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  “Before we start, what are the stakes?”

  She grinned. “I just demand two shots of my favourite. What do you want if you win?”

  “A kiss. Here, slow and public.”

  Laughing, she set up with her elbow down. “Done.”

  His body began to tingle even before he clasped her hand. When he was set, another shifter put her hand on theirs and waited for the moment they were evenly set to begin.

  * * * *

  Berry set up and watched the mane of hair fly around his pointed ears. She wrinkled her nose and held onto him, despite the crackling tingle of her magic striking his. Spike kept her hand on their knuckles until she felt them both relax for a moment, and when they were even, Berry accessed her beast.

  Every muscle of her body was focused on her arm, and she used the same thrust that she used in the water to slowly push the pretty man’s arm to the side.

  She looked at the smooth line of his jaw, the long, broad nose and the smiling curve of his lips. He laughed and did it often.

  Right now, he focused on her and the grip she had. A frown was furrowing his brow as she slowly moved his arm back.

  None of the other fey she had played with that night had had a chance with her. If they had inner beasts, they didn’t know how to use them. Most of the fey shifters took on a shape, not the animal.

  She was taking advantage of that. Only she, Spike and Chuck knew that she was just drinking water with corn syrup to thicken it.

  She looked at her opponent and didn’t smile. A kiss from him might have been fun. Too bad she wasn’t in the mood to lose.

  Berry flexed and went for the finale, only to find that he was resisting her and slowly pushing her back the way she had come. She was surprised and doubled her efforts to push him back, but her arm was bent inexorably back to touching the table. The watching fey went crazy.

  Berry released his hand and flexed hers.

  He stood and held his left hand out to her.

  She stood in response. “A deal is a fucking deal.”

  His eyes narrowed in amusement, and he smiled as her fingers skated along his.

  He gripped her hand lightly, pulled her in close and bent his head to close the distance between them. His lips touched hers with a sharp crackle of magic.

  She paid her debt as he slowly moved his lips across hers, coaxing her into responding. To her surprise, the crowd around them was silent.

  He tasted her softly, and she parted her lips, letting him taste more of her while she did the same to him. Berry could feel his hand coming up to hold her head, but he slowly lowered it and de-escalated the kiss quickly. He lifted his head and sighed.

  “Hello. My name is Ashko, and the seers sent me.”

  She stared at him and felt her eyes go wide. “I didn’t think they would special order a mate for me.”

  He grinned. “The seers know a good match when they are forced to make one. Would you care to discuss this somewhere more private?”

  She licked the sweet taste of him from her lips. “Yes. That seems like a good idea.”

  He nodded. “You lead me. I just got in, and you were my first stop.”

  She kept hold of his hand, did another sugar shot and hauled him out of the crowd and into the evening air. Berry glanced at him. “Are you hungry?”

  He quirked his lips. “I can eat.”

  She hauled him over to the café and got a seat in a booth with him sitting across from her. She stuck out her hand. “Beryl Maestro. Everybody calls me Berry.”

  “Ashko den Ferrar.” He closed his fingers over hers and inclined his head toward her.

  She retrieved her hand quickly and clenched her fingers together under the table.

  She ordered some fries and a soda and looked at him suspiciously as he ordered a burger and salad.

  He smiled at her, his wide golden eyes amused. “You are looking at me with suspicion.”

  “How did you win the arm wrestling? I have been doing that all night and not one of the fey even came close.”

  His smile turned into a smirk. “I have a lot of horsepower at my disposal.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  He chuckled. “It is the only answer you are getting until you answer a question for me.”

  She leaned back. “Shoot.”

  “Why are you wearing a sweatshirt when you are trying to catch a mate?” Ashko raised his brows and leaned back as the waitress brought their food.

  Berry looked down and grinned. “Because I know what I look like, but that is my business.”

  He blinked and lifted his burger to his mouth.

  Berry decided to explain. “Listen, I know that I look like a fucktoy to the fey—”

  He coughed and grabbed for a napkin.

  “But I didn’t want to advertise it on a first meeting.” She squirted some ketchup onto her plate and started dragging her fries through, munching them one by one.

  He cleared his throat. “Is your language always so...”

  “Direct? Crude? Yeah. When you look cute and cuddly, cursing is an effective way to get to the point. It shocks folks into listening and has become a habit.”

  He cocked his head. “Cute and cuddly are not what I think of when I look at you.”

  She nibbled a fry. “What springs to mind?”

  He smiled. “I think you are made for sex, for a mate to enjoy and embrace you.”

  She felt the blood leave her face as he spoke nearly as baldly as she had. Having the tables turned wasn’t what she was used to.

  He took another healthy bite of his burger and smirked. He had won this round.

  Chapter Three

  She spent the rest of her time stuffing fries in her mouth. Having someone judge her outside the cute zone was not something she was used to. Few—if any—went straight to sexy.

  Finally, she asked, “What did they have to offer you to get you to show up here?”

  “A mate.”

  She blinked and settled her hands on the table. “What else?”

