Chapter 8 Calder
EIGHT
CALDER
Calder could have sworn that he’d learned his lesson about hiding things from Adam.
It was just that the night they’d talked about Calder being a shifter, Adam had been exhausted and still recovering from a near-death experience.
He’d gone through a lot of emotional upheaval.
Heaping yet one more thing upon him had seemed cruel.
Yes, it had been a little self-serving, as Calder hadn’t wanted it to be the thing that tipped Adam over the edge, but he really hadn’t wanted to risk Adam’s well-being. There were only so many shocks that someone could take.
But Calder had really, truly intended to have the conversation with him—and soon. Maybe not today, because today was meant to be a celebration of their feelings and a relaxing day for Adam now that he’d survived Valentine’s Day.
And instead… this.
Instead, Calder had once again been forced to reveal his secrets in the least subtle manner because people were in danger.
Children were in danger. They should never have been anywhere near the breakwater, but that was something to deal with later as Calder’s huge eyes pierced the dark water and his arms reached out to pluck up each child, snatching them away from the rocks.
He called a nearby pod of dolphins to act as a distraction for the boat, sending them to the port side to leap and cavort and reduce the number of people who were looking to the starboard side where a kraken was even now wrapping his free limbs around the Cabrillo Beach Pier and depositing his small burdens on the cement surface there.
He used his arms to turn them all onto their sides and smack them on the back, making them cough and splutter and start to expel the water they’d swallowed.
Someone was still screaming, and then there were people rushing up.
Several of them were lifeguards from Cabrillo Beach, who must have run flat-out from the end of the beach where the lifeguard tower was, and they were carrying first aid kits.
And one of them—praise the gods—sparked with the magic of a witch.
Calder reached out and tugged them to the little one who wasn’t breathing.
People were staring and pointing at Calder, but that couldn’t be helped.
The witch was gazing with huge eyes, too, but, thankfully, when they fell to their knees next to the child, their focus returned to the matter at hand.
In the chaos, it was easy for them to cast a spell that no one noticed, and the child jerked and spluttered and began to cough up water.
There was more yelling, and the adults were clustering around the children, their focus being redirected from Calder, although he was still getting some side-long glances.
He released his hold on the last child, slipping back into the water.
It was barely deep enough to contain him in his full shift, but a moment later, he’d transformed back into his human form and powered quickly through the water to the beach.
There hadn’t been a lot of people out in the water today, and most of them were paying attention to what was going on at the pier anyway.
A man climbing out of the ocean fully clothed wasn’t precisely usual but probably wasn’t even pinging on their radar, all things considered. And although Calder could practically feel the strain on the World Spell, it still seemed to be doing its job of redirecting the humans’ attention.
Calder dripped past the beach goers and waited until he was out of eyesight to wick the water away from himself in order to dry out his clothes.
They didn’t look as pristine as they would have if he hadn’t let them get wet to begin with, but a fully clothed man emerging from the ocean dry would have been more likely to cause comment.
Then there was nothing to do but go back to the harbor boat pier and wait for Adam to return.
(Yes, he could have leaped back onto the tour boat from the water, but that wasn’t very subtle.
The Spell had lasted for centuries, but it was under strain as never before, and Calder didn’t want to be the one to destroy it because he couldn’t be patient.)
It was a nerve-wracking wait. Maybe Calder should have stayed in his natural form and continued to swim around until he saw the boat returning.
He wished he’d thought of that sooner. He didn’t let himself shift from foot to foot when the passengers finally began to disembark, but it was a near thing.
Calder reminded himself that he’d survived centuries; he could surely survive a few more minutes of anticipation and uncertainty.
There was Adam! His eyes were scanning the shore, and when they locked onto Calder, his whole body stiffened. He started to run, and Calder had just a moment to worry that this was going to be like his rescue, when Adam had fled, and then Adam was tripping into his arms.
“Oh, goddess, are you alright? You’re amazing! Is everyone okay? Did you hurt yourself? Are your eyeballs bigger than I am? Have you ever capsized a ship? It’s a good thing those dolphins came by; I think most people were watching them. What happened? Are you fine?”
Adam was patting all over Calder’s chest and arms like he was looking for an injury.
Calder captured Adam’s hands and brought them to his lips to press a kiss to them.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. The kids will be alright.
Lifeguards were attending to them after I left, and one of them was a witch.
And someone was shrieking about them sneaking away, so I’m quite sure that once they’re feeling well and safely home, they’ll get scolded within an inch of their lives for sneaking out onto the breakwater. ”
Adam wrapped his arms around Calder’s waist and hugged him.
“I’m so glad you were here. Imagine what might have happened if you weren’t! Even if the lifeguards had run out there, I don’t think they would have made it in time.”
Not with the proximity to the rocks of the breakwater.
“It was lucky,” Calder agreed. He glanced down at Adam. “It’s… also one of the functions that I’ve served over the years.”
Adam glanced up at him through his tawny lashes. Calder couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him, and Adam returned the pressure, no reticence in his touch, thankfully.
“So you’re not just a really, really giant squid?” Adam asked when they parted, a teasing light in his eyes.
Calder barked out a laugh. “No. Mythical shifters are very rare, especially these days, but we do still exist. Most of us can… hibernate, I guess you’d call it, for a time, when we grow tired of the world. But we’re still here.”
“What, uh, kind of shifters are mythical? I mean, if you’re allowed to say.”
Calder’s mate was still here in his arms and was praising him for the fact that he’d turned into something that many people considered an eldritch horror. Calder would tell him anything he wanted to know.
“Many of the fabled creatures from human legend. Sea serpents, dragons, unicorns, kitsune, phoenixes, and more. We don’t tend to be terribly social, although there are exceptions.”
Adam’s eyes went round. “Wow.”
“Like I said, we’re even more rare now than we once were, and we sleep through years, sometimes decades.”
Possibly even centuries, though Calder had never slept that long at once.
Adam’s brow furrowed a little, and Calder reached out to smooth it with his thumb.
“What is it?”
“Why would you want me?”
Calder cupped his face and kissed him until a wolf whistle reminded them that they weren’t totally alone on the pier. Adam flushed rosy, but Calder didn’t let him go.
“Because you’re you. You’re my mate, and you’re kind and smart and clumsy and bake the best cakes I’ve ever tasted.”
Adam looked like he couldn’t decide if he should protest or not. Calder leaned in and pressed another soft kiss to his lips.
“Because you were made for me, and I was made for you. I’ve got enough arms to keep you steady.”
Adam’s eyes went glassy, but he blinked back the tears, and the slowly dawning smile on his face reassured Calder that he wasn’t upset.
“Yeah, I guess you do.” He sniffed. “Maybe bonds and mates aren’t as bad as I thought. You can keep me steady, and I’ll bake you all the cake you could possibly eat.”
Calder grinned. “I’ve got a pretty large stomach. I can eat a lot.”
Adam’s smile grew brighter. “Challenge accepted.”
The Magic, it seemed, had known exactly what it was doing when it had led Calder to his fated mate.
Like magic in the real world? More Mythical Mates for the Holidays will be coming fall 2026!
Want to go all the way fantasy? Check out The Lost Arts, Ellie Ash’s cozy and spicy MM fantasy romance series starting with The Lost Art of Seducing a Mage Warrior.