Page 40 of Fixing the Grumpy Pumpkin King
The pocket dimension hummed around them, that strange alive quality that made everything feel suspended between dreams and reality.
“Depending on what time it is, people are gonna show up here and we’re gonna have to explain why two naked dudes are laying around in front of a bunch of kids.”
Jack’s hand traced lazy patterns on Locke’s back. “You have nothing to fear. We’re in a pocket dimension. Only the most attuned would be able to sense our presence, but no one will see us.”
“Good, cause I really don’t wanna leave.”
Neither of them moved. Instead, Jack tilted Locke’s chin up and kissed him. A slow and thorough tasting. Different from last night’s desperate hunger. This was softer. Deeper.
Locke melted into it, his heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it had been doing around Jack for weeks now. Except it wasn’t stupid. Not when Jack kissed him so gently.
When they finally broke apart, Locke sighed. “I hate that this is coming to an end.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“I promised Rowan I would work the haunted house today and don’t wanna break my promise to him.”
“I’m not talking about Rowan.” Jack’s voice went quiet. Careful. “I’m talking about us and what we have. It doesn’t have to end. Tonight will be my final night here. Once the clock strikes midnight, I’ll return to the Loam.”
The words hit like cold water to the face. Locke pushed up on his elbow, staring down at Jack. “What? You’re going to leave?”
“I’m an autumn deity, remember? I was only able to come here because of you, and the power of these mortals and their celebrations, along with your constant belief in me, kept me sustained here. But there are rules I must abide by, and I’m not the only seasonal deity in existence. Winter will be taking over soon, and so I must depart.”
“I don’t want you to go. Not after everything we’ve been through together.”
Jack’s hand cupped his face, thumb stroking his cheekbone. “That’s why I’m asking you to come with me. Join with me entirely as my other half, and together we’ll live forever as gods of the harvest.”
Locke’s breath caught. His brain stuttered to a halt, trying to process what Jack was telling him.
“But what would that mean?” The words came out smaller than he intended. “That I’ll never see my grandma again? Abandon her shop and Pumpkin while she’s away and never see my friends again?”
“You wouldn’t be the only warlock to have ever lived there. Technically, it’s your ancestral realm.” Jack sat up, his heart full of want and hope. “But what I wish to offer is more than just living there. I want you bound to me as my consort. As one being. I can share my power with you, and together we will live as gods.”
Consort. Bound together. One being.
It sounded like forever. It sounded like marriage. It sounded like everything Locke had been too afraid to hope for after Corbin destroyed his ability to trust good things.
And that’s what made him freeze.
Because good things didn’t happen to him. People didn’t want to keep him. They got bored, they left, they found someone better, they...
Jack’s face shuttered.
The warmth in his expression iced over, replaced by something Locke had never seen before: hurt. Raw and bleeding and trying desperately to hide itself.
“But I see that doesn’t sound appealing to you.”
“Jack…“
But Jack was already standing, and his head was transforming. The beautiful fae features Locke had kissed andmemorized disappeared behind carved pumpkin, the glow of the jack-o’-lantern face dimming to something hollow. Empty.
Defensive.
His clothing materialized around him in a shimmer of autumn magic. Fully dressed and untouchable in the span of a heartbeat.
“I’ll celebrate my last night here and take my leave.” Jack’s voice came out formal. Distant. Like he was speaking to a stranger. “I’ll—I’ll always remember you, Locke Shadehaven.”
The full name hit like a slap. Cold and final.
