The Texas Shifter's Mate

Pain knifed through her. No. She wouldn’t think of this. Not today. Again, she focused on her surroundings and kinder, gentler creatures. A small group of lined seahorses swam up and gently kissed her before swimming away in search of food. Several species of whale that usually swam just a bit farther south of here surrounded her, vocalizing in the deep peaceful tones of their kind. The sound resonated, echoing off the ocean itself, filling Shayla with peace, easing the last lingering remnants of her grief.

This would always be her true home. On land, she occasionally managed to forget how much she loved the underwater world. Once here, she wondered how she ever stayed away.

Finally, she reached the outskirts of her home, a city known among her people as Coral. She swam under a natural rock archway, and as usual, the first glimpse of Coral had her heart skipping a beat.

The city glowed softly, appearing as if it had been constructed from the most precious essence of oysters, the pearl. Muted white, intermingled with bright flashes of color from the live coral gardens, from a distance her home had a mysterious, ancient air. She could only imagine what the humans would make of it if they happened to send an undetected probe close enough to photograph it.

The nearer she drew, the more the place vibrated with life. Fish as bright as the deep-water coral swam up to greet her, escorting her around the protective shield and into one of several unmarked entrances.

Inside, the city teemed with life. Merfolk, as graceful as the fish, swam in the streets, going about their daily lives. Noticing her, several greeted her and waved, others shouted hello, the sound traveling as waves through the water, tickling her skin. This made her smile. These days, sometimes she could come home and forget about her past pain.

She went directly to her parents’ house, a large free-form structure made of cobalt glass and green coral, shot through with swirling silver accents. Like all of the buildings here in Coral, the shape and color complemented the sea that surrounded them. Her family’s home was larger than the others, due to their royal status. Only the palace, where her brother now resided as king, was bigger and more ornate.

Shayla swam to the door, opening it and going inside without even knocking. Now that her parents were retired from ruling, they occupied their time with various other activities, sometimes together, more often separate. It was fifty-fifty whether she’d even find them at home.

Inside, she headed directly for the kitchen. When her mother saw her, she cried out and swam to give Shayla a hug. “You just barely caught me,” she said. “I was about to leave for afternoon class.”

On alternate days, her mother, Blythe, taught young Merfolk the art of preparing fish. Chef Blythe, the kids called her. After acting as a wise queen for several decades, Blythe had been glad to rid herself of her crown and scepter. Most days, she preferred a more casual style, unless she was teaching a cooking class. She wore her long, inky hair up in a tightly wound bun these days.

“Will you be here later today?” Blythe asked, releasing her.

Though Shayla knew her mom would be disappointed, she told her she couldn’t stay too long. “I’m actually working,” she said.

“On finding artifacts?” Blythe waved her hand in the general direction of the study. “I’m pretty sure your father has several in there waiting for you to pick up.”

“I’ll grab them before I head back,” Shayla said. “I’m actually looking for a missing Mermaid.”

“What?” For a second, Queen Blythe returned. Her mother straightened, lifting her chin and fixing Shayla with a no-nonsense stare. “Explain.”

As succinctly as possible, Shayla did. When she’d finished, Blythe frowned. “And you say her father’s name is Ion? The name sounds familiar, though I can’t place it.”

“If you do, or if you hear any information about Nantha, will you give me a call?” Shayla asked.

“I sure will.” Blythe returned her attention to what she’d been doing when Shayla arrived—packing cooking supplies into a tote. “Right now, though, I’ve got to run.”

“Where’s Dad?” Shayla asked. “Please tell me he’s not up at the castle pestering Merc again.”

“He’s not. Your brother banned him.” Blythe smiled, since they both knew such a ban wasn’t really possible. A sitting king couldn’t forbid a former ruler from visiting the castle. Nor would he really want to. “Since your father had so much difficulty with retirement, he’s gone back to fishing a lot. I tried to get him to volunteer at guppy school, but he refused. Whatever. At least he seems happy.”

