Sealed with a Kick

A cute baby seal has no chance for a mate unless she hits the Crossroads and goes looking for a stallion to call her own.

Stuck with an awkward beast and shunned by her own herd, Berry has to make some decisions on her own, and one of those is to find a mate.

Out of the gate, she decides to pursue a fey, but with years of defense under her belt, her means are not particularly usual. Arm wrestling in the bar seems like a good icebreaker, but the fey take it as a challenge to their masculinity, and things degrade from there.

Ashko is offered the chance at a mate, and it only takes an hour for him to decide. He heads to the Crossroads to find his lady and, instead, finds himself competing for her attention from across the table. A win, a kiss and the courtship has begun.

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Sealed with a Kick

Copyright © 2016 Zenina Masters

ISBN: 978-1-4874-0808-4

Cover art by Carmen Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Sealed with a Kick

Shifting Crossroads Book 38

By

Zenina Masters

She knotted her hands in the shirt of the man across the table from her and snarled. “I am a fucking professional!”

The mages gathered in the room looked nervous, and her boss, Miiko, pried her off the man who had called her a bit of fluff.

“There, there, Maestro. I am sure that he didn’t mean it. You have to admit that it is an accurate description of your other form.”

She gave her boss a dark look and let the mage fall back into his chair. She backed off the table she was crouched on and returned to her seat.

The chairman of the meeting cleared her throat. “As I was saying. We are having a problem with skin stealers heading to beaches and taking advantage of the seal and walrus population. Are you able to assist us, Agent Maestro?”

Berry drummed her fingers on the table next to her. “Yes. Of course. Just because mages like to prey on those they perceive to be weaker doesn’t mean that they should get away with it.”

Miiko chuckled. “If my niece is up for it, you can guarantee that they will not succeed in whatever they have planned. She is a tenacious agent.”

The four mages in the room looked at her warily and nodded slowly. The chairman cleared her throat. “We can see that.”

Berry cocked her head. “Do you have any supplies for me?”

The mages recoiled. She was asked, “You can use magic?”

“No. I can use pre-set magic. There is a difference. I can’t set the spell, but I can set it off.”

The chairman nodded and lifted up a box from the floor next to her. “I was asked to bring this; I just didn’t know why. These are transport cuffs. Snap one of these on a suspect and they will be transported to our holding area.”

The chairman dismissed the other mages and smiled when it was just Berry, Miiko and herself.

“I have the coordinates for transport. I can get you there in a matter of minutes. We know that they are going to strike today. Seals are on their list for skins.”

Berry shivered. The process of skin stealing for magic was cruel and vicious. The prey was skinned alive, connecting the skin with the animal for all eternity. Using the animal souls for their own benefit was definitely not something she wanted them to get away with.

“I will get them. You will have them in a matter of hours if your intel about location is accurate.” Berry smiled. She collected the cuffs and held the four rings loosely with her thumb and forefinger.

Chairman Willing smiled. “I must say, you are more aggressive than I expected, considering your beast.”

Berry smirked. “Fucking right.”

Two hours of stakeout on the beach with other fluffy white baby seals was about to come to an end. Berry Maestro made like a curious critter and approached the men, making a plaintive mother-call.

“I never expected one to come right to us, Rob. This one will make an amazing call-beast.”

One of the mages hunkered down and beckoned to her.

The man behind him smacked his shoulder. “We need an adult. The fur on this one isn’t suitable for long-distance swimming.”

They ignored her, and that was fine with her; she called for them, and one of the men patted her on the head before they got a net out and circled the mounds of mothers and pups.

Berry silently shifted and got to her feet, wrapping her arm around the neck of the man immediately in front of her and holding tight until he dropped to the rocky shore.

She kicked out at the man nearest her, taking him to the ground. Two thrown rocks took out the two holding the net.

She went to the man she had kicked down and kicked him in the head.

When they were all out, she ran from man to man and snapped the bracelets on them, activating the spell.

She collected the net and the debris that they had dropped. With all of the scattered items collected, she headed for the high beach and her clothing.

“Look alive, Stacey. It is time to go home.” Berry smiled at her transporter as she jumped.

Stacey closed her magazine and got to her feet. “That was quick... ish.”

“They were poachers. They were there to get in and get out. No time for fussing; they just jumped in.”

“You discharged them?”

“I sent them wherever those bands lead. Oh, and I attached a few tracking beads onto each of the transport bands. Call me paranoid, but I want to make sure that they end up where they said they would be.” She pulled on her loose summer dress and put her hands on her hips.

Stacey grinned. “The guild is good about stuff like that. We like everything out where we can see it. Including our criminals.”

“Right. Let’s get home. I have dinner with my brother and sister-in-law tonight.”

Stacey started to wave her hands to create the portal. “That sounds like fun. Say hi to Devlin for me.”

They stepped through the glowing archway as Berry said, “I will.”

With their job done, it was time for some fun and family.

