Chapter 4

“He arrived last night,” Marrick said as soon as Luna walked into Club Beast the next morning.

“Who?” She knew who.

“Your rival for the title.”

She flung off her rucksack and took out her water bottle and towel before answering. “Really?” She tried to sound totally casual. “And?”

“It’s not Acha.”

“Uh-huh.” Her pulse sped up. “Is it someone you know?”

“Nah. May have been one of the juniors who were here observing last year, but you know, no one paid much attention to them.” He smirked. “Except the women.”

Luna merely grunted as she dusted her hands with powder.

He grinned, punched her arm playfully. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice them. I’d have thought those kraken boys would have been part of your research.”

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Luna knew what he was getting at, but it was over a year ago that she’d taken a personal vow of celibacy. Sex took energy. Energy she needed to channel into her training.

Sure, she was curious about sex with a kraken. Rumor was that behind closed doors Acha had let those tentacles loose and had done all sorts of kinky things… but… too bad. She would be fighting one, not fucking them.

“I was too busy watching the action in the ring to have any action between the sheets.” She smirked. “Let’s get started.”

After half an hour of wrestling, Luna knew she was doing okay.

“Better, much better.” Marrick nodded approvingly as three times in a row she easily slid out from under his locked arm. “But make sure you jump away quicker. Remember, if my arm was a tentacle I’d have the power to reel you back in.”

She pursed her lips, nodded.

“I really need to practice my footwork in the mud soon.”

“I’m happy to wrestle you in the mud, but further afield. We can’t afford to be spotted, not if you want to be a surprise entrant.”

“That would be great. Maybe this weekend, we’ll find a quiet spot.”

”How’s your breath control shaping up?”

“Good.” She thought about her trips underwater of late, fishing for her supper, or simply enjoying the deep. She’d always loved it below the surface. There, in the silence, she found peace. Sometimes she imagined—hoped—that was what it had been like for her mom and dad as they drowned. Peaceful.

But her little brother, Tomas. She was haunted by a constant, nagging uncertainty.

That somehow, somewhere, he could still be alive.

Remembering the kraken she’d met in the water two weeks back, she frowned. Why had she reacted like that? Since then, he’d occupied her thoughts, her dreams even. Only last night she’d dreamt of him. He’d swum toward her, touched her, his hand on her face, a tentacle pulling her close and then suddenly the water had voided, and her little brother had been screaming in the kraken’s place.

The pleasure of being touched by a kraken had shattered, replaced by pain.

She’d woken with a start.

Aroused. Angry. Sad. All in one sweaty mess with the sheet rolled around her body.

She’d gotten up, made a mug of tea with shaky fingers, and walked out to watch the sun rise over the marsh grasses. The tiny blue and yellow wrens chittering in the cool damp morning air, the mist swirling away as the sun rose, like strange ghostly fingers. As she sipped her tea she’d tried to put the kraken out of her mind. After all, thoughts of kraken had caused her pain for so long, like some dark monster taking over her soul.

She didn’t need to be attracted to one of their evil kind. But it kept niggling at her: what if the kraken, the one that haunted her dreams, was her combatant.

Stop thinking. Focus.

Luna puffed up her chest and circled Marrick, eyes narrowed, pretending she was a she-wolf, and that this big green orc was small and feeble. Her prey.

“Catch me if you can, motherfucker,” she growled from deep in her throat.

An hour later when they broke for lunch, Marrick said, “I could kill for a bowl of chowder at Sweet Clams.”

“I had chowder last night.”

“Well, you can have shrimp then.”

“Ha, if Harper hasn’t given it all away.”

He cocked his head at her. Luna pulled a face. “She’s saving it for Noah.”

“Selkie Noah?”

“Yep.” Luna glugged down water, wiped her mouth on her arm. “Major crush.”

Marrick laughed. “Well, that rules me out then.”

“Didn’t know you were keen?”

“Harper’s super cute, but nah. I’m not ready to get serious, and she’s the commitment type.”

They chatted easily as they made their way to the quay. It was a fair walk from the East Quarter where Marrick and most of the orcs hung out, but it was a lovely morning. The wind was blowing the smog seaward, so for once the air was relatively pollution free. She’d have to go to work later, and the cleaner air on the docks would be appreciated.

