10. A Plop in the Ocean

CHAPTER TEN

A PLOP IN THE OCEAN

The Present: Trick in Sausalito, hiding under a fancy-pants restaurant

Conversation carries over water, but Trick was still too far away to hear exactly what the pack said to the merfolk. He had to stay downwind and out of line of scent. Bryan was in wolf form and could definitely smell Trick easily, if he got within sniffing distance.

Trick crouched low, hugging a concrete pylon. The restaurant above him was busy. It was a swanky establishment, the kind with tablecloths and too much cutlery. It was just lively enough to make it even more difficult for Trick to hear what the shifters said. So he huddled underneath the building, where it was cold and dank and smelled of old tar, wet wood, and decaying seaweed. The Pacific coast had a different scent from the delta of his youth. He’d never entirely gotten over that.

He dared not go any closer. Werewolves were freaks with their noses and there was nowhere closer to hide than the ocean itself. And if Trick got into the water, he would be in their territory.

It was too dark to see much, either.

By the time he arrived they were already in conversation – Alec, Marvin, Bryan, Max, and Ms Trickle on land, a dozen or so merfolk in the water with their backs to Trick.

The merman was easy to spot. He was closest to shore and substantially bigger than the others.

Trick was to the left, and slightly behind the merfolk, because of the way the restaurant on its little pier jutted out over the bay. He could make out glints of wet hair and scales in the light from the street lamps above the shock rock but that was it. The sidewalk was quiet and free of pedestrians. It was mid week, off season, and cold near the water at night. Plenty of cars drove by, though.

Trick stayed, hugging the cold cement, staring so hard he nearly got a headache. Fixed on the merman, willing him to be something. Willing him to be Sato, or to not be Sato. Certain that he wasn’t. Surely Sato wasn’t as big as this merman. Surely Sato wasn’t so active, engaged with protecting a pod, posturing against the landbound threat.

But the way he moved in the water? That was familiar.

It couldn’t be Sato, could it?

The merman laughed. And laughter carries over water more and better than other sounds.

Trick knew that laugh. He was the only one who had ever heard it regularly. Sato. His Sato, had only ever laughed for him . Had only ever smiled for him . It was not a pretty sound, it was a sharp barking noise, like a dolphin’s delight.

But that was, without question, Sato Daiki.

Then the pod turned and for a brief moment, before they dove beneath the waves, Trick could see their faces. Or, more precisely, he could see Sato’s sharp, beautiful face. Sato’s scales stark against the pale flesh of his collar and chest, reflective in the moonlight. The pattern strobed into Trick’s memory, rebranding the scar on his heart. The shape was permanently burned there, he hardly needed a reminder. Trick hated himself for still finding it beautiful.

Bryan, still a wolf, threw his head back and howled. Trying to prove something. No doubt at his Alpha’s behest. A goodbye and a reminder of the power of a pack, that fish too were prey.

With only a few splashes the merfolk disappeared, diving deep and speeding away.

Sato was gone.

Again.

Trick wondered if he’d hallucinated.

But knew he had not.

He must accept that his past had finally caught up to him.

Trick wasn’t sure if he should be sick or euphoric, angry or elated. He shivered. What he felt was cold. The damp barnacle-covered cement under his arms and the winds off the water bit into his human flesh. The familiar smell unpleasant because it was this ocean and not that other one.

He wanted to swim in his otter form but the bay was no longer safe.

No. What he really wanted was to swim a long river in a green land far away. He wanted fresh water and slick, muddy banks. He wanted a different place and a different time. He wanted the otter family that he’d never had, not a pack of wolves and companion misfits. He wanted nothing to do with the people of the sea. Or the predators of the land.

He didn’t want Sato who had abandoned him. How dare he want that? How dare he be so weak.

He didn’t want to have to confront him. To have to ask why he hadn’t been worthy.

He didn’t even want to see him.

Except that he did.

He wanted it so badly.

