Page 5 of Kraken the Seal

I puffed out my chest and put my hands on my hips. “I’ll seek out your friend, my lady, and bring her back to you.”

My ridiculous behavior was rewarded with a laugh. “Thanks, um, what’s your name?”

“Delmar,” I said, holding out my hand. “Delmar Maris. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nina,” she said, pushing away from the counter to shake my hand. The moment our palms touched, I felt the rightness.

Mom always said I’d know my mate the moment I met them. I guess I was a slow learner because we had to make physical contact before I was sure.

I was simultaneously overjoyed by finding my mate, but also terrified!

She was human and eventually I was going to need to reveal my kraken form. If I wasn’t careful, everything could fall apart.

Humans felt a pull to their mates, but they weren’t driven to be with a mate like we were.

“It feels like I know you,” Nina murmured, making no move to pull her hand away. “Have we met before?”

“Never,” I said. “I would’ve remembered you, and I would’ve made sure you remembered me.”

One of my tentacles emerged from my back and tried to sneak around my hip to touch her. I grabbed it in a death grip with my free hand and kept it hidden behind my back.

We stood staring into each other’s eyes. I couldn’t let go of her hand or look away.

That was until another tentacle tried to feel up our mate!

“I’ll go get Janice,” I said, probably too loud, and I pulled my hand out of her grip to grab the other misbehaving tentacle. Now both my hands were behind my back, holding the naughty appendages out of Nina’s view.

“Yes, thanks,” Nina said, looking a little startled by my sudden change in behavior. If only she knew.

I backed out of the cabin. “I’ll be right back. Help yourself to anything.”

Stumbling over the cabin threshold, I didn’t turn around until I was at the edge of the boat and sure she couldn’t see me. I jumped to the dock and pulled my tentacles in front of me and gave them a good shake.

“Listen up, guys!” I hissed at the two in my hands as the rest emerged from my back. “If you scare her, none of us will ever get to touch her! Keep yourselves hidden until it’s time, got it?”

I gave them another shake to emphasize my point. I could feel intense disappointment from my tentacle mini-brains but also resignation. I let go, and they all pulled back into my body. I let out a long breath and hoped they remained well-behaved.

Turning to face the yacht, I noticed two women coming down the dock. One of them was crying, and the other was guiding her with an arm around her shoulders.

I rushed up to them, scared that one of the men on the yacht had managed to do what Hank had failed at.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

The not-crying woman shot me an aggressive look. “Back off!” she barked.

I stopped short and held up both hands. “I live on that boat and heard crying. I'm only here to help. Do you want me to call the cops?”

“Yes, get them to arrest Zak!” the crying woman said. “Zak stole all my love.”

The protective woman gave me a frustrated look. “As much as I'd love to see Zak in jail, I don't think being an asshat is illegal yet.”

“Uh, okay,” I said, unsure what to say, and if I should leave these two to go looking for Janice.

“Her boyfriend broke up with her at his party,” she explained, seeing my confused expression. “Thanks for coming to help, but there's nothing to be done but get Carrie home and let her cry it out.”

“Then I guess—hey, wait, are you Janice?” I asked.

Janice nodded, giving me a wary look. “How do you know my name?”