Page 5

"Are congratulations in order?"

My heart sinks. Nick is the town lawyer and contract demon. He's also a town shit-starter. He loves to stir the pot, spread rumors, and cause general mayhem. My secret's out; my only hope is gaslighting.

"What?" I ask, playing dumb.

He leans forward, that shit-eating grin never leaving his face. "Let me rephrase. Are you mated to the male on this island who resisted changing the magical wards that allowed mate magic to start working again? Because if he’s one of the first monsters to get a mate, that would be… ironic."

"Come on, Nick, have some class. Don't say anything. The situation is theirs to work out, not the island's," Lawrence tries to defend me.

Nick's eyebrows shoot up, and he takes on a performatively concerned air.

"I just think people have the right to know that the mating magic is working if our resident stick-in-the-mud can get a mate. Especially one so different from himself." He scans me from head to toe, and I squirm uncomfortably in my seat.

He's not wrong. Where Randy is rigid, I like to move with the seasonal life force of the island. Where Randy is direct and unyielding, I try to be flexible and accommodating. Before today, we've only exchanged a few words: mine controlled but angry, his dismissive.

Lawrence begins to interject, but I shake my head at him. Nick's going to do what Nick's going to do.

Nick stands and tips his head to me.

"Congratulations," he says before striding out with a smirk.

I slouch forward, my head tapping the table, and groan.

"Listen, forget about Nick for a minute. We can’t solve him. But we can try to improve your mating bond."

My eyes lock on his, my heart leaping into my throat. Does he know how to break or transfer a mating bond to someone more palatable?

"Everyone accuses Randy of lacking an open mind, and that's true."

My heart sinks. Nope. Lawrence just wants to give me friendly advice, which is appreciated but not what I want.

"Lacking an open mind? When Ada changed the café menu to add one—one—new coffee with edible glitter on top, he launched a formal complaint with the rest of the board and nearly made her cry at the town meeting."

He grits his teeth but keeps going. "My point is, despite his terrible actions, no one really knows Randy. Yes, he has an issue with change."

"Clearly," I mumble.

"And he has strong opinions of others, but why? It would behoove you to not make the same assumptions. Get to know him. See what’s behind his reasoning. I've never heard of a mating bond being wrong."

He waggles his eyebrows, and I can't stop the ungentlemanly snort that comes out of me. Whether it's in amusement or derision, I'm not sure.

We finish our drinks and say our farewells at the street. I head for home and the continuation of my feeble attempts to clean up my garden, while Lawrence heads back to his small farm on the other side of the island.

During the meandering walk back to my cottage, my friend’s words keep flitting through my mind as I mull over the whole situation.

I'm so deep in thought that I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear the hiss of an animal near my feet. A fluffy gray Persian cat with a smooshed face stares up at me, giant orange-yellow eyes burning into my very soul.

"Oh, fuck you, Morty," I grumble down at Randy's very grumpy, very bitey cat. If pets match their owners, Morty certainly matches Randy.

A scuffling sound pulls my attention from Morty to my ruined garden. In the middle hunches a red-haired form wearing a green coat.

"Randy?" I call.

As he turns, he's saying something. I only catch the end as his eyes lock with mine. "—ength."

A hot, tingling sensation shoots through my body. The feeling of champagne bubbles overflowing in my chest rushes up. And then the world goes black around the edges, and I fall over.

Randy