth? It’s a Friday. He is fairly open. Do you want another two o’clock? Or three?”
“Later in the day is better. It just works better for my schedule with the bakery. We’re super busy in the morning, but we get busy again at the end of the day.”
Henry shook his head. “I can’t believe you boys work for so long up there. Twelve-hour days?”
I snorted. “We don’t work all day. If I open, I’m done around two or three. Six to three is only nine hours. Whoever closes at six won’t come in until nine.”
“Oh. I’m not sure why I thought you all were there from six to six.”
“We’re really lucky that Beau and Lewis are fae, and they do a lot of the baking and all of the cleanup with their magic. We get to make a few things ourselves, but they make the basic things all the time.”
Henry tilted his head as he handed me a pair of appointment cards. “I’m not sure about having everything done with magic.” Henry shook his head. “I know it’s quite common with the council with all of their warlocks and fae, but I guess I’m just old-fashioned.”
I grinned at Henry. “I’m all for magic being used,” I told him. “It truly makes life easier.”
“I guess,” Henry said. “But I would think it could lead to some simply not knowing how to do basic things.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t have magic of that sort, like you, but it definitely helps when it comes to certain things at work. Mainly when it comes to cleaning up the mess in the kitchen that would take us an hour or more if we didn’t have them to help.”
Henry looked around the waiting room. “I mean…I guess it could be useful. But I like the sense of accomplishment when I finish a project.”
I nodded, because what else could I really say? “I should get going,” I said, holding up the appointment cards. “I’ll see you next Thursday,” I added.
“You absolutely will,” Henry said. He was walking back to his decorations that were in an organized pile as I walked out of the clinic.
I took a deep breath once I was outside. I closed my eyes, letting the crisp air wash over me and fill my lungs. It was sodrastically different here than in Colombia, and there was no way I could mistake here for there, but it never failed—I always had to take a moment to remind myself after I left Dr. Braun’s appointments. It wasn’t that he made me uncomfortable. Not really. But they did bring back memories because that was the purpose of these visits. To discuss my time in captivity and work on any new issues that might pop up.
I sighed. It was absolutely no use thinking about Dante. He wasn’t mine to worry about. I walked down the few steps to the ground and then over to the SUV I had borrowed from the council. There were several to choose from, and I always took the smallest one if it wasn’t already out with someone else.
It didn’t take long to make it back to the cabin at the bottom of Treasure Ridge. After I parked, I went inside, finding myself going against others who were leaving the mountain for the day. I had to smile because here was more of that magic that Henry and I were talking about. I smiled at Timothy just before he took me back up to Treasure Ridge. The transport building on the mountain already had another group waiting to leave, and I had to wonder what was causing the mass exodus so early in the day. It was only three, and those working for the council usually worked a bit later.
“Have a good day, Timothy,” I said as I waved over my shoulder.
“You as well,” he replied just before he left with the group that was waiting.
I left the transport building and turned left to head on home. I lived in a small house that was down from what was known as Council Square. It wasn’t really a square, but it was where the main buildings were. There was, of course, the council building itself, the omega clinic, the childcare center, the council store, and the bakery, where I worked.
Behind Council Square was where all of the single enforcers lived. All of the mated enforcers lived in a growing neighborhood a little bit farther away. Most of the created ones lived spread out here and there on the mountain. The dragons that had claimed the mountain so long ago lived over by Dragon Falls, some of the council’s other employees lived in small clusters here and there on the mountain, and the rest of us lived down where I did. On the other side of Council Square, there was originally a single row of houses, I’d been told, but it had quickly turned into a small neighborhood as well.
I used to live with Todd, but he’d left when he’d been offered a place of his own, and he was going to try to have his younger siblings with him. That hadn’t quite worked, but he still saw them all the time. Well, he used to. I smiled, thinking about my closest friend. It had been a bit since I’d talked to him, but that was expected. I was immensely happy that my friend had found his own mate. A mate who was more than ready to take care of and claim him.
I didn’t know Briggs any better than I did any of the other enforcers beyond the fact that he seemed to like pie. When he would come into the bakery, he would always get an apple pie if we had it. That was the extent of my knowledge of my friend’s mate.
I found myself standing in front of my house and realized I didn’t want to go in. I walked around the back and up onto the back deck area. My neighbors were right there, none of us living too far apart, but we were all paranormals around here, so I didn’t think anything of it as I stripped off my clothes and placed them on the chair that was there. I left the deck and knelt down, calling for my bear to come.
He was more than happy to come out, and after I’d shifted and stretched out my back, I sat down and looked around. It was the same as it had been yesterday when I’d done the samething. There were houses around, and I could definitely scent the bakery, which wasn’t too far away, but also the kitchen that was in the council building.
Although my bear always was up for something to eat, I knew I would have a delicious meal waiting for me when I got home, so I stood and started walking in the opposite direction. I didn’t know exactly where I was going to end up, but I had things to think about.
My bear wanted certain things, specifically a certain hellhound, but the human side of me knew that wasn’t possible. I didn’t know how or why we were chosen to be mates, and when I was in my human form, I was often conflicted about everything. In this form, it was simple. Dante was my mate, and my bear was more than ready to submit to him and let him claim us. It just wasn’t that simple and never would be.
I absolutely wasn’t in a place for a mate in that jungle, and when Dante had left without taking me with him, something inside broke that day. Rationally, I now knew that he’d been stuck with no way out, but even if he’d been able to find the gate, would he have taken me? Or any of the others? How had he even gotten in to begin with?
