Page 39 of Welcome to Seaman's Cove: Part One
“You’ll be bored out of your mind.”
“Not sure anything could be boring with Madison.” I grin as I stand up and cross the room to grab my phone. “Or Caspian.” The wink I give Hunter makes him turn away, staring into his coffee mug with a hint of pink to his cheeks.
“Maybe we’ll get to see Caspian’s tail again,” I add, watching Hunter carefully.
Hunter sputters, nearly spitting out his coffee, but the color on his cheeks deepens to red. Just as Isuspected. He wants Caspian as much as I do, and learning about the other alpha’s unique nature didn’t deter him at all.
“Let me come, Hunt,” I say, grabbing my phone, but not looking at it yet. “I’d rather hang out with the three of you while you do all that anthropological shit than sit around here all day.” I walk back over to the table, but don’t sit down. “You’re my best friend, and I rarely get to see you anymore.”
My mind spins out, thinking about how things could be different, maybe, possibly, if I just confessed my feelings. But it would probably mean giving up Sebastian. And I love him just as much as I love Hunter. I don’t want to have to choose between them. And if Hunter turned me down? I don’t think I could bear it.
Things are even more complicated now with Caspian and Madi in the picture. I still haven’t scented Madi—Hunter had clearly doused her in scent neutralizers before bringing her back to her apartment yesterday—but I have a growing suspicion I wouldn’t survive if I did. I almost don’t want to risk scenting her because of what I fear it might mean for me and my beta.
I finally glance down at my phone.
Sebby Webby:
I’m sorry about yesterday.
Call me.
Please.
“I need to call Sebastian back,” I say.
“Right.” Hunter spins his mug one way and then theother. “About that… how much longer are you planning on staying?”
“Do you want me to leave?” Dread squeezes my chest at the thought that he doesn’t want me around anymore.
“No, it’s not that.” He reaches out, and for a moment I think he’s going to take my hand, but he pulls back. “I’m just surprised. Normally, you breeze in and out of here in less than twenty-four hours, but you’ve been here for over a week. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, fine.” I hide my face by turning away and going to the fridge. “I’ve just enjoyed catching up with you. And Seb is… out of the country for the month.” Hunter doesn’t need to know we’re still fighting or what that fight was about. Sebby was kind enough to get Madison’s parents kicked out of the restaurant when I called a few nights ago, but the conversation didn’t end well.
I’m not sure Hunter buys my lie. I think he’s always questioned whether Seb’s real at all.
His eyebrows lift. “And work?”
Shrugging, I pull the milk from the fridge and pour some into my coffee. “I finished the research I was doing on yeti crabs, and haven’t been inspired to work on a new project.”
Until Caspian. But that isn’t a project per se. It has nothing to do with work and everything to do with how fascinating I find the other alpha. Even without his tail, there’s something about him that calls to me.
Is that why Hunter wants to get rid of me? He can tell how interested I am in his scent match and her mate? Is he getting territorial? Fuck that.
“If you don’t want me around, just say so.” I turn to face him, cross my arms over my chest, and glare.
“Hey, I never said that.” Hunter doesn’t reach for me, but he leans forward, his forearms resting on the table, body closer than before. “I’m glad you’re here, Nix. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”
“I’m fine.” I down my coffee in one go, then drop my mug in the sink. Before Hunter can say anything else, I grab my jacket and leave. But I don’t make it farther than the hall outside Hunter’s door. I lean against the wall and stare at the texts on my phone for a long time before calling Sebastian.
28
We’ve been wandering the beach for over an hour. Hunter and I can’t seem to agree on where to start the excavation. He thinks we should avoid the cliffs and stick to the sandy edge of the cove. I think we need to start in the caves.
“It’s too dangerous,” he says for what feels like the hundredth time.
“It’s our best chance at actually finding something.” I kick sand with my bare toes. We’re all in casual clothes. Even Hunter, which is taking a little getting used to. I didn’t expect him to show up at my door in swim trunks and a t-shirt. I may have swooned just a little. I think I did a pretty good job of hiding it, but Caspian’s definitely on to me.
“Actually,” Caspian cuts in, “our best bet would be to follow the i'xal. If I could get it working.” He turns the stone over in his hand, examining it like he’ll find something different this time.
