Wet and Wired (7 page)

They stood in the tower, and with a quick look at Altion, she pressed her hand to the side of the doorway. The coil lit up, and she stepped into the column of magic.

It took less than a second before she stepped out in the centre of the Crossroads. She checked the time on her phone and grinned when less than ten seconds had passed between her entering the gate to when she exited it.

She stepped free, and the column of light turned blue. A light touch told her that she couldn’t come through with someone in the portal. It was reassuring for the guests’ survival. No two folks could be jammed in at the same time.

Altion stepped free, and he hugged her. “It works!”

Teal and Tony heard their laughing, and they came to investigate.

Leda grinned at them over Altion’s shoulder. “It works! Direct portal in less than ten seconds.”

Teal congratulated them, but Leda didn’t hear much beyond her murmuring. She was kissing Altion, and the magic between them crackled with the quickening of need.

Tony broke them up. “I don’t know what is happening, but you two need to take it somewhere private. You are putting out enough sexual energy to make my arm hair stand on end.”

Leda was breathing heavily, as was Altion. They looked at each other, nodded, and she preceded him through the portal to get home.

They had some celebrating to do.

Leda winced as her father looked Altion up and down. They were close to the same height, though Larry Amhartson was much wider at the shoulder. Beaver shifters tended to be on the stockier side.

“It will be fine, Leda. You were mated at the Crossroads, and while your father might be irritated, he has to accept it. It’s the law, and we always follow the law.” Her mother gave her a one-armed hug.

The gathering had changed from a meet-the-parents day, to a full-fledged family gathering, so her siblings and cousins were all in attendance.

“I wasn’t expecting us to be ambushed.”

“You haven’t seen anyone seriously in quite a while. We are all eager to meet the man you have decided you want to keep.” Alira Amhartson smiled.

“What do you think of him?”

“He is very pretty, but there is an intelligence there that I will enjoy looking for in my grandchildren. He also smells like sunlight.” Her mother grinned wide. “You know how I love sunlight.”

“I do. So do I. He also smells like the ocean on a cool night. I really appreciate that.” Leda smirked.

“Are you happy, Leda?”

The question came out of nowhere. Leda thought about it.

“I am pretty sure I am. I am not unhappy. Altion is a good mate and he will be a great dad. Our courtship is coming after the mating, so things are a bit upside down.”

Her mom nodded. “Okay. That makes sense. I will ask you in a year.”

Leda was a little subdued at having to answer the hardest question that she could at the moment. She noted her mother making a gesture, and with a whoop, her cousins and siblings picked her up and hauled her to the lake. They swung their arms and counted to three, launching her into the air with her limbs windmilling wildly.

She hit the water and decided to freak them out. Her gills emerged, and she remained, fully clothed, at the bottom of the lake.

Her cousin Morris swam toward her in his beaver form, and when he saw her, he yelped and tried to turn around. The murky water meant that he had to get very close, so she grabbed him and made him pull her to the surface.

Familiar footfalls on the dock had her looking up, and Altion extended his hand to her with his other braced on the post.

She took his hand, and he pulled her out of the water with one arm. Leda flicked out her very wet dress, purging her gills and inhaling air. “So, this is my family.”

He laughed. “And you were not kidding about the clothing issue.”

She looked over at the gaggle of cousins where shoes and shirts were flying in every direction as they went to play
swing and shift.

“What are they doing?”

Leda put her arm around him and explained. “There is a rope swing up there, and the shifters will grab hold, swing out over the water, and when they reach the apex, they let go and try to shift before they hit the water.”

To her amazement, Andy showed up, and he took the first turn.

Altion asked, “Is he from the Crossroads?”

“Yup. The very same. And watch... ouch!”

Andy managed three-quarters of his shift before he hit the water, his tail wasn’t quite formed, and Leda was afraid that he had gotten a lake-water enema.

He completed his shift, shook it off and swam back to the shore to get in line to go again.

Altion grinned at her. “Do you want to?”

“Are you up to it?”

“If you are. But you have to shift to beaver and not your water nymph form.”

They were walking toward the clothing pile, and she dropped her sodden dress onto her cousin Morris’s jeans. Her shoes were just ballet flats and couldn’t do much damage.

“Nymph? Is that when I am nearly human but I have gills?”

“Yeah. Your eyes are also black if you wondered.”

He was naked, and he took her hand as they walked to the line where three damp cousins were ahead of her.

Some of the female cousins were looking Altion up and down, but Leda glared them all into shrugging grins. They moved up in line until one of them had to go first.

Her brother gave her a thumbs-up. “Show them how it is done, Leda!”

She stretched, grabbed the rope, took a running start and launched herself off the edge of the cliff. She swung out and up until she couldn’t go any further and let go, shifting to beaver and turning into a dive posture as she hit the water with her nostrils closed.

She swam proudly back to the shore, shifted and turned to watch Altion.

His swing was way higher than hers; he turned and shifted on the way down, completing his change as his nose touched the water. Unfortunately, he landed tail first.

She waited at the shoreline until he swam over and put her arm around his waist as they went to get in line behind the others. Up ahead, her mother and father were in line, and it was nice to see her mom’s graceful movements as she glided off the cliff, shifted and landed in the water.

