The Shark Who Rode a Seahorse (17 page)

Finally, he stopped the boat and shared a look with Skylar. “Ready?”

Skylar just nodded gently and began to take his clothes off. Lust rose inside Byron as he watched his mate expose his body. The moonlight seemed to make Skylar glow, and Byron felt drawn to him like a moth to the flame.

He reminded himself they hadn’t come here for this, and Skylar had just given birth. His mate was in no condition for sex. Byron removed his clothing as well and slipped into the water. He helped his mate do the same, and for a few moments, they just enjoyed the lapping of the waves against their skin.

He was so very nervous, so to a certain extent, he felt relieved when Skylar turned into his seahorse form. In his second shape, Skylar looked as delicate and beautiful as before. The pouch that would have held their sons in this form was a bit swollen, but already, he seemed to be recovering. Byron allowed himself to caress the seahorse, loving the way the scaled armor felt under his fingertips.

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It gave him the courage he needed to swim away from Skylar and allow the change to flow over him. He noticed Skylar had turned back into his human form, which was probably for the best because this way, the difference between their sizes wasn’t quite so great. He’d been right about one thing. Skylar’s seahorse shape was about the size of Byron’s megalodon tooth.

At first, Skylar seemed shocked, as if he hadn’t quite expected Byron’s shape to truly be one of a prehistoric animal. But then, Skylar swam toward Byron, until he was exactly in front of him. It must’ve been strange, since people were terrified of normal sharks, let alone whale-sized ones.

Still, Skylar didn’t recoil. They met under the water and Skylar slowly pet Byron’s cool skin. Even if Skylar would have normally been prey for the beast inside Byron, Byron felt nothing but peace and relief at finally being accepted. The only one who’d ever known his secret and hadn’t feared him was Malcolm, but even Malcolm sometimes seemed apprehensive of him. Not Skylar. Skylar saw beyond the appearance, saw the truth that lay inside the huge predator that could crush a whale’s skull. Byron berated himself for ever doubting it. They were soul mates, after all.

He turned back into his human form and led his mate back to the boat. “Come on, sweetheart. We should get back home. Our boys are waiting.”

Skylar didn’t reply, but Byron could feel his mate’s contentment.

Perhaps their situation wasn’t perfect, but with his family by his side, Byron could take on whole armies and win.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Skylar scanned in nervousness the construction site in the distance. He regularly came here to supervise the project, but today in particular, he felt butterflies in his stomach.

Knowing he was being silly, he focused on the road ahead. He could drive with one hand tied behind his back, but not when he had two ten-year-olds bickering in the backseat.

“Children, behave,” he told his sons with a smile. “We’re almost there.”

“Really?” Layton and Morgan asked at the same time.

Skylar laughed. “Yes, really.” He stole a look in the rearview mirror at his two boys. Layton’s big, black eyes met his own, and his seahorse son waved. Morgan wrapped an arm around his smaller brother and asked, “Is is true that this is going to be our school?”

“Who told you that?” Skylar asked his son.

“Preston,” Morgan offered. “He said he was jealous ’cos he and his brother won’t get to study here like we will.”

“Because,” Skylar corrected. “And yes, God willing, this is going to be your school.”

“I’m glad they won’t be here with us,” Layton commented almost viciously. “I don’t want to see them. They’re horrible.”

“Layton Malcolm Pierce-Cunningham, I can’t believe you.”

Skylar briefly turned to glare at his son. “I didn’t teach you to think such things.”

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“Oh, he doesn’t mean that, Daddy,” Morgan replied. “He’s just in lurrrrrrrrrv.”

“Don’t be a girl.” Layton elbowed his brother in the stomach.

“And Preston’s okay. It’s just that Corbin pisses me off, all high and mighty like that.”

“Well, honey, he is much older than you. He and his brother are bound to know more about the world.”

Layton scoffed, but didn’t comment, and Skylar hid a smile.

