Chapter One
2159
The Mermaid’s Tale
Provincetown, Massachusetts
“... this place is a hole in the wall and the servers can be ruder than all get-out if you’re not local, but oh, my goodness, if you want some eye candy, you have to check this place out. Apparently, almost all the employees are actual Atargarian merfolk!”
-online review, anonymous user.
“Damn, you’re the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Zennia Day, known to most people as Zee, looked up from her reading pad to study the tall, sexy piece of work who’d sidled his way up to the bar. He gave her a slow smile that flashed white against brown skin and made his eyes, an even deeper shade of brown, crinkle up at the corners.
Inside, her seductive, base nature flexed and stretched, trying to slip away from the leash that always tried to keep it in place.
Amused by the man’s comment, and captivated by the warmth and appreciation in his smile, she braced her elbow on the scarred surface of the bar. “Have you had your eyes checked recently?”
“Actually, yeah.” His face lit up with a smile. Dimples appeared in his cheeks, deepening his already strong appeal. “It’s a requirement for the day job. I’m a pilot for Air Command. I assure you, ma’am. My vision is perfect. You’re definitely the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in... well, a long time.”
The way he watched her told her he meant every word, and while she did have to throttle that inner, base seductress, that wasn’t all of who she was. She was also part wolf and her wolf scented no lies on the man.
He thought she was the most beautiful woman in The Mermaid’s Tale, an Atargarian pub in Provincetown.
Atargarians were notoriously beautiful, and the merfolk even more so.
Oh, wow. Sexier and sexier. The hungry thing inside her whispered even as her more cautious, pragmatic aspect advised her to send him on his way. There wasn’t really even any point in this, something she’d learned over the past ten years.
But that hungry thing had already gone from hungry to starved, desperate, and ready to devour.
It didn’t take much for that voice to overrule caution and pragmatism.
“Day trip from the base?” she asked, gesturing casually to the seat next to hers, appreciating that he hadn’t immediately taken it.
Air Command had permanent bases located along the coasts of every country allied with the United Reform Nations. It was a requirement of membership, not to induce fear of martial law, but so that the various races could act together in a quick, cohesive unit during times of natural disaster or in response to the occasional—and often violent—revolt against the parameters set out to protect the fragile peace put in place after the Slaughters.
Mortals called the Slaughters the Preternatural Wars. Depending on which side of the line one fell on, those same mortals might attempt to lay the blame solely at the feet of those Preternaturals, or Preterns for short, the moniker given to any person who didn’t identify as human, despite the fact that Preterns were made up of several wholly unique and different races.
This man was clearly mortal, but if he was with Air Command, then he had to know he was dealing with a Pretern. And he still liked what he saw.
“Yeah.” He held out a hand. “I’m Dumond Haines—AC Lieutenant First Class. My friends call me Duke.”
Slowly, Zee slipped her hand into Duke’s much larger one and the hungry creatures within her yowled in demand. “Zee,” she said softly and braced herself.
But Duke only cocked his head. “As in the letter?”
“Sort of.” She laughed, a nervous giddiness spreading through her belly. He doesn’t know. “The name is Zennia, but I’ve been Zee all my life.”
“Well, Zee. Would you let me buy you a drink?”
The giddy nerves went from vibrating nervously to jumping. He really didn’t know. “I’d love a drink.”
As he turned to look for the bartender, she chanced a look around the bar. The place looked like a dive—on purpose—Meridia preferred it to look inhospitable. Her hope was that it would keep the “tourists” out. It didn’t work, but still, she persisted.
Zee saw a number of familiar faces, but these were friends. Some had come to be family and it was almost enough to ease the ache inside her sometimes.
As one of the few Therians in this region dominated by the water-based Atargarians, Zee had applied for a job teaching Therian history and culture to a middle school located in this small town. To her surprise, she hadn’t just been called in for an interview, she’d been hired on the spot.
That had been eight years ago and over time, the Atargarians had come to consider her as one of them.
None of them would look at her sideways if she left this place with a man. A few male Atargarians had even attempted to court her, but all of them had been brutally dominant. Their dominance hadn’t been the problem. She knew if push came to shove and outside forces interfered, blood would be spilled.
She didn’t want that on her conscience.
Too many of the human males in the region had heard about her issues through the grapevine and they, like the few Therians she’d met over the years, avoided her. For them, it might have been more out of fear, or at least a healthy respect for Therian male dominance and possessiveness.
This man, though, had no clue who she was.
“Heya, Zee.” The man who came to stand in front of them was tall and heavily muscled, his eyes a warm, velvety brown unless he was angry or hyped up on other strong emotions. Now, those eyes smiled at her.
Donner Hawthorne, big and brutal and as deadly as the orca he shifted into, also had a decidedly mischievous bent to him, especially when it came to those he considered part of his family.
She could practically hear him encouraging her. Go for it, Zee. Now.
Hell, if there was a private room in the bar other than Meridia’s office or the supply room with the busted door, he’d probably lean in and tell her to drag the man with her and get it over with already.
Zee blushed, a part of her hating how easy some of her friends could read her. At the same time, their love and support meant everything.
Donner turned his attention to the man at her side. Duke could meet him eye to eye easily. He smiled, although he averted his gaze in a telling manner, alerting both Zee and Donner to the fact Duke was well aware of certain aspects about Atargarians.
Donner took his measure in one quick glance. “You stationed at the AC outside Boston?”
“I am.” A rueful grin curved his lips. “I think it must be written on my forehead. Does it say anywhere up there Midwesterner, born and bred, up there too?”
“Nah.” Donner shrugged. “But the accent gives you away. What’s your pleasure, AC?”
“I’ll buy the lady whatever she wants,” he said, looking over at Zee with a warm smile. Then he named a beer from a local brewery.
“You want your usual, Zee?” Donner looked at her and gave her a quick wink.
Her cheeks flushed and while Duke was facing the other way, she mouthed, Stop it.
Instead, Donner put a hand to his chest and mimicked a throbbing heart.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Duke looking back toward them. Quick as a wish, Donner had turned away, whistling innocently like he wasn’t already looking forward to teasing her like mad later on.