Page 17 of Once Upon a Rec Center Wish
With a cry that sounded like it might be heard by everyone in the village, Falco released his own burst of cream before sinking into the bed. “You are amazing. I knew you were the one for me.”
My heart beat hard in my chest as I tried to comprehend what we’d done and Falco’s words. “You liked that? I was good?”
“More than good.” He rolled onto his back with his arms spread. “You were perfect.”
Though I’d heard the word used to describe my craftsmanship, I’d never had anyone use perfect to describe me. “So, does that mean you still want to be my mate?”
“Of course.” He sat up and pulled me to sit on the bed beside him. “Let’s get cleaned up, and tomorrow we’ll go into the village together to figure out what we need to do to make it official.”
“I would like that.” After experiencing that connection with Falco and the bliss afterward, I finally understood why he believed we were meant to be mated.
Once we’d wiped away the evidence of our fucking, I slipped out of the room to claim my tool belt and hat.
Falco appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. “Don’t you even think about leaving. If you’re hungry, go ahead and have some of the salad I made. But you’re not going anywhere until the morning. And not without me. I don’t care what form you prefer to sleep in, but I want you with me at night.”
I gulped away my guilt. “I… Okay.” Never in my life had I slept indoors, but I could do it for Falco. Having a mate had always seemed like an impossible dream, but now that the possibility was within reach, I would do whatever it took to bringit to fruition. Falco had experienced changes when he came to our world, and I would accept the changes I needed to make, too.
Letting my hat and tool belt fall to the floor, I met him in the doorway. He wrapped his arms around me and pushed up to his toes to kiss me. “I never used to believe in Fate until I met you, but I’m happy she brought us together.”
“Me, too.” I held his hips and guided him back to the bed. “If you’re ready to sleep, I am, too.” A wave of exhaustion had swept over me shortly after my release. If I wasn’t leaving, I needed to find a spot to settle for the night. Especially if I let go of the magic and slipped back into my beaver form.
Chapter Thirteen
Falco
Moments after Vern left to work on the school that would one day be used to educate our children and the many others of the Enchanted Forest and surrounding area, I put on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt before slipping on my shoes. Normally, I would have visited the community garden, but I had other plans for the day. I had to find a special gift for my soon-to-be mate.
The day after we’d been intimate, we arranged for our mating ceremony, and Vern moved his few belongings into the house I lived in. We became a couple in every way except for an official service. It took him a few nights before he decided to join me in bed, but I think I had worn him out that day. Sex with him became less about me telling him what to do and more about enjoying the euphoria he managed to fill me with. Once he figured out what to do, instinct seemed to take over, and he fucked me better than the few partners I’d had in my former world.
Not once did I ever yearn to go back to that place. Sure, I’d had to get used to living without some conveniences, but the Enchanted Forest proved much more fulfilling. And my upcoming mating ceremony with Vern would ensure I wouldn’t be sent back to the outer-world. Something I dreaded.
But I had to find Vern a gift. It wasn’t part of the actual service, yet I felt it necessary with all the presents he’d brought for me and the extra time he spent to customize the house. I wanted to give him something back.
Heading out the door, I wracked my brain for any gift idea. I wanted it to be something from this world, not the one I’d left behind. Instead of going to the village, I took a slightlyovergrown path through the woods. I had no idea what lay ahead, as I’d never heard anyone talk about what lay beyond the village in that direction. I knew the bear shifters along with other mystical creatures lived in the east. The meadow I’d arrived in was to the west, and many ponds and lakes could be found south of the village. Yet, the area north of us remained a mystery. One I planned to solve while on the hunt for the perfect present.
The elevation sloped upward as I traipsed over fallen logs and around overgrown bushes along the path. My legs got a workout they hadn’t had since I’d had to climb stairs in my apartment in the outer-world. My new home was one-story and the village was on flatland. When I returned, I would have to remember to stretch or I would cramp.
Farther into the woods, I still had no idea what to bring back for Vern. I considered a nice log, but I didn’t want to put him to work with the gift.
The land eventually flattened out before I heard the sound of rushing water. Perhaps a different body of water could contain something not found around the village. Leaving the path, I searched for the source of the sound. The trees thinned out and the vegetation became more sparce before I reached the origin. A breathtaking waterfall. I stood on the cliff face to the side of it. Somehow, I had to find a way down to the pool at the bottom. Not only did I hope to find what I searched for, but it would be nice to bathe in moving water again, something I missed from my former world.
Though the land dropped off in front of me, it did slope downward to my left. With my anxious heart racing, I headed that direction. I gripped the tree trunks on my way down, trying to prevent myself from slipping. Hurting myself out here when no one knew where I was would not be ideal. Taking my time, I finally reached the bottom, only a few slides and scrapes along the way.
At the bottom of the falls, the water sparkled in the sunlight. I contemplated perusing the shore for Vern’s possible present, but the urge to soak and splash proved too great. I stripped off my clothes and raced into the water.
Though I expected the water to be slightly cool, it had a different feel to it than the water from my world and even the water I drank from our well. As I ran my palm through it, I realized it seemed thinner than normal H2O. When I took my hand out, no water dripped from it, and my skin didn’t seem wet at all. Stepping carefully back to shore, I worried I wasn’t supposed to be in the pool at all. Would my skin break out in a rash? Or worse, would contact with the strange liquid kill me?
Putting my clothes back on, I waited for some kind of a reaction. Yet, my skin didn’t feel any different and remained the same pale color. Strange.
I chuckled at myself considering I’d easily accepted shifters existing, yet the liquid at the bottom of the falls left me worried.
Instead of heading back in for a swim, I scoured the shore. Overturning driftwood and running my bare feet through the pebbles initially brought no results. Then I caught a glimpse of something shiny where the pebbles turned into bigger stones. Squatting down, I pushed away the rocks on top to see what lay underneath. Another rock. But it caught the sun and sparkled like no other I’d ever seen. I plucked it from the ground and examined it closer. Maybe it held diamonds inside, or just simple quartz. Perhaps it was a jewel that was only found in this world. Regardless, it was exactly the type of gift I had been searching for. I placed it in my pocket, and after putting my shoes back on, headed back toward the village. I needed to get to the community garden before dinner.
But the clouds suddenly grew dark. A strong wind came out of nowhere, tossing the foliage of the trees around. Though I’d gone off the path to get to the falls, I was sure I knew my wayback up to the top. Rain began to fall. Not a light shower like I was used to in the village but heavy drops, making the rock faces slippery. I used tree trunks to pull myself back up and eventually found the path I’d abandoned.
The rain came harder. Somehow, even through the canopy of the trees, it hit me like millions of tiny grains of sand. Nothing like the liquid at the falls or the sun showers in the village.
I dashed as fast as I could along the path, but eventually, I wasn’t sure I was still on it. Everything around me appeared wet and flattened. And with the sun gone, I couldn’t tell the trail from the rest of my surroundings.
