Teal wants a new start away from family; Tony wants Teal and is willing to leave his people to have her. Enter the Crossroads.

Teal was content in her place as the swan prime. She helped her people recover from wounds and officiated shifter weddings. Life was serene until her mother lets her know that her husband has been chosen, and the wedding is going to be that very day.

Not likely.

Tony has been watching the white-haired swan for years. Every meeting with the heads of the clans and the primes has had her sitting directly across from him, usually in a charming dress. When he runs across her at his family gas station, she is not her normally ladylike self, and he finds that the scrappy swan is even more intriguing than the elegant one.

When a dragon appears and makes them an offer, their futures cease to be theirs to control as they pledge themselves to the Crossroads... and each other.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Twist in Time

Copyright © 2020 Zenina Masters

ISBN: 978-1-4874-3043-6

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Twist in Time

Enchanted Crossroads Book 5

By

Zenina Masters

Dedication

To everyone who has been after me for Teal and Tony’s story. Here you go... now hush!

Chapter One

Teal finished her swim, shifted, and pulled her sundress on as she padded down the dock.

Her mother stopped her before she reached the house. “Teal, I want to speak to you.”

“Walk and talk, Mother. I have a meeting to get to.”

Annabella Winx frowned. “I need your full attention.”

“I have an avian council meeting to get to, and the transporter is on the way. Can’t it wait until this evening?”

Her mother frowned. “You really need to know this before the party.”

A honk from out front got Teal’s attention. “Right. I am sure. I have to go. Talk to me later.” She put on her shoes and ran around the front to meet the transporter. Mages were notoriously bad-tempered. Teal figured that they didn’t get laid enough, but that was her own opinion and not that of the swan prime.

As the swan prime, she could feel all of her people, all the time. It was a position of honour and totally random. Her family was using her inheritance of the position to elevate themselves in society. The little girl she used to be before she was elevated just wanted to run through the woods and swim in the pond.

Leonard was standing next to his car, his arms crossed. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He flicked his cigarette to one side, and he focused on the portal. She waited until the light flared, and she stepped through it. It was time to be the most official swan in the world for this generation.

The avians were gathering, and Teal nodded at a few of the others that she recognized on sight. She saw the goose, the ducks, and the array of songbirds. There were a handful of primes in the gathering of hundreds. They took their seats in the congress, and Teal took her seat up front.

The gavel banged, and they all looked toward the stork who was in charge this year. The eagle was sitting behind her and to the left.

The gavel banged again. “Thank you all for coming. We have an interesting speaker here today. She is asking for our agreement, so please, give her your attention.”

The doors opened, and a woman with long, straight blue-black hair and emerald green eyes came in, her body shockingly petite for the amount of power she projected.

She walked calmly to the front of the room, and everyone was silent.

She smiled. “Good afternoon, avians. I am Dira, and I am proposing an interesting situation to solve a lot of problems. Every shifter species occasionally has the heartbreak of a member of their flock or grouping finding a mate outside of their species.”

The gathered representatives murmured among themselves.

“What I have created is a dimensional bubble where these couples can either meet or confirm their pair bond in an environment where family and friends are not a factor. It will simply be them and their mate, and other couples in the same situation.”

Teal stood up. “Do you mean that folk will be able to find matches there? Or that odd couples will go there to work out their issues before committing?”

Dira smiled. “Ideally, the first. It will be a safe place. No family, no friends, and no judgment as to what they fall in love with.”

“How would they get there?”

Dira looked at her. “A contract with the transporters. Lodgings would be the same. A modest fee for upkeep. Food will be free, alcohol will not be.”

The raven prime stood up on the other side of the assembly. “So, you have already created the dimensional bubble?”

“I have.”

“Who has built the buildings?”

Dira smiled. “A family of beavers with adaptation issues has moved in. They are doing the builds.”

“So, folks will have to pay the transporters to get there?”

“The transporters will do the job for feathers and fur. They need it for spellwork, and the more powerful the shifter, the better for them.”

The gathering gasped.

Teal put her hands on her hips. “They are going to use bits of our shifted form?”

Dira nodded. “It has the most value for them. But a family can bear the financial burden of launching a family member to the Crossroads and accepting whatever the true match is.”

The raven narrowed his eyes. “How do you assure the acceptance?”

Dira turned her hand so her palm was up. A scroll was sitting on her palm, and she unraveled it. “That is why I have come here today. I have gained the agreement of the canines, the rodents, the felines, and the monsters. There are more, but you get the idea. They have all agreed in the majority. So, I am going to leave this here, and anyone who wants to give the odd men and women out a chance at love, please sign. I will send instructions for everything else.”

The central table was filled with the scroll, and Teal stepped forward to sign it. As she went to grab the pen, the raven got it before she did. He smiled slightly and handed it over.

She nodded in thanks and signed next to her name. He took the pen after she was done and did the same. Huh, his name was Antony. Antony the raven.

After they signed, there was a lineup of those who were convinced that it was a good idea.

Teal stood next to the chairman, and she said, “We all know of a person who has wanted someone that we didn’t think was suitable. They were condemned to a life alone. The unmatched have been occurring at random for years. Forcing them into a life of solitude is cruel and avoidable. This is a feasible solution. It also ensures a life and family for the children of the union.”

A few of the shifters were hesitating, and the raven asked them, “What does it cost you? Dignity is not worth the life of one of our own.”

The page slowly filled, and there were only a handful of holdbacks.

The stork smiled. “Excellent. A passing majority.”

Teal took her seat, and Dira stepped in close to the document with its fresh ink.

The woman who radiated energy and ancient power smiled wide at the scroll. “Excellent. Those that did not sign will have an opportunity to revisit it in ten years. Their people will be accepted at the Crossroads as soon as they sign the treaty.”

The stork nodded. “Understood. I don’t know how our people will respond to the possibility.”

“Well, I need a few more things, but as soon as it is open for business, I will provide transporters and clan leaders with cards that will key to the dimensional gateway.” She smiled.

Dira turned to leave and stopped to look at Teal. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Teal inclined her head. “Everyone deserves a chance at love. Thank you for this opportunity.”

The woman smiled, and her eyes flashed. Teal saw what she was in that instance, and it took all of her strength to remain casual. Dragons didn’t usually wander into avian council meetings.

If a dragon was coming to the guild councils, something big was about to happen, and Teal was positive that she wanted her people to be a part of it.

Chapter Two

Teal shook herself slightly as the guild transport returned her home. A vase full of flowers had been set extremely close to her transit point.

Vans were pulling into the drive, and armloads of party-style items were being carried by the arm or in boxes.

Teal went in search of her mother.

Annabella was in the kitchen, directing the food onto the island. Teal’s mother froze for an instant when she came in. “Oh, dear, I wasn’t expecting you this soon.”

“What is going on, Mother?”

“Ah, we are having a party! The clan will be here and many members from the guild. It is going to be quite the event.”

Teal frowned. “What event?”

Her cousin leaned in the doorway and scowled. “It is your wedding.”

Teal looked between the two of them and laughed. “This is a joke, right? I am not even engaged.”

Her cousin shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “Your mom made arrangements for your marriage to one of the white swan clans. I think his name is Alfonse.”

Teal felt the colour drain from her face, and then, it rushed in.

Her mother blurted, “Albert, can you take her to her room. I will be there shortly.”

Teal looked to her cousin, and he beckoned to her. “Come on, Prime. We will get you something to drink, and then, your mother can try and explain this to you.”

Teal frowned and followed Albert. “Nice jacket.”

He looked back at her and grinned. “Thanks. I am still getting used to the bike, but I thought that safety first was a good way to go.”

He led the way through the house that was filling with flowers and chairs. They headed up to her room at the end of the house as far away from the chaos downstairs as possible.

Teal carefully closed the door behind her and locked it. “Right. So, this is going to happen today, huh?”

Albert chuckled, removing his leather jacket and grinning. “Apparently. So, when are you going to tell your mother that she can’t make an alliance for a prime?”

“As soon as she gets up here. She is going to have to send all these people home and dismiss that creeper that she is trying to hook me up with.”

Albert snickered. “Alfonse has a lovely smile, is beautiful to look at—”

“And he has no thoughts in his head. He is a lovely shell.” Teal started pacing.

The dress was hanging from the ceiling. It was white, frothy, and not her style.

“I am not wearing that dress, and I am not marrying that twit. I just have to think of what to do.”

Albert lounged against her desk, and he asked, “Do you have any liquor in here?”

She nodded. “Desk drawer, lowest on the right.”

He pulled the bottle out and smiled. “Nice. Hey, it hasn’t been opened.”

“Yeah, I don’t drink much.”

He found the glasses that had been next to the Japanese whiskey from a crane delegation. He handed her one. “You should start.”

She wet her lips and smiled. “I like it. It tastes like spices and flowers.”

“Yeah. Nice. It goes down easy.”

She held the glass but didn’t drink while her cousin got hammered and kept offering advice. She ignored him. He wasn’t going to have to face the joys of a family wedding. That wasn’t in his inclination. He was still looking for his special person, but his special person was unlikely going to be to wearing a dress.

She paused, looked at the wedding party arriving in a stretch limo. He was gleaming and golden and emptyheaded and sweet. He wasn’t what she wanted or needed. Her prime beast had no interest in him.

