Page 3 of Nora's Kraken

“I’msorry, Ms. Perry,” he says softly. “Forgive me.”

I’ve got nothing else to say, and nothing to do but give him a single shaky nod before fleeing out the Bureau’s front door.

2

Elias

My mate has just fled from me.

Lenora Perry. The treasure my heart has been searching for these past three hundred years. My fate.

As the front doors of the Paranormal Citizens Relations Bureau—theMonsterRelations Bureau in most peoples’ vernacular—swing shut behind her, the hunter’s urge in me flares to life.

I need to go after her, track her, keep my eyes on her so I know she’s safe. It’s not just a polite suggestion, either. It’s an imperative, a command riding me with every breath I take.

My mate is fleeing, and I need to follow.

Still, I hold myself back.

She looked terrified. Gods, what did she think of me?

I know I look like hell. I’ve barely slept in the three days since I first saw her. I’ve barely had the motivation to do the bare minimum to keep my life together, much less indulge in extravagances like shaving.

Standing alone in the Bureau’s lobby, all I can do is stare at the shut door she’s left behind, aching to go after her. It’s not until a soft voice says my name from somewhere behind me that I finally shake myself out of it.

“Elias? Can I see you to Mr. Blair’s office?”

I turn to find Ruthie—one of the Bureau’s receptionists, a forest sprite with a waterfall of mossy hair and deep black eyes—looking at me with her brow creased in concern.

Clearing my throat, I work up enough composure to answer her. “Yes, Ruthie, thank you.”

All the way to Blair’s office, I barely see my surroundings. No, all I can see or think of is Lenora.

Where is she? Is she alright? She looked so panicked, so afraid. Is it safe for her to be out in the world like that?

I’d imagined this day going very differently. Humans don’t have the same concept of mates as many paranormal creatures do, but these last few years have certainly proven humans and monsters can pair successfully and happily. And even before that, there have always been times and places in history where paths have crossed and soul-deep bonds have been forged for monster-human pairings.

How I’d hoped that would be the case for Lenora and I.

Entering an office, I find my oldest friend leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He stands to greet us both, and Ruthie, definitely not oblivious to the tension in the room, leaves with a final concerned glance.

“What the fuck did you say to her?” I ask as the door closes, forgoing a civilized greeting. “Why did my mate just run terrified from this building?”

After two and a half centuries of friendship, I hardly feel the need for pleasantries.

“Did you run into her in the lobby?” Blair asks, settling back into his chair.

He shifts a stack of papers to the side of the desk. From a brief glance, I catch my name and Lenora’s, along with a bunch of other Bureau red tape.

Blair seems to have noticed the conflict in my expression, because his own hardens into suspicion.

“Elias,” he says warily. “Whatever you’re thinking… don’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The lie earns me a small, sardonic smile. “I’ve known you long enough to read that intent in your eyes, friend. You’re already calculating the time and distance it would take you to get to her.”

He’s not wrong.

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