Chapter 11
Raphael
“I think we should go out to lunch,” Luca said. “Or breakfast. Whatever time of day it is, we should have that meal.”
We had come in from showing Luca my dragon. He reacted way better than I anticipated. I still felt awful for not having told him what I was before last night, but he understood.
“I feel like I can look at the town with new eyes now. Also, I have a ton of questions.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose you will. If you want to go out, we can go out.”
“While we’re out, why don’t we get your things from the fire station? There’s no reason for you to stay there when I have a perfectly good house. You can stay here with me.”
I raised a brow. “Moving in together? So soon?”
“We are mates, aren’t we?”
My dragon rumbled with pleasure. Luca felt it when I was in my scales. The word had echoed between us like a rope tying us together. An unbreakable bond.
“We are indeed,” I said. “I’ll only move in if you’re sure, Luca. I don’t want to rush things.”
“That ship sailed last night, love.”
We had so much more to talk about, but I sensed my mate still processing it all. I could practically see the gears working in his mind as he took it all in.
“Not having you near me would distress me more than trying to follow some silly idea of what the proper timeline is for a relationship. The house will feel empty without you. You said yourself you were drawn to it.”
“All right.” I wrapped my arms around his middle and pulled him to me. “Lunch first. Then the fire station.”
“Perfect.”
“Let’s walk.”
He grinned. “Of course.”
We walked together, hand in hand, down the side street to Main.
“A lion shifter lives there.” I pointed at the house four doors down from Luca’s
“Mrs. Schaffer is a lion?”
“Yep.”
“Huh. I would have assumed she was a bear. Is it offensive to ask people what their species is? I don’t want to offend anyone.”
“No. Now that you know about them, they won’t be insulted.”
“How did they keep this from me for so long? Am I the only one in town who didn’t know?”
I nodded. “Normally, they would have driven outsiders out of town since they want to keep themselves private and their secret safe, but everybody liked you. They wanted to keep you.”
The smile that spread across my mate’s face made me happy.
“Aw, that’s so nice. Did Tyler tell you that?”
“He did. I think everyone will be relieved that you know now. They were all hoping you’d find your mate among them. You did walk in on several situations that they were sure would give them away.”
“I did notice that everybody goes quiet when I enter a room.”
I chuckled. “Yep, that would be why.”
We were on Main Street now. There weren’t many people out and about, but those that were waved at us. I held the door open to the café, and Luca walked inside. Michelle squealed when she saw him, rushing to his side and wrapping her arms around him.
“Oh, finally! I’m so happy for you!”
Luca raised a brow, looking from me to her and back again.
“Your scent has changed,” she said. “He explained things, right? Dragon, you better have explained things to him before you did the deed.” She glared at me, and even though I towered over her by a foot, I felt about six inches tall.
“They can tell that we…” Luca cleared my throat. “There are no secrets here, huh?”
“Indeed, there are not,” Michelle added. “Oh, Luca, we’re so happy for you. We had hoped that you would find someone here. That’s why we kept introducing you to everyone. But when no one clicked, we decided that we would keep you and just be careful. And look, it all worked out!”
I grinned and squeezed Luca’s hand. “It did all work out.” Even if I hadn’t quite explained all the things to him. We had time.
“Are you guys coming in for lunch?” Michelle asked.
“Yes, please,” Luca said. “We’re starved.”
She laughed. “I just bet you are.”
Throughout our meal, we couldn’t seem to go a minute without someone stopping by and saying hello. News had traveled fast. Each person offered their well-wishes and congratulations. The more people that visited, the wider Luca’s smile became.
“I didn’t know I was so popular,” he said.
“People love you. I can see why.”
The scarlet on his cheeks darkened.
Tyler came in and sat down at our table briefly. “Welcome to the pack, Luca. Theo is going to be ecstatic. He’s been petitioning me for weeks to be able to tell you about us. I was just about to break down and break all our rules. Now I don’t have to.”
“Only mates can know, huh?” Luca asked.
Tyler nodded. “Or under special circumstances, family members of mates. But yes, we don’t just tell any human. Even if they are as cute as you.” Tyler winked at him, and my dragon roared to the surface.
Luca’s eyes widened. “Down, boy. He was just teasing.”
I stilled. “You could feel that?”
Luca nodded. “Yeah. Little jealous, were you?”
It was my turn to blush.
Luca slid closer to me, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. He turned back to Tyler. “Well, your secret is safe with me. Thank you for always welcoming me, even though it seems I was quite the liability to have around.”
Tyler smiled. “It was our pleasure. And see? It all worked out.” He slid out of the booth and clapped Luca on the back. “Now the two of you are stuck here. You’re never leaving your pack now.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“This feels crazy,” Luca murmured after Tyler left. “A person shouldn’t be this happy this soon, right?”
“It’s okay,” I reassured him, squeezing his hand again. “It’s more than okay.”
“I think I’m ready to hear more about what this mate thing means,” he said.
“It means exactly what you would expect. You are my mate. My partner. The person who is perfect for me in all ways. The same way that I am perfect for you. Now that my dragon knows you and your scent, I will never care for another. I will never look at another the way that I look at you. You are it for me.”
“Wow. That’s intense.”
“It is. All shifters, not just dragons, search for their mates. Well, most of them anyway. I suppose some don’t wish to be tied down.”
“But you do?”
“I do. I’ve always wanted to find my mate, and I’m so very glad I found you.”
Luca sighed and leaned into me. The warmth of his body radiated against my skin. “I am too, dragon. I didn’t even know I was searching for you, but I feel complete now that I have you. Which is why I’m never letting you go. You’re moving in. Today.”
“You won’t hear an argument from me,” I said.