Lasia smiled brightly as she toasted with her sparkling water. “We are pregnant!”

Berry felt a pang but smiled and ran around to hug her sister-in-law and her brother. “Congratulations, you two.”

When the hugs had been delivered and returned, she sat back at her place and finished her dinner. Lasia smiled and kissed Devlin. “We are so happy. When is it going to be your turn, Berry?”

Berry paused with the last pile of peas on her fork. Her hand was rock steady. “Well, you need a mate for that sort of thing, and as we know, that isn’t happening.”

She ate her peas and washed everything down with a glass of water.

Lasia paled. “I forgot, Berry. Isn’t there something else you can do? You work with the Mage Guild. Isn’t there something they can do?”

Berry chuckled. “My love life isn’t high on the agenda.”

Devlin cleared his throat. “What about the Crossroads?”

Berry laughed. “Right. Could you see me there in search of another shifter to mate with? They would take one look at my beast and keel over laughing.”

Her brother was serious. “They have fey now. Fey who have an animal form or at least another shape. I think it is an idea worth considering. You could do worse than a guy who has been sent to the Crossroads with the encouragement of his king.”

Berry snickered. “What? He has been ordered to seek a mate? Oh yeah, that never ends badly.”

Devlin sighed.

Lasia smiled and kept her hand on Devlin’s arm. “Look into it. All you will waste is a little bit of time. Devlin has the family samples to send you to the Crossroads if you need them.”

“I will think about it. Now, who wants dessert?” Berry waggled her eyebrows and collected the plates, taking them into the kitchen. Lasia’s eye for style had everything working together, but it was a little too organized for Berry. That said, she put all the plates neatly into the dishwasher after rinsing them.

Devlin came after her and sliced up the layered cake that she had brought with her. “Consider it, Berry. Please. They are picking pretty good fey for this experiment. They are financially secure and genuinely want to take a shifter for a mate. You could do worse.”

She washed her hands, dried them and got the dessert plates down. “I am currently doing nothing.”

“I know. I am sorry that the herd has shunned you. You shouldn’t have told the beach master to go fuck himself.”

Berry sighed as he dished out the cake. “I had to. I am not joining his harem, and that was the only thing he was offering. You know I am not into the group scene.”

“He never should have said that to you.”

Berry nudged him. “And you shouldn’t have stood up to the fucktard. So, you got a suspension for you and Lasia, and I got a banishment. At least a pup gets you back into the herd without any argument.”

“That wasn’t why we did it.”

She winked. “I am pretty sure it happened because you had sex, but do correct me if I am wrong.” She grabbed the plates and forks and swanned into the dining room.

Her brother was blushing and shaking his head, and the subject was changed. Berry enjoyed a delightful dessert and decaf coffee in honour of the growing pup, and she headed home.

Throughout the night and into the morning when she went to her debriefing about the skin stealers she thought about the possibility of a fey.

“Agent Maestro, are you aware that you severely wounded two of the men?” The interviewer was a jerk named Emlo.

She smirked. “I was naked and by myself. I threw rocks. It was the most basic attack I could manage that didn’t involve smothering them with my boobs.”

The other councillors hid their grins.

Her breasts were front and centre that morning. She always wore her best push-up bra for the debriefings. Upright boobs in a tank top were very distracting for the male councillors.

Since her people didn’t see her as a genuine adult seal, she had to find something else to do, and working with the Mage Guild was a paycheque and got her the nicest toys to play with. The different guild masters were always shocked at her mouth and her tactics, but once they worked with her, they never hesitated to call again.

“We understand that you were disadvantaged because of your undercover circumstances. Thank you for your assistance, Agent Maestro. We have enough.”

She got to her feet and sauntered out of the room; her cargo pants were low on her hips, and she could almost feel their eyes on her ass with every step.

Stacey was doing her nails outside and waved them dry. “So, boss. Where next?”

Berry looked at the chamber and then at Stacey. “Can you bring me to the Shifter Guild? I need to ask some questions.”

They headed to the transport zone, and before Stacey could even dry her nails, they were standing in the Shifter Guild headquarters.

It was time to ask about fey, and since they had an embassy in active service at the headquarters, she was going to ask them directly.

Ashko pounded up and down the meadow, trying to come to the final decision. The seers had come to ask him if he would consider a shifter as a mate, and he couldn’t imagine who would take him on.

Gaining a lover was not an issue. It had never been an issue. Humans flocked to him whenever he tossed his mane or flicked his tail. He would wait until they mounted him, and then, he would run for the river, separating his soon-to-be lover from those who would rescue her. Of course, nowadays, he just went to his nightclub. The effect was the same.

A mate. He hadn’t thought about a mate, a family. He had been an only child, as were most fey. He had not considered a mate of his own. The idea was tempting. The arrangement with the shifters would make them equals. It was intriguing.

He thundered back toward the seers, and he shifted into his fey form with a wrap around his hips in deference to his guests. “I will do it. How long until you find me a match?”