It hurt so much, the memory of Sato hurt . It had been so good, that kind of love, that kind of attention. Two things he had never had before. The immersive comfort of all-consuming affection. He thought he had meant everything to Sato, that Sato would do anything for him. It had never even occurred to Patrick that Sato wouldn’t come back. Until he just… didn’t.

Trick had pushed it down and run so hard and so fast for so long that it had become a parasite of fear nested in his soul. A thing that had coexisted but preyed upon him. He had nurtured that parasite because he knew he couldn’t face that kind of hurt again. Had built a whole life for himself where he didn’t have to. Where the pain was a reminder not to care too much, never to let it happen again.

Here, now, he could be charming and cheerful and utterly untrusting. Here, now, he could have friends and family and a job and a community and still never feel safe.

And then, there Sato was.

In his bay. In his now.

The merman who had abandoned him. The Sato who had never come for him. The Sato who had never come after him. The Sato who, for their entire childhood, had always been there for Patrick. Until he had not.

Of course it was Trick’s fault too. Perhaps he hadn’t waited long enough. Perhaps it should never have been their dynamic, that Trick so completely relied on Sato for his well-being. That through an accident of fate, when Sato had made his home on land, Patrick had made Sato his whole world. His person. Person of the sea.

Trick had always believed what the sea chose to keep, it keeps forever. He had blamed the Deep. And he had blamed Sato for not being strong enough to resist the inevitable tide. He had blamed Sato for not returning when he said he would. Sato and the sea had conspired against him. And now they had done it again. Casting Sato once more up onto the shores of Trick’s existence.

Just when Trick had finally started to relax. With that stupid, warm, welcoming, lovable pack of werewolves.

How dare he, Trick, allow himself to feel even a little bit safe? With this strange group of misfits he had let down his guard. He had found himself surrounded by large, protective shifters who seemed to like him. Who had welcomed him into their home. Who had treated him with gentle respect and cautious care. Who tried to give him space and simultaneously remind him that he was welcome. Who Patrick had never trusted. Because one protective merman named Sato had taken Patrick’s home away and left Trick adrift and afraid of protection.

How stupid of Trick for even one moment to think that he might, finally, have a new home. Perhaps not the one he’d dreamed of, perhaps not one where he had been as welcome as he had in Sato’s heart. But some kind of solid thing to hold onto. A place where he did not have to drift alone.

One moment of weakness disguised as hope and there, ten years gone, Sato returned to ruin it before it had even begun. Sometimes, it turned out, the sea spat its treasure back out.

The web of land-bound shifters was vast and powerful. It extended its tentacles even into the sea. Tentacles strong enough to pull a lost merman back to land.

Alec was indeed a powerful Alpha, to summon Patrick’s past to the shore with the siren call of a wolf.

The Present: Trick at the San Andreas Pack House

Trick returned to the pack house because he had nowhere else to go.

The pack hadn’t really noticed his absence, or perhaps they’d just assumed he’d been out for a swim. They weren’t parental about him. They wanted to keep him safe but they understood that as a non-wolf he had different needs and instincts.

It had taken him a long time to unwind himself from the icy concrete pylon. He’d clambered over the shock-rock to the road, shivering and miserable. His brain was full of tangled seaweed – memories and parasitic fear.

He’d thought about just going to the cafe, hiding in the back, sleeping in the stock room. He’d thought about loading up his old car and driving away again. Driving until he found a long river far from the sea.

But the cafe was far too quiet without customers and his car probably wouldn’t start.

He needed the warmth of the pack, whether he even trusted it anymore. He still wanted it and resented that fact.

The pack was almost fully assembled in the sunken den when he arrived home. Only Tank, Isaac, and Max weren’t present. Max rarely came inside the pack house if he could help it. Trick didn’t know why, but Max was like that, full of quirks. Isaac and Tank worked late nights starting Thursdays at Saucebox, one of San Francisco’s best clubs. But Isaac was a ranking wolf. Omega was considered clutch, or so Patrick understood. So this couldn’t possibly be a formal pack meeting if the Omega wasn’t present.

