“I know that now,” Nic said. “But that’s why I agreed to our vow as well. How bad would it have been if you’d claimed me and then found out what I used to do? How useless I was, how disrespected, how taunted and devalued I was before you and I met. I’ve spent fifty years terrified that you’d realize what a know-nothing I was.”
Which would be why you were always wanting to give the appearance of success.“I’m not devaluing what you’re saying, or how you’ve felt all this time, but you’ve done a good job hiding it. How long had you been in the sea when we did meet up?”
“I’d only been out in the wild about three or four months.” Nic snorted. “I got too expensive to feed, so they just rented a boat, stuck me on it, and then turned me and my tank into the water. That was an eye-opening experience, I can tell you. Although I got a lot bigger in my first month at sea.”
“It’s more likely somebody was making murmurings about the fact that they had a captive shifter, in times when shifters had rights the same as everyone else. As for growing, your tank would’ve stunted your growth. You’re magnificent now.”
Luc hated that had happened to Nic. Nic’s distrust of humans made more sense now. But Luc’s heart hurt for Sage as well – he was his own unique individual person. He hadn’t been one of the people who’d abused Nic when he was younger. Luc said as such to Nic.
“It’s not all humans,” Nic said. “I’m trying to be fair. But it... I don’t know how to navigate this business with our third. My kraken is pissed off with me. You’re pissed off with me - you’re talking about selling the hotel, something we worked on together, something I thought we were genuinely proud of. You’re planning to walk away from me, and strangely enough, I don’t blame you. There’s this big part of me that thinks ‘Well, what did you expect, asshole? It’s all you deserve.’”
The urge to hug his mate had never been so strong, but Luc forced himself to stay on his side of the table. “You and I have built an incredible life together, but can’t you see that maybe, just maybe, our third being human was for a reason – giving you a chance to heal.
“Imagine how it would feel when our human comes to love you, when our human comes to care about you, when you get to care and spoil that human for yourself. Can you imagine how amazing that would feel?”
Luc hated using the word “human” as if Sage was an abstract concept, but he had to get through to Nic on some level if their relationship could be saved. Sage would be a wonderfully unique person with his own personality, wishes, hopes, and desires for the future. Hell, Luc didn’t even know if Sage was aware he could be a mate to a pair of krakens. They were going to have to talk with him before anything else happened. It wasn’t going to be a simple sniff-and-strip when it came to claiming a human.
But in the meantime, Nic’s sniff dragged Luc out of his thoughts. There was no point in getting ahead of himself. Tears were silently streaming down Nic’s face, but his eyes were shining with hope. “You would still consider claiming me after knowing what I did in the past?”
“I asked you to tell me what was going on with you, and why you had such a negative reaction to Sage, and you did. I needed to hear about that, so thank you. I just wish, if you trusted in my love and our relationship a little more, then you could’ve shared your fears from the start.
“If I knew a bit about your past, then we could’ve discussed this more. I could’ve explained to you that Sage has been put in our lives for a reason. We don’t know why, but we can believe he’s perfect for us in every way. Maybe when you swim with this human, somebody who treats you with respect and caring and love, then you’ll know in your heart that not all humans are the same. Besides, think how much we could expand our businesses if we opened a few human hotels as well.”
Luc didn’t really need to add the last bit, but it was something that he and Nic had talked about many times in the past. Nic had always been adamant that their establishments would always be paranormal-based only, but hopefully, now that could change as well. “We have one chance,” he added. “One chance to make things between us right and to claim our third the way the Fate’s intended. I really don’t want to find out what the consequences are if we fail.”
“I know.” Nic brushed the wet streaks from his face with his hand and sniffed. “I do understand the seriousness of the situation. But can you think why the Oracle put a time limit on our claiming in the first place? Our party is tonight.”
“Can you think of one person coming to our party who’s more important than the man who’ll be working reception while we’re entertaining previous clients of this hotel?” Luc already knew there wasn’t anyone he was desperate to see. It was pretty much the same old crowd every year.
“The working business is going to be a problem, though, isn’t it? We couldn’t claim Sage until morning. Barry said the only reason Sage got the job was that there was nobody else prepared to cover the graveyard shift.”
“The Oracle said we have to state our claim before first light,” Luc reminded him. “State not make. I also feel that, with Sage being human, we will have to talk to him about what being the mate of a pair of krakens might mean. It’s not going to be a case of sniff and tentacle tingles, followed by nakedness and claiming. Sage could have another job, or people he looks after, or other commitments. Remember, he’s only a temporary worker for us. We won’t know anything about him until we talk to him.”
“How are we going to talk to him while he’s working? That’s not very private.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t think that would work at all.” Luc thought quickly. “How about we greet our guests – they usually arrive at around eight, right? Mingle a bit. Do what we do, staying dressed this time, and then around eleven thirty, we could arrange for the staff to create a dinner for three in one of our private dining rooms on the second floor and invite Sage to join us.” Luc wiggled his eyebrows at his hopeful-looking mate. “Who knows, it might mean we could all share a midnight kiss in private and see where things go from there. What do you think?”
“I think if you want to chat first, you’re pushing your luck over having a kiss on the dot of midnight.” Nic was at least smilingnow. “But who will be looking after the front desk? I’m not trying to be a pain, but Sage will have only been working half an hour at that point.”
“Most of our hotel guests will be at the party, or out for the evening.” Luc thought for a moment. “George can do it.”
“George? But he’s…”
Luc nodded. “I know he’s a bit blunt. But it’s one night, and I’m sure he can type. Between him and his brother, they can cover everything, and we’ll slip a bonus into his paycheck for his trouble.”
Reaching over the table, he took one of Nic’s hands into his own. “See how much easier things are when we’re on the same page? Thank you for finally being honest with me. But can you see where you hurt me by not telling me before now?”
Nic nodded. “My old fears came back…The moment we found out about Sage… You’d have thought after all this time…”
“No, no, Nic, hon. All that’s in the past.” Luc really wanted Nic’s fears to be in their past, no matter how valid they were. “Fears only grow in the shadows. When you spread them out under the light, they suddenly seem so insignificant. Our past is in the past. We have a future to plan.”
“I want that,” Nic said. “I do want that so badly. But what if Sage teases me? I have got that lump on one of my tentacles, remember. I don’t want him making fun of me about that. You know what I mean. You’ve seen it. That mass that looks like a large wart.”
Luc chuckled. “With your numerous tentacles, do you honestly think anybody’s going to notice one little lump?”
“I don’t know. Sage does wear glasses, so he might be super observant.” Luc felt Nic’s squeeze on his hand. “I guess tonight we’ll find out one way or the other.”
It wasn’t a ringing endorsement, but for Luc, it was one step closer to the claim that would unite them all. He hoped that with a bit of a cuddle and some more talking, Nic would be ready to meet Sage once he arrived for his shift. The Oracle had said the claim had to be stated, not made, before the sun rose.Surely to goodness, we could get to that part of things at least.