She dropped the lacey curtain and tapped her fingers against the window casing. She glanced back at Albert. “How far into that are you?”

He held up the bottle, and there were two-thirds left. She sighed. “Are you drunk enough to help me?”

Albert smiled. “What do you need?”

She looked at the black leather jacket. “First, I need your clothing, and then, I need you in that dress.”

Albert looked at the Guinevere-style dress. He snorted. “It isn’t even my colour.”

“Ah, but it could be, but this kind of thing isn’t something I can execute without help.”

Albert looked at her expression, set down the whiskey, and stood to remove his jacket, and then, he began stripping down to his socks.

“Socks, too, please. You can keep the underwear.”

He sat back in the chair and lounged. “So, what are you going to do to me?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I am going to use a bit of all the power that I carry around all the time. I consider these extreme circumstances. I am going to become you, you are going to become me, and when one of us is discovered, the spell will be broken.”

“Right. So, hopefully, I will be outed before the wedding night, although...” Albert smiled and wagged his eyebrows.

Teal pulled her cousin’s clothing on, and when she was dressed, she pulled the gown from the ceiling. “Hold this.”

She pressed her hands to Albert’s cheeks, and she focused. She felt her body getting denser and slightly taller. His got softer and shorter. When she opened her eyes, she was looking into her own face.

She grinned, and he was staring at her. “Right. First, we will start with lingerie, and then, we will put on the gown.” Her voice was Albert’s.

She was lacing him into the dress when her mother knocked.

“Teal?”

Teal, as Albert, went to the door and said, “She is liquored up and in the dress. I will fix her hair, Aunt Annabella.”

The bride was sitting at the dressing table, and she simply looked at her mother.

Albert worked on her hair and arranged a braid in a coronet before pinning it in place.

“Teal, I am sorry for springing this on you, but he offered, and you are the right age. It is meant to be.”

The bride looked at her mother. “I am the swan prime. I am responsible for all of our people and involved in a lot of the avian politics. If this twit interferes with my duties or insists on starting a family immediately, I will call the guild down on this household. I will lay your decisions bare. Are we clear?”

Her mother sniveled. “I just want grandkids.”

“And this is how you go about getting them? You should have just asked me to have a child. That would have been a lot less humiliating.” The bride snorted. “And I might have done it.”

Annabella gasped and left the room. Albert locked it again. He exhaled slowly. “That was tense. And you were right. That was something I probably would have gone for over being tied to this twit.”

“Well, this is the perfect time for you to get out of here. Auntie is stumbling for footing. You can just tell her you are heading out to get a smoke and use my bike to get out of here.”

Teal smiled. “It is a good thing that I already know how to ride.”

“Well, you taught me to ride, so I would hope so.”

She wrinkled his nose at him.

“Oh, that’s cute, I need to start doing that.” She watched as she winked.

“Yeah, don’t do that. You look like you are trying to summon a sailor.”

“Oh, if only it was that easy. Right, go!”

The perfectly made-up bride kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair.

Teal opened the door and closed it behind her after an admonition to her cousin to resist opening the door at least twice. If her mom was stressed, she would pay less attention to the behaviour of the bride.

Teal focused on walking with Albert’s loose gait out of the house and to the bike that she had urged him to consider. She found the key in her pocket and straddled the bike before starting it. As a final disguise, she put on the helmet that she was nearly positive that Albert didn’t wear. It would mess with his hair.

She revved it up and put it in motion, listening for any sign that they had caught on to her flight. She made it past the incoming cars and turned toward the main road. Once she was there, she powered on to the highway and headed for the service station at the state lines.

Teal had no idea where she was going, but she wasn’t going back to that wedding. She smiled. Maybe if Albert went through with it, he would have his happy ending after all. Alfonse was known to be flexible in his preferences. He wasn’t bad-hearted; he was just a twit.

She drove for nearly an hour before she saw the service station. She was filling the tank up when she felt the wave of magic wash over her, and the change back to herself began.

She finished fueling up, closed the tank, and went to pay. When she came out, there was a man standing near her bike.

He stepped aside as she approached. “You know, I didn’t peg you for the motorcycle type, Prime Teal.”

She looked at him and jolted as she saw the raven prime. “What are you doing here, Prime Antony?”

He shrugged. “I live relatively nearby. I also felt a tremendous surge of prime energy, and I had to find the source. That would be you. That outfit doesn’t do you justice.”

She straddled the bike, and he came up to grip the handlebars. She made a fist and let it fly, sending him staggering back. “I have places to be, and those places aren’t here.”

She fired up the bike again and rumbled away, heading east.

She had been on the highway for less than five minutes before a surprisingly sleek car pulled up beside her with the driver rather familiar. She sped up, and he followed.

She was determined to lose him when a wide glowing portal opened up, and she was going far too fast to stop.

She skidded and turned a hard left when she landed in an empty field. She had just cleared the spot when the car came through after her.

Teal brought the bike to a halt and turned it off, putting the kickstand out before she dismounted.

Antony did the same. “Did you do that?”

Teal shook her head. “It wasn’t me. Was it you?”

He shook his head. “Not me.”

The heavy beat of wings came closer, and they both looked up as something that was definitely not a bird came toward them. The brilliant green dragon landed and looked at them with wide eyes. It opened its mouth, and when it finished speaking, it was an elegant woman with long black hair and an emerald green dress that matched her eyes. “I did it.”

The dragon smiled and held out her arms. “Welcome to the Crossroads.”

Teal looked at the woman and then the man she was standing next to. “What the actual fuck?”

His eyes brightened, and he burst out laughing. His amusement was contagious, and she quirked a smile.

The dragon was looking at them both, and she crossed her arms. “Oh, yeah. You two will do just fine.”

Chapter Three

Teal looked at Dira, and she blinked. “Why are we here?”

The woman smiled. “Please, come with me, and I will serve some tea and muffins. I didn’t expect you so soon, but I am glad that you made it.”

Antony smiled. “Muffins?”

“Yeah. Out of all the skills I have honed during my centuries, muffins are the one that I am most confident at showing to strangers.”

Teal frowned. “You haven’t mentioned why we came through that portal.”

Dira flapped her hand. “I will explain it all. Please, come this way.”

Teal pulled her helmet off and set it on the bike. She followed the dragon in human form, who was wandering at a slow pace through the landscape.

The road began suddenly. They had been walking across the grass, and suddenly, compressed gravel was underfoot.

Antony offered her his arm, and she gave him a dark glare.

“Thank you, but no, thanks. I am happy to have escaped one man today. I don’t need to cling to another. How is your face, by the way?”

He smiled. “I have been hit by worse. Lots of bears in my territory.”

“I see. I deal more with the water avians. They just attempt to drown those that irritate them. Nice and neat.” She smiled as they slowly caught up with Dira in front of what appeared to be a wide Victorian home.

Dira was waiting on the porch. “Come on. I have a lot to tell you two.”

Teal stepped up and entered the building. The smell of new wood and the inky scent of new carpets greeted them.

“This place is huge.” Antony’s tone was admiring.

Dira chuckled, and a table began to set itself. “That was the idea. There are hostels for those who need to watch their wallets so that this place can be accessible to all.”

A tea set flew in and settled on the table. Dira smiled. “You can take off your coats. The weather is always temperate around here. The idea is to take away any possible distraction, so things in the Crossroads are being kept comfortable with other situations occurring around the site. Colder. Warmer. Sunnier. Shadows. Whatever they need.”

Teal slipped the jacket off and hung it on the back of her chair before sitting at the table. Antony did the same and sat next to her.

Dira poured three cups of tea and slid a plate of muffins toward them. “Now, thank you for not freaking out and being willing to listen.”

Teal took a muffin and set it beside her teacup. She took a lump of sugar and stirred it in. “I am listening.”

Antony had one muffin gone and was trying to wedge the second one into his mouth. He mumbled around the food, “Skipped breakfast.”

Dira smiled. “There are more if you like. And sandwiches.”

Antony nodded eagerly and, astonishingly, managed to swallow both muffins in under a minute. Dira left them and exited through a door that must lead to the kitchen.

Teal snorted and sipped at her tea. The muffin was good, but the tea was spectacular.

Dira came back with a full English tea trailing behind her on a floating tray. “Tuck in, we have a lot to talk about.”

Antony did not need to be told twice.

Dira smiled. “So, you two are both primes, correct?”

Teal nodded. “We are.”

“I need a pair of primes to anchor the gateway. You two are the best-suited pair that I have seen. Dark and light, calculation and impulse, and both with a deep sense of duty. You two are very well balanced.”

Teal’s eyes widened in shock. “You are kidding. I just barely escaped one arranged marriage today.”

Antony chuckled. “I would be up for it.”

Teal gave him a dark look. “I am not.”

Dira smiled. “Well, I need your help to vet some of the applications for duty shifts that I have here, as well as approve some designs I have for the gateway.”

Teal frowned, looked down, and realized that she had had to skip her bra for the illusion. The transformation had to be like for like. Albert didn’t wear a bra. She should have shoved one in her pocket but couldn’t risk it being seen on her way out.

“Is there somewhere I can get a change of clothing?”

Dira nodded. “There is. As soon as we have this hashed out, I can lend you something from my historical collection.”

“Uh, thank you. Why do you need our help?”

Dira leaned back in her chair. “I can create this place, but I can’t keep it populated with those interested. I need you and your knowledge of the guilds, the vulnerable families, and those who are trapped in loneliness. You have seen them, and you know who I can apply pressure to.”

