Chapter 13

Cairo

I walked.

I walked all over Eastshore Isle, the unexplained rage banking to anger, then mere ire, then frustration.

And I knew what it was hiding: fear.

Walking away from my Mate had been the hardest thing I've ever done—far more difficult than walking away from my world—but she had a choice to make, and it was obvious which one she was choosing.

The way she'd greeted her father, the way she'd looked so helpless when the man made it clear he didn't approve of me…that told the story as well as anything.

Meli was choosing her family, and honestly? I couldn't blame her.

Her family might be snobs, but they clearly wanted the best for her, even if her mother didn't understand her well enough to know what that meant. And what sucked was that they could afford to give it to Meli.

There was no need for her to bust her ass to expand her business, or to coddle her antique car, or to try to win the prize money for the sand-sculpting contest. Her family could give her anything she wanted!

Yeah, of course it was admirable that she wanted to push herself to become successful on her own terms, but what I hated was that she didn't see she was successful. She was good enough the way she was right now.

It was her family, the very ones who could afford to give her every success, who didn't think she was successful enough.

The mom who thought she was wasting her potential on this island, and the dad who turned up his nose at a mere mechanic. An orc mechanic.

I kicked a piece of gravel which had found its way onto the sidewalk.

Ihad enough money to give Meli everything she was working toward: an expanded business and a new car. But I also knew she wouldn't take that money, she wanted to work toward it herself.

But I also also knew that she didn't need any of that because she was perfect as she was!

Fuck.

I was going in circles.

"Hey, Cairo!"

I didn't recognize the voice but looked up to see an older man waving at me from his porch. I squinted as my mind threw up his name. "Hey, Mr. Miller. Everything alright?"

"Yessir, yessir." He was rocking back and forth on an antique rocker, beaming at the world. "Looking forward to tomorrow's festivities, how about you? That barbeque is divine!"

Last year I'd worked on the man's sedan, but this was the longest conversation I'd had with him. Instead of rushing away, I tried to think of an appropriate response.

"You know I'm not much for crowds, Mr. Miller," I managed, "but I am looking forward to the desserts. I have it on good authority there's going to be a bunch of cookies and red-white-and-blue cupcakes."

The old man chuckled. "From Meli's Bake Shoppe? I swear, that girl could make fish guts taste sweet. She's sweet too, you know?"

When I felt my blood heat, I tried to breathe deep, to calm the rage. The male is old enough to be your grandsire. Not a threat. He's allowed to admire your Mate without having his head ripped off.

Stupid Kteer.

Stupid biology.

I managed, "She sure is, Mr. Miller," and a wave. "See you tomorrow."

"Happy Fourth, son!"

As I walked away, I had a realization: He called me Cairo.

Well, of course he did. That's your name. Calling you Larry would be counterproductive.

No, I meant…

He recognized me. There were currently at least five orc males on Eastshore Isle, and Mr. Miller recognized me. He'd known me.

I frowned down at the ground as I walked, hands in my pockets.

Mr. Miller had known me.

"Hey, Cairo, happy Fourth of July!"

This time it was—shit, I couldn't remember her name. She had three kids at the same school Emmy would go to, and I worked on her SUV last month. Rachel? Rachelle? She was hanging bunting from her porch as two of the kids kicked a ball back and forth.

Cautiously, I waved. "You need some help with that?"

"Nope, but thanks," she called back, arms over her head. "You going to the parade tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "But maybe the beach." For the sand-sculpting contest.

She grinned and waggled a free finger. "Make sure your friend brings his daughter, okay? My Tova is going to be in the same class, and I'd love them to meet before school starts!"

I managed a little wave and a vague agreement before hurrying away from the house.

Maybe I should find a less populated area to sulk.

Not only had the possible-Rachelle recognized me, but she'd known about Sakkara and Emmy, and known Emmy's age. She wanted her daughter to be friends with Emmy.

I'd lived on Eastshore for years, and never really understood how welcoming its citizens were.

Thanks to Karnak and Sakkara, more non-humans were arriving here every week, and the absolutely amazing thing was that the humans of Eastshore…welcomed them.

Welcomed us.

Jess had mentioned not everyone had been welcoming, and there were a few businesses closing up shop and moving away, because some residents were too racist to see the good my people could do for this community…but overall, the people were kind and welcoming.

Unless one of you wants to date their daughters.

No, I couldn't assume Eastshore's humans were like Meli's family.

"Hey, Cairo!"

Yet again, my head jerked up. This time, I knew exactly who was calling my name. I hid my sigh.

"Hey, Lux. This your new place?"

Luxor straightened from where he was banging at a pile of wood, and turned to his house, sweeping his arms out to take it in. "Absolutely identical to every other house on this block, and far too large for the amount of stuff I own."

I found myself wandering over, standing on his front yard, looking up at the freshly painted house. "So you're building more stuff?"

He laughed because of course he did. This was Lux. "No, man, this is a doghouse!"

I made a show of peering down at it. "Are you sure?"

"I do know how to build shit, you know." He jabbed me in the side. "It's one of like three things I'm good at."

I winced and rubbed my side, stepping away from him. "The other two being bulking up and beating orcs smaller than you."

Luxor, who'd been the smallest and most broken of us all those years ago, who now stood easily four inches taller than me, stuck out his tongue. As if he were a kit.

I had to chuckle.

