Page 16 of Kraken the Seal

“Do what?” I asked, confused.

“Look all cute and sad,” she said. “You’re making me feel guilty. At least that little voice telling me to get into the water has gone quiet. Well, no, she’s now demanding I make you smile.”

“Most magical creatures have mates,” I explained. “Other souls that are meant to be with us, to match our souls.”

“So, like, fated mates?” she said.

“Yes, exactly,” I said. “How do you know that term?”

“Paranormal romance novels,” she said. “I love reading them, but I never thought I’d be living in one.”

I shrugged. “There are a couple of authors who are shifters. I’ve read a few, they’re good.”

“Really? Which authors?” she asked, then shook her head. “No, that’s not what we should be talking about. Now that you’re smiling again, my seal wants in the water. Badly!”

“I have a thought,” I said. “I could get us really close to land, then I could carry you to the beach. No part of you will touch the water. You can shift on the beach and maybe that will satisfy your selkie.”

Her expression turned relieved, and she rushed at me. All my tentacles jumped out of the way to let her grab us. “Yes, that’s brilliant!”

“Someone has to be,” I said, making her chuckle and hug me tighter. I wrapped my arms and limbs around her again, and lifted her up to carry her into the cabin. I set her on the bed and wrapped her in a blanket.

“I’m going to motor as fast as possible,” I said. “If your selkie gets too loud, try eating a few sardines.”

Nina nodded, and I left to start our journey again. I knew the California coast like the back of my hand, and within the hour, I found a secluded beach. It was rocky, but surrounded by high, sheer cliffs so no one would accidentally stumble on us.

It took some skillful maneuvering and a long tentacle in the water checking the depth, before I was close enough to be able to walk Nina to the beach. The moment the anchor splashed into the water, Nina came out of the cabin.

My poor mate looked horrible. Her hair was a mess, probably from her tugging at it, her skin was even more pale, and she was sweating. If she were human, I'd assume she was terribly sick.

“You might want to get undressed,” I said. “Shifting in your clothing will ruin it.”

She looked like she was about to cry. “I feel vulnerable."

“I know what to do,” I said and rushed into the cabin to grab one of my shirts before returning to her. “Here, you can put this on. If you shift in it, you'll slip right out.”

She quickly stripped off her top and bra. I held up the shirt to help her slip it on. The shirt covered her almost to her knees. She looked relieved as she reached under the shirt to finish stripping. The moment she was done she looked up at me.

“I'm ready.”

I nodded and led her to the back of the boat. “I need to strip,” I warned her.

She tried to grin, but she still looked anxious. “That's fine, you're pretty to look at.”

“Not as pretty as you, but I'm glad you think so,” I said with a wink and quickly pulled off my clothes. I left them in a pile and then jumped into the water. It was deep enough that if I tried to stand, it would reach my neck, which would make carrying Nina difficult.

My tentacles all emerged and lifted me off the bottom enough to put the water at my waist. I moved close to the boat and held out my arms. “Let's go.”

Nina was shaking when she slid off the back of the boat into my arms. The moment she was in my arms, she shut her eyes tightly. I cradled her against my chest with her arms clutched around my neck.

“I've got you,” I murmured, making my way to the shore. It was terribly cruel that my poor mate was hit with a spell that made her a creature of the sea when she was desperately afraid of the water.

“I'm going to fix this,” I reminded her. “Soon you'll never have to fight yourself again.”

“It's all just bad luck,” she responded, eyes still closed. “You were trying to do the right thing, and I shouldn't have been snooping through your stuff.”

“Who wouldn't want to look at a bunch of shiny things?” I said. “I got into treasure hunting because I've loved finding things since I was a kid. Mom said I was always ‘discovering’ her jewelry box.”

“My mom said she knew I'd do something with numbers because I was obsessed with the counting blocks,” she said. “She claims I was doing math before I could speak.”