Trick was going to sneak up the stairs and hide in his room. Colin’s old one, which had been gifted to him since the redhead moved permanently in with Judd. But Alec noticed him enter, like always, and gestured for him to join them. Had it been any other pack member Trick would have smiled, pretended to be tired, and continued on his way.

But this was the Alpha, so Trick dutifully trotted over, sitting on the floor near the Beta’s feet. Bryan patted his head, Trick looked back at him.

“Tea, cutie?” The Beta reached for the large teapot in the middle of the coffee table and one of the empty mugs nearby.

“You’re always trying to foist tea on me. Are you secretly British?”

“No, I just like tea. It’s comforting. Are you sure you won’t have any?”

Trick shook his head.

Alec glared in mock discipline at his older brother. “As I was saying…”

Bryan interrupted, “Oh, do go on, Great and Gracious Alpha. We await your words of wisdom with bated breath.”

The Alpha did just that. “My point is, they’ve never attended any marine biology conferences before. Why this one?”

“It’s rare for them to come to land and interact with humans at all. As a pod, I mean, and not just for sex.” That was Judd.

“It’s going to be an absolute nightmare. Can you imagine mermaids on the make, swanning around a conference full of geeky marine biologists? Not just because they’re, you know, sexy but because they are walking, talking marine life. Everyone is gonna want to meet them.” Kevin occasionally could be quite insightful.

“Marine-grade celebrities?” suggested Colin.

“Should the conference hire Heavy Lifting?” Alec wondered.

“Werewolf bodyguards, for mermaids. Does that even make sense?” Lovejoy looked amused.

Alec looked at Judd. “You guys aren’t under contract at the moment, right?”

Judd shook his head. “We’re available. During the day I could even pull in Tank. But are you sure it’s necessary?”

“Twelve mermaids at a marine biology conference, who have been dressed by Marvin? Yes, I think it’s necessary.”

Judd straightened, an order from his Alpha. “I’ll make it happen.”

Alec continued, “So back to why the mermaids are suddenly coming to this conference. I’ve been to lots of conferences over the years and they’ve never shown up before. Why this one?”

The pack started spit-balling ideas, mostly watching Marvin for a reaction.

“Maybe somebody is coming who they want to meet?”

“Maybe someone is presenting on a topic that they are particularly interested in?”

Marvin nodded, serious for a change. “Something to do with the current climate or environmental pollution? You know they have vested interests in that, anything involving garbage in the oceans.”

“Or sea level rises.”

“Wouldn’t the mermaids be in favor of that – more territory for them?”

Marvin said, “I wouldn’t put it past the Soteria of the Deep to be that mercenary.”

“I don’t know about that. A general rise in ocean temperature could be having an adverse effect on merfolk population numbers,” said Alec thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s pretty much impacting all other oceanic life in a negative way. Why not them?”

Marvin sat up very straight all of a sudden, small face tense. “That would make them desperate enough to come to land. Mermaids are always concerned with breeding and procreating. It is the Soteria’s primary political mandate as well. You know each mermaid owes her pod two children before they’re allowed any kind of freedom from that pod? And there is a faction that believes it should be two female children, that boys shouldn’t count.”

“Mermaids prove their worth with children?”

“Oh yes. And it’s not easy to do. Even producing two can be hard. They have to go to land, have legs, seduce some random dude, and it rarely takes. Big part of the lifecycle.”

“How do mermen fit into the picture?” wondered Kevin.

“We don’t. Mermen are sterile.”

“I knew that. Did I know that?” mused Kevin.

Trick relaxed back, letting their chatter and curiosity and inept puzzling abilities wash over him. What he wanted to know was why Sato was here. But he also didn’t want to ask. He didn’t want to reveal that he had any connection to the merfolk, let alone these specific merfolk.

Alec looked at his mate. “So, are they experiencing a population decline?”

