Page 1 of Little Shake of Salt

BARISTA

“I want a mate.”

This was how it always started, of course. A monster showing up in my cooler, in my cafe, on my doorstep—begging me to findthe onefor them. Their fated mate. Their forever and always. The balm to soothe their aching soul.

Typically, though, these words were not spoken to me by a mermaid floundering angrily in a bathtub.

This was one of those moments in myverylong and incredibly chaotic life where I questioned if I was really cut out to be a father. I lovedallof my children, but the two lingering behind me with big eyes were going to be the true death of me.

Layla called me. I was glad she did. I never wanted her to feel like she couldn’t call me, and of course I’d rushed to help. I’d never deny my children help.

Butgods damn it all,this was another disaster. Not only were we risking human attention at this point, but every day my eldest flexed her growing Grim Reaper muscles was another day I feared our family was in danger.

My eldest son cleared his throat. “I’m going to go help clean Sage’s apartment,” Luca said.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I said gruffly. Layla had opened a portal to try to move boxes out of our human friend’s apartment, and instead, she’d opened a portal to the ocean and kidnapped a mermaid. “Neither you nor Layla are going anywhere.”

“But the mermaid is . . .”

She let out a violent hiss. “Don’t tell me you’reembarrassedby my nipples, human runt.”

“Once again, I’m not a human.” Luca crossed his arms. His cheeks were turning red now that the obvious was pointed out. “I just don’t wantyouto be embarrassed.”

“I am not. You’re not even my type.”

“Well, you’re not my type either.”

Layla sighed. “Luca,shut up. You’re making everything worse.”

“I don’t match monsters and humans. I don’t need to be here with a half-naked mer?—”

I turned my head, giving him a cold look that had his spine stiffening. Yes, the mermaid’s tits were out. Why the fuck would a mermaid wear a bra? She lived in the ocean, in her own underwater world, away from the societies shaped by humanity.

“I’m sorry,” Luca sighed. “That comment was uncalled for. I’ll stay here.”

Layla inched toward the bathroom door. “I should help Sage?—”

“You have done enough, Layla,” I snapped.

I heard the movements outside the bathroom as everyone attempted to clean up Sage’s flooded apartment. Their mate, a tall posh mothman, was soothing them. They werelaughingabout this predicament, which was good. Fitz was always such a light-hearted fellow. I envied him for that, actually. It did make me feel a lot better that despite the disaster at hand, both Sage and Fitz were in good spirits. I knew they were the perfect match.

The mermaid cleared her throat. “I don’t really care to be here for this family spat, Barista. But I am owed a boon, am I not? For beingportaledout of my home, suffocating on the floor, and having to sit in this humiliating bathtub with mybreastsout.”

I massaged my temples. Merpeople were always like this. The last time I’d matched a merman, it was because he’d interrupted my vacation withdemandsI find him a mate because of something else I owed his people from a couple hundred years ago. “Yes, you are owed a boon. What is your name?”

She sniffed, tipping her head up with pride. “You should know, shouldn’t you?”

“Creature, if I knew every name of every monster in this world, I would be akin to a god.”

A wry smile played across her lips. “And are you not?”

“Tell me your name,” I said sternly. “And tell me what you seek.”

“Many know me asHer Highness of Northern Atlantis, but you can call me Marina. That title is not even my full name, but it does not matter. About thirty years ago, I picked out a human-sounding one so my future mate would not struggle with it.”

The headache increased tenfold. In fact, it turned out, I had matched Marina’s older brother about twenty-six years ago. Nerio and Ofelia.

Which also meant, not only had Layla managed to pluck a mermaid out of the fucking ocean, she’d managed tokidnap a princess.