Chapter Twenty-Two
Mao
Mao had never met a kraken, but if he had to imagine what one would look like on land in their human form, he would have envisaged somebody big, strong, commanding, and someone that carried the scent of the sea with them.
Krakens were extremely old. At least, from what he’d heard, and creatures like that his cat could respect and sense the wisdom that came with the ages. Something, again, he expected to feel in at least one of the two men who were waiting for them when they stepped off the plane.
What he didn’t expect was for one of the large guys to come running across the tarmac, sweeping Ekon into his arms and swirling him around before putting him down, roughly and patting his face.
“You’ve been through so much, I can see that,” the mystery man said—a man who didn’t smell of salt at all.
Mao could admit that the man had a very comforting vibe, like a fuzzy bear. But he wasn’t keen on the idea of this man, whoever it was, hanging on to Ekon like the man was about to collapse.
“It feels like you’ve been gone ages, doing all that work you did for Todd. Todd’s dragons are so upset because he spends all his time on his computer, because there’s so much stuff, but look at what it’s done to you. You look really worn out.”
Why is that man still touching my mate? Because as Mao watched, the mystery man was now patting over Ekon’s heart.
“And you’ve found… something.” The man’s face lit up into a bright smile, and then just as quickly changed again.
“But you’re sick with it. That’s no good.
” The man turned and looked at Mao. “You’re growling. Why are you growling?”
He turned to look at the one man who so far hadn’t said anything at all, although Mao reasoned, he hadn’t said anything either. “Have I said or done anything wrong?”
“Marvin,” Ekon said clearly, disengaging himself from Marvin’s hands. “This is Mao. He’s my mate. We met at the bunker. Our mating is still very new. Don’t worry he’ll stop growling now.”
Me, growling? Mao realized that he might have been, just a little bit, more like clearing a lump from his throat situation, probably from the flight.
“Mao is Kylo and Ben’s brother.” Ekon was still talking to Marvin, whose face lit up again at names he clearly recognized.
“And now he’s found his own lost boy.” Marvin looked as though he’d just seen a firework display, his face was so bright and happy.
Before Mao could move or even blink, he was being hugged…
by Marvin. It wasn’t a bad hug, and Mao’s cat could tell Marvin was a gentle soul who didn’t mean any harm.
They were standing on an airport tarmac where anyone could see.
Mao didn’t know what to do with his hands, and he had a quick flashback to when Ekon met Mom for the first time.
Perhaps Ekon was thinking the same thing.
“Let him go, Marvin,” Ekon said with a laugh. “Ajani, how are you doing?” The other silent man nodded, but Marvin was still in huggee mode. “Marvin, I mean it, let him go. He’s not used to being mauled around by you.”
“He’ll get used to it,” Marvin said happily, still smiling widely, but Mao’s ribs felt instant relief as the big man let him go.
“I can’t believe it. You found your mate, which is such a happy time, but then why are you so sick?” Marvin had gone back to Ekon, cupping his face gently and staring into his eyes. Mao wondered what he saw. “You are sick, aren’t you?”
“Something’s happened. It could be connected to those records. It’s why we’re here to talk to the others,” Mao said, glancing into the darkness. It’s not as though anybody was anywhere near them, except for the staff from the plane who were busy fussing around the wheels of the jet.
Mao still felt extremely uncomfortable. And he’d prefer it if they just got to the crux of why they had to take the plane in the first place to come back to the States. Marvin had turned his focus on his mate, but at least they seemed to be moving away from the plane.
“Is he always like this?” Mao whispered as he took Ekon’s arm and they followed Marvin and Ajani off the tarmac.
“Marvin has always been different,” Ekon replied, his tone cautious. “He views the world in a special way. You’ll get used to him. He doesn’t have a vicious bone in his body—”
“Wasn’t he trained as an assassin, too?”
Ekon nodded, and Mao felt a wave of sadness come through their bond.