“How is it that you are all out here in the open?” Altion whispered as they moved up the line.

“We own the lake access. When it was declared available, several beaver families got together and bought the land. If any family wants out, we buy it up.”

“And the surrounding area?”

“Belongs to ranchers who enjoy the water as well. Lots of small-shifter groups have purchased entire towns for safety.”

They moved up the line, and she grinned. “Can we go merfolk on this one?”

“Sure. This short distance won’t mess you up. Just don’t use your sonar.”

She nodded. She had tried to use it out of the water once, and the nosebleed had taught her the lesson the hard way. Sonar liked water.

He gave her a look. “Can we swing out together?”

“It is tricky, but yes.”

She felt her skin tingling at the thought of showing off her new shape to her family. Some would be appalled, but she had married a merman; this is what she was now. They had better see it now rather than be surprised later.

When it was their turn, he grinned. “Ready?”

She nodded; they grabbed the rope, backed up and ran forward. Their heavier weight swung them higher and faster. They let go, shifted to fins and tails and dove into the lake without a splash.

When they surfaced, Leda kissed him, and they swam to the dock. They had to. There was no decorous way to haul themselves out high enough to purge their gills on the shore.

She pulled herself out of the water, inhaled and shot the residue and silt out of her gills. Her rich red tail gleamed in the light, and when she looked toward her family, they were staring at her. She flicked her tail, sending an arc of water up, and a rainbow skidded across her fins.

“You are staring, folks.”

Altion heaved out of the water next to her, cleared his lungs and leaned over for a kiss. “You have a beautiful tail, love.”

She looked into his face and saw the adoration. She now had a better answer for her mother. At this moment, she was happy.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tackled him back into the water. She heard the laughter from her relatives as they acted like any newly mated couple, chasing each other in the water and disappearing into the cool depths for privacy.

When they emerged, they were in the middle of an engagement party, and the beavers ratified their unusual mating. It was not something that most folks could say.

The first official wedding with guests who weren’t all residents or guests of the Crossroads was held at the Isthmus.

Leda’s dress was embroidered with gemstones in the pattern of scales, but she only had eyes for Altion in his merman miniskirt.

The ceremony was on the seaside, and the reception was on the lakeside. It was the best of both worlds and the nicest compromise that could be arranged.

Leda walked at her father’s side up to Altion, and she smiled. Four months of negotiation and they were finally here. Dira had insisted that the portal specialist and the electrician belonged to the Crossroads, and as this was their home, this was where the wedding would be.

The tower was tricked out to host the wedding guests, and the catering was suitable for all species.

Leda slipped her hand into Altion’s. “We made it.”

He laughed. “We did. Already mated but finally married.”

The judge was a fey who had the standing to file the paperwork in the human world. Altion was a registered fey, and Leda was being considered a half-breed with ancient fey blood. It wasn’t a proper legal situation, but as shifters didn’t legally exist in the human world, it was as good as it would get. Leda Amhartson would marry Altion of the Circle Sea, and they would live happily ever after.

“Thank goodness. Didn’t want the tadpole to grow up with any doubt as to its legality.”

He swayed a little and gave her a dark look. “Are you kidding?”

“Nope.” She smiled brightly and turned to the judge to begin the ceremony.

Altion clenched his hand on hers as they went through the motions of getting married in front of friends, family and acquaintances.

“My mother is going to flip.” Altion smiled as they walked down the aisle.

She laughed as it was obvious where his mind had been. “You mean she will be happy that her fur-bearing daughter-in-law is having her grandchild?”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“And yet I did. Well, let’s do the victory lap and get to the reception.” She winked at him, and they walked to the seaside, getting hip deep before they shifted. Her gown peeled off and sank. She didn’t care; there was another for the reception.

In a formal dance, they swam, breeched and flicked their tails at the onlookers.

* * * *

Alorhra stared at the vivid colouration of her new daughter’s tail. “She’s crimson.”

Lorai grinned. “Yeah. Rare, right? You see tons of gold, blue and green, but red is almost never seen.”

Lorai watched her aunt’s face go green. “Oh, you insulted her, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t know.”

“See, Aunty. You often put your tail in your mouth. You need to think things through a bit. I believe that you need to make an effort toward Leda. She is carrying your grandchild after all.”

Alorhra flinched. “You are not joking.”

“I am not. She took a test this morning. It was for humans, but it is probably still accurate.” Lorai patted her aunt’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Aunty. We are lucky that Leda is very forgiving. She also loves Altion, so things will work out for the best. Just be the kind woman that we know you can be. Treat her as a daughter, not as a fur-bearing rodent that stole your son.” She smiled brightly.

Lorai watched as the couple emerged on the freshwater side and the beavers dressed them. Their clothing covered more, but the ties to the land and water were evident in the brown and blue colouration of the silk.

Her aunt went to Leda and knelt in front of her, making Leda pull her frantically to her feet while Altion laughed.

Lorai smiled. It was good; it was going to be better. Eventually, it might even be her turn.

Lorai’s story is upcoming in
Flipped Off.
The next story is
Sealed with a Kick
in which a seal shifter with an unfortunate shifted form meets a Kelpie who doesn’t mind getting his hooves wet.

Thanks for reading,

Zenina Masters

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specialises in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.