by Liv Rider
So many things to ask. So many things to discover.
Excitement at the future bubbled up inside of him as he caressed Mitchell’s neck.
The dragon lowered himself further down, then he bumped his nose against Shaun’s back, nudging him over to his shoulders.
Shaun tried to remember how Emily had clambered onto Dale last night. Even with Mitchell getting as low to the ground as he could, it was difficult to get onto his back. He settled just behind the thick neck and in front of the leathery wings.
Mitchell slowly got up, prompting Shaun to cling to his neck. The dragon let out a questioning grumble.
“It’s fine,” Shaun insisted, even though part of him wondered what the hell he was doing. “Go on. Git.” He dug his knees into Mitchell’s body.
The dragon huffed, but walked out the parking lot and down a path leading into the woods before spreading his wings.
Shaun craned his neck to get a better look at the wings, because Mitchell had quickly folded them against his body last night. They were huge, and Shaun watched them move up. Belatedly, he realized this meant Mitchell was about to take off.
He clung to the dragon’s neck as Mitchell took flight, rising above the trees with only a few powerful beats from his wings. The dragon veered to the right, away from the Inn, staying close above the treetops.
Shaun stared at the forest below him. His heart was racing in his chest, and he knew he had a ridiculous grin on his face. “Can you go faster?”
Mitchell growled, then beat his wings faster and faster.
The wind was whipping through his hair, and Shaun laughed when Mitchell took a sharp turn to the left. He felt a little queasy along with the sheer joy. “Show-off!”
Mitchell let out another pleased rumble. He started to climb higher and higher, and Shaun held on tight. The trees grew smaller underneath them, but he wasn’t scared. Mitchell wouldn’t let him fall.
Shaun looked at the Inn, surprised to see how small it was. They’d flown that far already?
Mitchell hovered in the air, turning his neck to look around as well. His green eyes briefly met Shaun’s, and Shaun smiled. “This is amazing.”
He looked up at the night sky above him. Now that they weren’t moving so fast anymore, he could see the stars and pick out a few constellations. The view was incredible. He could see for miles, and the way the moon and stars reflected in the lake made him gasp. It was beautiful.
Magical.
“Thank you.” He wrapped both arms around Mitchell’s neck to hug him. “Thanks for taking me flying.” He pressed a kiss against the scales, in awe of Mitchell and the beauty around them.
Mitchell let out a rumble that probably meant ‘you’re welcome.’ Shaun would have to ask later. If Mitchell took him flying more often, they’d have to figure out a way to communicate with each other.
He laughed when he realized that that was now something he’d have to worry about.
Mitchell slowly descended, circling in the air a few times before turning fly over to the lake. Shaun got the feeling Mitchell was stalling, part of him reluctant to shift back. He remembered what Dale had said about how difficult it was to shift and fly when living in the city, and his heart ached. How long had it been since Mitchell had flown like this? They’d have to do it more often.
Mitchell eventually landed by the side of the lake, on a different patch of grass than where he’d first shifted last night.
Shaun clambered off as well as he could. He needed to ask Emily how to best get on and off a dragon.
He took a few steps away from Mitchell, looking out at the lake and the twinkling lights from the Inn in the distance. It was still warm, and he was glad he hadn’t put the jacket of his suit back on.
He started at the two arms wrapping around his waist, smiling when Mitchell pulled him against his chest. “That was incredible.” He turned around to kiss Mitchell.
Mitchell was grinning. “Please note that I did not fall flat on my face.”
“Show-off,” he repeated, his hands against Mitchell’s warm chest.
“That was nothing.” Mitchell gave him an embarrassed smile. “I could’ve gone higher, or thrown in a couple more sharp turns, but I figured that we should take it easy for our first flight.”
Our first flight. There’d be many more. Shaun couldn’t stop grinning. “You want to show off.” He should have known the second Mitchell insisted on jumping out a window.
