“Fifty years,” Nic agreed. “Do you have someone special in your life, Sage?” Nic figured it would be a good idea to find out if there were any impediments to their relationship before they revealed anything.
“Me?” Sage chuckled as he shook his head. “I’m a research scientist. The only beings who try to hold my hands are octopuses, or an occasional squid.”
Tentacled beings?Some of Nic’s old fears started creeping into his gut, and he looked across at Luc who quirked his eyebrow. “Your field of study is tentacles?”
“I have a PHD in Teuthology, obviously specializing in cephalopods, but as I’m sure you’re both aware, any tentacled being is more than the sum of their appendages.”
Ahhhhh.Nic’s fears disappeared back into the dark again. “Do you…” Nic had to swallow a sudden lump in his throat. “Have you studied krakens?”
Sage’s eyes met his for the first time. Nic noticed they were a pale green, and it was as if they could see into Nic’s soul and that of his kraken. “Natural krakens are not easy to access in their typical habitat, and I object to studying any creatures kept in tanks or manmade aquariums.
“I did a couple of dives earlier in my research. I love being underwater, but” - Sage spread his hands apart - “I’m limited by my own physiology. I imagine you two will have seen sights people like myself can only dream about under the sea. I have no problem admitting I’m jealous of your abilities, but still. I’m sure you didn’t invite me to share a meal just to hear about what I do for a living.”
He doesn’t see us as just a set of tentacles.
He doesn’t believe in captured creatures.
He’s been on dives.
He loves the water.
Nic looked at Luc and could see he’d come to the same conclusion.
“We’re mates,” Nic blurted – the words just came out.
“I know. You confirmed that just before.” Sage smiled. “I understand that’s important among paranormals. I studied mating bonds as part of my earlier research before deciding to focus on natural cephalopods.”
“What Nic’s trying to say,” Luc said quietly, “is that the personal matter we wanted to talk to you about is that we realized you are our third – the mate we’ve waited fifty years for. If you’ve studied shifter krakens at all, you’d know we often mate in threes. We know you are our third.”
Sage’s gasp was interrupted by a polite tap on the door, and Nic sighed. It was almost midnight. He was hoping to at least get a kiss to start the New Year. He was seriously thinking all the talking was just getting in the way of the good stuff – even if it was necessary. Sage’s stunned face was cute as well…just for the record.
/~/~/~/~/
Sage
Mates. The word shoved it’s way to the front of Sage’s head, pushing out all thoughts of his trip to Iceland, his parents’ constant calls, working on reception, or even Marty due back the next day, possibly with gifts for him.
Mates –I’m a mate.
Sage hadn’t been lying when he said he had studied mating bonds when he was still going through university. It was a topic that really interested him. He had thought it was fascinating the various ways that different paranormals sensed/found their fated mates, and the fact that they were considered fated at all.
He wasn’t sure that he believed in the story of the three women who determined the life path of all known beings and who wove the tapestry of life. Although he’d often thought there had to besome hand on the universal design, and the Fates were as good an explanation as any.
The crucial part, and Sage remembered this from his studies, was that the concept of mates was the most important thing in a paranormal’s life – they were bonds forged in bites and sex that could never be broken.
The physical attraction wouldn’t be a problem,Sage thought as he smiled at the server who put an empty plate in front of him. Luc and Nic had often starred in his personal fantasies, even though he never believed they’d meet.
But that was just a fantasy, right?Never in a million Sundays would Sage have thought that he could have some otherworldly connection to those same two men. Luc and Nic both seemed adamant that he was the one. Sage understood their belief at a gut level, even as he was still trying to work out how it happened at all.We live in different worlds.
Luc and Nic were both very successful businessmen. They were sociable, friendly with everyone, and they had lots of parties. Sage couldn’t lay claim to any of those things. And yes, there were some things Sage had read about – tentacle orgies, for example – that he didn’t want to think about, and that’s without the whole idea that the krakens didn’t like non-paras at all.Barry did debunk that last one.
The mind-blowing part of Nic and Luc’s declaration – the one bit Sage was really struggling with – was that both men seemed really happy with the idea that he was the one for them. Their third. Just thinking about it gave Sage a warm glow, imagining what it might be like to be with genuine sea shifters. He had a sudden image of him sitting on a boat in the middle of an ocean somewhere, with two huge krakens swimming and playing underneath.That would be a dream come true.
“Did you want to try a bit of everything?” Luc’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. He was holding a serving spoon, and there was a trolley of different foods left to the side of the table.
“Just a bit, thank you.” Sage smiled and nodded, his grin widening as Nic and Luc reached over each other to put food on his plate. “That’s enough, thank you,” he added as his plate quickly filled. “I don’t have a huge appetite, especially at this time of night.”
Sage was glad that the two men didn’t say anything personal as the staff prepared to leave, although he noticed one man lingering by the door, glancing at his watch. “Excuse me, sir, you did ask me to let you know when it was five to midnight. It’s four minutes and thirty seconds to midnight from now.”
