Chapter Two
“ I t’s just so archaic.” I can’t help myself, my nose wrinkling as my eyes wander the stretch of beach before us. I know I told my dad I’d try not to fight with my mom and spent the trip reminding myself to behave. But it’s like the moment I set foot out here, I can’t keep my mouth shut.
My mom’s heavy sigh draws my attention. “It’s not like we’re asking you to marry any of them. It’s your first heat and trust me, you don’t want to go through it alone.”
I clamp my mouth shut, remembering my dad’s words about her first heat and not wanting to go over the same argument again. Trying not to grimace, I run my eyes along those gathered on the beach.
Everywhere I look, I see posturing men and my annoyance surges .
“At least let your father and me introduce you to some nice young men—“
“Absolutely not.” I cut her off. “I’m here like we agreed, but you’ll have no say in who I spend my heat with.”
Without waiting for a response, I spin on my heels and dive into the crowd. Should I feel bad about the way I just spoke to her? Probably, but if I try to apologize right now, it’ll only make things worse.
I barely make it more than a handful of steps before I’m stopped.
“Steve, twenty-eight. Orca. This is my fifth mating season.” The tall, blond man looks like the boy next door as he grins down at me. Two other men step up to flank him with smiles on their faces. “This is my pod, Lyle and Emerson. They’re also orcas. What season are you on? What species are you?”
At some point, my mouth fell open in shock. I snap it shut, biting my tongue to keep myself from saying something I probably wouldn’t regret but would piss off my mom as I shove away from the three of them.
Seriously? Who just walks up and starts sprouting their name, age, and species like that ?
I make my way down the beach, trying to escape the crowd that feels like it’s closing in on me. Except I continue to be stopped every few feet by men or groups of men who spout off their statistics like we’re on some kind of dating website. The worst of it is when they boast about how many heat cycles they’ve taken part in.
I don’t think I’d be nearly as annoyed if they would just say hello first. I don’t think that’s asking too much. It takes everything in me not to lose it on any of them or not to just run away as fast as possible. My frustration and annoyance have to be written all over my face, but that doesn’t seem to stop any of them from approaching.
Is this what I can expect every year for the next hundred years? If so, I don’t think I want to be a whale shifter anymore. I snort under my breath as I dodge yet another idiotic man. It’s not like I can magically will myself to no longer be a whale shifter. Just like there’s no way for me to avoid the annual heat.
A sigh of relief spills from my lips as I reach the water’s edge and take a moment to stare out over the horizon. Even with all the noise at my back, it’s still beautiful here. Taking the peace I find in the scene before me, I will myself to relax.
I can do this. I’ve totally got this.
Yeah, right.
“Don’t do it.”
I startle at the unfamiliar voice, my head whipping around to find a group of four men sitting in the sand, away from the others here for this stupid mating ritual.
At first, I’m not sure which of them was the one who spoke as my eyes flicker between them. Every single one of them is devastatingly hot. It’s not that every man who approached me today was ugly, but there’s just something about these men that makes them stand out from the others.
I stare at them in confusion, unsure why one of them spoke to me and why they chose the words they did. I assume my thoughts are written all over my face because one of the guys shoots me a wicked grin before nodding his head toward the ocean.
“It looked like you were thinking about trying to escape via the ocean, but they’re all whale shifters, so they can swim. Therefore, they’d be able to follow you.”
I burst out into laughter because it’s true—not only had I been thinking about swimming away to escape, but I’d forgotten that they could all easily follow. I shake my head and give them a bashful shrug. “I guess I didn’t think that far ahead.”
The guy grins as he stands, running a hand through his deep brown hair. “Is it really that bad?”
I glance back down the beach and make a face. “Yeah, it really is.” I huff as I turn to face the four of them. “For the last hour, I’ve had so many men stop me to tell me their stats—stats I didn’t ask for, mind you. And do you know, not a single one of them took the time to say hello?”
“Sounds about right.” Another of the guys leans forward, hooking his massive tattoo-covered arms over his knees. His black hair shines almost blue and his gray eyes dance with amusement. “Hello.”
“Hi.” I don’t even have to force my smile this time. It’s a pleasant feeling not to have to fake it.
The brunette nods his head toward the group. “You’re welcome to join us. We hate these things too. ”
I bite my lips as I consider them. I did promise my parents I would meet some men, and would you look at that? The four of them are fine specimens of men. Look at me keeping my promises.
