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of any serpent and several mythological creatures.” He grinned and got her walking again.
    “Oh. Right.”
    He laughed. “You promised to show me your emergency form.”
    In moments, they were back on the path to the pond. Ivy made sure that they were alone before she removed her shirt and bra. “I have only used this shape once, and I was falling at the time.”
    Chuck was watching her with interest. “I like how this is starting.”
    Ivy snorted and concentrated on the shape she had taken on a school trip years earlier. Trips to the Grand Canyon were fun, but getting shoved off a cliff was hard on anyone.
    She reached inside her soul and pulled her swan out, overlapping it onto her human form. When the wings burst out, she gasped and arched her back, extending the span out completely.
    “You are an angel.” Chuck’s voice was reverent.
    She swung one wing over and tickled him under the chin with her wingtip. “I am a swan, the same as you are a serpent. Things that make us what we are do not determine who we are. We can always choose.”
    He grinned and stepped into the span of her wings, placing his hands on her waist. “That is what I am telling you. I am choosing you, you are choosing me, and when I shed this skin, we will have a fresh start with us, our bodies and our minds forging a new path.”
    He suddenly got serious and knelt in front of her. “Ivy.”
    She blinked and put her hands on his shoulders. “Yes, Chuck?”
    “I, Charles Penderton, have a very serious question to ask you.” He looked up at her with his eyes entreating.
    “I, Ivy Hector, am listening, Charles.” She stroked his cheek and smiled.
    “Will you be my co-author? Will you become a new name with me and share in my writing and my disasters, living your life in a series of plots and twists with me?”
    She folded her wings around him and kissed him. “Yes, Charles. I will. I don’t know how good a writer I will be, but I will try to formulate with you, and at the very least, we can try out some of the more physical scenes in person.”
    He laughed against her lips and stroked the base of her wings where they sprang from her skin. “That sounds like the best inspiration I have had all year.”

Chapter Eight
    “You know, if this was happening later in our relationship, I would kick your ass. You have been a right pain in the butt over the last week.”
    Chuck frowned and scratched at the back of his skull. “It itches.”
    She reached over and smacked his fingers. “It is your fault. You decided to shed your skin, and now, it is almost ready to peel.”
    “It isn’t peel, it is shed or slough. Are you sure you want to be there?”
    “If your body is undergoing any kind of change, I want to be there. I want to make sure that I recognize you when it is all said and done.”
    She had been dealing with a cranky child in a man’s body for the last two days. His skin was not in great shape at the moment. Parts of his tanned skin had turned white under the tattoos and he looked so grumpy that Jim had given him a few days off.
    Ivy sighed and took his hand in hers. “When do you peel yourself?”
    “I think it is loose enough to do tonight. You can tend the fire while I work my way through the woods.”
    She nodded. “Yay. What are you going to do with the new unmarked skin?”
    He grinned. “I have already made the arrangements. I will not be unmarked very long.”
    Ivy sat down. “What do you mean?”
    “I am getting a new set of tattoos. These ones are going to represent my life at the Crossroads and my life with you.” He smiled and held her hand at the kitchen table of their home.
    “Are you sure you want to wear the tattoos so soon after you get rid of the first set?” She frowned and tried to make sure that she was reading his emotions correctly. Even his face was peeling, so it was difficult.
    “I want anyone who looks at me to know that I belong to you. It is also a celebration of finding a mate in a species I