Ansel knew how to possess me in all the right ways--by showing me that I could fly away first, before his body claimed mine with such authority that he had me coming three times before I passed out in his arms.
Chapter Eight
Frankie
The next morning, I stirred in bed, with a weird excitement over what a day here might bring. Sun was beaming in two huge windows with a mountain view, and a big patch of sun covered the bed.
I could have stayed a while. But Waylon was already up and dressed.
He was drinking coffee with Flor downstairs, and breakfast stuff was assembled on the counter.
“Esther doesn’t have a chef?” I asked.
“She does, but we’d rather be alone,” Flor said.
“That’s right,” Waylon agreed.
I had this feeling I’d get tastier food if the chef made it, but…okay. I did like having my space.
I poured a cup of coffee and sat at a long bar counter in the huge kitchen. Alistair was on the phone again and Waylon started making eggs and bacon.
"You can cook, man?” Ian asked, wandering in yawning.
"Yes," Waylon said irritably.
"I didn't mean it like blind people can't cook, I mean you don't seem like you would cook in any universe."
"He was a hobo for years," I said.
"I wasn't a hobo."
"You're the one who told me you were a hobo!"
"I said I lived a hobo lifestyle, I'm pretty sure."
"Uhh, pretty sure living a hobo lifestyle means you are a hobo. I'm not judging it, I think it's cool."
"I was very clean," Waylon said. "That's why I say 'hobo lifestyle' more generally."
"I didn't doubt that," I said, as Waylon was wiping down the already-perfect kitchen counters even as the bacon fried. "You seem like you might be a neat freak. This kitchen is spotless. Ian! Do you want some coffee?” I slipped off my chair to walk up to him. "I still can't believe you're here. I keep thinking I need to look for you."
"I definitely want coffee."
Alistair got off the phone and walked over to us, almost cutting me off when he said, "All right. I've arranged a private tour."
"Private tour?" I asked.
"Of Eden Park," Flor said. "To see the Queen's Army." He didn't look interested in much, but he was interested in armies.
"Breakfast is ready," Waylon said, turning off the oven burners. "So let's eat and get out there. Frankie having an army...that will be interesting."
"Frankie, you need something more...queenly to wear, I think," Alistair said. “My mother will get some clothes if you all give her measurements and sizes and a list of basics. And anything else you really need as well. I know you left in a hurry.”
The other three guys all looked a tiny bit annoyed at Alistair, like they found him bossy.
"She doesn't need to change. She looks fine,” Flor said. “What is she supposed to wear, a ballgown?"
"Right? Thank you," I said, with a brief uncertain glance at him.
I was still wondering about Flor. But it was hard to imagine him being in love with anyone.
Having scarfed down the breakfast, we were all pretty interested in seeing the park, even if had a long history of shifters, most of it bad. The park had always employed plenty of shifters, but until recent years, it was demeaning work through the heat of summer and the snow of winter, since Eden Park was open year round to attract the ski crowd too. I knew it had heavily renovated in the last couple decades, but most shifters still considered it a big zoo with insultingly cheesy rides and shows.
Esther left to get us supplies in Merryville, so Alistair was our host. Before he showed us outside to our ride to the parks, he gathered us close and said, "Just remember--no one here knows I'm a wolf. Don't tell anyone."
"No one?" I said. "Even though it's mostly just shifters in the park? Well...I guess word would get out..."
"Exactly," he said.
A Jeep with the Eden Park logo on the sides was waiting to take us on the tour. Driving past neatly trimmed bushes and flower beds on the road in, we reached the iconic gates in no time. Three totem poles carved with all the different types of shifters flanked the entrance just past the ticket booths.
"My mother wanted to take those down too, but people rose hell about it," Alistair said. “They complain about everything because of childhood memories. So she's had to pick her battles..."
Cinematic-type music suggestive of some epic movie was piped from hidden speakers as Alistair swiped us in with his own card. It was mid-morning and the park was fairly busy with families. There was a wolf wearing an Eden Park bandanna posing for pictures with a scared-looking toddler right near the entrance while other kids eagerly awaited their turn.
“Ugh,” Ian whispered. “I feel sorry for that poor sucker, sitting there like he’s part family dog and part tamed beast.”
Ian had never spent time in hostile human areas, the way I had, so he probably wasn't used to seeing this. I was used to glossing over it, not meeting the eyes of the workers at Cat Cafes and so on when I was on a job. My eyes were on the towers of attractions in the distance.
Alistair was looking at that wolf too. He looked detached--no, he was trying to look detached.
Damn, how has he felt, seeing this all his life, knowing the consequences of anyone finding out what he really is? I could tell Ian was watching him too.
I grabbed a park map from a kiosk and opened one. Ian looked over my shoulder. Wolfwood was the land to the left, expanding over the largest stretch of land, while Birdland was the centerpiece, surrounding the Birdland Lagoon. Neko Paradise covered the right swathe of land.
My nose wrinkled like I’d smelled rotten food when I looked over the pink-hued section of the map with the Kawaii Coaster and the Le Petit Chat Bistro, and shops called 'Cat Lady Heaven' and shops themed for the cheesy cat park mascots.
Alistair lifted his hands. ”Don't make me defend Neko Paradise."
"What the ever living hell?” I said. "It's even worse on the map than I imagined. How come the wolves get a forest and the birds get a lagoon but the cats get some sort of tacky girly anime cat girl world?"
"Corporate wanted--"
"Corporate? Isn't your Mom 'corporate'?"
"I mean, we have board members. But she has a weakness for things that are cute. So she...kind of...liked...the idea." He crossed his arms. "I had nothing to do with it. Do I look like I care about cute things? But the cat world was always the least popular part of the park. The cats just...are not friendly."
"Almost like cats are the smartest or something," Waylon said with a grin, looking more like he thought this was hilarious. "We don't like a bunch of humans trying to grab our tails? I wonder why not."
"We're checking out Wolfwood today," Alistair said, pointing us to the left. "It's the most popular part of the park because it's so vast and transportive. Of course, it depends on your personality. Mina likes Birdland the best. Should I get a cart, or do you want to walk?" He tried his best not to dwell on Mina for long, since it obviously upset him to think of her.