Chapter 3

ZALE

I finished writing my report and clicked enter, sending it into the system for the other sanctuary workers to be able to access. Not that there was much that needed adding. There were no new pups, and none of the seals I'd been able to check on this morning had been showing any sign of sickness.

"Hey, Zale," Aimee called as she strode up to the front desk.

"Morning," I responded cheerily, leaning back in my seat.

"I have a massive favour to ask you," she said.

I chuckled. "Let's guess, you want me to switch shifts with you tomorrow so you don't have to take the early one?"

"Would you?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure."

"You're the best."

I shrugged. "I like the early shift."

"Eurgh, I have no idea why. I hate waking up at five."

"I like the view." Particularly because it meant I could wave to Sama. I wasn't sure what it was about the ritual that made the day better, but I preferred the days when we got to say good morning with a wave. She always looked so at peace when she was standing there watching the waves, and despite the fact she'd seen things I could only read about.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Aimee said. "Are you okay to put it in the system?"

I nodded. "I'm still logged on." I pulled up the schedule and made the change right then and there.

"Thanks, you're the best." She smiled and headed back into one of the sick bays to check on the seals there.

The automatic doors at the front of the sanctuary building slid open and I sucked in a breath at the familiar figure making her way inside. Even though she said she was coming over today, I was still taken aback by her appearance. I always was.

Her long dark brown hair flowed down to her waist, not seeming tangled despite the sea air, and her olive skin radiated the easy beauty she had about her. She was breathtaking.

And unbelievably off-limits. Everyone on the island knew better than to mess with the gods, especially Greek ones.

And yet there was a part of me that wanted to.

I cleared my throat. "Hi."

"Hey," she said, her voice light and airy. "Do you have a minute?"

"I'm all yours," I responded. "Did you want to see how Po-lo is doing?" Using her favourite seal to get more time with her might be a sneaky move, but it always worked.

Her whole face lit up. "Yes. Though I came because of what we were talking about last night."

I nodded and got to my feet, gesturing for her to follow me. I stuck my head around the sick bay door. "Aimee, can you watch the reception desk for a bit?" I called.

"Be right there!"

I turned back to Sama and led her down the corridor to the rehabilitation pool where the seal with a torn flipper was learning to swim with his new disability.

"Hey, Po-lo," she said.

As if he heard her, the seal clumsily poked his head out of the water.

Sama leaned over the edge, a carefree smile on her face as she leaned over to stroke his head. I'd never known anyone else to be as good with seals as this. They were almost as at ease with her as they were with me, and they considered me one of them thanks to my shifting ability.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

"Well. He's not ready to be released, but he's stronger than he was."

"I'm glad." She ruffled the seal's head and stepped back. "You do good work here."

"I like to think so."

She nodded, looking as if she wanted to say something, but not knowing how. "So I need to talk to your director today."

I raised an eyebrow. "For the fundraising opportunity?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate it," I said. "But you know you don't have to do this sort of thing for us, right?"

"I want to. An opportunity has come up that meant I needed to nominate a charity, it's only right that I pick the one outside my front door."

"What kind of event?" I had to admit to being intrigued, she'd been a little cagey about it last night, but that was to be expected when she couldn't promise anything.

"It's for Jinx."

My heart constricted. "Jinx? The dating app?"

"Well, the agency that runs it," she responded. "They do more than just the app, there are also a lot of parties from what I can gather. I've never been to one."

"I didn't even realise they did those." I tried not to be too relieved about the fact she hadn't been to one before.

"I was asked, and it'll be good for the hotel. Though I think it's also Aphrodite plotting."

"Aphrodite as in..."

"That's the one," she responded as if she hadn't just name-dropped the infamous love goddess. "She's seeing someone at the moment. If you're still around in another five hundred years, she might be single and ready to date again."

"That might be a bit beyond the life expectancy of a seal shifter," I murmured.

Sama gave me a small smile. "Probably. Five hundred years doesn't seem that long to get over someone though." A haunted expression came over her that I wanted to chase away, no matter what it took.

But I didn't know how she'd respond to that.

Thankfully, Po-lo decided to take it upon himself to make a big splash, bringing a smile to her face and chasing away whatever thoughts were plaguing her.

"You should come," she said.

"To the Jinx event?"

She nodded. "I don't imagine there'll be any problem getting some tickets set aside for the sanctuary staff."

"I'll have to talk to the director to make sure she's okay with me taking the night off."

"I'm sure if you tell her you'll be able to schmooze a load of very rich gods and paranormals, she'll be all over it. Just avoid telling any of the Greek deities that you've named seals after them.

"Not even Persephone?" I checked.

She laughed. "She's not likely to be there, but if she is then yes, you can tell her. But trust me, Apollo won't be pleased to hear you named Po-lo after him."

I laughed. "It's a compliment."

"It's your funeral," she responded, a teasing note in her voice.

"So what would happen if I named the next one Sama?"

"You've already done that," she pointed out. "It was how you learned who I was."

I gave an awkward chuckle, remembering the conversation and how much my colleagues had been laughing at me. "I didn't realise who I was talking to."

Something about her smile made me feel as if she was thinking of a fond memory. "It was just after you came to the island, you had no way of knowing I was an actual goddess."

"There were rumours, I just didn't believe them. Not many gods go by their real identities."

"You'd be surprised," she responded, watching Po-lo as he swam lopsidedly through the tank. "Most of us only have human names because we have to for paperwork, but in our day-to-day lives, we still go by our real names."

"What's your human name?" I didn't think she'd ever told me it.

"Samantha."

"It doesn't suit you," I blurted out.

She laughed. "No, it never felt right. But it's easy to explain why people call me Sama. But I don't need it very often. The enchantments placed on this island long ago mean that only paranormals and gods come here anyway."

"I don't understand how they really work." Though it was one of the things that had attracted me to the island in the first place. It meant that I didn't have to hide that part of myself, whereas in many other situations, I would have. Here, if I felt the need to shift and go for a swim, I could do just that.

"No one does. The spells are so old that there isn't a soul alive who remembers how they came to be. Gods included." She swished her hand through the top of the water, bringing the boisterous seal to her.

The seals always seemed to be their most playful when she was around.

"Anyway, I would like it if you came to the party," she said. "I'm sure Aphrodite has a guest list longer than her arm already, it would be nice if there was someone there that I like to talk to." She met my gaze, her dark blue eyes sparkling like the very depths of the sea.

"I'd like that," I said.

"Great." Her smile lit up her face, making her seem even more beautiful than normal. "And if you could get me the director's number so I can pass it on to Aphrodite, that would be great."

"I can do that for you now," I said, gesturing for us to hear back to the office, though part of me wanted to prolong her being here, even if it was just so that I could talk to her more.

But that was selfish. I was at work, which meant my focus should be on the seals, and she was clearly organising her event.

A party where there would be lots of eligible people who'd be vying for her attention.

An uneasy feeling settled within me. I wasn't sure what to make of that, or why it was making me so uneasy even if I knew there was no competing against gods she'd known for hundreds or even thousands of years.

And yet, there was a part of me that still wanted to try.