Page 55 of Saved By the Selkie

retending to be a human woman, much less Aramis’s wife, is proving a little too much for me. First, I had to borrow some of Anna’s clothes. That in and of itself is fine—I’m not fond of clothing generally—but none of it fits me. I feel like a crab stuffed into a shell I’ve outgrown.

Next, I have no idea how to be ladylike. Or even what that means. When we practiced around the campfire, I tried to emulate Anna, which earned baffled laughter from the three humans.

Apparently, Anna is the opposite of ladylike. I’m not quite sure what that means or how I should behave.

For the most part, it seems to mean shutting up and following Aramis around without question. That isn’t really something I’m used to. And it’s definitely not something I’m good at. After all, if I was good at following other people’s orders, I would have went with Vati to the North Beach. I’d be mated to some other alpha now.

Which means I wouldn’t be standing here now, pretending to be Aramis’s … wife. Whatever a wife is. Nobody’s bothered to explain that to me yet, although I guess it really doesn’t matter.

The humans sitting on the dock are giving me a funny look. “Awful homely wife,” one of them says, and the other elbows him, shaking his head.

“There’s no accounting for taste, Jans.”

Aramis colors up to his ears. I glance between the three of them, but I have no idea what’s happening. I shift Blizz in my arms.

Porthos lands a heavy hand on my shoulder, knocking me forward. “Ya got something t’ say about my sister?” he snarls at the one named Jans, who pales.

“No,” he says quickly.

Porthos grunts, then nods. “Didn’t think so,” he says, then pats me on the shoulder again. “Come along, Lira.”

Lira?I give him a quizzical look, but he just jerks his head and indicates I should walk up the gangway.

Aramis gets stopped behind me. “And just where do you think you’re going?” one of the sailors asks him, giving him a shove.

Aramis gestures after me. Porthos forms a wall behind him. Anna’s crossed her arms; a frown clouds her face.

The sailor isn’t intimidated at all. Instead, he shakes his head, wagging a finger at them. I turn around, ready to descend. It seems like I’m going to have to defend my mate. Again.

I wonder if all human alphas are so hapless.

The other sailor bumps Aramis. “You ain’t paid your way,” he sneers.

“I thought we could work,” Aramis offers. He seems genuinely surprised.

Jans folds his arms, his lip curling. “Who says we need ya? Ya got two women with ya—”

“Hey,” Anna and I chorus at the same time.

“And a babe-in-arms,” Jans finishes. “How you gonna pay for all that? There’s only two men.”

“I’ll pay my own way,” Anna says hotly, pushing past them.

“And what’s a woman gonna do?” Jans sneers, and she elbows him in the gut.

“Everything you do,” she says, “and then some.” She pauses on the gangplank beside me, putting her hands on her hips as she glares down at them.

Jans scowls at her; his companion’s look isn’t much friendlier. He turns back to Aramis and Porthos. “And what about the other one?”

“I can work,” I offer, and everyone glowers at me. Anna elbows me, shaking her head.

“You’re nursing the babe,” she says, and the edge in her voice tells me I need to shut up before I blow our cover. Then she looks back at the sailors. “The babe doesn’t need to take out of your rations.”

“Aye, but the mother does,” Jans grumbles, eyeing me. “And from the look of her …”

I frown. What iswrongwith humans? Among selkies, being heftier is good. It means you won’t freeze to death, and it usually means you’re a good hunter.

Humans are weird, I remind myself for the umpteenth time. Every time I think I have them figured out, they do something else to remind me they’re a supremely messed up bunch.