Page 42 of Echo and the Homicidal Sea Panda

Getting yelled at to get off ferry. Gotta run

Mael shoved his phone and gloves into his pockets and then pulled on his helmet, waving his apologies to the lone car stuck behind him. He revved up the engine and took off toward Havoc’s. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at his brother’s place and found his siblings waiting impatiently in the garage Havoc had repurposed for scuba gear storage.

“This is an interesting fashion choice,” Tempest said when Mael unzipped his leather jacket.

He’d already forgotten he’d left his shirt behind. He peeled out of the jacket and snagged one of the t-shirts printed with Havoc’s business logo stacked near the door.

“I lost my shirt,” he muttered, dragging a tee on.

“That’ll be twenty-five dollars,” Havoc said.

“Bill me,” Mael said.

“Let’s skip the entertainment portion of the evening and go straight to the heart of the matter,” Tempest said. “Was that white one of the two who hurt Livvy?”

“Yep,” Mael said. “I found them attacking someone else and I g?—”

“Who?”several of his siblings asked in unison, cutting him off.

“No one from our pod,” Mael murmured.

“Who else would be in our waters? Was it a human?” Tempest asked.

All eyes turned toward Mael. He wasn’t even sure where to start. “It was a dolphin shifter.”

“Were they in our waters when they were attacked?” Rav asked.

“They were,” Mael said.

“Chased there by the sharks… or out where they didn’t belong?” Tempest asked.

“Where they didn’t belong,” Mael said. “Which is why I went to the mainland last night. While I was handling one of the whites, the second and the dolphin got away. I went into Dolphin Bay to get some answers as to why he was out there.”

“Have you told Mom yet?” Rav asked.

“No,” Mael said. “And I don’t plan on telling her immediately. I need to ask you all to do the same.”

“Why are we hiding this from Mom?” Havoc asked, brow deeply furrowed.

“Because… this dolphin…” Mael paused, scratching his beard. He sighed. “The dolphin’s my mate.”

All four of his siblings stared at him wide-eyed and silent.

“A dolphin?”Storm asked no one in particular.

“We don’t mix with their kind,” Tempest said.

“I thought the very same thing at first. I fought it. But there’s no denying fate,” Mael murmured, searching their faces. “I just… want a little time to figure some things out. Before I tell Mom and this blows up.”

“What’s her name?” Havoc asked.

“Hisname is Echo,” Mael replied.

His siblings froze, their eyes growing wider.

“A man?”Tempest asked. “Are you kidding me? Not only a dolphin, buta maledolphin?”

Mael swept a hand toward them all. “Come on. Get it all out of your system now.”

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