The questions were valid. Mates were the holy grail of a paranormal’s existence. Even if Luc or Nic had been in a prior relationship before meeting each other, it wouldn’t have made any difference. Mates had to be together, and there were no exceptions…well, there had been a few in the past, but the outcome wasn’t good for either party.
“We met in our kraken forms, and it took a while for us to reach warmer waters and get our legs back,” Nic said. “The urge to claim each other was an overriding instinct back then, and it wasn’t an easy decision. But, I had a couple of concerns…”
“To be fair, I did, too,” Luc cut in quickly. He wasn’t going to have Nic take the responsibility for what was a joint decision. “I’d heard of a few kraken matings, involving a third, where the third didn’t seem to be treated right, and I didn’t like that.”
“Can I just check?” - Sage was still frowning, and there was a slight twist to his lips - “when krakens are mated threesomes, they’re always two krakens, and then some other being?”
“Usually other shifters, yes,” Luc dithered for a moment. “You’re the first human I’ve heard of being a third for a kraken pair, but that just makes you more special.”
He heard Nic chuckle, and Sage smiled. “You don’t have to massage my ego. I can only imagine how much of a shock it would be if you’ve spent your mated life expecting to find a shifter as a third and getting me instead.”
“From the brief things we’ve learned about you already, it seems like a perfect match,” Luc said, hoping to smooth things over.
“Two krakens together is a bit much for some people,” Nic agreed. “You haven’t run screaming, so that’s a positive.”
Tilting his head slightly, Sage smiled. “I have my own baggage, but I do understand the importance of mates. I never thought it would happen to me, but…here we are. For the moment, I’m more concerned about you two and your bond. Are you two planning on staying unclaimed, and what…just include me in your life without a claim. Is that how this will work?”
“Goodness, no.” Luc wanted to bang his head on the table, but he was trying to make a good impression. “Nic and I decided not to claim each other until we’d met our third.”
Sage leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hand over his chin. Luc could imagine him lecturing students or something similar, with the same expression.
“You’ve met me now, so that means the conditions of your decision to wait have been met. I’m not throwing your lovely meal or company in your face, but why aren’t you two up in your bedroom claiming each other right now? I have to get to Iceland, but I’ll probably be back in about a week or so. Will that be enough time for you two to do – whatever it is krakens do to claim each other?”
“The whole point of waiting was so that the three of us could claim each other together,” Nic said, although Luc could feel the tension in the hand he was holding.He wants this so badly, but if Sage says he could be away for a whole week…Luc wasn’t feeling so great about waiting anymore either.
There was a reason they only kissed each other once a year. With Sage sitting in the same room as them – a private room – Luc’s tentacles were itching to come out and start tangling. Sage’s limbs or Nic’s tentacles, it didn’t matter.
“There’s also a little matter of us not being able to claim each other in the bedroom,” Luc said. “We’d need our pool for that. We can partial shift – that’s typically how a claiming is done, but we can’t do that on a bed.”
Sage let out a long breath, and that concerned look was back. “This is a predicament I hadn’t considered when I came in to do my last shift here, but I’m going to do my best to be logical here.”
I’m glad one of us is.Luc glanced at Nic, who was watching Sage like he was the Oracle.
“As much as I’d love to…do claiming things…”
My gods, he’s so cute.
“I have a sick giant squid that needs tending to in Iceland!”
Luc was stunned and he could see that Nic was feeling the same way. But Sage hadn’t finished talking.
“I know I’m not a shifter, but claiming isn’t something I feel should be squeezed into a pocket of time. And then I thought, we could do this tonight, and then I could fly out on the second – if I can get a flight. But then, that’s not fair either, because I know mated people need to stay together for a while so their bond can settle…”
“We’d prefer we all three stayed together all the time. That’s the only way this could be fair,” Luc said firmly. “The three of us would be equals in our relationship – three sides of a triangle that can’t be broken.”
“That’s very sweet, and we’ll talk about merging lives together after, but you have to understand. As much as I desperately feel you two should claim each other, I also think it needs to be you two first.”
Sage appeared genuinely upset. “I’ve already had a week from hell – not because of this place, but there’s shit going on with my estranged parents who are just trying to fleece me out of money.
“I’ve had barely any sleep in days, and I’m really sorry, but as much as I’d love to jump into a pool with you both and lose myself in what would likely be amazing sensations, I would curse myself for the rest of my life if an innocent sea creature died because I was getting my rocks off.
“I really wouldn’t be able to focus on having a good time. If I’m going to be claimed by two men who meet my every fantasy, then wouldn’t it be better for us to do that when I can focus on what you’re doing instead of anything else?”
Would another week or so be so bad?Luc grinned when he saw a determined look appear in Nic’s eyes.He has a plan.
“Okay,” Nic said. “So we need a new plan. First, don’t worry about transport to Iceland. Luc and I will take you. We have a plane. That’s done. Now, what’s this about an injured giant squid? Is there any way we could help with that?”
Chapter Fourteen
