by Ezra Dawn
He turns and kisses my nose. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“So, what are you doing?”
“I’m replanting these flowers. I started them from seeds and now that they’re established I can move them to a bigger pot. I’ve got to mix their soil first.”
“Mix it? With what? Doesn’t garden soil usually have its own plant fertilizer in it?”
“Usually it does but these flowers have a special kind they need.”
“What is it?”
He points to the flowers and says, “These are native to areas with active volcanos. In order for them to thrive, I have to mix volcanic soil into the regular garden soil.”
“That’s amazing honey. What can I do to help?”
The grin he gives me radiates happiness. “You can help me mix the soil for these. Put four scoops of both types in this bucket and you can use this yard stick here to mix them unless you really want to get your hands dirty. Once we have it all mixed, we’ll start pouring the dirt into these pots here and then we’ll add the flowers.”
“Got it. What flowers are you planting? I don’t know much about volcanic ones.”
His face lights up as he begins to explain. It’s obvious he’s passionate about what he does. He points out each flower as he goes, so I know which ones he’s talking about. “These ones here are called silver swords which are rare and native to Hawaii where they’re called Ahinahina.” He points to another box and continues, “These ones, are a type of mountain orchid called Pleurothallis truncate and are native to Equador. This batch over here has passion flowers whose leaves are said to resemble parts of the crucifixion, and this last one contains Impatiens kilimanjari. Personally, I think this type of flower looks like little baby dinosaurs, but others have said they look like gummy candy.”
I point to a box he has beside him and say, “What about those?”
He looks to where I’m pointing and says, “Those aren’t ready to be replanted yet, but that box contains, Indian paintbrush and calceolaria.”
“I saw the Venus flytrap when I came in, do you have other carnivorous plants or just that one?”
“I have one of each type.”
“Do you sell all of these flowers?”
“Most of them, but not all. I don’t sell the lilies or lotuses from my pond, but I love growing them. A lot of my flowers are the same way.” Out of questions for the moment, I let our conversation end and instead, focus on the work.
When we finish mixing the soil and adding it to the pots he has lined up in front of us, we replant each flower. It doesn’t take long with the both of us working. Once the last flower is planted, I open my mouth to ask if there’s anything else I can help with, but Zephyr speaks first, with a hint of a blush on his cheeks and two watery eyes. “You know, I’m glad fate paired me with you. None of my exes ever took an interest in what I do. You, asking me if you can help today, has made me so happy. Thanks blue.”
Taking his face between my hands, I wipe away a stray tear, press a kiss to his lips and say, “No need to thank me. I’ll always be willing to help you. Is there anything else you wanted to do? Or did you have to go to the shop?”
“The shop is closed today so I planned on getting some of my flowers replanted.”
“Lead the way then but before we start on the next set, just how big is this place?”
“It’s about the size of three football fields. I have climate-controlled sections for every environment. One of my rooms is actually nothing but aquarium tanks for my underwater plants.”
“You have underwater plants?”
He nods. “Fresh and salt water from all over the world.” Then with a grin he adds, “Want to see?”
“Uh, hell yes! Show me.”
With a laugh, Zephyr takes my hand and leads me further inside the greenhouse.
It’s been a few days since Finn came into my life and I couldn’t be happier. For the first time in years, my animal half is calm and while I still have a bit of a temper when it comes to Mik and his mistakes, I’m a lot easier to deal with now. Less of a perfectionist. Today though, I’m feeling a bit nervous but having Finn by my side helps. I’m glad he’s here otherwise, I’d have never agreed to shifting among my friends. Gideon is hosting the third barbeque of the season. Since Anakin likes getting into mischief, they don’t take him out in town all that much. Sure, this town is mostly paranormals but there’s still a few humans, so they only take him out on occasion just in case he decides to teleport somewhere in front of witnesses. Luckily, though, the little tyke seems to understand when and where he can do things like that and when he can’t which is mind-blowing.
The fact that Gideon gave birth to him is even more mind-blowing. I never thought men could have kids with other men outside of adoption or surrogacy, and being an omega of course, but Gideon proved me wrong. Their son Anakin is cute as a button though and each time I see him, I’ve found myself wondering if I’ll ever have kids of my own. Finn and I haven’t discussed it, but I’d like to. Someday. For a while though, I want to keep him all to myself.
I park the car in Gideon’s driveway, surprised to see everyone else has already arrived. Finn squeezes my hand and says, “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right by your side the entire time.”
“Okay. I can do this. I can do this. Yeah. Let’s go.”
Exiting the car before I lose my nerve, I wait for Finn to join me. He loops his arm through mine and together we walk around the side of Gideon’s house. Triton is the first to spot me. A grin crosses his face and he shouts, “Zephyr! You made it!”
Gideon turns from where he’s manning the grill and says, “Hey! We haven’t seen you since the fourth of July celebration. Welcome!”
Jericho walks over and nudges my arm. “So, who’s the cutie with the blue hair? You never bring a date to these things.”
Grinning I say, “Everyone, this is my mate, Finn. Finn, these are my friends. They all work at the mortuary in town and I supply them with flower arrangements.”
