Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Cameron
Oh, hell.
Was this seriously happening? Had he really missed his flight home only to stumble, quite literally, into his fated mate?
Given that he was very much still wrapped up in this stranger’s arms, Cameron guessed that this was, in fact, really happening.
That is, unless he had fallen asleep in one of the uncomfortable airport seats.
Or maybe he had actually made it on the flight after all and was now suspended somewhere over the middle of the country in a flying metal death trap, napping against some unsuspecting flyer, imagining the most sturdy arms, the most ideal combination of soft and hard chest, the most delicious smell—
“I think…you might be right. At least my inner alpha sure thinks you are,” the man said.
Cameron pulled back just enough to look up into the man’s eyes.
They were a warm brown, similar to the Autumn Festival decorations hung up around the terminal.
There was something earthy and powerful lurking beneath the surface.
This man was absolutely an alpha. Cameron couldn’t always tell—partly because he was a sea shifter who had little use for scenting, but also because an omega's sense of smell was much weaker than an alpha’s.
This man, though… The only way Cameron could describe it was that he smelled like power.
Like expensive leather and a spicy musk.
There was no doubt in Cameron’s mind that he was an alpha.
“You’re…mine?” Cameron asked.
Heat ripped across his cheeks at the bold question. Of course this man wasn’t his. He sounded as creepy as that aquarium man, thinking he had some kind of claim over a total stranger just because fate, the crafty bitch, said so.
In Cameron’s mind’s eye, his omega held a tentacle up in the air, noting quite unhelpfully that there was no way this man would fit in an aquarium.
The man chuckled, a warm noise that started in his stomach and fluttered against Cameron’s chest where they were pressed together.
For a moment, he was afraid he had said his thoughts out loud because even he could admit they were a bit unhinged.
Seriously, who met their fated mate and thought about putting them in an aquarium?
He tried to release the man, but his arms tightened around Cameron’s lower back. The feeling was akin to putting on his favorite jacket at the start of winter, comfortable and familiar. The way the man’s breath caught, Cameron wondered if he felt it, too.
They stared at each other for a quiet moment, and then the man released him, taking a small step back.
“I’m so sorry. I have no idea what came over me...aside from meeting my fated mate at the airport.”
The man’s face turned pink the way a painter would paint a blush. It started at one side and slowly brushed from the apple of one cheek to the other. It brought out endearing hints of auburn in the blonde five o’clock shadow dusting his jaw and upper lip.
Cameron craned his head back to fully take in the man, from his tousled blonde bun, down the front of his rumpled dress shirt, to his once neatly pressed slacks and shiny oxfords.
Cameron had never really had a type, aside from male and alpha, but this man was checking a lot of boxes he hadn’t known he had.
He appeared strong, yet not overly built, like he didn’t spend every night at the gym, but perhaps did some running on the weekends.
He was conventionally handsome with an added hint of something else. Power? Authority?
A sudden, horrifying thought struck him. Did the man even live here? They were meeting in an international airport, after all.
“Are you here on business?” Cameron asked, trying and failing to keep the panic from his voice.
What on earth was Cameron going to do if his fated mate lived somewhere like Singapore or Antarctica?
If someone had asked him that this morning, he would have shrugged and said, “Guess fate got it wrong, huh?” Right now, he couldn’t imagine never seeing this man again.
His octopus actually trembled at the thought.
“I am attempting to go on business, but my flight was canceled, and I’m struggling to book a new one.
” The man gestured at the line in front of them.
His eyebrows lowered, and the corners of his mouth pulled down until he looked almost as anxious as Cameron felt.
“And you? Please tell me you’re from the area, or at least within a hundred miles or so? ”
Cameron let out a surprised laugh that both their minds had gone to the same place.
On instinct, he reached out and clasped the larger man’s hand.
It was warm and heavy, providing an anchor point Cameron hadn’t known he needed.
The man smiled softly at him, but his eyes were still creased in concern.
“I live in the city, around twenty minutes from here.”
The man’s smile could have stopped traffic and downed planes. His teeth were pearly white and rather large—hinting at perhaps a toothy shifter beast. Cameron had small teeth, much less necessary for his octopus self.
