Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Macy remained in bed for the rest of the day after the computer’s revelations, overcome with shock and nausea. She ate nothing that evening, and very little through the following week.
She was as worried as Jax; each time he came with food, already filleted and cooked, it sent her stomach into revolt. All she’d been able to keep down was a bit of naba. She hated that Jax had to venture onto land by himself to obtain it.
Arkon visited her several times throughout the week, relaying new information he’d gleaned from the computer. Now that he knew how to access it, he spent hours questioning it, delving ever deeper into its data.
Finally, as the week ended, Macy woke without queasiness.
She rose cautiously and slipped out of bed.
Jax was nowhere to be seen; he must’ve left while she slept.
After relieving herself and showering, she felt better than she had in a long time.
Her middle seemed rounder, as though — despite eating almost nothing for days — she’d gained weight.
As she dressed, she nibbled on one of the last pieces of naba. Had Jax gone out to find more? Wherever he was, she couldn’t sit here and wait; this was the first time she’d felt well in weeks. She strapped on the thigh holders for her knife and gun and left.
Macy had just stepped into the main building when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Startled, she retreated, fixing her gaze on an open doorway down the hall. No light came from within the chamber.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose.
“Hello?” she called.
No answer.
Frowning, Macy approached the doorway. Her hand fell to the butt of her gun. Something slid across the floor inside.
“Hello?” she repeated.
A small, bald head poked out from the doorway, around the height of Macy’s waist. Two big, silver eyes met her gaze.
It took Macy a moment to realize what she was looking at — a kraken, but far smaller than any she’d yet seen. This was a child. A female child, if its delicate facial features and body structure were any indication.
Crouching, Macy smiled at the kraken. “Hello.”
The girl’s eyes dipped, and her lips twitched into a smile.
“Do you know who I am?” Macy asked.
“Human.”
“Yes, but I won’t hurt you. My name is Macy. What’s your name?”
The kraken child hesitated, glancing over her shoulder nervously. “Melaina.”
“That’s a beautiful name. What brings you here, Melaina?”
“I was curious.”
“About me?”
Melaina nodded.
“What would you like to know?” Macy asked.
The girl moved forward until she was before Macy, raised her hand — her claws were short and dull compared to Jax’s — and touched Macy’s hair.
“It’s so soft,” Melaina whispered.
Macy chuckled. She understood the kraken’s fascination with her hair, but Melaina’s innocence leant her curiosity a certain charm.
The girl lowered her arm. “Is it true you are Jax’s mate?”
“It is.”
“How long will you mate him for?”
“What?” Macy’s brows lowered. “What do you mean?”
“How long will you be mated to Jax?”
“Forever, I suppose. For as long as I live if he’ll have me.”
Melaina tilted her head. “Even after he gives you a youngling?”
“A…youngling? You mean a baby? No.” Macy shook her head and smiled. “No, no. I’m human. We can’t have… It doesn’t work like that for us.”
“If you cannot have young, why does he choose to stay with you?”
Macy inwardly flinched. This was just a child’s curiosity, with no malicious intent.
As far as Macy knew, female kraken chose to mate only to produce young and moved to new males frequently.
It made sense, given what the computer had said — babies were so rare that the kraken had to join often to sustain their existence as a species.
“We just really care for each other,” Macy said.
Melaina looked at her skeptically.
The idea of choosing a single person to join with for life had been strange even to Jax, and he was one of the most open-minded of his people. Of course it would be difficult for other kraken to imagine.
Macy smiled; she needed to steer their conversation elsewhere. “Would you like to play a game?”
The girl’s face brightened. “What game?”
“It’s one I used to play with my sister. Have you ever played hide-and-seek?”
“What is hide-and-seek? Is it like hunters-hiders?”
“How is that played?”
Melaina’s tentacles twitched and curled in her excitement. “One team is the hunters, and the other team is hiders. The hunters have to find all the hiders.”
“Yes! It’s exactly like that. Would you play with me? I haven’t played in a long time, not since I was little.”
Melaina clapped her hands. “Can I hide first?”
“On two conditions — no camouflage, and we stay in the cabin area.” Macy gestured to the tunnel behind her.
“Camouflage?”
