Page 70 of Starlight
Akai already had a bowl of bugs and was sitting at the table dipping them in honey. Cole swallowed. He needed to act as if he’d seen it a hundred times before.
He had seen Akai eat bugs and greens foraged from the woods. But he had never seen him eat at a table surrounded by other monsters, some of which he didn’t have names for. Cole drew in a breath; if he couldn’t handle this, he couldn’t handle solstice.
Maybe if Akai hadn’t lied about them being mates. it would’ve been easier.
Still, they were here now and up to their necks, so they needed to press on.
He grabbed his plate and cup and sat next to his fake-mate. Akai smiled at him, and Cole smiled back. Then Akai picked up something wriggly, dipped it in honey, and popped it in his mouth. If they’d been alone, he’d have said something about it being gross and reminded him to brush his teeth before kissing him. As it was, he just widened his smile and concentrated on his own plate. That was safe. And more importantly, everything on his plate was well and truly dead.
After several moments of near silence, one of the monsters spoke. “Are you going to tell us how you met? I love to hear those stories. How does a human go from panic to passion?”
Cole took a bite of his bun and glanced at Akai.
“Cole was building a cabin on one of my flight paths, so I saw him long before he saw me.”
“What he means is he watched me build the cabin and bathe naked in the steam before deciding to introduce himself.”
“And you didn’t scream?” the monster asked.
“I thought he was a wolf at first. Then I realized what he was, and I thought he was the local legend, but that’s his uncle.” Cole smiled; he could also tell half-truths. “Then we had a drink around my fire and got to know each other.”
All other conversations had died off.
“And?” the monster pressed.
“And that’s all there is to it,” Akai said.
“And your injured wing?” the bigfoot asked.
Cole nodded and picked up his cup before taking a drink. “I work in town, my cabin is in the mountains, so I was away. When I returned on the weekend, I found him, and that’s when things changed between us.” He glanced at Akai, hoping that he was doing a good job of weaving their story. They were going to have to repeat the same lies at solstice.
“He sewed up my wing and invited me to stay in his cabin. His nest.” Akai put his hand over Cole’s.
“Is it true what they say about humans?” a scaly monster asked.
Cole narrowed his eyes. “What do they say about humans?”
The bigfoot slapped the table. “That’s enough. We do not disparage human mates. They are not the same as other humans.”
“Bullshit. The only difference is they’re addicted to monster cock,” the other scaly monster on the other side of the room said.
Cole really didn’t like those monsters. “Unfortunately, there are always bigots who hate for no reason.”
“And they do nothing to make the world better for anyone,” Akai finished. He placed his hand on Cole’s thigh and gave it a gentle warning squeeze.
This was no different from walking into a locker room, knowing that some of the guys would hate him if they knew he was gay. The only difference was that he couldn’t hide that he was human in a room full of monsters.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Akai shouldn’t have been shocked that Cole handled himself in a room full of monsters, some of whom were verging on hostile—not because of personal experience with humans but because of history.
If anyone should hate humans, and Cole’s family especially, it should be him. And if he’d known who Cole was before watching him and becoming far too interested in the human, he wouldn’t have stuck around to watch. He’d have snarled and changed his route at best; at worst, he’d have possibly damaged the cabin to annoy Cole and scare him away.
Realizing that was not a good feeling.
He stared out the opposite window, back propped against the door, and legs stretched out on the back seat. Was he any different from those who dismissed all humans simply because of what they were?
“You’re being very quiet.” Cole glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
