Rubbing his hand over his beard again, Craeg rumbled, “Well, when I walked by the pair, I scented that Katie’s a shifter.”When he smelled William’s surprise with a hint of disbelief, he hurried to add, “On me life, Beta.Tilda’s a human, but Katie’s a shifter.Scented of a small mammal of some kind.”
Craeg couldn’t help the way his Scottish brogue deepened upon his worry that his beta wouldn’t believe him, agitation beginning to fill him.
William rested a hand on Craeg’s shoulder.“I believe you,” he assured, squeezing lightly.
Relief quickly replaced his unease, and Craeg bit back a sigh.“Should I—” he began slowly, uncertain what to even offer.
“No, Craeg,” William cut him off quietly.His gaze flicked over his shoulder again.“Your work here is done.”With a wry smile, William glanced over at his cut-off jean shorts, t-shirt, and sandals.“I’m pretty sure you’re off duty.”
Scoffing, Craeg nodded.“Aye.Was headin’ to eat lunch with Seri.”
Nodding again, William told him, “Go relax.I’ll take care of this.”
When Craeg offered, “If there’s anythin’ I can do,” William chuckled.
“I’ll let you know,” William told him with a nod.Releasing him, he shrugged, still keeping his voice low.“Right now, the only thing I can do is contact Ovram and have him start monitoring them.Do some facial rec and other technical shit that I don’t really understand.”William grinned, not at all abashed at sharing his ignorance.“Maybe he can figure out who they are.I’ll keep you in the loop.Okay?”
Craeg nodded, feeling oddly invested.“I appreciate it.”
“Yup.”Then William patted him on the back, saying, “Go enjoy your late lunch.”
“Thanks.”
Craeg tipped his head in a nod of respect to his beta, then began heading toward the left of the covered bay.He couldn’t help glancing Tilda’s way as he hurried off.Seeing her furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, Craeg kept moving, doing his best to ignore her obvious suspicion.
Even if by some bizarre twist, KatiewasTilda’s daughter, they couldn’t leave a shifter to be raised by a human.There was just too much danger of detection inherent in that.They had to be certain Katie was in a safe environment to grow, shift, and learn about her kind...whatever species she turned out to be.
Hell, maybe I have it all wrong.Maybe she knows about shifters, and she’s part of some pack we don’t know about.Or they’re visiting from out of state and thought a marine park would be fun.
Once again realizing that speculation was useless, Craeg pushed the thoughts from his mind and hurried to the park restaurant to meet his friend.
Seeing Seri at a table near the windows, Craeg waved as he crossed to the door.He entered, greeted Thane, who stood behind the host stand, and turned right.Craeg enjoyed the fragrant smells filling the space, and his mouth watered while his stomach grumbled.
Evidently, Seri heard it, for he chuckled as Craeg slid into the seat across from him.“Welcome, man,” he greeted, stretching a fist across the table.“Sounds like this is just the place where you need to be.”
Craeg laughed and bumped Seri’s fist.“Aye, that it is.”He grabbed the menu that had been left for him, already perusing it as he muttered, “Sorry I’m late.”Shaking his head, Craeg admitted, “Had a weird situation come up.”
“Well, tell me about it after we order,” Seri urged, beckoning to Kayne, Thane’s brother.Both men worked atMini Barrier Reef Cantina, enjoying the opportunity to meet new people.“I know it won’t take long for you to decide.”With a laugh, Seri added, “Hell, I’m pretty sure you only order between two or three things.”
Chuckling, Craeg nodded.His friend wasn’t wrong.He just had such a hard time passing up the lobster mac and cheese.It wasthatgood.
Then his gaze fell on the appetizers card, and he moaned appreciatively.Something else suddenly started calling his name.Hesitation filled him.
“Guess we’ll just have to split a few things,” Seri stated, giving him a knowing smirk.“I’m in the mood for lobster-topped stuffed mushrooms, fried calamari, and fried clam strips, along with my crab legs meal.”
Grinning broadly, Craeg replied, “Sounds good to me.”While shifters had a higher metabolism and could easily handle the calories, he couldn’t help but tease, “What exactly are we doin’ this afternoon to burn off all those carbs?”
“Hear about the earthquake that happened a few days ago?”
Craeg rolled his eyes.“Hear about it?I felt it.”The minke whale he shared his psyche with had warned him of the magnetic shifts beneath them, even though it was barely a one-point-five.“What about it?”
“Well.”Seri leaned close and lowered his voice.“I think it opened a new underwater crevasse less than a mile north of us.”Waggling his brows, he asked, “Wanna check it out?”
Go for a swim?Hell, yeah.
“Absolutely.”
With a satisfied smile, Seri relaxed back in his seat and took a sip of his iced tea before asking, “So, what made you late?”