  “Nothing else. A chance at a family is all that most fey need. You live long enough and you collect what you need, but the next generation is a gift beyond price.”

  “What if you and your mate can’t have kids?” Berry twisted her lips. “What if they are defective?”

  He settled his forearms on the table and leaned toward her. “No child is defective. They are what they are meant to be. All children that have been born to fey-shifter matings have been born strong and powerful, with traits from both parents, which is precisely what the fey court is interested in. We are rebuilding our people, one shifter child at a time.”

  Berry cocked her head. “Where do you stand on monogamy?”

  Ashko leaned back. “To date, I have been a serial monogamist. One woman at a time. But, that said, like most fey, I will stick fast to my mate once I have one.”

  “What if your mate needs her independence?”

  He cocked his head. “That has not been a concern to date.”

  She felt herself relax. “Ah, in that case, I am not the lady for you.”

  “Why ever not?” He challenged her with the lift of his eyebrows.

  “I work for the Mage Guild, and I like my job. I am not giving it up for a mate.” Berry crossed her arms and then unravelled them and placed her palms on the table. “I guess that’s that.”

  He scowled, and she got to her feet. She paid for her meal and made her exit. She could feel him following her, but he didn’t try to stop her.

  Her beast flopped around in her mind, identifying him as someone who might cuddle, but Berry kept her back straight and headed for the portal. She needed a full night’s sleep before she challenged the fey in the Crossed Star again. If it was all she was going to get out of her visit, she was going to keep at it. She just didn’t know how to forget Ashko’s kiss. Her lips were still tingling.

  * * * *

  Ashko watched her walk through the portal, and he headed to the Medit
ation Centre. “I need to speak to a member of Beryl’s family.”

  Teal and Tony had been curled together on a low couch, and they looked up lazily. Tony lifted his hand and pointed toward the desk. “Number and phone if you didn’t bring one. Her brother.”

  Ashko paused. “You knew I would come?”

  Teal laughed. “We have met Berry, and we have been doing this for a while. You are going to need all the information you can get.”

  Ashko walked to the desk, and there was a small, flat phone and the number.

  Tony called out, “You can call from the Isthmus, in the privacy of your room. We have complete communications in the Crossroads now.”

  He grinned at the couple. “You are telling me to bugger off?”

  Teal grinned and turned back to her mate. “We have a night off. We were dismissing you politely.”

  He took the hint with a word of thanks and took the phone and number with him through the portal. It appeared that he had a call to make.

  * * * *

  Berry got up far before dawn, and she stretched. There was plenty of time to go for a swim without anyone seeing her. She threw on a short robe and snuck out of her room and down the stairs.

  There was no sign of anyone until she approached the underground wet entrance to the salt and freshwater pools. She stepped off the final step, and Ashko was there talking earnestly on the phone.

  She hesitated for a moment before walking to the saltwater entry and dropping her robe. Whomever he was speaking to must have wondered who was suddenly strangling him. She took a breath, jumped into the water and shifted into her cute and white beast.

  Berry swam around, bonking fish with her nose. She didn’t need to hunt, but she did like to chase them.

  Something large and shadowy moved outside her peripheral vision. She could feel it in the wake of the water and see it in the silvery side of the fishies.

  She paused and turned, rolling in place to look around.

  The motion to her right made her turn, and she watched as a horse sped toward her under water.

  He was running along the current and approaching her at a frightening pace.

  Berry swam to the surface and breathed before returning to seek out her new water-bound playmate.

  Now that she knew what she was looking for, she returned to meet the horse halfway. He thundered along the current, his hooves making contact and propelling him against the pressure of the water.

  She swam along at his side, up and over him and around him in circles as he ran tirelessly through the waves.

  He seemed happy to run through the sea around the Isthmus, and Berry’s beast was happy to have someone to play with.

  Inside the baby seal, she screamed and cursed, but once her beast had someone to play with, there was no stopping her. Berry watched her beast bring shells to the horse as it ran through the waves and snarled in frustration.

  Being cute and adorable was what baby seals did best, but through some twist of fate, Berry’s beast had never grown up. She would always appear to be the equivalent of a seal infant, and that was a turnoff for all members of the seal herd except for the creepy beach master.

  She didn’t have any interest in him, and he had far too much interest in her.

  The galloping horse slowed, and she followed him to the wet entrance of the hotel.

  Berry was relieved as she left the water and was able to take on her human body again. She hadn’t thought that she would have an audience, but since he was still in the water, she had a chance to put on her robe and step aside.

  Human hands pulled him out of the water, or perhaps they were fey hands. He pushed himself out and sat on the edge, wringing his hair out before flicking the dark mass over his shoulder.

  He looked at her and smiled slightly. “So, that was a surprise.”

  She smirked and crossed her arms over her breasts, though the robe covered her pretty decently. “My beast or the fact that I can hold my breath for ten minutes?”

  “Your penchant for seashells. You have an excellent eye for it.” He rose to his feet and shook himself slightly.