"But seriously." I nudged the pile of wood with my foot. "You're building a doghouse? That's cool."

"Yeah, I got good at construction a few years back when I spent two seasons working with a crew. It was a cool experience."

Only a few seasons? Had he been living off his investments otherwise? I realized I didn't know the guy too well. "What else did you learn?"

"Oh man." He planted his hands on his hips and leaned his head back to stare up at the sky, as if he was thinking. "Everything. I spent a year on a shrimp trawler, and working on the docks, did you know? I've done some warehouse work, didn't like that as much as the assembly line job I did for six months." He grinned. "The worst was the road crew—you know the guy who holds the stop and slow signs? I got fired because I kept talking to the people in the cars."

The thought was so ridiculous I found myself chuckling again, and realized it wasn't forced.

Maybe having a perpetually good-natured male around didn't completely suck.

"That's a lot," I had to admit. "You never found anything you really loved?"

When he slapped me on my shoulder, I stumbled theatrically. "Man, I loved it all, because I got to meet new people and learn new things. Was I good at all of it? Absolutely not. Was I good at any of it?" He shrugged self-deprecatingly. "Some, maybe. I'm a champion net-puller, in case you care, and once won a shrimp-peeling contest. I'm good with animals. And I know how to build shit."

I was watching him, watching how he downplayed his experiences and what he'd learned, and I was struck by his enthusiasm for life.

The humans' machines had spoken to me in a way nothing else had. But Lux? He'd fallen in love with everything about the human world, hadn't he?

It took me two tries to clear my throat. "I'm impressed, Lux."

He grinned. "Thanks. I'm going to head to the animal shelter tomorrow to see if I can find a friend."

He didn't need an animal friend; he was going to make plenty of friends here on Eastshore.

But I nodded to the house. "To fill up the rest of the space?"

His grin flashed. "I've already posted my second room on the town website—rather, Sakkara did it for me. I can barely use my phone!" He was still the same cheerful idiot I remembered, but it didn't grate so much anymore. Maybe I had matured. "I'm going to rent out my second bedroom. Maybe I don't need to adopt a dog if I can find a roommate to keep me company. Jess says there's a shortage of rentals on the island, since there aren't many apartments or condos."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, Meli pays more for her apartment than she does on rent for the bakery downstairs. Those things are hot commodities."

If she moved in with you permanently, she could save a lot of money.

I pushed away the thought.

I was just her pretend boyfriend. For a short time.

Lux, however, had brightened at my mention. "I'm glad I got to meet her. She's really cool, and I'm happy for you two."

The growl slipped out before I could stop it. He startled, then peered closer at me. "Hells, Cairo," he sighed. "You're still…"

"What?" I snapped.

He gestured vaguely at my face. "Glowing. You haven't gotten this Mate thing figured out?"

Suddenly, it was as if I lost all the strength in my limbs—in my body. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, I stumbled toward Luxor's porch and sank down onto the steps.

"I dunno," I mumbled.

To my surprise, Lux grunted and bent to pick up a piece of wood. He positioned it against another piece and began hammering something. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." But… "Her family is in town. They're the only reason Meli's even with me."

He shot me a glance. "Really? Not because she's your Mate?"

"She doesn't know she's my Mate."

"Seems like a fairly easy conversation to have. Did you mention love? That seems to be big for human females. Meli, you're my Mate. Gee, Cairo, what does that mean? It means, hot stuff, that I love you and want to be with you forever and ever."

Even Lux's ridiculous voices didn't make me smile. I felt…drained. I scrubbed my hand over my face before resting my elbows on my knees.

"You don't understand," I mumbled. "Her family…they think she deserves better than…"

"You?"

I gestured around me with one hand. "All of Eastshore. Her family is hot shit, lots of money. Not just money, but smart. Lux, her father is like the most incredible engineer ever, and how in the hell am I not supposed to be intimidated by that?"

He hummed, his hands never stopping as he worked with the wood. He now had a simple frame assembled. "And how does Meli feel about this? Does she think she's better than Eastshore?"

"No!" How to explain? "She likes this place. She loves it." I closed my eyes, picturing her in a t-shirt and undies, her hair in a messy bun. "She's happy here, happy with her job. She doesn't need the fancy clothes and cars and big companies, like the rest of her family. Meli worked really hard to build what she's built, and I hate that her family can't see that and be proud of her."

"And how does she feel about you? I mean, does she wish you were a fancy engineer like her father? Or made a bunch of money, or whatever?"

I frowned at him. "She liked me well enough before she found out I had money. She doesn't mind my projects. She even helped with some."

Finally, Lux rocked back on his heels and shrugged at me. "Seems like Meli likes you fine, which is good, considering the whole Mate thing and all. It's her family you have to contend with."

Yeah. That was the problem. "They don't see her, Lux. The real her. The way she talked about her father, I thought he might understand, but now I'm not so sure. But they're basically making her choose."

"Between them and you?"

No, it was more than that. "Between them and Eastshore."

Luxor whistled. "What are you going to do?" he asked softly.

I stared down at my hands.

Tomorrow was the Fourth of July sand-sculpting contest, and Meli would be going with her family. It was something her family had encouraged, and the prize would help her build something her family wanted her to build.

Something she didn't need.

If she was going to do that, if she was going to bust her ass to expand, just to please her family…then she could do it alone.

I slowly admitted the truth. "I…I don't know."