Marvin shrugged. “You know I haven’t really been in contact with my sister’s pod since we moved. But before that, I do remember some chatter. I never hung out with pods all that often. I was only called to meet with you because it was an incident that required interface with the landbound folk. That’s the only time mermaids find mermen like me useful. It is our function to be a bridge between sea and shore. That is why we are farmed out to our human sires to be raised during puberty. But you’re the marine biologist, babes, what do you think?”

Alec considered his mate’s question seriously. “Rising temperature levels are part of my research.”

“I thought you focused on microbiomes,” said Colin, who would know things. The rest of the pack found Alec’s research, and his choice of profession, mystifying. But Colin was a bit of a nerd.

Alec got quite professorial with their youngest pack member, who was still in university. “I do, but what do you think shows population fluctuations first with every tiny increase in temperature?”

Colin’s eyes were big, absorbing.

Trick had no idea what they were on about.

“And the merfolk?” asked Lovejoy.

Alec pursed his lips, looking particularly nerdy all of a sudden. “Well, the top of the food chain isn’t my specialty, but some of my colleagues are reporting that ocean mammals are showing decreased births. Merfolk are tied, by extension if not classification, to ocean mammals. It’s been suggested, and I find some of the research quite compelling, that this has to do both with my own research into the food supply chain, but also breeding viability.”

“How exactly?” Even Marvin was curious now.

“Prolonged heat exposure can decrease semen volume, sperm count, concentration, and motility. There’s speculation that ocean temperature rises could have exactly the same impact on ocean mammals.”

Trick said, “But mermaids breed with humans.”

“Indeed. But as usual, such studies have only really focused on male sperm. Eggs could also be impacted.”

“Why the bias?”

Alec blinked. “Misogyny still permeates the scientific community. And in the case of mermaids, there’s also a lack of data. They simply do not allow themselves to be studied.”

Marvin bit his full bottom lip with sharp teeth, then said, “I think this must be why they’re here for the conference. The fact that they sent the Paralia makes it even more likely. I don’t think you realize what a big deal she is. The merfolk only have five leaders that they look to or respect. In the whole world. Everything else is under the purview of the pods and their endless jockeying for dominance. The Paralia is their one diplomat in charge of all interspecies relations. For her to come herself, with a vangill, to go to this conference, it has to be fertility.”

He paused, then added, “But I’ve always thought it was because the sire needed to carry a shifter gene in a recessive state for infant viability.”

The entire pack was now staring at Marvin. They were accustomed to both Alec and Colin talking like academics, but not Marvin.

Trick always suspected that the merman had hidden depths of cleverness and acumen. A kind of brilliance he masked with frivolousness. It was nice to be proven right.

Trick thought about Mr Sato. He didn’t seem very shifter-esque, but there might be bakemono blood in his background somewhere. Anything was possible, and plenty of shifters were capable of interbreeding with humans and shaking out duds who did nothing but carry the triple helix, never activating it. Dratsie, for example, were pretty notorious for sleeping around indiscriminately. Plenty of people could go through their lives with the ability to shift but never doing so. Not to mention those who required a bite or a skin and just never got triggered into their alternate form.

Marvin said, “I always thought there were a lot more recessives lurking within human populations than anyone realizes.”

Trick thought about the fact that the merfolk had their own recessives, like Sato with his spurs.

“So we are in agreement – they are probably here for procreative reasons. Whether practical sperm hunting or theoretical information gathering.”

Trick said, because he thought he finally had a sympathetic audience for a thing that had always bothered him, “This whole thing with the legs and the hunting and the breeding seems needlessly complicated, not to mention cruel to mermen.” And the sires, thinking of Mr Sato a little sadly.

Marvin turned to look at him. “You’re right. Also, would we call it cruel ?”

Trick would, and had. But he realized that to have a firm opinion on this matter was a red flag. Marvin was already looking at him suspiciously.

Marvin’s eyes narrowed. The pack stayed silent, waiting for him to speak. He was, after all, the only merman they had.

