Page 11 of Crossing Between
Chapter 8: Elias
Fuck. Fuck. Fffffuuuuucccckkkk. I was fucked. I never thought this day would come, but here it was.
A mate.
I'd found my mate and she was a coworker. A Medium. Not another Kraken. This couldn't be right. Krakens didn't mate outside of our species. Yet there she was. Our touch could have been static electricity except my mate mark appeared on my lower stomach. I'd stared at it in the bathroom mirror for three hours the night before.
It wasn't enough that I was a healer, primarily a female job, that made me a black sheep in my family. They didn't care that I was also in law enforcement. Now I had found my mate in a magic human. My parents were going to throw a fit.
Frustrated, I threw myself into the pool letting my real form out. My tentacles spread out in relief. I hadn't been able to get out of my human skin for a few days due to the case we were working on. I didn't even have the time to partially shift as I hadn't needed to heal or fight anyone. Kenji wouldn't even spar with me. He was so frustrated with the case he wasn't taking care of himself. I'd need to see he ate later, even if he snapped at me.
The water felt like a lover's caress as I sank to the bottom of the pool. This was the reason I purchased the house even though the building itself needed a lot of work, the water features in the backyard were a haven that made my soul sing as soon as I'd seen them. If it weren't for Kenji, I'd never have been able to afford the place, but he made a great partner and roommate.
It was almost midnight by the time I forced myself to surface, pulling in my monstrous form, before swimming to the edge of the pool where I realized that Kenji sat with his legs in the water. His white hair stood stark against the night sky as he watched me swim toward him. His eyes were troubled as they met mine, yet that didn't stop the desire I always felt for the oni that bubbled within me to flare. It was a good thing I was in the water as it helped hide my hardening cock. This was another reason I was fucked with meeting my mate. I was in love with Kenji, he just wasn't aware of it.
Life sucked sometimes.
"What's up?" I crossed my arms as I rested them on the edge of the poolside. "You look like shit."
The man ran a hand through his hair, gave an annoyed sigh when some of it caught on his horns, and kicked his feet in the water a few times before he answered. "This case. I know we deal with murder every day, but there's something about these kills that has me on the edge. We have another person we have to watch out for while solving the case so that's another person to keep safe. She's already proven to be a klutz. I met her yesterday right after her face argued with the sidewalk." He started to chew on his index claw in agitation. "Something just feels off about all of this."
"Kenji, you get like this when we've been on a case for a while. You haven't released your pent-up rage in weeks. Could that have something to do with your reaction?" I couldn't resist and my hand touched his knee closest to me.
"You're probably right. I haven't in almost a month now that I think about it." His light blue eyes which seemed to glow against the night sky sparked with mischief. "You up for a sparring match, my friend?" He stood abruptly and offered his hand to me.
"When you lose, you owe me a movie night with my choice of movies." I let Kenji pull me out of the water. If I 'tripped' and ended up in his arms for just a second? I didn't do it on purpose.
Chapter 9: Zoey
What in the world was I looking at? I had my right arm raised above my head as I looked in the mirror trying to figure out what was on my skin on my right ribcage. I hadn't noticed it last night because I'd been too wound up from dealing with Ryan that I had just gone straight to bed without a shower. I'd been blow-drying my hair when I'd glanced at a black line right under my breast. When I removed my towel, I found a strange black swirling mark along my right side that tapered off right under my right boob.
It looked like a tattoo. The center was a strange circle with lines that reminded me of tentacles that wound outward. If I wasn't freaking out about it appearing out of nowhere, I'd think it was a beautiful piece of art.
My cell phone's alarm went off, letting me know I needed to get going if I was going to make my bus to work. I cursed under my breath, hastily throwing my still-wet hair into a messy bun, brushed my teeth in under twenty seconds, and pulled on the clothes that I had set out on the bed earlier. I'd decided on a bright pair of neon purple jeans that I had to hop up and down a few times to get into and a dark green blouse with short sleeves. I loved my colorful clothes. I'd worn a professional neutral color for my interview, but now that I'd gotten the job, I decided to wear my normal clothes that were still HR-appropriate. My dress yesterday had been tame in color compared to the jeans I had on now. I couldn't wait to see if I could get a reaction out of Varon.
My phone gave a short beep. I looked down and noticed a text message from a number I didn't recognize.
Unknown Number:Hurry up. We're outside.
Me:Who is this?
Unknown Number:Elias. We were told to pick you up this morning by the boss. Hurry up, the coffee is getting cold.
Elias and Kenji were here? I knew we'd be working together, but hadn't thought they'd pick me up for work. I shook my head as I hurried down the steps, grabbed my bag, and locked the door behind me. Ryan was still out somewhere doing who knows what, but I wasn't going to bother worrying about him at this point. He knew my feelings now, I just hoped he cared enough to act on my request.
Elias and Kenji were outside of their standard police-issue sedan, leaning against the hood and talking quietly to each other. They both looked over at me as soon as I stepped outside the house. I was like a deer in headlights moment for me. I went rigid as a shot of pleasure pulsed from the mysterious mark through my body. As fast as it came on, it was gone in seconds. I had to take a deep breath in before I forced myself to walk forward with a smile.
"Hi, guys. I wasn't expecting a ride this morning." I stopped in front of them, pulling on my book bag strap nervously. "What's the occasion?"
Kenji stepped forward, took my book bag off my shoulder gently, and opened the back door. "We need to go see another body that came in last night. We figured it would be faster, and more comfortable for you if we just swung by to take you with us." He gave me a bright smile, his long fangs looked extremely sharp but I just had an urge to run my tongue down them.
Down Zoey. Horny idiot.
I cleared my throat. "Thanks. That's really kind of you. I hope you didn't go out of the way to get here." I got into the back seat, buckled up, and watched as they got into the car with Elias driving.
"Actually, we aren't too far from your place." Kenji glanced back at me as he handed back a thermos. "We heard from Varon that you gave the coffee pot a nasty look yesterday and he smelled tea leaves on you. We thought you'd rather not have coffee so I hope this is alright. I have sugar if you need any."
My heart skipped a beat at the kindness of his and Varon's thoughtfulness. Opening the top, the scent of peppermint wafted in the air. Just the smell gave me a pick me up. "Thank you. I love tea. You're right about coffee. If I can avoid the bean juice, I will." A sip of the tea let me know that it was brewed to directions and the leaves weren't over-steeped.
