Whale Watching with a Bat (Beneath Aquatica’s Waves #18)

Chapter One

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DOING HIS BEST TO KEEP the scowl off his face, Craeg discreetly followed the woman. She peered around surreptitiously. If Craeg hadn’t been glancing in her direction when she’d slipped a package of trail mix into her pocket, he never would’ve pegged her as a shoplifter.

The woman moved between racks, appearing to browse. She checked the price on a child’s sweatshirt before moving on. Nibbling her bottom lip, she glanced around again. Then she stopped at a rotating display rack that held an abundance of stuffed marine animals.

With her left hand, she reached up and picked up a dolphin stuffie.

She appeared to be considering it. However, it was her right hand that snagged Craeg’s attention.

With a subtle move, she palmed a small jellyfish stuffie and slipped it into her pocket.

Then she sighed, put the dolphin back, and moved on.

Grimacing, Craeg discreetly followed as she made her way to the store’s exit. As security, he knew it wasn’t technically shoplifting until she exited without paying. Once she’d done that, Craeg continued to shadow her as she strode to the left.

Craeg was about to stop her when she came to a bench where a little girl of about seven sat alone. Pausing, he watched the woman run her hand along one of the girl’s pigtails. The girl grinned up at the young woman.

Wondering at the relationship between the pair, Craeg continued to wait and watch. He hadn’t pegged the young lady as more than nineteen or twenty. Although, as a shifter, he knew he wasn’t the best at guessing ages. Still, she seemed way too young to have a daughter of that age.

“Thanks for sitting tight, Katie,” the young woman stated with a warm smile. “You ready to go see the stingrays? The clock says the petting pool is open now.”

“Yeah,” Katie replied, sliding from the bench. As she took the woman’s hand, she murmured, “I’m hungry, Tilda.”

“I thought you might be,” Tilda replied while slinging her arm around Katie’s shoulders. “I got you a snack.”

Craeg watched Tilda pull out the trail mix she’d swiped. After opening the bag, she handed it to Katie. The girl took it eagerly and began scarfing the food as if she hadn’t had breakfast.

Listening to their conversation gave Craeg pause.

Okay. Not the mother then. A sister, maybe?

Considering their hair color and facial features, Craeg guessed they could be related.

Craeg trailed after them, debating what to do. While he was part of security, he wasn’t technically on duty. Craeg had been in the shop to say hi to Meredith, the cashier, before heading to lunch with his buddy, Seri. He wasn’t even in uniform, which was probably why Tilda hadn’t noticed him.

When the pair reached the stingray petting pool, Craeg noticed Beta William on duty. The squid shifter was the younger brother of their alpha, Kaiser. He enjoyed mingling with the crowds, especially when his human mate—John, a captain at one of the nearby city’s police precincts—was on duty.

Hmm...maybe he can give me some advice.

Craeg headed toward William, which had him drawing close to the woman and child to pass them. As he did so, the young girl’s scent hit him. He nearly stumbled in shock.

Katie’s a shifter.

Snapping his focus to Katie, Craeg stared openly, too surprised to hide his interest. Tilda noticed, even with her attention on Katie, who was busy listening to Serena, a dolphin shifter who often worked the stingray pools, give instruction on how to pet the stingrays.

Scowling at Craeg, Tilda gave him a what the hell do you want look.

Clearing his throat, Craeg gave Tilda a tight smile and moved on. He crossed to William, who was eyeing him speculatively. Sucking in a deep breath, Craeg did his best to settle his jangled nerves.

Why is a young human female parading around our marine park with a shifter girl?

And why is she stealing?

Speculating didn’t usually do a lot of good, so Craeg stopped next to William. His beta arched a dark eyebrow. He glanced toward the pair surreptitiously, then refocused on Craeg, his silent question clear enough.

Craeg rubbed a palm over his short beard, keeping his back to the pair so as not to give away their interest in them.

“I watched the older one shoplift at Aquatica’s Grotto,” he admitted.

“Followed her outside, and she met up with the young girl.” Craeg barely resisted taking a glance over his shoulder at the pair.

“The young woman, Tilda, gave the trail mix to the girl, Katie.” Letting out a sigh, he admitted, “I bet the seven-dollar stuffie she stole is supposed to be a gift for Katie, too.” Shaking his head, Craeg muttered, “Gods, ya shoulda seen how fast Katie ate that trail mix. Acted as if she hadn’t eaten all day. ”

And it’s early afternoon.

