Page 49 of The Librarian’s Familiar

“I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s sweet, but I need to figure this out…which isn’t easy when it’s something I’ve been avoiding.”

“I would have thought cities were worse.”

“Nooo! In the city, there are road layouts and bricks and pavers. Even streetlights and fire hydrants are laid out in an orderly manner. So while people are messy, everything else is nice. And there is nothing better than being in a mid-sized city at two am when everyone else is asleep.”

“All that beautiful order, and you can enjoy it without people?”

“Exactly.”

August nodded. “I think I get it. Do you know why polar bears don’t like hanging around the foxes?”

“Long-standing feud that everybody’s forgotten the cause of?”

August laughed. “There’s a couple of them as well. Foxes can separate a shifter from their animal, which can make things uncomfortable. It’s not instant, but after several hours of close proximity, it’s quite noticeable.”

“They dampen witch magic, too. It’s kind of weird but also kind of nice.”

“Is that why you hooked up with Sinclair?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “He’s cute. He flirted, and I was horny. Like you haven’t done the same thing at some point.”

“I’m stirring. His brother is a piece of work.”

“Yeah, he said.”

“Oh.” August pointed to his right. “You can see the lake through the trees.”

Charlie peered in the direction August was pointing and thought he might have glimpsed a glimmer of water. But he couldn’t be sure. Round the bend, the lake was right there, stretching out as far as he could see. He knew that was a lie, though, because he’d studied the map of the area intensely and knew that it narrowed at the northern end to rapids and a river before eventually flowing out to the sea.

Dotted along the shoreline were little wooden structures. Far down on the right were other people; some were on the shore, and others were in a boat. While it was unreasonable to expect to have the entire lake to themselves, Charlie was a little disappointed. He eased his grip on August’s hand, giving him the chance to pull away if he wanted.

August gave his hand a squeeze as if to say he was okay, but then the people were far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to see. He hated this feeling of secrecy, yet at the same time, he didn’t want everyone to know that they were fated mates. It was too new and too temporary. People might ask when the bond unraveled, and if he wasn’t ready to talk about that, he couldn’t push August just because he’d been out since forever.

It was best they kept this quiet, at least until they knew what they were going to do. This might only be a super complicated fling. August might decide that the town was too small for him and leave after seeing more than enough of his family. Meanwhile, he was stuck here until his contract ended.

He figured that if they were apart for two days, the bond would unravel. If they kept having sex, it would take longer…though he didn’t know if there was some kind of formula regarding sex and the strengthening of the bond and how fast his magic worked.

He’d never spent any time figuring out the bond, because he’d always been happy for it to dissolve. Now he had someone who wanted to experiment, it was a little terrifying—almost as much as the first bond. His panic had made him acutely aware of the bond until he’d realized it was coming undone. Though it had been a very tense twenty-four hours.

The second time had also been concerning. Some people never found their fated mate—some never looked, because they didn’t want it. Why did he get a second chance?

And now a third?

He wanted to say it was his magic, but it didn’t happen with every shifter, so there was more to it than that. And he didn’t know enough about the other guys to be able to find a common thread between August and them.

August led him around the other side of the lake. The shoreline was rocky, and while water lapped at the edges in summer, in winter the entire thing froze because it wasn’t that deep.

“So this is the lake.” He nodded and tried to sound a little more enthused about the expanse of water. Sure, it was pretty. But how many times could one come and sit by the lake?

“In summer it’s good for fishing and swimming…or just being out near it.” He pointed at the people in the boat. “And in winter, this is where everyone comes to skate. Even the toddlers.”

“You learned to skate when you could barely walk?”

“My grandparents looked after me while my parents worked, and they liked to skate.” August shrugged. “It all worked out.”

The rocks crunched beneath their feet. It might be summer, but the air had started to sharpen, a reminder that summer was coming to an end and soon everything would be dark and cold. It had sounded fine on paper, but then the salary written next to it had been very warming.

“Where are we going?” They’d seen the lake… How much more was there to see?