Teal cocked her head. “Why don’t you?”

“My kind do not normally circulate with standard shifters. We find it unsettling that we just seem to attach, and you are gone.”

Teal cocked her head. “So, why start this project at all?”

Dira filled their cups. “My sister had a marriage outside of the shifter community. She had children that have grown up between worlds and craving acceptance from both. That is why I have worked to create this place.”

Teal paused. She got the feeling that the sister in question was no longer walking the earth. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Dira inclined her head. “Thank you. I miss her every day, but her daughters are strong, and they are going to make their own way in the human world. Well, some are; some are stuck with their father’s skin tone and resistance to magical glamours. That niece is in need of a place to simply be herself.”

Antony paused in his consumption of food. “You created a new dimension for family?”

“And for those in the same position. It was the situation my relations are in that brought this to mind and created the plan.”

Antony looked at her. “So, why do you need us again? And for how long?”

Dira sighed. “I need a couple to anchor the gate and to anchor the magic to the shifters. I don’t want this place overtaken by fey or mages until we have firmly marked this place as ours.”

Teal frowned. “Why would they want to come here? They have all kinds of matchmaking going on that doesn’t depend on their beast liking someone.”

Dira smiled. “I think they envy our certainty. Compared to the others, we have a five percent divorce rate; we just have less of a marriage rate. So, this is a venture to get people in touch with the people they are meant to be with.”

Antony smiled slightly. “Yes, but why us?” He gestured between himself and Teal.

The dragon shrugged. “You two are compatible. I have studied human behaviour for centuries. You are the closest thing to a couple that isn’t a couple, and this is the place to let your beasts try the other one out.”

Teal sat upright. “What?”

“There is food, drink, clothing, and I can put you back where I found you or in the location of your choice if you absolutely, positively, cannot stand each other. However, I would ask that you give it a few days. Antony, you don’t have anywhere you need to be. Your people take care of themselves. Teal? Your people know what they tried to do today. They will need to appoint leadership, but they will manage it.”

Teal grimaced. “There will be no other primes in the swans while I am alive.”

Dira shrugged. “So? Only ten percent of the shifter communities have a prime at any given time. Some haven’t had one in centuries.”

“I feel that the swans this generation are exceptionally stupid.”

Dira smiled. “That is why they need to stand on their own. You redirecting your focus is important. You can use that prime energy to help other people find love. It is an important calling.” She threaded her hands behind her head.

“So, since you won’t give me a straight answer, I am guessing that it is as simple as we are the right ages, both powerful, and both single of opposite sexes.” Teal summed it up. “You expect our beasts to just fall over each other?”

Dira sat up and picked up her teacup again. “Why don’t you ask them? Antony, you go first.”

“Call me Tony.”

“Tony. What does your raven want?”

He sat up and closed his eyes. His fingers twitched, and he said, “He wants to see the area.”

Dira smiled. “Teal, what dose your swan want?”

“The same. She wants to look for a lake or pond.”

“Well, then, come back when you have seen what has been built. You need to make an educated choice.”

Teal paused and finished her tea. “I think I will take a flight around.”

“You can change on the front porch or in the shifter’s meadow. I am thinking of putting in some cabanas or something to make the first shift more pleasant for those who are newly arrived.”

Teal nodded and got to her feet. “I will see you shortly.”

Tony grabbed another sandwich, nodded, and ate as they walked.

“You didn’t have to come with me.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I did. I have always wanted to see a swan take off on dry land.”

She grimaced. “It isn’t pretty.”

He chuckled. “I hope not. I am looking forward to a bit of a show.”

She snorted. “Delightful. This is why we make an effort to be close to water when we do that sort of thing.”

They walked onto the sidewalk, and she followed her instincts to pass the few buildings and head into the meadow beyond. She breathed deeply and felt the slight motion in the air.

Deciding that this was as good a place as any, she kicked off her shoes, removed the socks, and unbuckled the belt to shove the jeans down her legs. When she was left with her t-shirt and panties, she removed both and dropped them into a pile. She glanced at Tony, and he was staring at her.

“Please, tell me that your group shifts in mixed sexes.”

He blinked and unbuttoned his shirt, muttering, “Yeah, but they don’t look like that.”

Her smile fixed itself in place as he exposed muscle that his casual posture didn’t show off to advantage. She blinked when her eyes started getting dry from staring.

She looked away and breathed slowly. The guys around her house didn’t look like that either.

When he was as naked as she was, she took a few steps and transformed into a swan.

He laughed. “You’re black.”

She hissed and flapped at him, forcing him to cover his genitals or have them damaged.

Once he had learned his lesson, she turned toward open air and took a run with her wings pumping furiously. When she had managed to get some air, she put all her power into the downstrokes and aimed for the open sky.

It took a lot of effort to get herself skyward, but once she was up, she verbalized to the raven who was flying with her.

He cawed, and they flew together in a slow spiral over the Crossroads. On the outskirts, the Crossroads simply ended. There was nothing else. It was surreal to see a wall of nothing that didn’t even have mist or glitter in it. It was simply... nothing.

She looked over the hostels and their relatively close proximity to Dira’s house. She flew sideways through the lane and saw the café and general store that were taking shape; around the corner was a bar with no name... yet.

Once she had sized up the idea of the place, she flew high again to view it all and see the potential. It wasn’t like she was going to stay, but it was nice to see the pond and the lake nearby. With a focus on her own path, she flew and braked into the water, paddling gracefully as soon as she was settled.

He settled on the side of the pond in his human form, casually resting on the huge boulder underneath him, and watched her.

“You are really more graceful on water and air than you are on land.” His cheerful tone carried across the water, and she hissed at him.

She swam up near him, reared up, and used her wings to spray him with water. When he shouted surrender, she calmed and went paddling again.

He dried off and waited for her, so she walked out of the water as a human with large wings coming out of her back.

“Did you know that you have black feather tattoos when you are mixing forms?”

She snorted. “I am aware.”

He nodded and stood up, still naked but ignoring his arousal. “Me, too.” He sprang his blue-black wings and smiled. His body was marked with falling feathers just like hers was.

“That is not right. I have never heard of two different primes sharing a marking.” She looked at his marks and walked closer to touch them.

The magic surged between them at her touch. Dira had been right about a lot of things.

Teal stood up, ignoring the erection that was standing at attention.

“Can you take off from a standing start, Tony?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

She inclined her head, dangerously close to his genitals, and then, she bent her legs and took flight.

He followed her seconds later, and they flew in a random pattern, weaving flight paths and finally ending up in front of the Victorian.

Robes were draped over the railing, and they took the hint, dismissing their wings and slipping on the conventional covering.

It was time to walk in and discuss their findings.

Chapter Four

Dira had a tray of lemonade and cookies waiting for them. She was smiling and said, “So, did you find anything of interest?”

Teal took a glass and a cookie. “The void surrounding this world. Is it stable?”

Dira nodded. “It is stable, unformed, and full of particles for expansion. I have planned for centuries of habitation here, and possibly a community for those who are shift-locked.”

Tony nodded. “Good goals. So, you need us as anchors. Why?”

Dira wrinkled her nose. “I have a lot of recruiting to do, and that involves my passage to and from the human world. I need a stable portal to come back to this fixed point in time and space. Time is still synchronized with the world, but to do that, I need a solid power point here to track and focus. Not to expound on my power levels, but two primes will barely be able to manage the job. Them being a mated pair will make them stronger. That, in turn, will make the link stronger, and the human mages will be able to use the portals and do transfers with greater ease.”

Teal glanced at Tony. “We are not mates. We are not from the same clans; we are not going to be free and clear once we—”

Tony snickered. “You are using absolutes.”

She blushed. “Right. Sorry. I meant if.”

Dira sighed. “I have been alive and watching shifters for centuries. I raised my nieces, watch them grow and gravitate toward the two sides of their natures. Splitting oneself in two like that is dangerous and depressing. I have seen this same drain on the soul in those who cannot find a mate within their own people. They mourn something that has never been, that can never be. Not with their own kind. If you take on this position, the aging process will effectively cease for you, and there will be a bond between you and the Crossroads. The dimension will maintain you, and you will maintain the link to the human world. Your link as it passes over other shifters will activate their beast’s urge to find a mate. They will take steps to come here. You will draw them. With you two at the doorway, the Crossroads will have irresistible bait.”

“We are bait now?” Teal blinked.

Dira hummed for a second. “More like advertising.”

Tony laughed. “So, if we are here and a mated pair, it is going to have an effect on the ambient energy that the Crossroads is putting out?”

Dira smacked her hand on the table. “Precisely. But, you would need to rescind your positions with your clans and the guild. Also, the children that would normally be the result of mating activities will have to wait until there is another pair of shifters with similar power signatures. I am guessing that they may occur somewhere in the next generation.”

Teal paused. “So, not only would we be under a form of house arrest, but we won’t even have a chance to have a family.”

“That is correct. I can have friends and family brought to you as visitors if you like.” Dira smiled. “I can make sure that the world comes to you.”

Teal glanced at Tony and thought briefly about having him at her side for centuries.

“I need some time to figure this out.” She looked around. “Is it all right if I return in a few hours?”

Dira nodded. “Take all the time you need. I have resumes to go over, so take your time. Tony, do what you like.”