Layton might be a seahorse, but his eyes, those eyes that were so much like Byron’s, were indeed the window to his soul. Layton was so much like Byron it seemed incredible. In contrast, Morgan had inherited Byron’s size. Even at his young age, he was already much bigger than children years older than him. However, his heart was all Skylar, and more often than not, he only used his strength to protect his more naughty sibling.

Sometimes, it was really hard to believe ten years had passed since the children’s birth. Garth’s boys were young men now, seeking their own mates and fortunes. Carson’s children were struggling through their teenage years, while Shiloh and Daniel were, much like Skylar, caring for their spoiled ten-year-olds. After a difficult pregnancy, Annabelle Wade had also given birth. Elder Kevin Wade’s third son, Isaac, was now struggling through his early years as well.

Time had flown by in a whirlwind, so much so that Skylar sometimes wondered where it had all gone. But then again, all of them had been so busy in the past years, busy trying to build a safe future for their children.

Thankfully, with the cooperation of the president of the United States, Byron had eventually managed to gather a reunion of heads of state under the watchful eye of the United Nations. Skylar still remembered the day when they’d gone to meet with the most important men in the world, and thinking back, he still couldn’t believe they’d done it. Persecution due to difference in species was now officially listed as against the law and a hate crime.

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Sure, the situation remained difficult, and even if authorities no longer hunted them like in those awful first days, rogue groups of fanatics made it their business to attempt the purification of the human race. Fighting them was an ongoing struggle, and for that reason, the shape-shifters had to put all differences aside and pitch in to protect themselves from those who would hurt them.

The first step was the construction site Skylar would be visiting. If it worked, the ambitious project would create a university where shape-shifters of all types would be able to receive an education and socialize with people outside their own species. Of course, such a complex plan would take a while to be put into practice. Optimistic estimates imagined it ready in five years, give or take.

Skylar, however, had hope. As his car approached the construction site, he noticed how much progress had been made.

Today, though, Skylar had not come to check on the future university.

Instead, he wanted to see the man who occupied all his thoughts and who had complete ownership of his mind and body.

“Ownership of your mind and body, huh?”
Byron’s voice came through their connection. “
I like that. It has promise.”

Just Byron’s husky tone made Skylar shiver in lust.
“Don’t do
that. I’m with the kids.”

As if on cue, Morgan piped up from the back seat, “Daddy, you’re doing it again. What’s wrong?”

Layton eyed him with suspicion. “Why are you shivering?”

Laughter filled his mind bond with Byron, and Skylar struggled to keep a straight face. “It’s nothing,” he answered as he parked the car.

“Now come on. Let’s go see your father.”

Byron often supervised the construction since a large part of the funding came from the various shape-shifter families. Elder Wade, Skylar’s parents, and Shiloh’s swan family had donated a big sum, but other shifters had offered their assistance as well. As soon as word had gotten out about the project, many had become enthusiastic and helped. To Skylar’s surprise, even other non-shifter paranormals were
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starting to show up, and it represented a new challenge for Skylar.

He’d always focused on shifters alone and having to learn about whole new species turned out to be quite difficult. However, the complexity of the situation was also the reason why Byron chose to watch over the construction site himself and make sure everything went as planned. For the moment, they all were quite reluctant to commit, but Skylar trusted that by the time the university was up and running, he’d manage to iron out an agreement with them. He was already in negotiations with one of the most important incubus families, and they were considering sending one of their numerous offspring as a student in the near future.

There was just one problem with the situation. With everything that was going on, between Skylar and Byron’s responsibilities as parents and their projects for a better future for their community, they were kind of neglecting themselves and their own bond. Skylar almost couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in Byron’s dungeon and felt his mate’s whip on his skin. His body was hungry for Byron’s touch and his soul for Byron’s proximity.

Skylar left the car and helped his two sons out. He took their hands and followed the link that unerringly led him to Byron. They went around the main construction site since Skylar didn’t want to endanger his boys in any way. Byron met them halfway. After sharing a brief kiss with Skylar, the shark asked, “What’s with the impromptu visit?”

