Page 47 of Miles's Pact
Seventeen
Miles
"This place feels... magical," Duckie said with a sheepish laugh. "Which it clearly is, but..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze.
We were at the Silent Creek Park for our official second date, and the place was as beautiful as it'd ever been, maybe even more so after the 'maintenance' Elian had done. As a dryad, he was connected to this land through his magic, and he must've given every single tree, bush, and weed a boost over the last week. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and the air was thick with the scents of roses, lavender, jasmine, and about a dozen other flowers I couldn't name.
The trees lined a narrow path that led deeper into the park, and we strolled down it, talking in the tall firs, lushevergreens, the cedars, the maple trees, and the ferns and shrubs surrounding their roots. Save for the narrow path Elian had left for visitors, every patch of earth was engulfed by some kind of flora.
I knew Elian and Alden also had their personal garden somewhere in the park, a place only they could access. They grew food there as well, and sometimes they shared it with the rest of the clan. The apples and peaches grown in Elian's garden were the sweetest I'd ever tasted, and over the years, we'd had more than a few clan parties simply to eat them.
"It's been a while since I saw trees this thick, this healthy," Duckie murmured, reaching up to run his palm over the trunk of a large cedar tree.
"It's all because of Elian and Alden's magic."
"They live here? In the park?"
Nodding, I pointed deeper into the park toward an area that was cut off from the trails. "They have a place back there. No one can reach it unless they invite you there."
"That's so cool."
"It is. Come on, I know a place where we can sit and chat for a bit."
I led Duckie through the trails, and we stopped often so we could admire the flowers, or interact with some of the park's tiny animal residents. In my previous trips, I'd met squirrels, rabbits, snails, bugs, and even a few harmless snakes, all of whom were friendly to everyone who visited them.
They were all under Elain's protection, which meant my owl was not allowed to hunt them. Only the other animals—the real animals—who lived in the park could do that. Mateo and I had learned that the hard way when we'd tried to grab a squirrel at the age of thirteen and gotten tangled up in the tree vines. April—Dad's familiar—had had to find Dad, who'd then contacted Alden, who'd told Elian, who'd come found and freed us.
We'd learned our lesson, that was for sure.
"Here we are," I said as we stepped into one of the many clearings scattered across the park. This one had a few fallen tree logs set up around a tree stump, making for a perfect sitting area. The stump had small branches sprouting out of its sides, which told me it would be a tree again someday if Elian had anything to say about it.
"Wow," Duckie said as he let go of my hand and turned around in a circle to take everything in. Leaning down, he slipped out of his shoes, and then removed his socks, humming as he dug his toes into the wet grass.
Smiling, I did the same, and I had to admit it felt nice. The grass was too wet to sit on, but it felt wonderful as it tickled against the soles of my feet.
"I really, really like Mistvale," Duckie said after a moment, his voice full of conviction, and I smiled.
"Yeah, it has that effect on people."
Taking my hand again, Duckie tugged me over to one of the fallen tree trunks, and we sat down straddling the log so we could face each other.
Keeping hold of my hand, Duckie smiled, his dark, almost black eyes full of warmth. "Thank you for bringing me here. Actually, I wanted to thank you for everything. For giving me a place to belong. For finding my mom. For making me feel safe again."
"I had help."
"I know. I want to thank Mateo too, and I will later. But Miles, I... I never thought I'd have this. Any of this. For years, I'd convinced myself I was safest in my duck form. That the life I was living was all I needed, even though it hadn't been much of a life at all. I'd forgotten what it meant to live, or maybe I'd never had the chance to learn. But you—you and Mateo—you saved me. You showed me everything I'd missed out on, and then youshared it with me. It...I just... I'm grateful. And I'm glad you're my mate."
A lump stuck in my throat, and it took me longer than I wanted to admit to get rid of it. With a cough, I squeezed Duckie's hand as I gathered my thoughts.
"I'm so glad Mateo saw you that day at the shelter, that he recognized you and brought you home. Living in this town, I had hope I'd find my mate sooner rather than later, but I was still worried. I was worried if he'd—if you would—be able to accept the fact that Mat and I are basically a package deal. I'd worried that I'd be expected to choose, and I'd been even more afraid that I might want to. I know how all-consuming mate bonds can be, and I'd been terrified that Mat would be left alone."
"Never," Duckie murmured, and I nodded quickly, knowing he meant it.
"I love how easy it is with the three of us. There's no comparison, no competition. We just are, and I'm so very grateful for that."
Duckie's eyes sparkled brightly as he closed the distance between us and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. I loved that he'd started initiating kisses, loved that he felt confident enough in our relationship to do so.