He got up, nodded, and headed for the stairs. “I am going to go exploring.”

The black robe he was wearing was stretched tight over his shoulders, and Teal watched just long enough for Dira to catch her as Tony disappeared.

“You like him.”

Teal blushed. “He is pretty and seems competent.”

“And yet... not enough to build a life on?”

“I don’t know. I have seen him at meetings, but we have never even spoken before. I mean, I have seen him watching me on other occasions, but we have never spoken before today. Well, nothing beyond pleasantries.”

Dira nodded. “Just remember. We don’t follow the rules of courtship that humans do, though some families like to pretend. They want to clothe their society in manners and arrangements. I think you two need to meet a few of those to help your decision-making process. I want you to see both sides of things.”

The dragon smiled. “Take a few hours. Have a flight, go for a swim, sit on rocks, or perch in trees. Take your pick. Get into whatever space you need to think. I am going to make some calls and contact a few associates. After you get some rest, we are going to spend the next little while visiting.”

“What? I thought we couldn’t leave.”

“That is after you two have decided to anchor yourself to the Crossroads. Right now, you are just visiting.”

Teal nodded and got to her feet. “Thank you. This is... a lot to take in.”

“Yes, I understand. But, you are not the mother of your people; you are their leader. That is a very large distinction. If you want folks to baby and care for, there will be men and women here who have been rejected by family, friends, and lovers. While some will come in heads high, others will be at their lowest and need someone to help take care of them. That is where we will come in. We will let them know this is a safe space, and we will keep the peace. No bullying, not assaults, just a safe and sane place to meet their potential mates.”

Teal gave Dira a wide-eyed look. “Wait, we can defend people?”

“Of course. The position you would be occupying would depend on it. You will not only provide energy to the Crossroads, but you will also get it as well. It will flow both ways or into you if you need it.”

She nodded. “Right. I will be back in a bit.” Teal walked away from the other woman, out onto the porch, and slipped off her robe before standing on the railing. She fell and shifted, gaining altitude with heavy wingbeats before circling the Crossroads and heading for the lake.

After landing on the lake, she paddled around. She thought for hours until the sunlight was turning red. No answers had presented themselves. She had a thousand questions and no one to ask. She needed to know if her presence here would make a difference. It was important that she fulfill a duty. She had been raised with that focus and had no idea how to leave it behind.

Duty, honour, responsibility, they were all things that had been drummed into her since her hair had gone white in the traditional marking of her family’s primes. It was annoyingly noticeable and often got her called an albino growing up.

Love had never been something she thought she would get. She always knew her family would arrange something; she just had always imagined that she would have some input. Today had been wild, and she wanted nothing more than to rest, sleep, and tomorrow wake up to find that this had been a dream. She didn’t usually have that kind of luck.

She paddled along and tried to think of solitary shifters who looked like they wanted a mate, and her mind filled with names and memories of sad looks at mated pairs. Huh. She had never thought about unmated shifters and what they would want. She could get a partner with a flick of her wings, and so could Tony, but others? Normal shifters?

Understanding of the need finally dawned, and she had her resolve for this position. Now, she just had to get past dealing with Tony. Courtship was not something she had ever witnessed firsthand, and with their situation, it was unlikely that she would have one now. Part of her heart sank at that thought, but she pulled the blanket of duty over it and headed for the shoreline to shift.

She walked back toward Dira’s home, wearing only her hair. It was a pleasant freedom that she indulged at home when there weren’t folks around to scream about decorum.

She heard rustling in the trees, and a young couple staggered out of the bush, barely clothed and giggling. They saw her and froze.

She inclined her head. “Good evening. I am Teal.” She bowed slightly from the waist.

The young man was staring, and the girl elbowed him in the ribs.

“I am Emmy, this is Toby, miss. We are part of the beaver clan that lives here.”

“I am one of Dira’s recruits. I was just on my way back to the Crossroads.”

“You are walking? Like that?”

Teal chuckled. “As far as I can tell, I am the scariest thing in this forest, and my beast gives me thick skin on my feet.”

Emmy grinned. “Ours, too.”

The couple walked with her down the barely visible path.

“You do not need to follow me, I can find my way.”

Emmy chuckled. “I have a shift at the café. We are getting ready for visitors, so we practice the entire shift.” She giggled. “Then, we invite the evening shift of builders over to kill the leftovers. They build around the clock right now, so we have to keep them fed.”

Toby smiled. “It is a burden that we bear as well as we can.”

Teal laughed. “Sounds like a good use of resources. What are you building?”

“We are finishing the bar, working on the other buildings that are going to be cloaked by the dragon until they are ready.”

“Oh. Is she doing that with a lot of stuff?” Teal’s question was casual, but Tony’s arrival delayed the answer. She held out her arm, and he landed on it, his keen eyes looking her up and down.

Emmy looked at him. “Who is that?”

“This is Tony. The other recruit. Tony, this is Emmy and Toby.”

Tony nodded to them in turn, his strong feet clutching at her skin. She smiled. “I am walking to the Crossroads. I will be back at Dira’s shortly.”

She braced her arm as he launched upward, and she was surprised when he transformed and stood next to her, offering his arm.

She chuckled and placed her hand in the crook of his arm.

He inclined his head and smiled as they resumed the walk.

Teal tried not to look, but her peripheral vision was going crazy, trying to get a look at him.

As they got closer to the road, he leaned over and murmured, “You can just look if you like.”

Her blush could have lit a fire. “I have seen naked men before.”

He laughed. “Have you seen a naked man who is interested in you in a similar state?”

She glanced, and his interest was apparent.

He muttered, “At least I am not a Muscovy duck.”

She shivered. “Ew. I know it is called screwing but... ew.”

He snorted.

The young beavers took their leave and sprinted to the café and construction project.

Teal and Tony were a little more relaxed with each other as they stepped onto the deck of the Victorian, but Teal slipped on her robe quickly.

Tony took his time, and in the dying light of the sun that she couldn’t properly see, she took note of every muscle, scar, groove, protrusion, and hollow of his body. Well, the front of him.

He slowly slid the robe on and closed it. “To see anything more will cost a kiss.”

She blushed again. “I don’t think a toll will be necessary.”

He held the door open for her. “Oh, I am a man who binds to his word. If I say that it what it will cost, that is what it will cost.”

She walked ahead of him but could feel him radiating heat at her back. How could a short walk and a bit of contact do that to her? Oh, right. Naked contact. Even arms count.

Dira came toward them with a smile. “Oh, good. You are here. I have left a change of clothing in the rooms at the top of the steps. I thought we could test the café tonight. They are needing to run through their paces, and I don’t think that grateful construction workers challenge them quite enough.”

Teal took a few steps toward the stairs. “Which room is mine?”

“The one with the dress hanging on the door, dearling. I will see you down here when you are done.”

Teal nodded and headed for the stairs with Tony a few paces behind her. A cocktail dress was hanging from one door, a silk shirt and black trousers were hanging on the door next to it. Both of the doors were held open by the hangars hooked over the wood. She pushed open her doorway and took the dress with her. Matching shoes in her size were waiting, as was a luxurious room with a bed, dressing table, and a bathroom.

She removed her robe and pulled the dress on over her head, doing up the side zip.

She put on the shoes and fixed her slightly wild hair. Everything she was wearing was black, and it made her hair look snowy white.

It was when she looked at herself in the mirror with the flippy skirt that she wished she had gotten some underwear to go along with the dress.

Chapter Five

When she stepped out of her room, Tony was waiting for her, leaning against the wall between their rooms.

He looked her up and down and nodded. “Dira has good taste.”

Teal fidgeted and gestured to the stairs. “We should go. I am rather hungry. I didn’t take advantage of the sandwiches.”

“Of course. I will follow.”

She grimaced and headed down the stairs with him, watching her every step in the heels.

Dira was waiting for them and smiling. “It looks like you two are going to a vampire nightclub.”

Teal snorted. “Right, like vampires are real.”

Dira waggled her eyebrows and smiled. “Of course, they are... not.”

Tony put his hand on Teal’s lower back. “Shall we?”

Dira chuckled. “Of course. She must be hungry after so many shifts.”

They left as a quiet trio, heading for the only sound in the silence space. The hammers that were working were a definite beat in the night.

Teal wobbled a little on the gravel, and Tony caught her. “I would like to formally curse whoever came up with high heels for women’s clothing.”

Dira smiled. “Men and women used to wear them equally. It fell out of fashion for men when being fashionable was no longer all there was.”

“How old are you, Dira?” Teal asked it baldly. No sense of hiding things.

“Old enough to have seen the world spin through the stars and man develop from a superstitious gathering to a rabidly dangerous superstitious gathering.”

Tony snorted. “It isn’t that bad.”

“When men split the atom, the dragons held a council. Many chose to sleep and wait until humans had finished their rampage across the earth and died out. Others, like me, have chosen to work on the short game. Or rather, the long game for shifters. Help men and women find men and women who speak to their souls instead of the wants of their clans. Happy people have a better chance of having calm and reasonable children. Calm children become calm adults. If they are accepting of other species, that open nature might carry through. By creating a few hundred or thousand good and well-balanced shifters, I hope to put them in places where they can sway humanity.”

Teal blinked. “You are talking about social manipulation.”