“He just wants to see everybody happy and can get enthusiastic about it sometimes. He spent decades, possibly even longer than that, walking between the different sites and training camps where people like Ajani, Conrad, and Duron were kept, just calling in on them to make sure they were okay. No man who would do that ever meant us any harm.”
Ekon swayed a bit, and Mao took more of Ekon’s weight as they headed toward a large SUV.
“I’m not surprised that Marvin was the one to pick us up,” Ekon continued, chuckling. “He’s always the first one to offer to do things for any of the lost boys. That worry that you saw on his face is genuine.”
Mao had already got a sense of that, he couldn’t help the question. “Does he know about your magic?”
“We talked about me feeling different, not about magic, when I came here before heading to the bunker,” Ekon murmured softly. “As I said, Marvin has a unique way of looking at things. I’m not shocked he’s noticing the change in me now, either.”
That might have had something to do with the fact Ekon looked like he’d lost at least ten pounds, and his face was quite pale, which wasn’t the normal look of somebody who returned from the jungle. Mao kept that thought to himself.
“The krakens live in a large compound,” Ekon explained as they walked across a runway. “Not all in the same building, but there're rooms they all get together in. There’s a place there where we can stay for a while until we can all work out a plan.”
Mao looked down and noticed Ekon looking up at him. His mate winked. “They have a large indoor private pool if you’re keen on swimming.”
Mao shuddered. “Water and I are not exactly compatible. My panther will swim if he has to, but I prefer to walk.”
For some reason, Ekon seemed to think that was funny. “Fair enough, but the offer is always there. Unless of course, some of the other krakens are in there, and then you really don’t want to get in there. Especially if they’re with their mates.”
Mao’s eyes widened with shock, coming to a stop. “Did I just hear you right,” he hissed. “Are you telling me they get frisky in their shifted forms.”
Marvin suddenly glanced over his shoulder and called out, “One of the good things about having a mate is you can get frisky whenever you like.”
Groaning, Mao shook his head, following the others. “I’m fairly sure I’m not an exhibitionist,” he whispered to Ekon, who was still chuckling.
“Nobody’s asking you to be.” Ekon slid into the back seat of the SUV—Marvin had opened the door for him. “From what I understand, since they’ve had children, the krakens have become a little more discreet about what they do and where. Having kids apparently will do that to you.”
Thank goodness for that. Mao wasn’t a prude, but the thought of creatures with tentacles, playing with human bits… I am sooo not thinking about that, he decided as he followed Ekon into the car.
When they arrived at the krakens’ home, compound, or whatever else anyone wanted to call it, Mao was surprised by how huge it was.
Mao felt the brush of wards against his skin as the SUV swept into the driveway that curved around to a parking bay in front of a massive house.
Marvin was out of the car before the engine had been turned off, bouncing happily.
“You have to come see,” he said, reaching in to help Ekon out. “I got a new—”
“In a minute,” Ekon said quickly, holding up his hand. Mao at once went on alert. Ekon’s eyes were glowing, much like that had on the plane, and he seemed to look around as if he’d never been to the place before, even though Mao knew Ekon had been staying there prior to this visit.
“I need to get to Todd,” Ekon said, with a sudden burst of speed, sprinting up the steps where another pair of big men had come out to greet him. “Mao, that’s Alexi, and his mate Danik. Guys, that’s my mate, Mao.”
“Hey.” Mao was sprinting after Ekon. “Babe, what’s going on,” he asked with concern as he caught Ekon easily. “Is Todd—”
“The man who has the records. The man I sent them to—the kraken.” Ekon was pounding up another set of stairs, sounding nothing like himself, and then turned a sharp left down another long hallway. “I must get to Todd. I have to get to those records.”
Where’s he freaking getting the energy from? Mao was keen on a place to wash up, maybe grab some food, or even lie down for five minutes. Yes, Ekon had slept on the plane, but with how Ekon was he’d watched over him.
The glow in Ekon eyes and that strange voice, Mao wasn’t even sure if Ekon was ruling his own body right now, so he stayed close.