Page 23 of Kraken the Seal

“What do you collect?” she asked.

I winced. I shouldn't have said anything, now she was going to think I was weird.

“I'll show you, but don't judge me,” I said.

“Now I have to know,” she said.

I got up and unlatched a high cabinet and pulled out a cardboard box. I set it on the table in front of her, pushing our empty bowls out of the way. I sat down and let her open the box. She looked down, confused.

“They look like oddly shaped bones,” she said, picking one up.

“You’re right, they're a bone,” I said.

“Which bone?”

“Um, they’re called baculum.”

She set one down and picked up another one. “What's a baculum bone?”

“Penis bone.”

She stared at the sea otter baculum held between her thumb and finger.

“Penis bone?” she repeated.

“So, um, some animals have penis bones,” I explained. Did it suddenly get hot in the cabin or was that my humiliation? “Walruses, seals, sea lions, polar bears, sea otters, and others. I don't kill any of them, but if I come across the bones when I'm searching for treasure, I keep them.”

“I crochet penises,” she blurted.

I hadn't expected that at all. “What?”

“You collect penis bones, and I crochet penises.” She set the baculum back down and pulled out her phone. She scrolled and then handed it over. It was a picture of a collection of brightlycolored crochet penises. Some of them even had little plastic eyes peeking out from under foreskins.

“Some of them are based off descriptions of alien penises from romances I read,” she explained. “Some are just my imagination, or how much yarn in that color someone gave me.”

“These are gorgeous!" I said, making her giggle. “I like the green one with the ribbing."

“I think your collection is pretty interesting too. I guess we were meant for each other,” she said, throwing herself onto my lap. I laughed along with her as we hugged. “Our weird hobbies match!”

We spent the evening sharing funny stories and embarrassing moments. I don't know how late it was by the time we both started yawning.

“I guess we're not going to hear from them tonight,” she said. “Do you think it's safe to stay here for the night, or should we move to the open ocean and come back tomorrow?”

I debated for a moment before answering. “I think we're safe. They wouldn't be stupid enough to try something with me. Not to brag or anything, but there aren't many creatures that are willing to tangle with a fully grown kraken.”

“You're so modest,” she teased.

I grinned and shrugged. “What can I say, I'm a pretty big cephalopod in a small harbor.”

She giggled and asked me about my kraken form. We talked about it as we cleaned up, then headed to bed.

“Thanks for being a gentleman,” she murmured. She was asleep before I finished wrapping my arms and appendages all around her.

I was pretty sure she was thanking me for not pushing for sex, except I was scared. Krakens didn't have dicks, we had mating appendages. If my mate were a kraken, there wouldn't be an issue. Even another shifter would probably understand.

Nina was born human. I could only hope those books she read had prepared her for me!

Chapter 9