Dira smiled as they arrived at the café, and she held the door for both of them. “I am only talking about a chance that didn’t exist until now. That is a worthy pursuit.”

Teal entered, and the staff all looked at them with stunned expressions before Emmy came toward them and smiled. “Booth or table?”

Teal looked at the others and said, “Table.”

They were shown to a table, and while they settled, water and menus were brought.

Teal flipped through the menu, and she looked to Emmy. “What do you recommend?”

“Do you eat meat?” It was a good question. Not all shifters who had vegetarian counterparts did.

“Yes, I do.”

“In that case, the roast beef dinner is very good tonight.”

Teal smiled. “Thank you. That will be good.”

Tony smiled and nodded. “For me as well.”

Dira said, “My special, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Emmy collected the menus and walked back to the kitchen, writing down and calling out the order as she did so.

The kitchen sprang into action, the order was called back, and everyone suddenly had something to do.

Dira smiled. “It is so much nicer having actual people here to eat with instead of pretending to have guests.”

Teal smiled. “Now, about your social engineering project. How far do you think shifters will get?”

“Well, it will only be shifters until we prove the concept. Then, we will approach the other species and the mages and see if they want to join the party.”

Teal sipped at her water. “You are confident it is going to be a party?”

“Sex with someone you are meant to be with? Why not?”

Tony cleared his throat. “It isn’t all about sex. It is about a life together, with kids or without. Knowing that your beast is happy, you are happy, and your partner and her beast are happy.”

Dira chuckled. “That is so sweet.”

“Thanks. I can’t just be scanning for carrion all day.”

Teal snickered.

They sat and asked Dira questions about the past and how it actually smelled.

Dira laughed and explained the details of plumbing in the ancient world. She kept things polite and suitable for conversation when the food showed up.

Emmy set each plate down, expertly holding all three at once.

Teal smiled. “Ooh. Mashed potatoes.” She grinned and set her fork in the starch-and-gravy goodness.

The food was really good. Teal asked, “Is this actual food or some kind of construct?”

Dira answered, “Good question. Fresh food and drink are actually brought in every few days. The water is generated here. When we have our first official guests, the frequency will increase.”

They ate, and Tony looked around. “So, everything has been brought here?”

“I have been building this place from a kit for nearly a century.” Dira laughed. “Do you want pie? They have great pie.”

Teal smiled. “I think I can handle some pie. It was quite the day, after all.”

Tony sat back and sighed. “Two for me.”

Dira held her hand up with four fingers extended. Emmy laughed, and two minutes later, four slices of pie were delivered to the table. The pie was apple, the crust was melt-in-your-mouth, and Teal finished her glass of water with a smile. “That was really good.”

Tony finished his second piece. “I would have to agree.”

When he had set his utensils aside and dusted off his fingers on a napkin, he stated, “That was delightful. Is there anything else to experience around here?”

A gathering of young men came into the café, paused when they saw Dira, and then bowed. “Lady, it’s done. We will work on the general store shelves for the rest of the nightuntil the prints for the next building is ready. The additions to the hostels and the extra guesthouse are also on the list.”

Dira smiled. “Just keep busy.”

“Yes, ma’am. Break time.”

They took up positions around the café, and each table took turns going to the men’s room to wash hands and faces. Emmy and another sever made the rounds, and soon, the place was abuzz.

Dira smiled. “It seems that the bar is done. Would you care to come with me for an inspection?”

Teal nodded. “Sure. I am all dressed up, may as well go out.”

Tony got up and held out his hand to help her to her feet. Dira was already up when he turned to her. She grinned and said, “Out the door and to the right.”

Teal took the lead and followed the instructions. There was a boardwalk around the building that took her directly to the bar. There were saloon-style doors that led into the nearly entirely wood interior. The smell of stain and wood oil was heady.

A light touch on a table told her that everything was dry, just off-gassing.

A jukebox was glittering with lights at the end of the aisle that she walked down. There was a dance floor that would hold about forty people and restroom signs behind it. If you did anything in this place, the dance floor would be in your path. It was an interesting setup.

The bar was long, had tall seats, and was just waiting for the alcohol to be stocked.

Music started, and she turned to see Tony pivoting from the jukebox. “May I have this dance?”

She listened. It was a generic slow dance, no wailing singer, no deep throb of drums, just a nice and even beat.

“Sure. I don’t have anywhere else to be right now.”

“I will take that as an enthusiastic affirmative.” He held out his hand. She stepped toward him, and he pulled her in at a respectful distance.

They moved slowly together, and she smiled. “There is something strange about dancing. It is weirdly intimate and intensely formal.”

Tony smiled. “I don’t know about that. All I know is that it is an excellent way to gauge how a woman will move in bed and provides an excellent view of her cleavage.”

She snickered. “I see. So, you pick women who are shorter than you as a rule.”

“It meets my needs.”

“Hm.” She did a slow twirl and came back to his arms.

Tony looked like he had been struck. “You...”

She smiled politely. “Yes?”

“You aren’t wearing any underwear.”

“I was not provided with it, so it has been a breezy evening.”

He let out a strangled laugh. “I knew about your top but hadn’t thought about the bottom. You have a lovely rack, by the way.”

“Thanks. They are a matched set.” She waggled her eyebrows.

His eyes went wide. “Are you flirting with me?”

She cocked her head. “I didn’t have anything else to do this evening.”

He laughed, and when the next song came on, he pulled her close. With his slacks and her skirt, there wasn’t much between them. She shivered and danced with him through two more songs, and then, she pulled away.

“That is enough for tonight. We have to go on a trip with Dira tomorrow. Today has been exhausting, and I need my sleep.” Teal smiled. She wasn’t kidding. It was part of her personal defect that she couched personal discomfort as a joke.

He sighed and offered her his arm. “I will escort you back.”

There wasn’t any option. He was going to do it, and he was going to the same place she was. May as well take advantage of his stability since she was stuck in heels.

They walked out of the bar with the music still playing in the background.

It was a nice night, and Teal was more relaxed than she had been in ages. There were few decisions to be made here. Everything was clear. Politics was gone, and she could simply react within the simple parameters that had been set. It was tempting, but she had a few people to meet and some places to go before she could make the final decision.

There were some things that shouldn’t be rushed, and choosing to lock herself into an interdimensional space with a horny raven and a scheming dragon was one of them. Teal had to go into this coldly and be ready to defend her decision to the council and the guilds.

Chapter Six

The smell of breakfast brought her out of a fitful sleep that had involved dreams of dancing and evaporating clothing.

Teal got up and blinked at the outfit that was hanging on a stand near the door. Jeans, sneakers, and a button-down shirt were on one hangar, a matching bra and panty set were on the other.

A quick shower was in order, and when she was out with a wet head, she cheated and turned her hair to feathers and then back again. When her hair became feathers, it shed all the water. Transforming back, her hair was dry.

She got dressed and jumped around in the new sneakers. Her mother frowned on wearing casual clothing anytime. This was the most fun she had had in years.

Teal headed downstairs, and Tony was seated and plowing through a very large breakfast.

Dira smiled and gestured to the sideboard. “Help yourself. It is easier to keep the heating magic to one object rather than the table.”

Teal loaded up a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and a muffin.

Carafes of coffee and tea were on the table. Teal got herself some coffee and doctored it to her liking before sitting back a few seats away from both of them and diving into her food with enthusiasm.

When Teal had finished and was nursing her second coffee, Dira began to speak. “Today, we are going to meet one couple and two individuals. All of them have been affected by the strictures against leaving their own clans or guilds for love.”

Teal paused. “Why?”

Dira looked from one of them to the other. “So you can both understand what is at stake here. This isn’t a game or something to play at for a while. It is a difficult commitment, and it will be hard, but it will also be rewarding and give you a new family.”

Teal frowned. “A new family?”

Dira hauled out a pack of files. “These are the candidates for permanent positions here. There is an excellent candidate for bartender. A naga who is stuck with his serpentine eyes and fangs, a tiger who has experience with running a bar, a landscaper who can work with me to redesign every inch of this place, and an architect who will manage the expansion. Some will live in the Crossroads, but others will have homes at the edge of the expansion. Many just need a place where they can be away from humans.”

Dira handed them the files. Teal looked through the staff lists and qualifications along with beasts, and she smiled. She traded the documents with Tony and took the one that contained the architect’s information. She blinked in surprise. “I have seen these designs before.”

Dira nodded. “Of course, you have. He’s famous, but he is a mythical shifter and finds life with humans exhausting.”

Teal turned the page, and she saw the details. “Oh. I haven’t met one of those before. Well, not that I know of.”

“That is the point with his kind. They blend in with humans very well, until they don’t.”

Teal looked at him and nodded. “Right. Well, he’s a helluva architect.”

Dira smiled. “Yes, but some of the designs he created don’t have a proper use... yet.”

Teal pulled out the drawing that had caught her eye. “What about this one? This is amazing.”

Dira picked it up and shrugged. “The Meditation Centre. Yeah. It looks nice, but there isn’t a practical purpose for it. Folks aren’t coming here for meditation.”

Teal took it back and showed it to Tony. “Isn’t this amazing?”

He nodded. “It has nice clean lines.”

Teal looked at Dira. “Why not use it as the portal? It would make an interesting landing and takeoff zone. I also really like that roof. It is so graceful.”

Dira nodded. “Okay, if you two decide to stay, the Meditation Centre can be your home. That way, you will never be at too great a distance from the portal and right near the center of town in case anything kicks off.”

