We strolled around the lake and bought provisions at the small store. Wandering hand in hand from shop to shop that sold fishing gear, beachwear, and souvenirs, we chose a wind chime from the latter that was made with local driftwood.
Oh shoot. There was only one wind chime, but we each had a house with a porch. The store owner said he’d just sold a second one to someone else.
“Let’s find them and offer double the price for it.”
Remy put a hand on my shoulder. “We can have joint custody. I’ll have it one week and you the next.”
“Okay. And there’s no alimony involved, great.”
Remy shook his head. “I love how your mind works, but if it breaks, we’ll have an excuse to come back here and stay until this man makes another one.”
The store owner rolled his eyes. I bet he’d had a lot of odd encounters with customers, but we might be the weirdest.
“Do me a favor, guys. Don’t break it, because I don’t want to be held hostage until I make another.”
We assured him we wouldn’t and strolled back to the cabin carrying our precious cargo, food, and eating ice cream.
“Do koalas like ice cream?”
“Nope, though after a bush fire had decimated their habitat, I bet they’d have a lick if they were offered.”
Dinner was a muted affair because I kept looking at the sky and asking if it was dark enough to go into the woods.
“Not yet. You remind me of my nephews and nieces on a long car ride asking, ‘Are we there yet?’”
“Fine. But you’ve kept your koala hidden for so long, is it wrong that I want to meet him?”
I pulled Remy into my arms, and he murmured against my throat. “Nope.”
16
REMY
Today hadn’t gone at all how I had planned, and in some ways, it was so much better. My mate marked me. We’d committed to each other. He showed that he trusted me completely. He accepted my beast, despite not having met him yet. All of that was more than I could have dreamed of.
But then, on the other side, there was him having to learn about who I was from a friend because I dragged my feet for so long. We talked a lot about that over the course of a few conversations. He told me I shouldn’t feel guilty, that it all worked out exactly as it should. And I wanted to be able to do that for him, to just fully let it go, but I wasn’t quite there yet. Maybe I would be after he met my beast and understood completely what being a shifter looked like? I wouldn’t know until that finally happened.
He wanted to meet my koala. I didn’t sense a second of hesitation with him when it came to that. If anything, he was impatient.
This cabin was closer to the next one than I wanted it to be. The pictures on the internet had them looking very far apart, but it was the angle of the camera more than reality. Had we beencompletely isolated, I’d have shifted already. But we weren’t, and I hesitated to shift too soon. I didn’t think they could see us, but some things weren’t worth the risk.
Having that in-between time worked out well. It gave us time to talk, not only about all that he learned, but about our feelings and what we saw for the future. It wasn’t a case of making plans but sharing what we wanted, and because he now understood what he was getting into, the discussion was more real to me.
We also enjoyed relaxing, cooking, and eating. The homebody in me loved being so domestic with my mate, even if this wasn’t our space. But that was the thing, right? Being home had nothing to do with the building and everything to do with the person you shared it with.
Despite the nice time we were having, the anticipation of my first shift with Hari was ever-present. My koala was itching to get out almost as much as Hari was itching to meet him.
Finally, the sun was down enough and the moon high enough that I thought it was safe for me to let my fur out. I barely opened my mouth to tell Hari my thoughts and he was racing out of the cabin.
Despite my shift being all I could think about, I had no plan when it came to the actual shifting part of the reveal. I took off my shoes first.
“I kind of have to get naked,” I explained.
“I know. Gods, I was there when Jackson shifted.” He mumbled the last part as if it might not have been said for me.
I’d have been jealous had he not sounded so annoyed at the naked part of meeting his friend’s wolf. It had me smiling,hearing him basically being all “Oh, that’s not what I wanted to see from someone I don't want to bang” kind of way.
“Well, if you don’t want to see, it’s time to turn around,” I teased.
