Page 19 of Furever Bound (Hollow Oak Mates #7)
SERA
T he October morning air carried the sharp bite of approaching winter as Sera walked with Maddox from The Griddle & Grind toward his Victorian home, her overnight bag slung over her shoulder and her mind still reeling from everything she'd learned about Hollow Oak's supernatural reality.
Frost covered the fallen leaves that crunched beneath their feet, and smoke rose from chimneys throughout the town as residents prepared for what was shaping up to be an unusually cold autumn.
"Does everyone know?" she asked, studying the familiar faces they passed with new understanding. "About what you are, what this place really is?"
"Most humans who find their way here have some level of intuitive sensitivity," Maddox replied, his hand warm against the small of her back as he guided her around a particularly icy patch of sidewalk.
"They're drawn to the supernatural energy without necessarily understanding what they're sensing. "
Mrs. Johnson emerged from the post office with a friendly wave, but Sera caught the way the older woman's sharp gaze catalogued their body language with obvious approval.
The casual observation felt different now that she understood Hollow Oak operated on supernatural community dynamics rather than normal small-town politics.
"Mrs. Johnson?" she asked quietly.
"Gifted human," Maddox confirmed. "Specializes in protective charms and communication spells. She's probably the reason our phone service remained intact during last night's manifestation, while the power grid failed."
"And Edgar and Rufus at the mercantile?"
"Hedge witches, or warlocks, with family traditions in supernatural supplies.
Most of their inventory would be completely ordinary to mundane perception, but they stock everything from blessed silver to rowan wood.
" He paused as they passed the shop in question, noting the Halloween decorations that seemed more purposeful than purely festive.
"This time of year, they do particularly good business. "
Sera studied the carved pumpkins and autumn wreaths with new eyes, recognizing what she'd previously dismissed as seasonal charm now carried protective significance.
Orange and black bunting, arrangements of dried herbs, iron wind chimes that created specific tonal patterns—all of it designed to strengthen defensive barriers during the time when supernatural activity traditionally peaked.
"Halloween isn't just a holiday here," she realized.
"Halloween is when the barriers between different realities become naturally thin," Maddox explained, pulling his jacket closer as a particularly sharp gust of wind sent leaves swirling around them.
"Most supernatural communities spend October preparing for increased manifestation activity, hostile entity crossings, and territorial disputes with things that prefer the dark. "
"Things like Grimjaw."
"Among others." His expression darkened as they turned onto Maple Street. "Your social media amplification accelerated what would normally be a gradual seasonal buildup. Instead of having weeks to prepare for manifestation, we got full corporeal presence in a matter of days."
The weight of responsibility settled on her shoulders like the cold morning air, but Maddox's protective presence made it feel manageable rather than overwhelming. She'd created this crisis, but she wasn't facing the consequences alone.
His Victorian home looked different in daylight, less mysterious and more welcoming, with smoke rising from the chimney and Ember visible through the diamond-paned windows. The phoenix appeared to be arranging something on her perch with typical avian precision.
"She's decorating," Sera observed with surprise.
"Ember takes Halloween preparations seriously," Maddox said with fond amusement. "She's spent the morning arranging protective crystals and blessed feathers around her territory. Phoenixes have strong instincts about seasonal boundary fluctuations."
They climbed the front steps together, and Sera found herself hesitating before crossing the threshold. Yesterday, she'd been a guest in an academic's private space. Today, she was accepting invitation into a shapeshifter's den as his potential mate.
"Second thoughts?" Maddox asked gently, reading her hesitation with the enhanced perception she was beginning to understand came with supernatural sensitivity.
"Just... processing," she admitted. "Yesterday I was a failed influencer trying to rebuild her career. Today I'm apparently a psychic catalyst living with a wolf shifter while a bone-collecting monster stalks the town I accidentally endangered."
"When you put it like that, it does sound overwhelming," he agreed with dry humor that made her smile despite everything.
"But also," she continued, surprised by her own honesty, "it feels more real than anything I've experienced in years. More authentic than the life I was trying so hard to get back to."