If the kids hadn’t been there, Skylar would have scoffed. Byron knew all too well what Skylar intended. “We’re having dinner at Shiloh’s. Carson, Brody, Soren, and Daniel are coming, too. After that, the children will be staying a while at their place.”

Morgan looked excited. “I can’t wait. We’ll have so much fun.”

“Slumber party.” Layton grinned wickedly. “It’ll be great.”

Skylar arched a brow at his son. “No pranks, Layton. I expect you to be on your best behavior.”

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“Of course.” Layton gave Skylar an innocent look. “When have I ever been bad?”

Skylar could list more than fifty occasions only in the past few days, but that was all right. Layton was only ten. He would learn in time. And granted, none of the pranks were serious. Layton did acknowledge certain limits, more so since Skylar paid close attention to pointing them out.

After a brief examination of the construction site, the four of them left, this time using Byron’s car. They made arrangements for one of the supervisors to drive Skylar’s back to their home and headed out.

They reached Shiloh’s home quite a while later. Both Shiloh and Carson had moved with their respective families on Soren’s pack lands once the werewolf had rebuilt what had been destroyed in those first days. After Carson’s injury, they had no longer felt safe in the property purchased by Brody. With that in mind, Brody had donated his lands to their cause, and the new university was now being built there. Now, the entire surrounding area had been purchased by various paranormals, so the two families could have returned.

However, Brody, Angel, and Clark had recovered with difficulty from Carson’s near death, so they mostly preferred staying close to home.

With the passing of the years, Skylar had grown even closer to his friends. Today, he planned to have Shiloh and Carson babysit for him.

He and Byron couldn’t exactly play around in the dungeon with two curious boys around, and Skylar was itching for some action. He loved his boys, God, he loved them dearly, but he was a mate as well as a father, and he desperately needed to reconnect with Byron.

Their friends received them gleefully. Carson hugged him tightly, and Shiloh winked at him, already aware of the plan. Daniel started chattering about his own pups and how fast they were growing. When the families came together, the talk inevitably turned to their children, and Skylar also found himself boasting over his sons’ newest accomplishments.

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At one point, his kids actually looked embarrassed, so Shiloh ushered them to play with the other children. “I can’t believe they’re already ten.”

“You better believe it.” Carson laughed. “Wait a couple more years. Then, they’ll discover how interesting pheromones are.”

Skylar moaned in distress, knowing seahorses were particularly precocious where sexual maturity was concerned. In a way, he hadn’t been surprised at Morgan’s comment in the car. Layton was indeed too young to show any type of sexual interest toward anyone, but he would start feeling the draw, and slowly, it would grow more intense.

He hoped that indeed, Layton would find a mate in Corbin. He couldn’t ask for a better match for his son.

Of course, Layton was still very young, so they wouldn’t have to worry about that for years to come. Even if Skylar would like for his son to mate Garth’s, it might not happen. For the moment, Layton’s crush could be considered completely harmless. If it progressed into something different, Skylar would deal with it when the time came.

“It’s unbelievable that our children have grown up to an age
where they can have crushes,”
Byron told him through their bond.

“Seahorses are often like that,”
Skylar replied.
“But it could be
anything, even hero worship. Besides, Corbin is much older and has
other interests. Layton is only a boy, so in time, he might even change
his mind. It means nothing.”

Byron squeezed his hand, his strong, warm palm both familiar and arousing. Thankfully, their friends didn’t keep them for much longer.

After dinner, Skylar said good-bye to his sons.

“You remember what I said, Layton. No pranks. And Morgan, you take care of your brother, you hear?”

“Sure, Daddy. Will do.” Morgan saluted like a little soldier, and Skylar experienced a pang of guilt at leaving them here.

As if guessing his thoughts, Layton narrowed his eyes at him.