Finn gives them a finger wave and says, “It’s nice to meet all of you.”
Jericho looks shocked, but he quickly snaps out of it. He slaps me on the back and gives me a bro hug. “You’re mated! Congratulations!!!”
Each of my friends comes up to give me a hug and congratulate us on our mating. Finn and I sit at one of the tables next to Triton and Jericho. After Gideon and Ethan serve the food, we all dig in.
A few minutes later, Dimitri asks, “So, how did you two meet?”
“At my shop.”
His eyes widen. “Seriously? Your mate just happened to walk into your shop?”
Finn says, “Well, I didn’t just happen to be there. A traveler I met in Cambodia recommended I stop by if I was ever out this way, so I did. I’ve been travelling the world for over seventy years and flowers have always been a passion. Every time I visit a new place, I find the best flower shop around and browse their array. According to the traveler I met, Zephyr’s shop is the best around, so here I am.”
Gideon grins and says, “Well, your traveler friend wasn’t wrong. Zephyr’s shop is the best around. It’s why we have an exclusive contract with him for flowers.” Then he turns to me and says, “Are you staying for the run?”
“We are. Finn might need to make use of your swimming pool though.”
Gideon nods and says, “Oh, of course. That’s partially what it’s for. Triton needs water when he shifts and so does Stefan. So, Finn is more than welcome to join them. Unless, he’s a whale shifter then we might need to get a bigger pool.”
Finn laughs and says, “No, not a whale. Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of meeting any either.”
Triton says, “I came across one once. Bit of an airhead, if you know what I mean.”
It takes a minute for us to catch on but when we do, it has everyone laughing.
The rest of the meal passes with similar conversations. By the time the sun sets, everyone is rea
dy to go for a run and work off the extra pounds we just put on. We all move to the clearing that leads into the woods behind Gideon’s place. Darius says, “Well, since Zephyr decided to stay for this part, I say he should shift first.”
A series of wolf whistles signal the agreement of everyone else. Finn squeezes my arm and I hear his voice in my head.
Go ahead, honey. Show them who you are.
They won’t hate me, will they?
No honey. They’re going to love you.
With a deep breath, I remove my clothes and initiate my shift. When I open my eyes, I find my friends staring at me slack-jawed. Beginning to feel nervous, I shift from foot to foot.
Jericho is the first to speak. “Holy shit!!! Zeph!!! You’re a living fossil!”
With that explanation, everyone, including myself, bursts into laughter. Being able to share my true self with my friends without being rejected by them, is the best feeling in the world and it’s all thanks to my darling blue.
See, I told you they’d love you.
Yes, you did, blue. Yes, you did.
Hey blue?
Yeah?
I love you.
I love you too, ya big adorable fossil.
I’m never going to live that down.
Nope.
Unfurling my wings, I wait until everyone has shifted before taking flight.
It’s been a week since Zephyr shifted in front of his friends for the first time and the change in my mate is evident. He seems so much lighter now and he smiles a lot more. The only problem? He still tries to strangle Mik daily. Although, now I think it’s just a running joke instead of an actual intent to harm. I come out of the storage room with the new box of message cards just in time to see Zephyr sneaking up on Mik from behind with his hands raised as if to strangle him.
Racing forward, I step between them and say, “Hi honey! I need your fine self to give me an expert opinion on something in your office.”
He looks at me with a confused expression on his face. “What?”
Giving him my best mischievous grin, I say, “Follow me.”
Taking him by the hand, I drag him into his office and shut the door. Pushing him against it, I drop to my knees and begin undoing his pants. “Oh blue, I love the way you think.”
“You’re about to love me a whole lot more.”
I hear the bell signaling the entrance of a customer, but instead of moving, I shimmy Zephyr’s pants down just enough for his cock to pop free. Licking my lips, I prepare to take his cock into my mouth, only to barely register Mik shouting, “You can’t go in there!” Moments before the office door swings open sending Zephyr and I both sprawling across the floor.
Zephyr lands on top of me, his cock slapping me in the face. “Honey, as much as I love to have your gorgeous man meat in my face, now isn’t one of those times.”
Zephyr laughs and moves off me, tucking his cock back in his jeans and zipping up as he goes. Sitting up, I take a look at the person who so rudely interrupted us, but I don’t know who they are. Looking to Zephyr, I see his shocked expression. “Mom, dad, what are you doing here?”
“Well, you haven’t returned any of our calls and when we do manage to get a hold of you, you barely get ten words out before hanging up. You don’t come home to visit even on holidays so what were we supposed to do? Surprising you here is the only way we knew to catch you.”
His dad chuckles and says, “We didn’t expect to actually catch you. Sorry about the cockblock son.”
Zephyr blushes to the tips of his ears and says, “It’s fine.”
He’s so adorable.
His mother taps her foot and says, “Well? Are you going to explain yourself?”
Zephyr rolls his eyes and says, “How was I supposed to know you’d actually be home? Ever since I was a kid, you’ve always been focused on your work. Of course, I’d quit calling or coming to visit because NO ONE IS EVER THERE!!!”