Tony nodded. “Sounds good.”

Teal nodded. “Agreed.”

Dira smiled. “Excellent. Well, if everyone is fed, we will be on our way. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

They got up and left the remains of breakfast on the table. When Teal glanced back before they exited the room, the table was clear. Nice trick.

They arrived in the woods near a house, and Dira led them down a well-worn path to the house. She knocked on the door, and a woman with a coil of grey hair and two long scars across her face answered. “Lady Dira. Please come in.”

Dira smiled. “We don’t mean to impose. Would you like to sit out in the sun?”

The woman smiled. “That would be nice. I don’t get a lot of visitors.”

There was a wide picnic table out back, and they sat around it.

Dira nodded. “Eddie, these are the two I mentioned on the phone. Teal, Tony, this is Edwina Urbin, bobcat shifter and outcast.”

Teal inclined her head. “I am pleased to meet you, miss.”

Tony said the same.

Eddie smiled. “Dira has brought you here to let you ask questions, but first, I am going to tell you a story. When I was young, I was shifted and playing outside in the woods, where I met a young coyote named Eric. He and I got along and played together every summer. He and his parents rented a house near here for the lake season.”

Eddie smiled. “At first, we were friends, and then, we fell in love, and one day, we told our parents that we wanted to marry. My family freaked out and marked me, kicking me out and sending me to live with distant relatives. I never saw Eric again.”

Teal had her hand in front of her mouth. She had heard about the scars that families left on those who disobeyed, but she had outlawed them in her own family and clan. No one clawed up young men or women. If there were broken arms reported, there was an investigation, and healing was arranged.

Eddie smiled. “Dira has told me about this project, and I am all in favour of it. If Eric and I had had the chance, who knows if we would have ended up together or found folks who suited us more. Who knows if he did? I am forbidden from contacting him, even though my clan had kicked me out, my guild still speaks to me. They keep me socialized, keep me from going feral, and keep me in touch with the world outside. My nieces and nephews are modern and are appalled at what their grandparents did, but I am the lesson that has kept a generation in check.”

Teal frowned. “We used to have something similar, but it is still horrible.”

Tony stated, “If we can help one couple to avoid the fate that you experienced, it will be worth it.”

Eddie smiled. “My life has not been hell; I just didn’t have the love that I chose. I still have love in my life; it simply comes from family and friends. I have lived a good life, I just think it could have been better.” She smiled wryly. “Possibly with less staring.”

Teal frowned. “You aren’t mad at your parents for the marks?”

“It was the way I was raised. It was not a surprise that this was their answer to our announcement. When you know the rules, you know what happens when you break them. I knew the rules, just as your clan knows the rules.” Eddie reached out and took her hand. “You will know it when you feel it. Your beast will be desperate when you are apart, and your dreams will be filled with longing.”

Teal blinked. “Oh. Okay.”

Eddie laughed. “Don’t worry. Just let your beast drive the body for a change. The result will be immediate. She knows what she wants.” She looked over at Tony. “You as well, but based on your expression, your beast is already firmly fixed.”

Their conversation dwindled down after that, and Dira said their goodbyes. They headed out after Teal hugged their host, and Eddie hugged her back.

They were on their way to the next appointment.

Dira knocked on the door, and it was swung open by a man with rich auburn hair gone grey at the temples. His green eyes were slightly faded with age, but he had a tense dignity.

“Madam dragon, please come in.”

They stepped into his home, and it was spare, empty, and had no memorabilia aside from a shelf covered with sculptures of cats. Bobcats specifically.

Teal and Tony both looked, and they knew who this was.

“Eric, this is Teal and Tony. They are the recruits I mentioned.”

He nodded. “Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea?”

Dira smiled. “Mint tea for us if you have it.”

Eric looked relieved. “I just brewed a pot of sweet mint.”

He retreated to the kitchen while they sat on his couch. It was the only softness in the room.

He brought the tray in and poured three glasses of sweet, hot mint tea.

Teal picked her cup up and sipped it, burned her lip, and carefully set it down again. “It is very nice. Thank you.”

He smiled. “Everyone does that the first time. So, you have come for my story.”

Dira inclined her head. “Please.”

“Right. Well, I met Eddie one summer when my family was renting a cottage. She was in her shifted bobcat form, and I was running around in my coyote form. We met and made friends. I believe we were ten or so. From that day on, every summer we got together, and when we met in our teens, things changed. By the time we were eighteen, I knew that I wanted to have her in my life forever, but her family lashed out at her immediately. Once they took her, I never saw her again, but I knew what they did. For me, I was out of the clan, out of the guild, and they severed my fingers to make sure I couldn’t run even if I shifted. I learned to manage in the human world, got married, got divorced, but never felt the love that I had for Eddie again. My family was more insidious than hers. They had a curse placed on us to stop us from finding each other again. That was pretty thorough. I have tried, by the way. I have tried to find her, but I can get an address and can’t find the road.”

Tony asked, “How do your fingers affect your shift?”

Dira explained. “In quadrupeds, they need the feet for balance and propulsion.”

Teal nodded. “Right. I am sorry.”

He smiled and sipped at the tea. “You do not need to be sorry. These are the rules of being a shifter. You do what you need to do and accept that your alpha will do the best they can for the pack. Having an entire generation taking off to their own lives and loves, scattering the magic that the clan has managed to gather together... I understand why they did what they did, though, at first, it was difficult.”

They sat and listened as Eric explained the insanity that followed his isolation from his pack. They did not give him a distant family to cling to. He was a young man with an injury out in the human world, and he had to learn how to live alone. It was not an easy change of direction.

When they left his home, their mood was somber. Eric was alive, healthy, had social interactions with humans, but was banned from ever being near one of his own kind again. It was sobering. Even if Teal and Tony resigned their positions as leaders, they would not be banned from their own kind, their own families.

Dira exhaled and nodded. “So, that is what happens when they can’t be together in this world. On to the next appointment. We are getting lunch.”

Teal took Tony’s hand as the entered the next portal, and he squeezed her fingers with a response to her grip. They were both feeling the same thing at that moment, and being alone wasn’t part of it.

Chapter Seven

The suburb meant that they had to make their entry a mile away from the house, but their walk was done in somber silence.

They walked up the immaculate sidewalk that ran through the center of the lush green lawn that acted as the entryway to the sprawling split-level home.

The sound of shrieking children brought the quirk of a smile to Teal’s lips. A laughing blonde opened the door, and she had a baby on her hip. “Come on in, Miss Dira. Kick off your shoes and don’t step on cereal; it is a madhouse here this time of day.”

Dira led the way in, and the shoes came off. There were toys for ages ten to one around the living room and huge dining table.

A man in a suit and tie followed them in through the door. “Hey, Siobhan. I am home.”

The woman with the baby smiled. “Good. You get lunch. I fed everybody else already.”

The introductions were swift and involved Teal taking hold of the baby while Siobhan helped her husband, Leonard. Tony helped carry the dishes and cutlery while Dira played with the three-year-old in the playpen.

Teal stroked the baby’s forehead, and she scowled. Siobhan and Leonard had definite signs of shifters and powerful ones at that. The baby... didn’t. She was cute, she was healthy, but she was obviously not a shifter.

She handed the little one to Tony when he sat next to her, and he paused as well.

Leonard smiled as he took a helping of salad. “You are noticing that the children don’t have a beast. Yeah, that is our fault.”

Teal frowned. “How? You are both shifters; it should have been natural that they would be one or the other.”

Leonard passed her the bowl. “Natural, yes. But our union was allowed on one contingency. We allowed our councils to block our children from getting their beasts. No bats and no Irish wolves have come out of our union. Just happy and healthy human kids.”

Tony kept the baby in his arms as he took his serving of salad. “Do the children know?”

Siobhan nodded. “We start them on explaining that they are different from their cousins. That because mommy and daddy aren’t the same kind, their beasts couldn’t choose, so human was where they decided to be. It was better than telling them that they were cursed because of us.”

She handed around the mashed potatoes and roast chicken. Their hostess paused. “Oh, should I not have served chicken?”

Teal chuckled. “It is fine. You are not royalty, so swan was not on the menu.”

Tony smiled. “And I will eat just about anything.”

Dira just watched and smiled as the story of their meeting was spun out while Tony held the infant, and other children arrived at random for introductions. There were six of them.

It was an entertaining luncheon.

The couple had met in college at a party and had found they had two classes in common. Studying turned to dating, turned to sex, and then, they were asking their families for permission. The two families and clan leaders had gotten together and discussed what was to be done. One or the other species could have given in, but neither had, so the shifter guild had to put their foot down and place a curse on the children to deny them beasts. Well, they had a mage do it. It was almost unheard of for a shifter to master magic. Dira was the one exhibit of shifter magic that Teal had seen.

Teal looked up from her ice cream. “So, that is what the treaty was about. It will stop this sort of thing from happening, right?”

Dira chuckled. “That is the idea. A contract will be created when each guest enters. They sign the agreement to remain at the Crossroads until they find their mate. If someone is there and doesn’t find someone for a period specified by their clan or guild, they can go home or keep trying. If we can keep a sufficient population, things should happen pretty quick.”