“Moving on, then, my fuzzy darlings.” Marvin stopped staring at Trick, a relief, and waved both arms in the air in excitement. “I’m taking twelve mermaids thrifting tomorrow! Trick, you wanna come?” Marvin batted his eyes rapidly. He looked a little like he was having a seizure.

Trick said quickly, “I have to work.”

“Take the day off, darling. The Bean can survive twenty-four hours without you.”

“I highly doubt it,” said Judd, unexpectedly coming to Trick’s defense.

“Floyd would pine,” pointed out Colin.

“Floyd would pine,” agreed Trick, fondly. “But only for my cappuccinos.”

“Ah, what you’re really thinking is: Who would Kettil fail to flirt with?” Marvin teased.

Trick winced, Oh right, Kettil . He’d forgotten about the bear shifter.

Marvin said, too perceptive, “Well, that was an interesting reaction. You okay, honey?”

Trick replied, unguarded. “Will the merman be joining you?”

“I imagine so. He doesn’t seem to leave the Paralia’s side.”

Alec said, “I thought his spurs didn’t work on land.”

So then Marvin had told Alec all about the vangill. Trick felt a massive sense of relief. At least he wasn’t hiding vital information from the pack anymore.

Marvin said confidently, “They don’t. But vangill still train to fight on land. Not that they’d be much good against a werewolf.”

And now Trick was hiding information again. Because Sato’s Spurs did work on land. But he wasn’t going to tell this pack. Which sucked.

“I really can’t join you, much as I love thrifting. Twelve mermaids seems a little overboard. Pun intended,” said Trick firmly.

“I’ll come,” said Colin, who’d recently developed an interest in fashion. “I don’t have class.”

“Me too,” said Judd quickly.

“You hate shopping.”

“True. Nothing ever fits me right. But I was thinking more as a de facto bodyguard.”

“What about the Heavy Lifting contract for the conference?” pressed Alec.

“Kevin can draw it up,”

“Must I?” said Kevin, wrinkling his nose.

“Yes, dear, sometimes you too must do paperwork,” replied Judd.

Marvin was still looking at Trick, a funny expression on his pretty little face. “Well, maybe we will bring the ladies into the Bean after shopping.”

“Please don’t,” said Trick, sharp and firm.

Marvin recoiled.

Trick realized that he had never used that tone of voice with the merman before. He’d never used it with any member of the pack. A mistake to do it now, no doubt.

“Trick, hon, do you have a problem with merfolk?”

“I like you ,” said Trick, quickly.

“I’m not most merfolk.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, honey, I won’t bring them to your cafe then, don’t worry.”

Trick felt himself relax noticeably. He was sure they could see it on his face.

“But we should talk about it. Prejudice isn’t good. They seem nice enough, for mermaids,” added Marvin, making Trick tense again.

Alec said, “Would you like to sit down with Isaac tomorrow? I can ask him to stop by the cafe on his way to work.”

Trick blushed to realize so much of his stress was showing that Alec was deploying his Omega.

To see Sato again. To talk so casually of merfolk and their intrusion back into his life. Into their lives. He’d let down his guard.

Alec was sensitive to moods – it was what made him a good Alpha. He also knew how to utilize the skills and personalities of his pack to fix those moods. That was what made him a great Alpha.

“It’s okay, really,” said Trick because he didn’t want to talk about it. Not to Isaac, not to anyone. He just wanted to hide in his cafe. He wanted to make drinks and not think about the fact that Sato would be right there, in his area, in his thrift stores. So close. So impossibly far away. “It was just one encounter, a long time ago. Sometimes it’s hard to forget.” He hoped they would leave things at that.

Fortunately, they did.

Trick didn’t sleep much that night. His memories were sun-soaked and humid. They smelled of frying katsu and briny waters. He was cold and alone in Colin’s old bed, eyes wide and staring into the dark. He must keep them dry, like the land, because if he cried his tears would taste like the sea.