The admission carried weight that made his blue eyes intensify with something that might have been relief.
"Come inside," he said, opening the door with careful formality. "Let me show you what belonging here actually looks like."
Ember greeted them with a trill that sounded suspiciously like approval, her copper feathers catching the morning light as she hopped down from her elaborately arranged perch. The phoenix approached Sera with obvious intention, extending her neck in what was clearly an invitation for contact.
"She wants you to touch her," Maddox said with surprise. "Ember doesn't usually offer physical contact to anyone."
Sera reached out carefully, her fingers finding the silky softness of phoenix feathers warm enough to chase away the morning chill.
The moment their skin made contact, images flooded her mind—not thoughts exactly, but feelings and impressions that spoke of ancient wisdom, protective fire, and approval that felt like blessing.
"She's welcoming me," Sera breathed, understanding flowing through their connection. "Really welcoming me, not just tolerating my presence."
"Phoenixes recognize truth in ways that transcend human perception," Maddox said, watching their interaction with obvious satisfaction. "If Ember accepts you completely, it means your place here is genuine rather than temporary."
The validation from a creature whose judgment couldn't be influenced by politics or social pressure made Sera's chest warm with something that felt like coming home.
"So," she said, settling onto the familiar leather couch while Ember returned to her decorating project, "what happens now? Do we just wait for Grimjaw to return tonight and hope our defensive lighting holds?"
"Now we begin figuring out long-term solutions," Maddox replied, moving to his desk where papers covered with research notes suggested he'd been working on the problem since dawn. "And we begin the mating process properly, if you're still certain that's what you want."
The casual way he mentioned the mating process made her pulse quicken with awareness of how much her life had changed in less than twenty-four hours.
Yesterday, the most complicated relationship decision she'd faced was whether to text her ex.
Today, she was contemplating supernatural bonding with a man whose wolf had recognized her as mate.
"What does the mating process involve exactly?" she asked, noting how his shoulders tensed slightly at the question.
"Intimacy," he said simply. "Physical connection, emotional vulnerability, shared understanding of what we're committing to build together. It's not just about attraction or compatibility—it's about choosing to become something neither of us could be alone."
The way he explained it, with careful honesty that acknowledged both the beauty and the weight of what he was offering, made her realize that supernatural mating carried significance beyond anything she'd experienced in previous relationships.
"And if we don't complete the process within the Council's timeline?"
"Then you remain under community protection as my recognized mate, but without the full supernatural law benefits that come with completed bonding," he explained, his academic precision making complex supernatural politics sound almost manageable.
"It also means other supernatural entities might view you as available for claiming, which could complicate our security situation. "
"Other supernatural entities like federal investigators who want to study my abilities?"
"Among others," he said grimly. "Elena's colleagues won't give up just because they lost their primary asset. They'll be back with more resources and different strategies."
Through the windows, Sera could see Hollow Oak settling into its daily rhythm, residents going about their business while maintaining the kind of subtle vigilance that suggested they were all monitoring supernatural threat levels. The normalcy felt comforting despite the underlying tension.
"Maddox," she said, decision crystallizing with surprising clarity, "I want this.
The mating process, belonging here, building something together.
I've spent years performing relationships for social media engagement.
I'd like to try something real for once.
I know that sounds rushed, feels rushed, but then again, it doesn't. I don’t know how to explain it. "
The relief that crossed his features was so profound that she realized how much uncertainty he'd been carrying about her willingness to accept supernatural bonding.
"Are you sure?" he asked, moving closer. "Because once we begin, there's no going back to pretending this is casual academic collaboration."
"I'm sure," she said, reaching for his hand with fingers that trembled only slightly from anticipation. "Besides, after everything that's happened, casual academic collaboration was never really an option, was it?"
“No, I guess not. But I want you to know that I don’t want this because I want you protected. I want you as well. More than just a bond. You’ve fascinated me since the beginning, and I just wanted you to know that.”
Outside, the October wind rattled the windows with promises of winter, but inside Maddox's study, warmth was building.