“Hopefully, our mate will be water-based as well, then we can all shift together. That could be fun.”
What was fun, in Luc’s opinion, was lying out under the sun next to his mate, hearing nothing but the birds, the waves on the shore, and the breeze in the trees. Luc wasn’t sure if it was because he was so relaxed, or if it was their impending visit to the Oracle the following day that made him say, “I truly hope the Oracle will have positive news for us this year, but I’m not sure I want children, even when we do find our mate. And yes,” he added quickly, “I do realize how horrified the Oracle would be to hear that.”
“From all accounts, the Oracle knows everything, so maybe that’s why we haven’t found our third yet,” Nic said. “I’m not saying I disagree with you, but are you really that much against them?”
Luc tried to work out the mess of feelings he’d had for a while. “If we dive into having children from the moment that we’ve claimed each other and our third, then that’s all our third becomes, a carrier of children. Don’t you think?”
“Hmm, I guess it does happen sometimes. We saw that with Emily. Do you remember Emily? And she found another kraken mate… what was her name again?”
“Anastasia.” Luc remembered them the moment Nic mentioned the names.
“Exactly, Anastasia. Their third was a little otter shifter.”
“Yep, he was an otter. Gods, yes, I felt sorry for him.” Luc rolled onto his side, so he was facing his mate. “I really thought either Emily or Anastasia would’ve carried the children, didn’t you? Instead, they used their tentacles and impregnated that little shifter – which would’ve been fine if they’d just done it the once. But no, they did it again and again, and he was either pregnant or spending all his time looking after their numerous offspring. How was that fair?”
“Would you still be saying that if the otter had been female? Or are you just annoyed on the otter’s behalf because he was male?”
“It doesn’t make any difference with our kind. You know that. No, I was upset because Emily and Anastasia completely dominated their third mate, with no thought to any of his wishes or comfort. He was either popping out babies or babysitting the ones they had, while they were off having fun, traveling all over the world – leaving him at home. I would’ve been just as annoyed if the otter had been female. That is not the way to treat a mate, so yes, I would give up having children altogether, rather than put our third through something like that.”
“Our third could be female,” Nic suggested. “A female who wants to have babies.”
“Or not. Not all women want children, and if our mate is perfect for us, then there’s a good chance they won’t want children either – at least not right away. I’m looking forward to spending that same time going to similar places we’ve already been, buttaking our mate this time. Having the time and space to know them as a person, not just using them as a breeding machine. Unless…” Luc didn’t have to finish the question. Nic already knew what he was asking.
“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”
Luc nodded. “I’ve just got this feeling that this year could be our year – the year you and I get to claim each other and our third. I already share my life with you. I know our mate, whoever they are, will be perfect for us in every way. And claiming you – having the chance to finally, finally stake my claim on you, and have you do the same for me. It’s something I have longed to do since the moment our tentacles brushed for the first time.”
“I’m not so sure our tentacles brushed against each other that first day, I think they crashed together because we were both damn near frozen,” Nic said with a laugh. “But I do know what you mean, and I want that too with you and our other mate. At least then we’d have a good excuse to keep our tentacles to ourselves. Letting others play with our tentacles was fun for the first few years after we bought the hotel, and you have to admit it was a good marketing ploy…”
Luc wasn’t so sure about the fun part, but Nic was right about the marketing angle.
“I know for myself, I’ve been feeling more like a gimmick than a person when that sort of thing happens now, and to be honest…” Nic’s top tooth hooked on his bottom lip, something he only did when he was admitting something he didn’t think Luc would like.
“You’re going to think I’m really silly, which is why I haven’t said anything about it before, but at the end of those evenings, I feel depressed, like I’m not cared about as a person. It’s like, we’re just a carrier of tentacles other people use for their pleasure.”
“Oh, Nic.” Luc leaned over, resting his forehead against his mate’s. “Why would I think that was silly? I feel like that all the time after all those parties. It’s why I didn’t want to do it anymore. And what’s worse, can you imagine how our mate might feel if they’ve read about us, and know our so-called claim to fame?”
“Do you think they might reject us?”
The depth of upset in Nic’s eyes had Luc quickly shaking his head. “No, my love. A mate is a mate, and a shifter never rejects their mates, not ever. But maybe keeping our clothes on during the New Year’s Eve party might be a good idea, or even canceling it altogether.”
“As much as I’d like to, we can’t cancel,” Nic said. “The invitations have already gone out, and the hotel staff will be busy preparing as we speak. We’ll have to do it, but maybe, yeah, maybe this time when people start yelling, ‘get it off,’ or worse, ‘get them out,’ perhaps we can just pretend we’re busy doing something else.”
Or we could just say no,but Luc kept that to himself. Nic was always worrying about the reputation of the hotel, even though they had more money than they would ever know what to do with. “I, for one, will be looking forward to a kiss with you on New Year’s Eve. It leaves me hot and bothered for days afterward, but it’s our special tradition, and it means the world to me.”
“Maybe by the time that happens, we’ll already have a clue about our mate,” Nic suggested with a quiet grin. “Then maybe we won’t have to stop at our one kiss of the year.”
“Too true.” Luc pressed their heads together for a moment more and then moved away, swinging his legs around so he could stand up. He held out his hand, “Come on then, let’s go andget something to eat. It’s a three-hour swim to the Oracle in the morning, and I, for one, would like to do that on a full stomach.”
“I love how practical you are,” Nic said as he took Luc’s hand and got up. For a moment they were standing so close their chests were brushing against each other. Luc inhaled deeply. Everything about Nic called to him, and that feeling had never diminished.
“I just love you, full stop,” he said as he pulled away. “Maybe this year will be the year. Tentacles crossed.”
“Tentacles crossed.”
Luc felt a stinging slap across his chest, jolting him out of the soft moment. “Come on, big guy, I’ll race you to the kitchen. I fancy some scrambled eggs.”
Chapter Three