“That’s such a relief. I also live in the city. My office and home are in the financial district.”
“Oh, I live in the meatpacking district, so not too far!” Cameron said, unconsciously bouncing up onto the balls of his feet.
The two areas of the city were only a bus ride away, or a short car ride if one were so inclined.
Cameron didn’t own a car, but rideshares were easy enough to come by.
The man’s expensive-looking clothes made Cameron think transportation wouldn’t be a huge problem…
so long as he wasn’t an aquarium-owning serial killer.
Or just another asshole who would get close to Cameron only to break his heart.
Cameron fell back down onto the flats of his feet.
How easily he was forgetting his usual reasons to be wary.
There was something about the man, or maybe their fated connection, that put Cameron at ease.
He reminded himself and his octopus, who was currently wiggling in excitement, that they needed to keep their guard up.
“You said you’re trying to go on a work trip? What do you do for work?” he asked, trying to suss out a little more about the man. People were typically easy for him to read, but his brain felt fried, and his senses could still barely discern up from down.
The man’s smile turned crooked, and he squeezed Cameron’s fingers. “Maybe we should start with more basic introductions first?”
Cameron’s blush deepened, heat spreading down his neck and under the collar of his shirt.
“Sorry… Wow, I must seem like some kind of gold digger, asking what you do for work right off the bat. I promise I don’t care what you do; I was just trying to be polite.
I work for a nonprofit—which, come to think of it, is probably not good proof that I’m not a gold digger ‘cause we’re paid a lot less than our industry partners.
But I’m very happy with my salary and lifestyle, I just—”
The man let out an unapologetically loud laugh and yanked Cameron back into his arms. Cameron immediately stopped his rambling, and he felt his heart rate and rapidly spiraling thoughts slow as he settled into the man’s warmth once again.
This had never happened to him before. Usually, he found touch tolerable at best and panic-inducing at worst, but the mere smell of this man was warming him from the inside out.
Fate sure had a way to get what it wanted.
“I made no such assumptions about you, but I appreciate the clarification. Perhaps we could start over? Maybe with our names?”
Cameron ducked his face into the silky fabric of the man’s dress shirt. Just because he hadn’t meant to meet his fated mate today didn’t mean he should be a rude little shit. “I’m Cameron. Cameron Klein.”
His octopus covered his face with his tentacles. Who were they, James Bond?
“Cameron? What a lovely name,” the man said, bending slightly backward at the waist so he could gaze down at Cameron while still holding onto him.
Cameron’s octopus wiggled happily, already over their awkward introductions and now desperately hoping the man would hold them forever.
“I’m Emory Rexford. And since you asked, I'm the CEO of Rexford Shipping Company. If it’s not clear by the name, it’s a family-owned company. You said you work for a nonprofit?”
Cameron nodded. “I run an environmental program at a national nonprofit."
Emory’s eyebrows shot up, and he gave Cameron an impressed look. “Well, I’m glad all our sustainability practices are up to snuff. Wouldn’t want to get called down to your office.”
Cameron scoffed good-naturedly. “I hardly have the authority to do that. Besides, I work from home three days a week now. So…I mean, I guess I could call you down to my apartment…”
Before Cameron had time to kick himself for his rambling, a woman’s voice spoke up behind them.
“I’m sorry to intrude, but are you both in line? If so, I believe you’re up next.”
Emory promptly released Cameron, who tried to stifle a groan. His octopus was not thrilled with the new space between them, and Cameron was alarmed to find he also didn’t like it. It made his stomach feel tight and unsettled.
“So sorry, ma’am. We’ll step out of line,” Emory offered.
Cameron’s stomach knotted even further, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Actually, I really want to try and get home tonight for Fall Harvest. Even though we’re a family of water shifters, it’s still pretty important to get the family back together,” Cameron said, trying his best not to fidget with a thread on the cuff of his sweater.
Shay always made fun of how much he fidgeted.
With a firm nod, Emory stooped to pick up his backpack for him. “Well then, let’s see what we can do.”
Emory took long, confident strides up to the counter and, at a loss for what else to do, Cameron hurried after him.