Mitchell rested his forehead against Shaun’s. “Ever since we met. Please tell me you’re impressed.”
“Very. I’m surprised how far and high you got so quickly.”
“Hm, I could’ve gone faster.”
Shaun’s stomach was just beginning to settle. “No need to rush on my account.” How fast could Mitchell fly? Were there speed limits? He laughed at the thought of another dragon pulling Mitchell over for speeding. “You turn into a dragon. You’re already very impressive.”
“Sorry.” Mitchell kissed his forehead. “My dragon wants to impress you by taking flight again and doing some loops.”
“Some other time.” As gorgeous and wonderful Mitchell-the-dragon was, he preferred holding Mitchell-the-human. Especially since he was naked. “Show-off.”
“Only for you.”
Warmth and love blossomed in his chest. He wished he could put into words how that made him feel, but words weren’t adequate. He leaned in to kiss Mitchell, who deepened the kiss.
Desire flared up, and Shaun groaned when Mitchell pulled him closer. One hand roamed down his body, the other was tight around his waist and keeping him in place. He felt Mitchell harden against his thigh.
He pulled back, his own breathing growing ragged. “Okay, bad news, I didn’t bring the lube and condoms with me. Good news, there are plenty of other fun things we can do.”
Mitchell pressed a kiss against his neck. “True.”
Shaun tilted his head back, looking up at the stars.
This was not at all how he’d expected this weekend to go when he’d left Lewiston with Chris only yesterday morning.
His life had been turned upside down in the space of a little over twenty-four hours, and all of it for the better.
There was so much he still didn’t know about shifters, or Mitchell’s job as Keeper of the Peace. He didn’t know what the next twenty-four hours would bring, or the next week.
But he knew he’d be facing the future with Mitchell, which was all that mattered.
Epilogue: Shaun
A few months later
Shaun had never thought he’d be someone who enjoyed hosting dinner for friends. Then again, he’d never thought he’d be someone who ended up with an amazing boyfriend who enjoyed cooking so much.
Mitchell left Shaun in charge of the drinks. Considering what kind of wine and beer Mitchell bought if left to his own devices, this was for the best. He didn’t understand why someone who had taste buds when it came to food was less picky about drinks, but nobody was perfect.
Although Mitchell came very close.
“I’m just saying, there’s more beer than what’s stocked in the supermarket,” Shaun said. “What’s the harm in trying something else? We’ve got some great local breweries.”
“True,” Joel agreed. “I’m surprised there are no shifter breweries around.”
“Don’t give anyone any ideas,” Parker grumbled. “I’d rather not have shifters making their own moonshine. Not in my territory.”
“There’s an enormous difference between brewing your own beer and moonshine!” Shaun shook his head at Parker jumping to conclusions like that.
“Now that you mention it, that’s something I wanted to discuss.” Thomas looked almost embarrassed. “I know we agreed we wouldn’t talk about work, but let’s be honest, we always do.”
“Go on.” Mitchell sounded intrigued.
“There are three bear shifters who want to start a brewery for shifters and make something stronger. They want to supply some shifter-run bars in
Lewiston if it works.”
Parker sighed. “Why am I not surprised?” He gestured at Thomas with his fork. “You keep us updated on that.”
Shaun wondered what shifters considered something stronger. “If they’re having a tasting session….”
“What? Why? It’s aimed at shifters,” Mitchell spluttered.
“Yes, and you’re always saying I should meet more shifters and learn how things work.” He gave Mitchell a sunny smile. “I’m showing an interest in your work.”
“Speaking of which.” Parker gestured at Shaun now. “We need to find somewhere else for trivia night.”
“Why?” Shaun demanded, feeling insulted. “What’s wrong with ours?” He enjoyed having Mitchell and the others take part in their last four quizzes.
“The fact that we can’t win any prizes!” Parker nodded at Mitchell.