“As long as he continues to look for inventory for me, that’s awesome,” Shayla said, even though no one had asked her permission. “He finds the best stuff.”

“You know he and your brother are in a competition to see who can find the most valuable artifact, don’t you?”

Intrigued, Shayla sat on one of the bar stools. Made of coral and glass, they perfectly complemented the stone countertop. “That’s actually pretty awesome,” she said.

“It’s good for you, isn’t it?” Blythe hefted her tote and squared her shoulders. “Who knew humans would pay so dearly for such things?” She smiled, hugging Shayla once more, quickly this time. “I’m sorry I can’t stay and visit, but you’re welcome to come with me and watch the class.”

“I would,” Shayla said. “But I’d planned on going around and seeing if anyone near here has ever heard of Nantha. I wish I’d thought to ask where her family lived. I figure they’re probably from this city, but I have no idea which part.” And since there were thousands of Merfolk living in Coral, she’d need to narrow it down quite a bit.”

“Nantha is an uncommon name,” Blythe mused thoughtfully. “I’ll ask around, too, and let you know if I hear anything.”

“That’d be great.”

“When will you be back?” Blythe asked as she swam toward the front door with Shayla right behind her. Despite being a retired queen, and underwater renowned chef, she’d kept her slender figure. Sometimes when she and Shayla went out together, they were mistaken for sisters. Not a hint of gray touched Blythe’s dark hair, and her face still appeared free of lines or wrinkles. Shayla hoped she’d be as fortunate when she became her mother’s age.

“I’m not sure,” Shayla admitted. “But since I plan to aggressively work this case, I imagine it will be sooner rather than later.”

Blythe cocked her head, studying her daughter. “You look happy,” she mused. “Happier than you’ve been in a long time. I think this new business venture might be agreeing with you.”

Immediately, Shayla thought of Zach. Her entire body heated. Glad her mother couldn’t see, she nodded. “I think so, too.”

With a wave, Blythe swam off. Shayla wandered around the house for a moment, peeking into the study to see what her father had found, before she left to go canvass the part of town closest to her parents’ home. She figured it couldn’t hurt, though she knew she’d do better once she learned where exactly in Coral Ion and his daughter lived.

Chapter 3 (#u4031e78b-261f-5601-8639-b2f5118eb58c)

For the next two hours, Shayla traveled up and down the busy streets, wearing her long, dark hair up in a tight bun in hopes of disguising herself. She hoped no one would stop her, wanting to talk about Richard’s death or asking her where she’d been. The harder she made it to recognize her, the better her ability to move about freely.

She wasn’t sure, but maybe so much time had passed that people didn’t recognize her. No one even gave her a second look as she made her rounds, stopping into cafés and bakeries, shops and drugstores, asking everyone she met if they’d heard anything about a missing Mermaid called Nantha. If anyone who recognized her was surprised to see Princess Shayla, back home in Coral, they didn’t show it. She was greeted with enthusiasm from everyone, and by now it seemed they felt enough time had passed that they no longer offered her their condolences. Maybe they believed the reminder would only make her sad. Since she tried not to think about Richard or the void he’d left in her life, she felt relieved.

As for Nantha, no one had heard anything, nor did the name sound familiar. Which meant Zach’s stepsister hadn’t been connected in any way to the royal family, close or extended. That left three other quadrants of the city yet to be explored. This search could take several days, as Coral was a good size.

Shayla made a mental note to use the photo of the girl she’d gotten from Zach and make up some laminated posters to place around town. That and prepare a list of questions to ask him once he’d signed the contract, starting with exactly where the missing Mermaid had lived and where she’d gone to school, and if she’d had a job. Shayla needed to speak with her friends, find out if Nantha had a serious boyfriend or if she’d had any man or girlfriend trouble.

Though she wanted to speak to her father before heading back to Galveston, she had no way of knowing where exactly in the vast ocean he’d decided to go fishing. Briefly, she entertained the idea of visiting the castle and saying hello to her brother, but with all the court protocol, she decided to skip it this time.

