The way Nic always wanted to host big parties. The way Nic always made sure that the two of them were on the front pages of societal newsletters and national newspapers - they had a huge social media following. Most paranormals were happy to live a quiet life, but for Nic, it was almost like a mission for him. To be the most noticed, to be seen as someone successful.
Buying the Regis Hotel had been another example of that. Before the Regis deal, they had found a perfectly lovely sprawling resort out near a beach on the West Coast that Luc had been ready to buy. It had been handy to the sea, had a beautiful decor, the area was quiet and remote, and for a hotel or resort that was going to cater specifically to paranormal clientele, that remoteness worked in their favor.
Nic found a million nit-picky things wrong with it. In hindsight, Luc knew that none of those issues were dealbreakers. But no, Nic wanted somewhere in town. He wanted something big, something grand, something people would see. Somewhere like the Regis Hotel.
The hotel was lovely. Luc knew they had done a good job, and the Regis had a very solid reputation. Even the ridiculous statues in the foyer hadn’t detracted from the fact that when paranormals checked into the Regis Hotel, they knew they were going to have a really good time.
But as Luc kept thinking through the night, he knew that none of the hotel successes or the amount of money he and Nic hadaccrued through their various businesses was important in the grand scheme of things. Bottom line, Luc had truly believed that he and Nic were happy. And now…there was a good chance Nic had been hiding something from him all along. It was the only reason that made sense.
He’s so damn sexy, Luc thought. He could almost see the cogs in Nic’s brain whirling – at least he was thinking, which was a plus. There had been times in the past when Nic had put his foot in his mouth and then struggled to remove it. Luc knew one of Nic’s main concerns would be about the hotel, but Luc wasn’t upset about that. If Nic’s only concern had been the Regis, he would be haggling to get top dollar for his investment. No, it was clear that this time Nic’s debate was with himself over what he should say, and Luc could wait.
“I never shared a lot about what my life was like before I met you, did I?” Nic said at last.
Luc shook his head. “Thinking back, I don’t think either one of us did. We were more excited about the sort of future we could have together. Totally understandable for most mates, I would imagine.”
“Yep.” Nic nodded. “Were you never interested in where it was I came from?”
Frowning, Luc studied Nic’s face. It was as though his mate had suddenly slipped on a mask, hiding his true feelings. Although Luc also noted the tenseness of his shoulders and the way he was biting his bottom lip.What did I miss?
Thinking back, Luc remembered the heady rush he felt when he met Nic. They were in their kraken forms. By the time they finally found somewhere warm enough to shift into their human forms, Luc was just grateful the man was with him at all. To him,that first shift was the start of what he saw would be an amazing life together.
“The Fates have always said that what happens in the past has no bearing on the future,” Luc said slowly. “That when mates come together, they build a future, and that’s what’s important.”
“That may be true.” Nic looked up from his half-empty mug. “But what if that past has a bearing on that future? Don’t you ever wonder why I stay away from the northern states, why I refuse to go to Alaska, and how I’d rather go swimming in the Pacific than the Atlantic?”
“The Atlantic’s cold?” Luc shrugged. “We’re not a fan of the cold and neither are our krakens.”
“For me, it was more that I didn’t want to bump into anybody I knew from my previous life,” Nic said firmly. “I wasn’t always a businessman.”
“I don’t think either one of us was fifty years ago,” Luc said. “We roamed, had fun, picked up work when we wanted to, and enjoyed ourselves wherever we ended up. I can’t think of anything you might have done before we met that would be an issue, would it?”
“That depends on what it was. I used to be…” Nic paused.
He paused so long, Luc wondered if his mate was going to say anything at all.Is this the truth? Am I finally getting the truth?
“I used to work in a carnival-type circus place,” Nic said. “Very underground – you had to know where it was, type of place. I was an oddity, I suppose you’d call it. That was one of the polite signs that used to be on my exhibit.
“When I was little, I used to spend every day in this glass tank filled with water. People would poke things at me and chuckstuff in the water, hoping my tentacles would grab the item and throw it back.”
“Hang on a minute,” Luc said. “Your shifted form is huge and really distinctive. How on earth could you be held captive like that, without somebody knowing about it and reporting the carnival owners to the authorities?”
“You tell me,” Nic said. “I didn’t even know I was in captivity until I got out. I’d been with the carnival since I was a kid.” He twisted in his seat, looking out over the pool, and Luc felt the immediate disconnect. “In a lot of ways, it wasn’t so bad. But I always knew there had to be more to life. I just…if it’s all you know, you get used to it after a while.
“The jeers and the comments, the shrieks when you flail your tentacles around a bit. And yeah, there was the other stuff too. The people who thought that tentacles were a turn on.” Nic shuddered. “Why the hell I thought that was a good promotion idea for the hotel, I don’t fucking know, although it worked. But maybe my comments about you saving me from that mean something now?”
Fuck. You couldn’t have just said…“I just want to be clear,” Luc said gently. “Those were the sorts of things you were doing before we met, and you did it because you were in captivity? Someone was forcing you to do those things?”
“I didn’t think I had a choice.” Luc could see the tears in Nic’s eyes, and his tentacles twitched, wanting to wrap his mate in them. “I was never respected. All people were interested in were my damn tentacles, and it was humans who did this. Not other paranormals. I was kept by humans.”
Ouch.Nic’s upset at their third being human made more sense now.
“Do you know why I was tangling with that whale up near the Arctic Circle when we met?”
“I have wondered about that a couple of times through the years,” Luc admitted.
“I was trying to capture it because I thought it was something I could eat.” Nic smacked the top of his head with his palm. “I had no idea how a kraken was meant to survive in the wild until I met you.”
“Yeah.” Luc wrinkled his nose. “We don’t eat whales. They don’t eat us. That’s the way things are.”
