Page 50 of Ancient Promises

“Thanks so much,” Eivross said. “Aside from meeting Diem, this is the happiest day of my life.”

“I love to hear that,” Isak said. “Now how about a tour, and then I’ll take you to the library so you can see your mate.”

“Sounds good to me.”

His dragon let out a happy trill in his head.

Not only had he found his truemate in Cider Falls, but he’d found a purpose too. And it wasn’t just to make Diem deliriously happy. In a million years he never would have guessed that he’d be mated and making a life for himself in a hybrid- and exile-friendly town with a purebred wolf for an alpha.

Diem whooped a cheer when he gave her the good news, jumping into his arms and kissing him.

“I’m so happy!”

“I couldn’t tell,” he said with a laugh, giving her a little swing around in a circle. He set her gently on her feet. “I’ll start when the background check comes in.”

“You’re not a criminal, right?” she asked, giving him an exaggeratedly narrowed look.

“I swear.”

“Good.” She showed him around the library, which had a lot of bare shelves. When he asked her about the lack of books, she shrugged. “When they built the school, the library was filled with donated children’s books, but they never had someone actually take the job as librarian. There are people in town who step up to help out, mostly parents who want to be helpful to the school, but no one has done it full time. It just hasn’t been a priority.”

“It is now,” he said. “I’ll go through my collections. We definitely need more books for the older kids. In fact…” He tapped his chin. “I have at least one full set of encyclopedias, and I went through a spell where I collected biographies.”

“The library will be filled in no time,” she said.

They spent a few hours in the library. He used an old notepad he found in the desk to take notes on what needed to be done. A class came into the library, and he was introduced to the handful of children who were in the high school grades and their teacher, a male named Bart who was mated to a female named Maria who also worked in the school.

“We’re doing research on the life cycle of butterflies for science,” Bart said. “I don’t suppose you have any books on that?”

Eivross grinned. “I did see some excellent insect books, let’s go look.”

He winked at Diem and walked with the kids to the shelves.

“Now, what do you guys know about butterflies?”

Chapter Twenty-One

The following week, Diem used a bath towel to line a box, setting a few glass baking dishes inside.

“That’s the last of the bathroom stuff,” Arely said as she walked into the kitchen. “My car is full. How’s it coming in here?”

“Awesome,” Diem said. “I’ve got this one cabinet to finish loading and that should be it. Oh, wait, I didn’t check the drawer under the stove.”

“On it.”

Arely stooped and pulled open the drawer which screeched a little when it was opened. “Just a cookie sheet. I have several, do you want it?”

“Sure.”

Arely shoved the drawer closed and stood. She helped Diem use kitchen towels to wrap up the baking dishes, everything from glass casseroles to pie plates.

When the last dish had been loaded, Diem held the box closed while Arely taped it up with clear packing tape. Then she wrotekitchenon the top and side in large block letters.

“I can’t believe you’re moving,” Diem said.

“I know, but you guys need your privacy. And I get my own place. I mean, I’ve loved living here, even though it wasn’t for a very long time, but I’ve never lived on my own in Cider Falls. First I was with Cymbre and then you.”

“I’m glad the house was available for you,” she said. “Otherwise, you’d have to keep putting up with me and Eivross.”