Dira finished her ice cream and reached for her coffee. “When they leave, they sign a contract, you two will witness it, and it will be filed with the shifter’s guild and sent to each clan as a legally witnessed union that has to be upheld. No curses. No banishments. No mutilation.”

Siobhan and Leonard held hands. “We are very glad that our clans outgrew that or, at least, put it aside for our sakes. We have good jobs and are excellent providers, but they still had to make an example of us.”

An idea was percolating in Teal’s brain as she looked at the two and thought of the two who had lost so much.

“Dira, how many other couples are there like this out there?”

Dira shrugged. “Given various treatments by their families? Dozens, perhaps even hundreds still alive.”

Teal nodded. “I see.”

Tony looked down. “The children seem happy.”

Leonard smiled. “They are, but their cousins are starting their first shifts, and ours can’t feel what they feel. It is going to cause a rift, and we can see it coming, so we have begun a slow divide between ourselves and the other shifters. It will be better for them.”

Teal exhaled. “Right. I remember that. It gets competitive as they approach puberty.”

Tony nodded. “My siblings and I nearly killed each other trying to force the shift.”

Leonard shuddered. “Mine too.”

Siobhan nodded. “That is why we are starting the distancing now. The cousins will be told that our children were born human and there is no beast to activate.”

Tony sighed. “Do you think they will listen?”

Siobhan took her sleeping infant from Tony, and she shook her head. “They won’t. Children don’t follow when their bodies are changing. They push their limits, and they make those around them match those limits.”

Dira nodded and said, “There are nannies being interviewed to watch over them, but mages are funny about who they work for. The mages that will work for one family won’t work for the other. The process to find one trustworthy who can work for both is time-consuming.”

Teal cleared her throat. “Find a halfling mage. They are a lot easier to deal with.”

Siobhan looked hopeful. “Do you know one?”

“Yes, and if her mother lets her come, you can have an excellent caregiver.” Teal patted her clothes and shrugged. “Do you have a pen, paper?”

A small hand patted her arm, and a crayon and piece of paper were in the tiny grip. “Oh, thanks, Madeline.”

Dira beckoned the little girl and stroked her hair. “How much did you hear, little miss?”

“We are getting a nanny to stop our cousins from scaring us.” Maddy smiled brightly.

Teal wrote down the name and number and slid it over to Siobhan. “Her mother was a mage who met a handsome fey at a school lecture. He found her attractive, and Imbriada was the result. She’s twenty-two now, but fey males tend to congregate around her. Her mother will want to investigate your immediate neighbours before she lets her daughter be a nanny, but I don’t think it will be a problem.” Teal chuckled. “Just tell her I said it was okay. Teal, the swan prime, said it was fine.”

Leonard frowned. “How do you know of her?”

“She’s my neighbour.” Teal laughed. “We grew up together. Well, I used to babysit for her. She perky, charming, and very, very strong.”

Siobhan blinked. “Will you wait here while I make the call?”

Teal glanced at Dira, and the dragon nodded. “Sure. I can be with you when you ask. Heck, I can do the asking. Where are we?”

Leonard blinked and laughed. “Ah, portal travel.”

Their state, city, and address were rattled off. Teal headed to the phone with Siobhan, and she made the call.

When the phone was answered, she smiled. “Hiya, Ula. Is Imbi around?”

“Teal? I thought you had run away.”

“I have been contemplating a career change. Reassessing my options and seeking a few of those who have not always received equitable treatment from our own rules and laws.”

Ula was interested. “Really? You are usually so straitlaced.”

“Certain truths of our society have been proved to me, and I want to change something. One little change can have ripples into the future.”

“Excellent. So why are you calling Imbi?”

“There is a couple here with unpowered kids reaching toward puberty. Their cousins are full shifters, and the kids are human. That is a destiny for disaster. So, I thought Imbi could act as nanny for a while. Continue her education, take care of some little ones with wards and focus. She is very good at watching details, and these are very cute details.”

Ula laughed. “I will have to speak to the parents and come by for a visit.”

“Siobhan is here, and Leonard is just a few feet away. I now hand you over to them, but please, pass along to Imbi that these are good people in need, and the kids are adorable and well-behaved.”

“Put them on.”

Siobhan took the phone, and she said, “Hello?”

Teal left them to hash out the details.

Leonard smiled and nodded at them. Siobhan was making arrangements for the first home visit on the weekend. The relief in her voice was obvious as she got the details of how the children could be protected by human-fey magic. It would repel other shifters for as long as needed.

They left, and while they hadn’t solved the big problems, they had taken steps toward a dangerous one.

Dira smiled as they walked. “That was a good decision. As they are human, the fey magic will do more to repel shifters than anything else. A halfling is perfect.”

“She is perfect. Her parents are both stunning, smart, and talented. Her dad isn’t a jackass and still visits. They have a strange but pleasant arrangement.”

Teal was holding Tony’s hand, and he was silent until he said, “I didn’t know you consorted with fey.”

“I don’t consort; I just don’t close my mind to the possibility of a person. That is why I still have a cousin who helped me escape my own wedding. He is the same person now that he was when we were children together when we played together and got into trouble together. I want to push the world into a place where he will be able to love just as freely as anyone else, but until that day dawns, I have to love him with everything in me and protect him when he needs it. That is what I wish for everyone. The feeling of safety to see someone who loves them and knows that they are not risking life and limb for it.”

Tony blinked. “Your cousin is gay?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. Nice. The world is moving forward. I am sure he will find someone to love in his lifetime.”

She barked a sad laugh. “At what cost.”

Dira broke in. “You are missing the point, Teal. Everyone that you spoke to today pursued love. Some gave up, some surrendered, but all fought for it knowing that they were not likely to have the same life as everyone around them.”

They walked into the woods, and she opened another portal.

With everything they have learned weighing on them, they walked through the gateway. Decisions needed to be put on paper.

Chapter Eight

Teal spent the next three hours at a desk in Dira’s home, drafting the contracts that Dira had referred to. A template had already been drafted, but it wasn’t quite right.

When she had drafts of the two contracts, she brought them over to Tony to examine.

He looked them over and made two slight changes. “They look great. Are you a lawyer?”

She shook her head. “No, I have just had to wade through a lot of contracts for the clan and guild.”

Dira smiled. “Can I see them?”

Teal handed them over, and Dira looked them over, smiled, nodded, and waved her hands over them slowly, creating a stack of papers on both sides. One stack slowly disappeared as the dragon focused.

“What are you doing?”

“I have converted them to formal parchment documents with the Crossroads seal and distributed them to transporters across this continent.”

Teal blinked. “So, I am guessing that I just agreed to stay.”

“Well, we still need to negotiate your contracts, but I believe you have made your choice, haven’t you?” Dira arched a brow.

Tony stood up and walked to stand with Teal near Dira’s desk. “I have a few stipulations for my contract as well.”

Dira folded her fingers together and smiled. “Shoot.”

He said calmly, “I want all of those separated by species to be issued invitations free of charge to the Crossroads, to determine if they are suitable to be bound pairs with their families having to adhere to the union.”

Teal’s mouth opened. “I was going to say that.”

Tony smiled. “I think things would be easier if people like Siobhan and Leonard could be together without being bound by their families.”

“I was going to say that, too.”

He chuckled. “Well, those are the big ones for me.”

Teal perked up. “This isn’t specific to us, but any mated pairs should wear some kind of marking. A bracelet or something.”

“I will think of something.”

Teal nodded and looked outside. “I think it is time to stretch my wings before dinner.”

Dira smiled. “Balconies have been added to your rooms. You can launch without heading down to street level.”

Teal smiled and nodded. She headed up to her bedroom and carefully removed her clothing, walking to the new balcony door and stepping outside. She jumped onto the railing and looked at the impressive fall below. She stood up and swan-dived toward the ground, pulling up at the last moment with her wings wide.

She flew around the area in a quick check, noted the change from the previous day, and changed things by landing in the lake. Teal watched Tony do predatory circles, and then, the raven had the nerve to land on her back and settle in.

She twisted her neck and stared at him eye to eye. He clacked his beak and remained nestled against her. She glared at him, turned around, swam to the shallows, and started diving. The was a splash, and suddenly, a naked man had joined her in the lake.

She dove and shook herself dry a few more times before cruising along the surface. Tony was happily swimming and diving as well.

Teal propelled herself along the lake and flew upward until she was high enough to wear her half form. She landed next to the lake with her knees drawn up to her chest and her wings out behind her and watched Tony swim.

He swam closer, and he cocked his head. “Care to join me?”

She shook her head. “Without the webbed feet, I am not a strong swimmer.”

That gave him pause. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really. I only get into the water if there are feathers involved.”

He walked up the shoreline, and the water sheeted off him. “That is something you should work on. You are knowledgeable everywhere else, but you need to spend some time on yourself. Giving too freely can really drain a soul.”

She shrugged. “It’s all I know. When did you know you were a prime?”

“About the age of fourteen. Why?”

“My hair changed when I was six. From that point on, it was all etiquette and training to be the perfect swan prime. Focusing on making sure that other lives go smoothly is all I know. Now, I will have short-term guests to take care of. It is a pretty easy change in direction.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

He laughed. “We are not going to be herding these people together; they are going to have to find their own way. We can guide them, guard them, but they have to choose their path. That is what this place is truly about, in my opinion. Freedom to choose and be chosen in turn.”

She got to her feet and retracted her wings. “That doesn’t extend to us.”