Shaun smiled. Mitchell’s team was ineligible since he was in a relationship with Shaun. “You still wouldn’t have won anything. You haven’t hit the top three yet.” His friends were in the middle of the pack. The one time they’d come close to the top three had been during the Halloween quiz, when Cameron had gotten them a perfect score on the movie round.
Parker spluttered, and Cameron smiled as he put a hand on his boyfriend’s arm. “C’mon, it’s a fun night out, right?”
“It would be more fun if we had a chance at winning.”
“Then I can see why you want to try another bar.” Shaun smiled at Parker. “One with an easier quiz.”
“Hey now, we’re still getting warmed up!” Cameron told him. “We need some practice. We’ll get in that top three.”
“Who cares so long as we’re not last?” Joel laughed.
Shaun sat back while Parker explained that the whole point of joining a competition was to win. Cameron agreed, but only if wanting to win wasn’t at the expense of having fun.
Mitchell leaned closer. “You have created a monster,” he murmured into Shaun’s ear, nodding at Parker.
Shaun smiled at him. “All I do is contribute challenging questions to our quiz. Not my fault Parker isn’t familiar with Olympic gold medalists.”
“You’re very mean, you know?”
Shaun reached out to take his hand. “The meanest.”
Mitchell gave his hand a squeeze, and he looked at Parker. “How about a game of Trivial Pursuit, since everyone’s finished dinner?”
Parker grinned. “Oh, excellent idea. I can definitely beat you all at that!”
“Not if I win first.” Cameron’s smile was smug as he looked at his mate.
Parker’s brown eyes were bright. “You want to bet?”
“Always.”
The couple shook hands, and going by Parker’s smirk, Shaun was glad the couple kept the details of their wager between themselves. “I’ll go get the board.”
The others cleared the table, calling dibs on colors and talking about which category was the hardest.
Shaun put the cardboard box on the table and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He ignored it, but when it kept buzzing, he sighed and apologized before taking it. His eyebrows rose when he saw Emily’s name. “Sorry, it’s my sister.” He headed over to the balcony.
“It’s nothing serious, is it?” Mitchell called after him.
He hoped not. “Evening!”
“I’m not calling at a bad time, am I?”
“Dinner with friends.” He turned to look at the others. They’d fallen silent, eyeing him. Mitchell was still looking worried. “Is it an emergency?”
“We-ell….”
“So, no.”
“It is kind of an emergency. But nothing bad!”
He sighed, removing the phone from his ear for a moment to tell the others. “Nothing’s going on!” He gestured for them to go back to setting up the game, and Mitchell smiled in relief.
Shaun smiled back, warmth settling in his chest at the realization that yes, this amazing man truly was his.
“I didn’t call you for nothing, we really have kind of an emergency. Shaun? Are you still there?”
He blinked, turning away from the living room and looking at the city instead. “Yes!” He was still here, and definitely not distracted by his boyfriend smiling at him. “So, tell me about this supposed emergency.”
“It’s Rumple. She’s pregnant.”
Shaun frowned. Why was Emily calling him about that? “I thought you said you had both of them spayed?”
“That was the plan!” Emily let out a sigh. “We kept them indoors until we got round to it, but—”
“Let me guess, Rumple escaped?” Shaun struggled not to laugh. “I told you, you should’ve called her Houdini! She’s a little escape artist!”
“We didn’t even realize she’d escaped in the first place! She must’ve done it at night after we’d gone to bed, then snuck back in before we got up.”
“What a clever kitty.” He wished he could have seen his sister’s face when she discovered what had happened with Rumple. “But I’m not sure why you’re calling to tell me.”
“Ah. Well, remember how well you got along with Rumple and Stiltskin at our wedding?”
“They kept trying to escape and wander off, and meowed at the top of their lungs when I wouldn’t let them. Those two would’ve reported me for animal cruelty if they could’ve.”
“They’d report us for animal cruelty because we don’t feed them as often as they’d like, which is ‘every hour of the day.’”
