Haley

She watched as the last of the Kronum shifters were carried away gingerly and with the utmost care. Maximus had assured her that they would all live, though she shuddered at the thought of what they were going to go through once they regained some of their strength. The idea that most of the bones in their body had to be re-broken and set properly to be allowed to heal was almost more than she could imagine. The pain would be horrific. But in the end, they would be okay, which is all that she cared most about.

Another shifter, this one in what was obviously some sort of uniform, came forward. He opened the door, reached in, and rather unceremoniously hauled Reashallow out from the back seat. Nobody protested when his head clunked off the door as the shifter turned. Not even her. She didn’t want to see him killed. But if he woke up with a killer headache, Haley would find a way to be just fine with that. She doubted it would be too hard.

“So this is Cadia?” she said as Maximus walked up next to her, having finished giving his initial briefing to someone called Daxxton. She gathered he was the leader of Cadia, though it sounded like there was more to it than that. Now though, her attention was drawn to the buildings around them.

Many stares were directed her way, though Maximus had told her to be ready for them. She shrugged most of them off, knowing a lot of the shifters were staring because of the fact that they had arrived in motorized vehicles. Besides one transport truck she’d seen leaving, they were the only vehicles in town. Shifters seemed to abhor combustion engines and the damage they did to the environment.

Must be easier to hate when your animal can cover the ground far easier than we can.

Some of the other stares would be because she was human, or because of who she was with. Apparently Maximus was fairly well known in town. She wondered if some of the anger and disappointment would leave those gazes once word spread that he and his brothers had brought the Institute down, ensuring the freedom of all those who now gave him a dirty look.

“This is it,” he confirmed. “This is where I grew up.”

Haley noted how he very carefully did not say the word “home.” They hadn’t talked much about each other and their status during the drive. Everyone had been exhausted, the women forced into taking turns driving. With three cars and only five drivers, that meant someone always ended up driving an extra-long shift. Thankfully the drive had only taken around twelve hours, but by the time they had arrived at the border, she and the other humans had simply passed out. It had taken Maximus some time to explain his story to the proper people first, before they were even allowed inside. Now though, the wounded were gone, Reashallow was gone, and even his brothers and their mates had wandered off.

It was just the two of them now.

“Want to see my place?” he asked. “It’s not far.”

She nodded, letting him take her hand in his as he guided her in the direction they had to go.

***

The walk itself was pleasant. Maximus pointed out various sights to her, including the town hall, a huge building sunk into the ground that apparently was more underground than it was above. There was the administration building, where most of the running of Cadia occurred. He showed her the Guardian Headquarters, telling her how the Guardians of Cadia were the multispecies protectors who guarded the borders and fought if necessary.

She could tell that he was happy to be there, but there was an undercurrent of tension to their conversation as well. The instant he showed her into the two-bedroom bungalow he owned, it ramped up a notch. This wasn’t the sexual tension that had wound them up before. It was instead a more nerve-induced sort of feeling. Haley had no idea where the conversation was going to go. Hell, she didn’t even know how to start.

No, that’s not true.

“Maximus,” she said as they wandered into his sitting room. “I need to tell you something.”

He took her by the elbow, spinning her so that she faced him. Their eyes met, gray-green against soulful brown, and the words just sort of tumbled from her.

“I love you,” she said, letting go of her fears long enough to tell him how she felt.

A weight disappeared from her shoulders the instant she spoke, infusing her with a mild glow of happiness that was buoyed by the fire that awoke within him.

“Haley Salvannah, I am so in love with you.” His eyes never wavered from hers as he spoke.

They kissed, happy to have finally gotten it out into the open. She immediately felt closer to him. Unfortunately, that was going to make the next conversation even harder.

“So how do we do this?” he asked before she could speak up.

“What do you mean?”

“Us. Being together.” He paused, and then to her surprise, his lips turned up in a wry smile. “I know you don’t want to live here.” He held up a hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s obvious to me. You think it’s pretty and I can tell you’d have no problems visiting or vacationing in Cadia. But you don’t want to live here.”

Haley’s shoulders slumped, as she nodded helplessly. “I’m sorry, Maximus. I really am. I wish I could say that I was strong enough to do something like that, but…I’m not.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that despite their feelings, maybe they wouldn’t be together. “I could come visit,” she said softly.

“No.”

The harshness of his voice caught her off guard. “Oh,” she said. “Okay. I guess yeah, maybe it would be easier if I didn’t come by. If we just cut things off now, before it gets even harder.” She stepped to the side, deciding that it would be best if she left right away. The longer she stayed the harder it would be, and the more she would cry.

“Haley,” he said, his voice gruff but yet still somehow soft. “That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s not?” she asked, looking up at him, feeling somewhat silly for automatically assuming that he was getting rid of her.

“No. I said that you aren’t going to come visit me, because you aren’t going to stay apart from me.” He licked his lips nervously. “I…have a possible compromise.”

“A compromise?”