Macy touched Melaina’s arm. The girl recoiled slightly. “Changing your skin color. My skin doesn’t change like yours, so it would be unfair.”
The girl inched forward and reached out tentatively, pressing her fingertips to Macy’s forearm. “It doesn’t change at all?”
“Only a little, but I can’t match it to my surroundings like you.” Macy stood. “Okay, I’ll count, and you hide. Ready?”
“Yes!”
They played for an hour. Melaina’s initial distrust quickly evaporated as their laughter echoed through the corridors.
Though Macy thought herself and Sarina had been good at hiding as children, Melaina’s skills were superior — even without camouflage.
The young kraken was able to squeeze into spots that should’ve been too small to fit in, and proved surprisingly adept at climbing into high places Macy hadn’t initially expected her to reach.
When they tired of the game, they went to Macy’s room and turned on the music player. After she overcame her startlement, Melaina was thrilled. She danced around the room with Macy and laughed until they were lying on the floor, breathless.
It was between two songs when they heard the calls from somewhere in the corridor. Melaina perked up, and Macy turned off the music.
“Melaina!”
“Oh no,” Melaina groaned, scurrying across the room and into the hallway.
Macy followed. “What’s wrong?”
The question was answered once Macy stepped through the doorway.
Another kraken was approaching, and its features contorted with rage when it met Macy’s gaze.
This was another female — an adult female.
She was built lighter than the males, with a narrow waist and small breasts, her dark nipples bare.
As soon as she was in reach, one of the kraken’s tentacles darted out to take hold of Melaina’s wrist, pulling the girl back. The female imposed herself between Macy and the child.
“What are you doing with my youngling, human?” she demanded.
Melaina poked her head out from behind the female. “I was cur—”
“Silence!” The female twisted to look at the girl. “What have I told you about wandering?”
For a moment, Macy pitied the child; was this how Jax had been treated in his youth?
“We were only playing,” Macy said.
The kraken turned her narrowed gaze on Macy. “My daughter will not play with humans, or talk to humans, or have anything to do with humans.”
Whatever joy Macy had felt moments before fled from the female’s animosity. “She was only curious, and I enjoyed her company.”
The female’s lip curled in disgust. “Such curiosity leads to kraken like Arkon and Jax. I will not have my child follow that path.”
Anger pulsed through Macy. “There’s nothing wrong with either of them.”
The kraken dropped her gaze, sliding it over Macy’s body, and smirked.
“Jax’s wanderings took him to my den, and led him away from me.
Do you think he will not leave you? A human with no limbs?
A human who cannot dance, who cannot defend herself, who cannot bear young?
” She swept her hand down to her waist, where her slit unfurled like a blooming flower, revealing her open sex.
“Do you think you can please him like his own kind can?”
Macy’s eyes widened, and she lifted her gaze to the female’s. Though she tried to push the kraken’s words aside, they lingered, taking root in Macy’s mind to build upon her doubts. “Jax cares for me.”
“For now. You are a…curiosity to him. He will tire of you soon enough. He always does.” The female turned away.
“How long did Jax stay with you? A week?”
The kraken whipped around with a growl, baring her teeth.
Macy lowered her hand, draping her fingertips over the grip of her gun.
“Jax has betrayed us again. Arming a human.”
“I am one of you while I’m here.”
“You will never be one of us, human.” The female gathered Melaina and led the child away.
Macy stared after them, lifting a hand to wave when Melaina glanced backward with rounded, sad eyes. Once they turned a corner, Macy went back into her room. She released a long, shaky breath; the adrenaline that had pumped through her veins was already wearing off.
How much of what the female had said was true? Could Melaina be his child? Jax didn’t know who his own father was, and if he had mated with that female…there was a chance.
Her fingers trembled as she unstrapped the gun and set it aside. She’d come so close to drawing it, and what would that have accomplished? How would Jax react to Macy shooting a kraken? How would the rest of them react?
You are a curiosity to him.
What could she do for Jax? What would make him happy, what would make him feel like she was worth giving up the freedom he so coveted?
Arkon paused on the beach, setting down the sealed container in his arms. “Fascinating, how varied the environments are up here. I knew there was more beyond the shoreline, but I suppose I’ve never really imagined anything other than cliffs and patches of sand.”