The moment he and Mark crossed into the bay, he’d felt it. That low, thrumming awareness beneath the water. Not sound. Not movement. Something deeper, almost ancient. Watching, waiting. Like the very place was sentient.
He kept his hands tucked casually into his coat pockets as they walked through the town from the small harbour, posture loose, expression bored, because that was the trick, wasn’t it? Look like you belonged, and most people didn’t question it.
Most people and most towns… but Krakens Hole was different. For starters, it was a paranormal town. No normal humans present.
“You feel that?” Mark muttered beside him, not bothering to hide the edge in his voice.
Spencer didn’t look at him. “If I say no, will you shut up about it?”
“No.”
“Then yes.”
Mark huffed under his breath. “Good. Thought I was imagining the wholelooming death from belowthing.”
Spencer allowed himself the smallest flicker of a smirk. His brother wasn’t far wrong, though. But his attention stayed outward. On the streets, the people, just the energy of the place. Krakens Hole was, in short,strange.
Not in the obvious way that every paranormal town had its quirks, but in the way itsettled. Like it knew exactly what it was and didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. There was power here, old and rooted, threaded through every building and every passing face.
And protecting it all… the guardians and protectors.
Spencer’s gaze drifted briefly toward the waterline and out into the small bay, the water looming, dark and ominous.
Three Krakens, and not just any krakens—thekrakens. The ones whispered about in every port, every tavern, every shadowed corner where paranormals traded stories and warnings. Massive beasts of ancient power, unforgiving and ferocious.
Most creatures could pass through their territory unnoticed if they showed respect. Kept their heads down. Paid their silent dues to the deep.
Spencer and Mark didn’t have that luxury. Because the moment they stepped into the water, the guardians would know.
Not immediately, but eventually they would, because a Kraken would recognise another Kraken’s presence, especially ones that were not local.
And that was a problem.
“Well,” Mark said lightly, though his eyes were scanning just as sharply as Spencer’s. “On the bright side, if we die horribly, at least it’ll be somewhere scenic.”
“Well that’s comforting,” Spencer replied dryly.
They walked on, neither of them mentioning the obvious elephant or “Kraken” in the room. They had avoided this place for a reason.
Years of work. Hundreds of jobs. Entire continents crossed without stepping foot anywhere near Krakens Hole.
And yet, here they were, all because some bounties didn’t come with a choice.
Spencer’s jaw tightened slightly as his thoughts shifted to their employer… The Smokeclaw clan. The name alone carried weight. It was an old dragon clan. Powerful and very political. The kind that didn’t ask for things, theyexpectedthem.
And what they expected now…
Was their missing heir.
“Find her,” the envoy had said, voice smooth and cold as polished stone. “And return her home. The wedding has been delayed long enough.”
Delayed. As if the girl had simply misplaced herself. Spencer suppressed a scoff.
“Every tracker before you has failed,” the envoy had continued, eyes narrowing slightly. “You are our last resort.”
That had been the part that mattered, not the challenge and not the reputation.
Theterms,though, had made them stop. A bounty large enough that even Spencer blinked, large enough that Mark had gone suspiciously quiet, and large enough that refusing it hadn’t really been an option.