She folds her arms and says, “Well if you would answer when we call you’d know that we’ve retired and have moved into your grandfather’s old place.”
“When was I supposed to answer mom? When I was asleep? The timezones are completely different or have you forgotten that?”
“Why are you being like this? What did we ever do to you?”
Zephyr begins pacing the floor, while tugging at his hair. “Nothing! You were never home and while I loved spending time with my grandfather, I needed my parents too. Then when he died and you two were all I had left, you abandoned me in that school, where they beat me until I did everything right. It still affects my daily life. For years, I refused to show my animal side to anyone because the treatment I suffered as a child made him more aggressive and I was afraid of hurting someone. Were you there to help me through that? No. I did it all on my own so tell me, why should I go home to visit people who never seemed to care whether I existed or not?”
His mother looks shocked. “Sweetheart, we love you. If we had known, we’d have taken you out of that school immediately.”
“When was I supposed to tell you? When you were in Milan for fashion week, or when you went to China looking for ancient Chinese art or I know, how about when you were in Brazil collecting artwork modeled after Rio di Janeiro’s carnival?!”
Moving to his side, I wrap my arms around him, so he can take comfort in my scent. Tears are threatening to spill from his gorgeous eyes, so I hug him close and whisper sweet nothings into his ear.
His father pats his wife’s shoulder in comfort and says, “We’re sorry we neglected you son, but if you give us a chance, I promise you, we’ll be different.”
With a sigh, Zephyr says, “That’s all I ask.”
His father grins and says, “Okay. Let’s start with you introducing us to the young man next to you.”
Zephyr puts an arm around my shoulders and says, “This is my mate, Finn. Finn, these are my parents.”
Smiling at them I hold out a hand and say, “It’s lovely to meet you both.”
Instead of shaking my hand, they pull me into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you too.”
His father says, “Well, shall we get out of here then?”
Zephyr says, “What are you talking about? I have to work.”
He waves Zephyr off with a hand and says, “Nonsense! We’re taking you and Finn out to lunch. Let’s go.”
Zephyr looks panicked as his father tries to drag him from the room. On the way out the door, Zephyr grabs hold of the frame and mouths, ‘help me.’ Before his dad finally drags him off. Grinning at their antics, I follow them out of the shop.
I never realized how much anger I held towards my parents. While yelling at them isn’t something I’m proud of doing, the expression of rage was cathartic. It’s something I desperately needed, and I feel better because of it. I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m ready to forgive them, but I think a second chance is a good place to start.
Lunch is a casual affair, filled with laughter and my parents telling my mate embarrassing stories of a time when I was in diapers and how I’d use my pterodactyl form to help me get to certain places I wasn’t allowed to go. Like the time I flew onto the counter for the cookie jar before dinner and grabbed the chili peppers instead. Just thinking about it reminds me of how my poor tastebuds ended up scorched. I couldn’t taste anything for a week.
After another embarrassing story, my father steers the conversation towards Finn.
“So, Finn, tell us a little about you.”
“I’m from an undersea kingdom known as Arcadia.”
“Where is that?”
“It’s about four hundred nautical miles from the kingdom of Atlantis.”
My mother asks, “What kind of shifters live there?”
“We have all manner of individuals from mermen to sharks and dolphins. I’ve heard the sister city of Atlantis, Atlantia even has whales although I’ve never been there so I can’t say for certain.”
Dad says, “And what do you do there exactly?”
Holy shit, they’re grilling my mate to see if he’s good enough for me or not.
Finn grins, realizing the same thing and says, “I’m the youngest son to the king and queen of Arcadia. I’m not in direct line to the throne of course but I’m not bothered by it. I’d much rather live my life on land with my mate and his flower shop.”
My parents share a look before grinning and saying, “Well, it seems like fate made a good match. We’ll be in town for another day or two, so it would mean the world to us if you could join us for a meal again. We’d love to spend more time with you both before we go.”
Nodding, I put an arm around Finn’s shoulders and say, “We’d like that.”
They give us each a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, then they exit the restaurant. Turning to my mate I raise an eyebrow at him and say, “So, what do we do now?”
He licks his lips and says, “I have a few ideas.”
Laughing, I kiss his lips and say, “Oh blue, I do love the way you think.”
“You’ll love me even more once we get out of here.”
“Promise?”
“Yes honey, I promise.”
One week later…
I stare in awe at the ornate rose gold doors leading to what Finn says is the ballroom. For what feels like the hundredth time, I straighten my tie. Finn squeezes my arm and says, “Stop fussing. You look amazing.”
“Are you sure your parents will approve of me?”
“You’re my fated mate. Of course, they’ll approve.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod and say, “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go in.”
Finn loops our arms together and pushes open the doors. The inside of the ballroom is immaculately decorated in white and gold. Everywhere you look there are men and women all dressed in their finest evening wear. Butlers and waitresses make their rounds with trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres. As I look around, I notice that some of the guests have numbers pinned to their dresses and tuxes. Turning to Finn, I open my mouth to ask what the numbers are for when he says, wide-eyed. “Oh no.”