  The air in the room was warm, and the sight of his naked body increased the heat dramatically. Berry turned her gaze back to the water instead of counting his abs and following the road to his erection.

  “Uh, thanks. I don’t deserve credit for it. My beast has her own idea of what is pretty.” She turned and put her foot on the first step when he spoke.

  “Would you like to get breakfast?”

  She looked over her shoulder, her dark hair giving her a peculiar view of him through the veil, “I will meet you in the lobby in ten minutes. Have pants on.”

  He laughed, and she pattered up the stairs to her room. The shower took under four minutes, and she was ready to decide on her clothing.

  She grabbed one of her puffy sweatshirts and held it up. Well, he had already seen her naked.

  She put her daily camouflage away and put on her bra and a formfitting, glowing blue shirt.

  Her skirt was tight black cotton, and the heeled sandals were strapped into place in under a minute. Everything she had was outlined in fabric, and she just needed to brush her hair out and she was ready.

  The sable tangle turned into even waves with just a little effort, and nine minutes after she had entered her room, she was on her way down to the lobby.

  Ashko was waiting at the base of the stairs, and he held his hand out to her. “The Crossroads?”

  She smiled with a shake of her head. “There is a breakfast place just a few blocks away.”

  “Will they be open this early?”

  She chuckled. “I would say so. The owner is starting up and is eager to build a client base. He said any time day or night. I am taking him at his word.”

  “He?”

  “Jonas. He makes a mean pancake.”

  It felt awkward to be in contact with him, but she slid her arm around his because he seemed to expect it.

  She directed him out the main doors of the tower and across the separation between fresh and saltwater. They moved at an easy pace, and the light was just caressing the ripples on the water.

  Ashko asked her softly. “Why did you swim in the dark?”

  She chuckled. “Who were you talking to in the wet room?”

  “The call? Just information gathering. I don’t know much about seals.”

  She laughed. “I haven’t seen a horse running under the water like that. What happens to your riders?”

  “They are fastened to my back by my magic. If I wish it, they drown.” He cleared his throat. “Just for the record, I haven’t done that in centuries.”

  She sighed. “Oh. Good. The shifters are a little brutal when it comes to herd, pack or other group mentality. Killing is something we get used to, as is making sure that it looks like natural causes.”

  The walked to a small building that didn’t have signage up yet. The moment they entered it, there was no mistaking the smells of breakfast.

  The single person inside the building smiled at them as they came in. “Morning, Berry. Sit where you like.”

  “Morning, Jonas. This is Ashko. He was sent by the seers.”

  Jonas paused for a moment and then continued flipping the bacon. “Pleased to meet you, Ashko.”

  Berry aimed for the seat so she could watch Jonas, but Ashko frowned and selected another table so that they would be at right angles and share the view.

  Jonas smiled. “Menus are on the table. Just shout out when you are ready.”

  Ashko glanced at her. “You have been here before?”

  “Twice. Jonas is a great talker.”

  Ashko looked at the man in the kitchen with the tattoos wrapped around his forehead. He was marked as a love-talker. Yeah, Ashko could bet that the man was an excellent conversationalist.

  “He’s fey.”

  Berry laughed. “Yeah, the ears gave it away.”

  “What is he doing at the Isthmus?”

  Berry w
histled and said, “Coffee, please.”

  Ashko blinked and added, “Two, please.”

  Jonas nodded, and he came around the corner with a pot and two cups. “You two are up early. Well, I know that Berry is an early riser, but most of the Kelpie like to hang out in the mists.”

  Berry smirked. Jonas was a tattletale. He would tell Berry the truth of any fey in her vicinity.

  “I have already seen the horse in the waves, Jonas, but thanks for that.”

  “And has he seen the fluff in the surf?” Jonas smirked as he poured the coffee.

  Berry shut down. Her emotions drew in, and she started to put the wall up.

  Ashko pulled her hand to his lips, and he said, “I have seen the seal in the surf. Her beast and mine played, and now, we are hungry.”

  Berry exhaled softly, revelling in the caress of his lips on her skin. The sparking between them was exceptionally strong, and it was addictive.

  She looked from him to Jonas and finally settled on the menu. “Jonas, I am having waffles.”

  Chapter Four

  Jonas left them to their own devices, and when the food came, she said quietly, “Thanks for that.”

  “For what? You are what you are. I am what I am. It cannot be changed, so you use it.”

  She smiled and attacked the waffles, strawberries and cream. The bacon on the side made the berries all the sweeter.

  Berry left one strawberry for last. “So, how long were you talking with my brother?”

  He paused. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well, there are two reasons. The first is because that is what he always says to me, and the second is that I could hear his voice through the phone. Shifters are tricky that way.”

  Colour crept up his cheeks. “I needed to understand some things.”

  “Like my language and demeanour, and my challenging fey to arm wrestle?”

  He waved his fork in the air with the last of his hash browns dangling. “Precisely. He told me that you were made wary by the reaction to your beast. The way you reacted to strangers out of an urge to make them wary of you.”