Not to mention, what woman in her right mind would refuse this bounty of men set before me?
“You know what? I think I’d like that.”
“That’s the spirit.” The brunette grins, offering me his hand when I move closer. It’s not until I’m standing in front of him I realize just how tall he is. He towers over my five-foot-seven frame in the best kind of way. “I’m Aidan.”
“Lila.” I place my hand in his, fighting a shiver as that wicked grin takes over his face once more. He’s entirely too hot, and I’m impressed by the firm handshake he gives me. You might be surprised to learn the number of men who won’t properly shake a woman’s hand—a fact I despise.
Aidan doesn’t release my hand as he turns to his friends. He points to the black-haired, tattooed man. “That’s Carter.”
Carter lifts his hand, giving a small wave and a wink .
Holy guacamole! I don’t think I’ve ever had a man wink at me before. I don’t even know how to respond to it as I flush, sure that my entire body is slowly turning red. Luckily, Aidan pulls my attention to the final two, a blond with side-swept hair, glasses, and the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen, who is sitting alongside a burly redhead with bright blue eyes. “That’s Ty and Oliver.”
Each of the men wave and call out hellos as Aidan leads me over to an empty spot of sand beside Carter. I sit carefully, not wanting to flash any of them with the too-short dress and shoot Aidan a quick smile when he settles on my other side.
No one speaks for a moment, and I clear my throat awkwardly as my eyes bounce from man to man. I don’t know who to focus on, as they’re all just so freaking attractive. And I really need to stop thinking about how hot they are—I don’t need to make this any more awkward than it already is.
“So, ummm…why are you guys all the way over here?”
“Probably for the same reason you are.” Oliver grins. “We hate coming to these things. They’re ridiculous. There are so much better ways this could be done than us all showing up at the beach and throwing ourselves at women in an attempt to get them to invite us to their heat. But what do I know?”
“Then why come at all?” It’s not like they have to come since male whale shifters don’t go through heats. These mating rituals, or whatever they’re called, are for women to meet men.
But Oliver is right. There are much better and easier ways this could be done, which is what I kept telling my mom. I would love it if there was an app for this, as it would work just as well. Maybe without the need to provide their stats, these men could learn how to have an actual conversation with women.
“Our parents,” Carter answers with a roll of his eyes. “If we don’t show up, they raise all hell, and none of us want to deal with that. If we show up, they’re happy—even if we don’t actively participate.”
That makes sense. After all, I’m here because my parents want me here. But I’m still not sure why they invited me to join them if they don’t participate. Clearly, I’m here to find someone to help me through my heat and sitting with them isn’t going to help me if they don’t have an interest in helping during a heat .
That should make me stand up and walk away, but I can’t convince myself to do it. For the first time since I arrived, I feel comfortable, and I’m not ready to give that up.
“I’m not even a whale,” Aidan admits as he leans toward me. “I only come because they do.”
My eyes widen in shock. “Seriously? Are you human?”
While humans know about supernaturals, we don’t usually invite them to learn about our mating rituals. The only time humans tend to show up is if they’re mated or married to a female whale shifter who is looking for additional men to help her through her heat.
If we decide to mate or marry just one person, we still have to seek out others for our heats. It’s very hard for just one person to keep up with us during that time. We need sex constantly.
“No.” Aidan shakes his head but doesn’t elaborate.
My eyes narrow as I continue to watch him. I feel like he’s teasing me by not telling me what he is.
Ty laughs, voice quiet, when he tells me, “He’s a walrus. ”
I can’t help the smile that forms as I glance between him and Aidan, glee running through me. “Really? I’ve never met a walrus shifter before. How does a walrus shifter end up hanging out with a bunch of whale shifters?” I pause. “Wait, the rest of you are whale shifters, right?”
“We are.” Carter laughs. “My dad married Aidan’s mom when we were kids, so he’s always been around.”
“That’s really cool. At least you’re still an ocean shifter, so you swim together.” Grinning, I wrack my brain to figure out what else to talk to them about. I don’t want to go back to dealing with the idiots. But let’s be real, my people skills are rough. I’d rather curl up with a good book than deal with people, but there’s something about this group of men that makes me want to keep talking to them.