Which meant this trip had accomplished nothing. Mentally chastising herself, Shayla got ready for the long swim home. She stopped by her parents’ house once more to pick up the three artifacts her father had found. Bundling them into her backpack, she swam away. Though she hadn’t had any success, she’d been operating on very little information. At least now, she felt better prepared for the meeting tonight at Broken Chains. Once Zach had signed the contract and answered her questions, she’d be better able to spring into action and help find his stepsister.

All the way home, she kept an eye out for great white sharks. Luckily, she didn’t encounter any. Though usually the vivid sea life relaxed her, she felt uneasy. Uncomfortable in her own skin, especially her Mermaid tail. The relative quietness of her swim home did little to distract her from thinking about Zach. Though she’d never admit it to her friends—heck, she could barely admit it to herself—something about him drew her. Mostly his raw sexual appeal. After all, it had been years since she’d opened her body to a man.

When she finally reached her boat again, Shayla pushed off her exhaustion, and she swam close. Reaching up, she grabbed hold of the back step and pulled only her upper body out of the water. Shoulders and neck, nothing more. A quick look around to ensure there weren’t any witnesses, and she initiated the change from fish tail to human legs keeping that part of herself hidden beneath the waves. Sometimes this could be painful, especially after a long swim like she’d had today.

At least the exercise helped her nerves. Though her legs were weak, she wobbled up her pier after securing her boat, glad her neighbors paid little attention to her.

Once she got inside her house, she took a hot shower and prepared herself a meal. Though normally she relished the quietness of living alone, tonight she felt restless, even lonely. She didn’t like that. She hadn’t felt that way in a long time.

To keep herself busy, she decided to clean up the things her father had found for her so she could list them on her website for sale. They were really great artifacts. One of them, a remarkably intact little treasure chest most likely from a sunken ship, contained ancient gold coins and an assortment of brightly colored gemstones. She’d most likely sell them separately, though she might offer them up together and see if she had any takers.

This alone would fetch a pretty penny. The other two things—excellent finds on their own—would also sell quickly. Good, because she had a hunch she’d have to finance the Shadow Agency until it got up and running. Which might actually be a while. Though Zach, as her first client, would help pay some of the expenses, his bill wouldn’t be enough to support them for too long.

Zach. She thought of his tall, powerful body. Muscular and rugged, everything about him seemed the opposite of Mermen, who were, as a general rule, trim and slender. Zach wore his masculinity like a cloak, and his confidence beckoned to her. Zach! There he was again, intruding into her peaceful afternoon. This first case felt more like helping a friend than a job, despite the fact that she’d never met Zach before. Except tonight they’d be signing a contract and money would change hands. How much, Shayla had no idea. Maddie would be handling the amount of their fee, promising it would be reasonable and in keeping with what other people charged.

Since no one knew, Maddie had promised to research what kind of rates private investigation firms charged and type up a handy guide for each of them. Carmen had said something about finding them office space, which could become really interesting since no one even knew where Carmen lived or how her taste ran in buildings. Shayla had to wonder what kind of space the Vampire would consider normal for a business such as theirs.

Of the three, only Shayla had begun the physical investigative part of things. Maddie had scoured the internet and reached out to her contacts, while Carmen had asked questions down near the waterfront. Of course, Shayla was the only one able to explore under the sea. Once the contract had been signed, she’d also go to the Neptune Pod, which was the Merfolk equivalent of the Shifter Pack Protectors. She had no doubt Nantha’s father would have already started the process of beginning an investigation, but it couldn’t hurt to let them know someone else was actively searching, as well. Especially a royal princess.

* * *

Though worry still made his chest tight, at least now Zach felt a renewed sense of hope. Running into the two women at Broken Chains had been the luckiest thing to happen to him in years. As one day turned into two without word from his sister, desperation had set in. Now, just because he’d made an impulsive decision to stop in the bar for a drink, he’d have help. He definitely didn’t mind paying for assistance, because with Ion gone under the sea and his mother an emotional wreck, he’d never felt so alone and powerless.