Page 25 of Kraken the Seal

“That won't be much,” he said. “Their magic makes it easier for them to sense danger. It also helps them predict the weather. All sea shifters have an affinity for currents and water, but they are especially good at judging those things even in their human form. They don't mix with other groups, not even seal or walrus shifters. Because of that, no one knows much about them.”

“That's not much to base a strategy on,” I said. “I guess we'll just have to figure everything out as we go along.”

He tried to hide it, but Delmar looked almost as apprehensive as I felt.

“I'll put on a fresh pair of shorts and a shirt,” he said. “I want to look my best.”

“Nothing too fancy,” I teased.

“How about the black ones with the blue trim?” he asked with a grin. “If I pair them with mykeep the sea plastic freeshirt, it'll give the perfect balance of casual professionalism."

“Excellent,” I said with a chuckle. “But wear your nicest flip-flops.”

He went to one of the bench seats and pulled it up to start rummaging through the clothing stored there. “I'll pull out a new pair for this.”

I glanced at my phone, all my good humor vanishing. “It's time.”

The meeting place turned out to be a small cafe with exposed red brick walls and potted ivy climbing around a front window. We arrived a few minutes before the assigned meeting time. We walked in to find the place empty except for a young woman behind the counter and a gray-haired man wearing a suit sitting at the back.

I walked up to the counter, ignoring the man, and ordered a latte. The woman looked nervous the entire time, but not because Delmar was standing behind me. Her eyes kept sliding over to where the man was sitting, as if she was scared of him.

This had to be Mayor Norris, and I already didn't like him.

“I'll bring it to your table,” she said after Delmar had ordered. I tried to pay, but she shook her head and rushed further down to an espresso machine to start making our order.

Right, there was no putting it off any longer. It was only a few steps to get to the table, and I sat down without speaking. Probably an egregious act of rudeness around here, but I didn't care at the moment.

I studied the man as Delmar squeezed into the chair next to me. Mayor Norris had dark brown eyes, a classic square jaw, and a Roman nose. I guessed he was in his mid-sixties but fit for his age.

Then he smiled and reminded me of someone who sold used cars for a living. I didn't like the concept of him before, and that smile made me mentally recoil.

My seal didn't like him either. That made me appreciate her.

“I’m Mayor Norris,” he said finally. He must've realized I wasn't going to talk first. “I welcome you to my colony. Your, uh, friend can stay for now, but normally we don’t allow outsiders to remain within the town's borders overnight.”

His words were oddly formal, and the smile didn’t reach his eyes. My seal did a mentalewww.

“Hello,” I said, giving him my best business smile. “I’m Nina and this is my mate, Delmar.”

Norris flinched slightly at the word mate but didn’t say anything. He still refused to look at Delmar. That annoyed me so I pressed the issue.

“He’ll be staying here for as long as I’m here,” I said.

The mayor’s smile disappeared for a moment but then reappeared. “We’ll see. When Dale found me yesterday, he said you believe you were turned into a selkie by a spell. Are you trying to claim you weren’t born a selkie?”

“I was human before the spell,” I said, and looked at Delmar. He put the box with the necklace inside on the table between us. For the first time, Norris looked at Delmar, but only glanced at him, as if the kraken wasn't worth acknowledging.

The moment Delmar let go of the box, Norris snatched it up and opened it. I expected to see confusion or surprise on his face.

His smile didn't shift. “Interesting,” he said, then closed the box and put it back on the table between us.

“Interesting?” I pressed, working hard to keep my irritation from showing. “Please elaborate.”

He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn't think I would ever see one of those. Honestly, a lot of us thought they were nothing but a legend.”

“So you know what it is?” Delmar asked. I looked over at him, but he was staring hard at Norris.

Norris kept his eyes on me, and his smile finally reached his eyes. His real smile wasn't kind. “Yes. I know. There were only four of them made.”