But for now, with her big green friend at her side and a productive morning of wrestling under her belt, Luna felt almost… happy. It was a rare thing for her.

When they reached Sweet Clams, a quaint old building standing alone between rows of containers and cranes, with its thick Malibar stone walls and the criss-cross lead windows that belonged to a previous era of Motham, there was a big crowd gathered outside.

Luna was surprised. There was always a line for chowder, but this was unusual even by Sweet Clams’ standards. “Guess there’ll be no free shrimp for Noah today.” She smirked.

But as they got closer, her smile turned to a frown. “They’re not queuing for chowder.” A group was gathered around one of the outdoor tables on the sidewalk outside the café.

They were holding out bits of paper, notebooks, and pens to someone seated at the table.

The crowd parted as a gaggle of giggling kids backed away, comparing notes.

And there, sprawled lazily at the table, was… was…

Her breath hitched.

A kraken.

Not just any kraken, either. Luna knew by the tingle down her spine, the sudden dragging heat low in her belly, that this was… that kraken.

The one she’d eyeballed in the water that day.

Her heart stuttered, then re-started at double the pace, thrumming hard against her ribs.

“Good gods,” she heard Marrick mutter beside her. “That’s got to be him.”

Luna stared, her mouth dry. It appeared her intuition had been right.

“We might as well go and check him out. Look casual, don’t draw attention. Best if he doesn’t notice you, or me.”

Luna bit her lip and sidled alongside Marrick, hiding a little behind him. As they got closer, she noticed the guy sitting with him was Shen, the games convener. Yep, there was no mistaking it, this was a planned publicity appearance—probably the first of many. And they were already garnering a crowd. You had to give it to Shen, Sweet Clams was a good place to start.

A few young monsters were holding up their mobile phones, taking photos. The guy smiled and her heart stuttered all over again as he posed.

He was so gorgeous he fucking stole your breath away.

Krakens were a stunning species in their human form, and Luna wasn’t immune to their charms. Those long-slanted eyes, the high cheeks and strong jaw, their look both ethereal and commanding. Easily as stunning as fae. And if their facial features weren’t enough, there was the fascinating color of their skin. Kraken shifters came in subtle to strong shades of iridescent blues. Shen always stood out, his turquoise skin now shimmering in the sunlight, but this… this soft blue of the younger kraken was mesmerizing.

It was said that a kraken’s color shifted to a deep blue when sexually aroused. Not that she’d seen that, but now… okay, she was curious.

More than curious.

Suddenly he raised his head, and through the crowd he saw her. His gaze homed in, their eyes locking, a sudden tension running through her body.

Luna felt her spine sparking, shooting electricity to every nerve ending from her scalp to her toes.

And damn it, to that place between her thighs that she thought she’d switched off.

Oh, no way—she couldn’t want to fuck her foe. Could not so much as think of tempting him into anything but a fight to the finish line.

Shit bags. Whether she liked it or not, she was hot for this kraken.

Immediately, illogically and totally HOT for him.

Her body’s reaction was so alarming, she literally ducked behind Marrick, who turned his head and frowned at her.

“I said don’t draw attention,” he growled.

“Sorry, I—let’s go somewhere else.”

“We can’t now. Shen’s spotted us.”

“Bummer,” Luna muttered. Setting her jaw, she emerged reluctantly from behind Marrick’s flank. “Put your arm around me,” she hissed at him.

“What?”

“Pretend I’m your date.”

“Fine.” A big arm circled her shoulders. Nothing she wasn’t used to. They touched all the time during training.

“Hey there, Marrick,” Shen called out. “Fancy seeing you here.” He stood, and so did his companion. “Let me introduce you to Kai.”

The young kraken stood. He was tall, taller than Marrick, and beautifully built in his human form. He wore blue jeans and a simple white tee that exposed his thick, roped neck, and his well-shaped but not huge biceps. He was more like a dancer than a fighter. He wasn’t as built as Acha, more refined in his lines, and his movements were fluid. If she looked at his torso hard enough, she could just imagine the ripple under his skin where his tentacles would emerge. As Luna took it all in, another part of her beat to a different drum altogether.

