“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you. Gideon’s out right now, but I’ll put on some tea for us until he gets back.” Without waiting for a response, Cherry rushed into the kitchen and pulled a silver tea kettle from the cabinets.
I made my way over to the table and took a seat. “Tea would be lovely, thank you.” My mate gave a shaky nod in my direction, then busied herself with preparing tea. She uncorked a glass jar and put two scoops of the foulest smelling tea I’d ever had the misfortune of being near into the kettle. The stone hearth at the end of the kitchen still had small embers dancing under charred wood. She placed a few more logs on top and blew until it lit up again. Unfortunately, the smell only grew worse once the kettle was over the flames.
My eyes watered, and I rubbed my nose to keep from reacting to the scent. What kind of tea had Gideon been forcing on the poor woman? This wouldn’t do. As soon as I stole her away, she’d need to be reintroduced to some proper food. As skinny as she was, I doubted she’d been eating well. Not that it mattered, Cherry would be in my care soon.
After a few minutes, a bubbling cup of questionable liquid was placed in front of me, along with a large bowl of assorted fruits. It was poor form to deny hospitality, and the last thing I wanted to do was offend her. I held my breath and lifted the cup.
Choke it down. You’ve done worse for less.
“I have to ask,” I began. “When I flew overhead, there was no human settlement on this island. What are you doing here?” I took a sip of the tea and nearly gagged. It tasted like bark that was fermented in a mushroom for no less than a century before it was filtered through the dirty toes of depressed cyclops.
Cherry sat across from me on the table and set her own cup down. She leaned against her hand. A string of braided hair kissed the slope of her neck before it fell past her shoulder. Suddenly my entire existence revolved around following the action with my hand. I wanted to tilt her chin back, kiss my way down her neck and run a trail along her shoulder until she cried out.
“Well, I’m a bit stuck at the moment. I washed up here a while back and haven’t found a way home yet.”
So, her home isn’t in Gideon’s territory. Excellent. I won’t have to challenge him for it. “Why hasn’t he just taken you home?”
Her eyes widened as if my suggestion surprised her. She recovered quickly and laughed. “He isn’t too keen on moving about. To take me home or, well, anything else really.”
He just let her rot here? Perhaps I’d end up challenging him after all. I hummed and took another sip of the terrible drink. The sooner I got her away from Gideon the better. It didn’t seem like he wanted to take her as a mate, but I couldn’t be too careful. “It must be your lucky day then. I happen to be quite fond of moving about. If you can grab your things we can leave whenever you’re ready.”
Cherry’s body completely froze up. Her pouting lips opened in an O shape. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I mean I’ll take you home. If that’s what you want.” Keep those big brown eyes trained on me and I’ll take you anywhere.
She turned to glance out the window. “What about the storm?”
My shoulders tensed. “I’m sure it will clear up in a moment,” I said, taking another sip.
Quickly, she reached across the table and covered the top of my cup with her hand. “Don’t drink that,” she said, her voice raising a pitch. I raised a brow at her as she closed her hand around the cup and pulled it from my grasp. “Oh, you know, now that I get a better whiff of the stuff, I think it’s gone bad.” A nervous laugh escaped her throat. “Let me get my things and I’ll meet you back down here in a moment. I don’t have much.”
At my nod, Cherry smiled again and raced up the stairs of the tower. I couldn’t believe my luck. Not only had I stumbled across my fated mate, she needed my help. On the flight to her village I could ask about what kind of mating gift she would be fond of. Get her some real fucking tea as well.
Excitement raced through my veins. I found myself feeling giddy to the point of euphoria. Sweat beaded my brow and my heart raced. I stood and paced about the kitchen. Unable to stay still. Was it normal to be so nervous?
“Might wanna calm down there, bud. You’ll scare the poor girl off if she catches you jumping around like a jackrabbit in heat.”
I stilled. “You’re right. I need to get a hold of myself,” I said. The roaring thunder outside simmered to a low thrum, as if in agreement. “Wait.” I looked behind me for the source of the voice, but no one was there. “Who said that?”
“Me, buddy,” said the bowl of fruits. A banana shifted and rocked its way upright, leaning against a mango for support. “Don’t see anyone else in this dingy little kitchen, do ya?”
Slowly, I backed away from the table. “What is this?”
The world shifted, and I found myself on the floor, staring at the ceiling. The wooden beams cracked, then bent toward each other forming a circle. Water drifted up from the floor and pulled into the circle. Pools of yellow and blue swirled to and fro until they formed into Felix’s face. “Oh, Dante. You’re about to fuck this up with her so bad.”
“I am not,” I snapped back. The sound of Cherry’s footsteps bled in from the floor above. The siren call of freesia had my fangs burning. She was so close. All I had to do was sink my teeth into her neck and she’d be mine forever. The lonely ache in my chest would vanish with my companion at my side and then I’d be able to claim whatever land she hailed from. I wanted that. I wanted that so fucking bad.
Felix let off an irritated growl and bared his fangs at me, bringing my attention back to him. I returned the gesture. Perhaps I was too nice to the Banshee’s crew, if a werewolf of all things thought they could get away with such insolence. “How did you even get here, what magic is this?”
“I’m not here, you idiot,” he replied. The uncharacteristic sharpness in his voice had my head spinning. “Focus. Fly away right now, and don’t come back. If you don’t, your arms will leave you and your woman will hate you.”
“Felix, what the fuck are you talking about?”
He snarled. His human-like features contorted with sickening pops until he took his wolf form. The beast snapped his jaw in annoyance. “You’re talking to a banana, Dante. She drugged you. Get up and leave before you make an ass of yourself.”
“Shit.” I leapt up, then crashed to the ground when the world dipped again. “Why would she do that?”
“Could I offer you a mango for your thoughts?” the banana called from the table.
With a thud, the mango in question rolled off the table and out the front door. “You’ll never catch me alive!” it screamed, before turning into a gaggle of bats and flying away.