He nodded. “I cannot live in Longhorne. I’m sorry, but it’s too much for my bear. It would ruin me mentally, trying to keep it in check. But,” he added, “you can’t live here. It’s too foreign, and if I’m honest, there are too many shifters here with a prejudice against humans.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. We don’t like to talk about it, but most humans aren’t allowed. There are very few of your kind here.”

Hayley wasn’t really sure what to say in response to that. “So what are you suggesting?”

“There’s a place near here. It’s a human town, but it’s small, and decidedly shifter-friendly. My brothers and I talked it over, and they’re going to put the proposal to their mates as well.”

It was the first time she’d been referred to as his mate, and hearing him say it so casually, as if she belonged there from the start, made her smile. “What proposal?” she asked, curious as to where he was going with things.

“We want to buy some property there. It’s only three hours from the coast and several major human cities, and a little less to Cadia, depending on whether you’re driving or going overland.”

“You’re talking about Cloud Lake,” she said, understanding dawning.

“Yes,” he said, nodding rapidly before rushing on. “It would mean starting a new life for you, I know. But we all would be. All of us. My brothers and I have never lived outside of Cadia except for these past few months, and I wouldn’t really call that living. Besides, let’s face it, no matter what I’ve done to help out these people, there will still be those who hold grudges against my brothers and I for our past actions, not believing that we’ve moved on from that stage of our lives.”

She tried not to giggle as he spoke quickly, trying to get his points across before she made a decision.

“So, you’re telling me you want me to give up my life in Longhorne to start fresh with you in Cloud Lake?”

Maximus nodded.

“Hmm. So I’d have to give up my luxury lifestyle?”

He snorted. “My love, my mate, I would build you the house of your dreams. Whatever you want, you will have it. No more security problems, no more being accosted by drunks and lowlifes when you arrive home. A clean, open, airy house, in any style.”

“Any style?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Anything.”

She pretended to think. “A king-sized bed?”

“Better. I’ll make you a custom one as big as you want.”

“You make a pretty enticing offer,” she said. “But I’m not sure. You’re offering me a new house…”

“You’ll never have to work to earn a living again. You can work at something you want. Money will not be an issue. And,” he said, growing sly as he realized she wasn’t denying his suggestion. “You’re forgetting the best part of the deal.”

“I am?”

He nodded.

“And what’s that?”

Maximus grinned. “Why, me of course!”

She groaned. “I should have seen that one coming.”

He laughed, pulling her in for a hug. Even as she relaxed into it though, Haley could sense he was holding back, that he wasn’t allowing himself to be at ease.

You haven’t given him an answer yet.

I know. I just…

Don’t tell me. Tell him. I already know.

Frowning mentally at her conversation with herself, she tugged on her mate’s sleeve, pulling him down to the couch in the nearby sitting area. She curled up into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder, just out of range of being able to kiss his neck.

“I’m scared,” she admitted. “I want to be with you…but relocating my entire life to a new place?”

“I know,” he said. “I’m…nervous as well. I’ve never lived a real life, an honest life,” he admitted. “The idea terrifies me. I have no idea what to do.” He paused, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I need you, Haley.”

She’d lifted her head at his admission of nervousness. It was unlike the big shifter to be anything but confident. She’d thought initially that his proposal was leaning in his favor as opposed to hers. But now she wasn’t so sure. Perhaps this was a bigger deal to him than she realized, that he’d be struggling not only with a new life, but with a new lifestyle. She was used to having a job, working every day, and being a good citizen.

Maximus, on the other hand, had been a rogue and con-artist most of his life. This newly refined persona he was becoming was going to mean a lot of changes in how he was used to living his life. Plus, he had to make adjustments to living among humans. Haley shook her head. She’d been wrong. This wouldn’t be harder on her. It would be harder on Maximus, by a long shot.

Yet he’d still suggested it to her. He was willing to do it, if it meant keeping her in his life…at his side. Haley thought about it, but in her mind, there really was no decision to be made. Her previous life wasn’t really anything to write home about. Her apartment had been a shithole, even if it had been hers. She could sell the rental house, and use that money to help out Maximus, or to do whatever it was they wished with it. Her parents wouldn’t be mad; they’d told her many times to sell it, to use the money to live a little bit better of a lifestyle.

“I have one condition,” she said at last.

“Name it,” he said instantly.

“You have to follow human customs for being with someone forever.” She paused. “No wait, two things.”

Maximus arched a single eyebrow. “So you want me to marry you, if I understand you correctly, which I am okay with, and…”

She smiled, letting him know he was right about what she’d meant, and that he’d given the correct answer about being okay with it. She didn’t want to marry him yet, and she hoped he would put in some effort to a proposal, but just having him as her husband was enough for her in the end. Well, that and her other request. “And I want a pool.”

The big shifter blinked. “That is…not what I was expecting you to say,” he said. “But I think we can come to an arrangement. If we’re getting a pool though, I have a condition.”

It was her turn to give him a suspicious look. “And what is that?”

“Skinny-dipping Saturdays have to become a thing.” He leered at her body suggestively.

Haley laughed in relief. “I think we can find a way to make that work,” she said. “Now come here and kiss me.”

As it turned out, Maximus didn’t have an issue with that either.