Craeg shoved his hands into his pockets and met William’s green eyes, seeing the same confliction within them that he felt. Yes, stealing was wrong, but she was giving it to her...sister? Ward? Girl she was babysitting? Craeg wasn’t certain what they were to each other.

When William opened his mouth as if to respond, Craeg quickly added, “It gets more complicated.”

“How could it get more complicated?” William asked softly, his gaze flicking over Craeg’s shoulder, presumably to watch the pair.

Rubbing his hand over his beard again, Craeg rumbled, “Well, when I walked by the pair, I scented that Katie’s a shifter.

” When he smelled William’s surprise with a hint of disbelief, he hurried to add, “On me life, Beta. Tilda’s a human, but Katie’s a shifter.

Scented of a small mammal of some kind.”

Craeg couldn’t help the way his Scottish brogue deepened upon his worry that his beta wouldn’t believe him, agitation beginning to fill him.

William rested a hand on Craeg’s shoulder. “I believe you,” he assured, squeezing lightly.

Relief quickly replaced his unease, and Craeg bit back a sigh. “Should I—” he began slowly, uncertain what to even offer.

“No, Craeg,” William cut him off quietly. His gaze flicked over his shoulder again. “Your work here is done.” With a wry smile, William glanced over at his cut-off jean shorts, t-shirt, and sandals. “I’m pretty sure you’re off duty.”

Scoffing, Craeg nodded. “Aye. Was headin’ to eat lunch with Seri.”

Nodding again, William told him, “Go relax. I’ll take care of this.”

When Craeg offered, “If there’s anythin’ I can do,” William chuckled.

“I’ll let you know,” William told him with a nod.

Releasing him, he shrugged, still keeping his voice low.

“Right now, the only thing I can do is contact Ovram and have him start monitoring them. Do some facial rec and other technical shit that I don’t really understand.

” William grinned, not at all abashed at sharing his ignorance.

“Maybe he can figure out who they are. I’ll keep you in the loop. Okay?”

Craeg nodded, feeling oddly invested. “I appreciate it.”

“Yup.” Then William patted him on the back, saying, “Go enjoy your late lunch.”

“Thanks.”

Craeg tipped his head in a nod of respect to his beta, then began heading toward the left of the covered bay. He couldn’t help glancing Tilda’s way as he hurried off. Seeing her furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, Craeg kept moving, doing his best to ignore her obvious suspicion.

Even if by some bizarre twist, Katie was Tilda’s daughter, they couldn’t leave a shifter to be raised by a human.

There was just too much danger of detection inherent in that.

They had to be certain Katie was in a safe environment to grow, shift, and learn about her kind.

..whatever species she turned out to be.

Hell, maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe she knows about shifters, and she’s part of some pack we don’t know about. Or they’re visiting from out of state and thought a marine park would be fun.

Once again realizing that speculation was useless, Craeg pushed the thoughts from his mind and hurried to the park restaurant to meet his friend.

Seeing Seri at a table near the windows, Craeg waved as he crossed to the door. He entered, greeted Thane, who stood behind the host stand, and turned right. Craeg enjoyed the fragrant smells filling the space, and his mouth watered while his stomach grumbled.

Evidently, Seri heard it, for he chuckled as Craeg slid into the seat across from him. “Welcome, man,” he greeted, stretching a fist across the table. “Sounds like this is just the place where you need to be.”

Craeg laughed and bumped Seri’s fist. “Aye, that it is.” He grabbed the menu that had been left for him, already perusing it as he muttered, “Sorry I’m late.” Shaking his head, Craeg admitted, “Had a weird situation come up.”

“Well, tell me about it after we order,” Seri urged, beckoning to Kayne, Thane’s brother.

Both men worked at Mini Barrier Reef Cantina, enjoying the opportunity to meet new people.

“I know it won’t take long for you to decide.

” With a laugh, Seri added, “Hell, I’m pretty sure you only order between two or three things. ”

Chuckling, Craeg nodded. His friend wasn’t wrong. He just had such a hard time passing up the lobster mac and cheese. It was that good.

Then his gaze fell on the appetizers card, and he moaned appreciatively. Something else suddenly started calling his name. Hesitation filled him.

“Guess we’ll just have to split a few things,” Seri stated, giving him a knowing smirk. “I’m in the mood for lobster-topped stuffed mushrooms, fried calamari, and fried clam strips, along with my crab legs meal.”

Grinning broadly, Craeg replied, “Sounds good to me.” While shifters had a higher metabolism and could easily handle the calories, he couldn’t help but tease, “What exactly are we doin’ this afternoon to burn off all those carbs?”

“Hear about the earthquake that happened a few days ago?”