“Doesn’t it? I have been watching you at the meetings for years. You come in, you speak, and you go. There are folks hopping up and down to get your attention, but you glide through them like you glide across water. I think this change in venue has finally made you look outside your own head.”

He came closer to her until she could feel the heat of his skin. He whispered, “So, what is your choice?”

She started slowly, touching his jaw, neck, and then trailed her hands down his chest. “I am making up my mind.”

He caught her hands and held them against him. “I really think that we should do this inside, or we could...”

He looked up at the sky, and she blinked. Her beast surged forward with a resounding yes and kissed him. The polite contacts of her previous life hadn’t prepared her for the roar of heat that ripped through her as her swan let her know that it was tired of being restrained, and it climbed Tony like he was a tree. Her wings sprouted, and she hissed as he eased her back. He had his wings on, and his eyes were solid black as he shot skyward.

There was nothing else to do. Teal followed.

They climbed as high as they could, wrapping their limbs together as they mated, dropped toward the ground, and mated again.

Teal’s human soul was appalled, but she had to admit, it was fun.

* * * *

Dira watched the black wings and pale bodies lock, drop, and increase altitude again. “About time.”

Primes were tricky. They were the focus of an entire species of shifter, but that meant that the human spent a lot more time in control than it should. It made it more difficult for them to find mates.

Dira had spent years looking for a compatible pair, and now, they were finally completing the last link in her chain. Them. A matched pair of primes who were willing to shepherd the guests into being openminded.

She had them. Next, she would bind them to the Crossroads, and then, they could open for business. She just had to contact Yanos about installing living quarters in the Meditation Centre designs, and the first guests could be arriving in a week.

Dira’s dragon was smug. It had been a long game, but it was coming to fruition.

* * * *

Teal woke up and groaned. Very specific parts of her body ached, and that was something considering that she healed rapidly.

“That is quite the groan for so early in the morning.” Tony kissed her shoulder.

She froze, and then, it all came back to her. Hours of flight and sex, then back to their room and additional sex. She had—or rather they had—showered at some point.

“You forgot when you woke up? Don’t worry, so did I.”

She licked her lips. He was pressing soft kisses across her shoulder and toward her neck. “Morning.”

He chuckled. “Morning.”

“I feel like I have been flattened by a truck.”

He winced. “Sorry, but once I let him go and you let her go, I was just watching from the backseat.”

She sighed. “Okay. So, it was like that for you, too. Good to know.”

“Do you let her loose often?” He nibbled at her ear.

“Never. This is the first time she has forced control.”

He smiled. “Him too. I think they were trying to tell us something.”

He was slowly and carefully moving his hands over her body.

“That we needed to get laid?”

He chuckled and licked at her neck. “No, well, yes, that and that they had found each other.”

She squirmed in his grip. When he slid a hand between her thighs, she was already wet. He raised her leg and fitted his cock to her, plunging in deliberately before sliding out slowly.

She turned, and he kissed her as they slowly moved together in a soothing mimicry of yesterday’s frenzy. Her hips rocked against his, the heat inside her increased her pulse, and when she came, it was with a gasp and shudder.

She slumped, and he grunted as he shook against her. He sighed and chuckled. “I am guessing that we need another shower now.”

Teal smiled. “Good plan. I will take a shower now.”

“I will lend a hand. You might have a bit of muscle fatigue.”

He slid out of her and rolled to his feet.

She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side. She tried to stand up, but her legs weren’t fatigued; they were furious.

Tony offered his arm for her to lean on, and she walked with him to the shower. He helped keep her steady, and the hot water helped relax the tense muscles that were making things worse.

When she wasn’t sweaty or sticky and could move under her own power, she stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel.

Clothing was hanging for both of them on a rack near the door. His room was huge.

“This room is—”

“Both of ours. It was one huge room last night or this morning.”

“Oh. Handy. I guess that stops folks from bedroom hopping. It takes away the place to hide.” She nodded at the logic of it.

“So, they court, connect, physically link, and then head back to the world to work out the details of that connection.” He nodded and toweled his hair dry. She did her feather trick and smiled.

He stared. “That is a very handy way of drying your hair.”

She smiled brightly. “I know. You are the first person who has actually seen me do it.”

He grinned. “Thank you for the privilege.”

They got dressed and headed down for breakfast. A man with brown hair and deep brown eyes was talking with Dira.

Dira smiled. “Teal, Tony, please get some breakfast and have a seat. This is Koron. He’s our architect.”

Koron smiled and inclined his head. “I hear that you are the new guardians and are in need of a home.”

Teal loaded a plate and settled at the table. Tony sat next to her, pressing his thigh against hers.

Teal poured herself some coffee and one for Tony before putting sugar and cream in hers. She smiled. “Very pleased to meet you, Koron. I have admired your work for years.”

He blinked. “Thank you. It is rare that someone knows my name.”

She grinned. “I have been to the Makata Bridge and gatehouse at least once every three years since I was ten.”

Koron blushed. “That project was one of my favourites.”

“It shows. The lines are amazing.”

Tony sighed. “So, architecture does it for you?”

She snickered. “A nicely carved piece of stone is still a nicely carved piece of stone.” She patted his leg under the table. “Don’t worry about it. I would hate for someone to chisel any part of you.”

Koron grinned. “Charming couple. You will do well together.”

Teal smiled. “I hope so.”

“I know so.” Tony picked up her hand and kissed it.

She laughed, and they finished breakfast before working on the plans.

A week after their first night together, they were standing in front of the construct that thirty beavers and a dragon had put together with the help of the only centaur on the continent.

Dressed in formalwear designed and provided by Dira, they held hands and pledged themselves to each other and to the Crossroads.

Dira smiled, and everyone dispersed after the rounds of cheering. She looked at Teal and Tony. “Are you ready?”

Teal smiled. “We are ready. Charms are set, contracts in place, and the portal is ready. Have I mentioned how much I love the roof?”

Tony chuckled. “A few times. Come on. We need to get into position.”

Dira retreated to a safe distance, and they lined up to catch the new guest.

Everyone was in position, the store was stocked, the café was ready, and the Crossed Stars Bar was ready for business with Chuck behind the bar. The Open Heart Bed and Breakfast was prepped for business, and Teal was braced for running tours.

Teal felt the tingle that meant there was a portal forming. Tony nodded, indicating that he felt it, too.

She took a position near the doorway, and when the magic flowed and ceased, she walked up to the newcomer and smiled. “Welcome to the Crossroads.”

Siobhan stared at her and smiled. “Is this for real?”

Teal felt the next portal starting up, and she escorted her guest off and to the contract area. “We have something for you to sign, and then, you will get a charm that will allow you to pay for any items here at the Crossroads. Would you like a tour?”

Siobhan looked around. “Is he here yet?”

“He is coming soon. Let’s get you squared away.” Teal went through the agreement not to leave until she had her mate, and Siobhan signed.

Teal led her first guest away a moment before Siobhan’s husband arrived.

It took two days and a lot of making out in the bar, but the first, second, and third couples were sent on their way as legal in the eyes of the shifter guild and all the clans. As an added bonus, a ritual to remove the curse for Siobhan and Leonard’s children was planned for as soon as their parents were settled in and the family was together. There were ways to summon a banished beast, and those ways would have to be employed.

Teal watched the last of their guests leave, and she brushed her palms on her thighs. Using magic didn’t come naturally, but powering up the glyph under the floor was easy for the swan and raven primes.

With no one expected and all of the remaining guests occupied trying to find their mate, it was time to get some rest. There were more folk rushing toward love in the morning.

Epilogue

“And so, Madeline, that is how we met your mother and father and why you are here today.” Teal smiled at the woman in her thirties who was frowning.

Maddy’s scowl was confusing until she asked, “Why aren’t you older? You looked just like this when I first met you.”

Teal chuckled. “Oh. That. I believe it was covered.”

“So, you are really tied to the Crossroads?”

“And the Isthmus and this entire dimensional bubble. Yes. Our connection has grown over the years.”

They walked slowly through the bustling streets as men checked Maddy out, and she was a little surprised by the interest.

“Don’t worry. You can stare at them as well. Everyone is here for the same reason. They are all here to find a mate. They are just sizing you up. You can definitely do the same. Half of them would drop trousers if it sped things up.”

Maddy blushed. “Right. That’s... it’s... were my parents like this?”

“They enjoyed the time away from kids and then pined to get back to you. We wish that we could have offered them more time, but they had made up their minds. They were soulmates, and that was that.”

Maddy looked at the elves, the mages, and the shifters in turn. “They are all here for a mate?”

“Yes.”

“And that mate could be me?”

Teal laughed. “For one of them.”

Maddy looked around and rubbed her hands together. “I am really liking my odds.”

Teal laughed and continued the tour to the shifters meadow, the forest, the café, and the Open Heart. One day there would be a set of primes to take her and Tony’s place for a while, but until then, the hope in the eyes of the searching was more than enough to keep her heart warm. Tony kept the rest of her warm.

Author’s Note

So, we have gotten back to the Enchanted Crossroads... and we have the origin story. Details may get blurred with time, but the facts are the facts, and I make the facts up.

I hope to get back here soon. There are endless couples to match up, and now that I have found the architect of the Crossroads... I think I need to find a young lady who always wanted a pony.

Thanks for reading,

Zenina Masters

About the Author

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.