She tried to think of how she’d glide through him in a fight, but all she could muster were inappropriate thoughts of her body writhing against his, covered in mud, those wide and sensual full lips sliding over hers, down her body, a thick tentacle slithering between her legs… oh—no-no-no-no!

To her surprise, he extended his hand first to her. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi, I’m… just, er… Marrick’s… friend… whatever.” She giggled like a schoolgirl and wanted to kick herself in her stupid butt.

“You’re Marrick’s girlfriend?” His face was expressionless, only a muscle ticked in the fine line of his jaw.

“Nah, nah,” Luna laughed, feeling heat rising up her neck, “we’re just fuck buddies.”

Oh gods, had she just said that? She could sense Marrick wincing.

Shit.

Kai turned to Marrick now and smiled. Gods, what a smile!

“Pleased to meet you, Marrick.” The two guys, orc and kraken, shook hands heartily while Luna hovered in the background like a crazed shadow.

“Kai is The Chosen this year,” Shen said, looking amused at the odd interaction. He added, “Will you be competing, Marrick?”

Marrick smirked. “You’ll have to wait and see. It’s good to meet you, Kai. And welcome to Motham.”

Kai nodded, then angled his head back to Luna. “I didn’t catch your name,” he said pointedly.

She was tempted to lie, but what was the point? He’d know soon enough when her application went through.

Stepping out from Marrick’s bulk, she said, “Luna,” through tight lips. “Luna Storm.”

She’d taken that surname when she’d first got to Motham. She had no idea what her real surname was, but she remembered watching the storm clouds rolling in from the ocean as a child, the excitement of battening down the hatches. Would never, ever forget the stormy night when the kraken emerged from the deep and murdered her parents.

So Storm it was.

“No doubt we will meet again.” Kai was still staring at her, his stance casual, feet planted wide. To make sure he couldn’t reach for her hand, she stepped sharply backward. Even so, her eyes sank shamefully to his waist, then lower, to the tight wad in his denim pants.

Those who’d fucked kraken reported that their junk was amazing.

“Let’s go order,” she muttered, tugging Marrick almost fiercely by the arm.

“Sure. Nice to meet you, Kai.”

“Maybe see you in the ring,” Kai said to Marrick, but then his gaze slid to hers again and he smiled that devastating smile. Luna wanted to squeeze her thighs together to stop the throb in her clit.

“Goodbye Luna,” he said softly. Hell, even his voice resonated in her pussy.

“See ya.” She turned and literally dragged Marrick into the café.

At the counter Luna ordered, her face scrunched into a scowl.

“You okay?” Harper asked.

“Yeah, just a headache. A serve of shrimp, if you’ve any left, and an extra-large chowder for Marrick.”

“What’s going on with you two?” Harper’s gaze slid to Marrick, who’d squeezed his big body into a corner booth and was scrolling through his phone.

“W-what?”

“You came in arm in arm.”

“I’ll explain later. When did the kraken get here?”

Harper’s face lit up. “About half an hour ago. He’s freakin’ gorgeous, much better looking than Acha, don’t you reckon?”

“Didn’t notice,” Luna muttered.

“Guess you will when you’re up close…”

Luna gave her friend a stern look, and Harper pinned her lips tight. Trouble with Harper, darling though she was, she could be a bit of a motor mouth. “Do not say a word about me competing,” Luna hiss/whispered.

Suddenly she was aware that Kai was standing right next to her. Unable to help herself, she turned her head a little to get a better look. In profile, the lines of his nose and jaw were just as devastatingly handsome as his full face.

“I’ll be at the Pod tomorrow night,” he said to Harper, though Luna sensed it was for her ears too. “For the opening of the season. Here.” He handed Harper a poster. “Could you put this up in the window?’ Then he turned and looked down at Luna. When his lips quirked sideways, her pulse skittered crazily. “Maybe you’ll be there too.”

“Probably not,” she said gruffly, then dived over to her table with the bowls Harper had handed her. But she was still hyper-aware of Harper and Kai chatting. He stopped to sign a couple more autographs before sauntering out. And shame on her, she couldn’t stop herself ogling through the window as he jumped into the buggy next to Shen and zoomed off.

“So,” said Marrick, when she finally turned her attention back to him, “reckon you’ve met your nemesis?”

“Nah.” Luna shoveled shrimp into her mouth. “He’s met his.”