He had to laugh at that. “I was so relieved when I could give them back to you guys after the ceremony.”
Emily was silent for a long moment. “But didn’t you think they were cute? And adorable?”
“I guess?” There’d been a few moments when Rumple and Stiltskin had stayed still long enough for him to pet them. “When they weren’t meowing or trying to escape.” Although that first escape attempt had led to him meeting Mitchell, so he couldn’t be too annoyed.
“Great! How would you like a Rumple of your very own?”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I want them to end up with people I trust.”
“And you’re asking me?” he blurted.
“Shaun….”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m surprised, that’s all.” A kitten. A tiny little kitten with Rumple for a mom.
He would definitely call it Houdini.
“Just talk about it with Mitchell and see if it’s allowed in your apartment,” Emily told him.
He already knew what Mitchell would say. Both cats had adored him, which Mitchell insisted was a shifter thing, and which Shaun insisted was a Mitchell thing. “Hang on.” He held his phone to his chest and walked back inside. “Mitchell? How do you feel about getting a kitten?”
Mitchell’s eyes lit up as he grinned. “Sure! Just the one?”
“Rumple’s the mom.”
“Definitely just the one.”
“What?” Thomas frowned, while the other three also looked confused.
“One of my sister’s cats is pregnant.”
“The ring-bearers from the wedding?” Parker was shuffling the cards.
“Yeah. She’d like the kittens to go to people she can trust.” Which gave him an idea, and he brought the phone back to his ear. “Mitchell’s okay with it.”
“Mitchell’s overjoyed with it!” Mitchell called out.
Emily laughed. “Thought so!”
“Have you got anyone else for the other kittens yet?” he asked.
“Not yet. Mom and Dad don’t want one. They’ve already got two dogs and introducing a kitten to two older dogs can be tricky.”
He hummed in agreement. “What you’re saying is you might need some reliable, trustworthy cat-owners?” He looked at Thomas and Joel pointedly, then glanced over at Parker and Cameron.
“No,” Parker said, as Cameron started to smile. “No, I’m not a cat person.”
“That makes you the perfect cat-owner,” Cameron told him. “Everyone knows cats love people who do
n’t think they’re cat people.”
“I guess I will need more options, yes.” Emily sounded a little confused. “But I don’t know how many kittens she’ll have, or how many people will offer.”
“That’s fine,” he replied. “I’m just saying, I’ve got some friends who might like one too.”
“But you’re definitely okay with taking one?”
He sighed. “Yes! It’ll prefer Mitchell over me, but I’m sure I can get used to that.”
“Thanks, Shaun! I’ll call you in a few weeks to let you know how she’s doing and to discuss details!”
He hung up after saying goodbye and re-joined his friends at the table. They had set up the Trivial Pursuit board, but kittens dominated the conversation. Thomas and Joel agreed that having a pet would be wonderful, while Cameron and Parker still talked about whether cats were destructive forces of nature.
“Even if it doesn’t work out with your sister, we could still check out some shelters in the area,” Thomas said. “I can’t believe we never considered getting a pet before.”
“We are pretty busy,” Joel added. “I guess that’s why we never thought of it.”
“Still, a cat would be nice.”
Shaun sat down as the other couples discussed cat ownership. It sounded like Cameron was winning Parker round, while Joel and Thomas were already discussing whether to get one or two cats.
Mitchell put his arm on the back of Shaun’s chair, his hand resting on Shaun’s shoulder. “So, we’re getting a cat?”
He smiled at Mitchell. “Yeah, we are. And we’re calling him or her Houdini.”
Mitchell laughed. “Am I getting a say in this?” He leaned a little closer.
“Nope.” Shaun closed the distance between them to kiss him, still smiling. He already knew Mitchell would spoil the kitten rotten, and that they’d bicker over whose turn it was to clean the litter box, but they’d figure that out. Together.
A note from Liv Rider
