Page 27 of The Baker and the Kraken

“So you’re not just a really, really giant squid?” Adam asked when they parted, a teasing light in his eyes.

Calder barked out a laugh. “No. Mythical shifters are very rare, especially these days, but we do still exist. Most of us can… hibernate, I guess you’d call it, for a time, when we grow tired of the world. But we’re still here.”

“What, uh, kind of shifters are mythical? I mean, if you’re allowed to say.”

Calder’s mate was still here in his arms and was praising him for the fact that he’d turned into something that many people considered an eldritch horror. Calder would tell him anything he wanted to know.

“Many of the fabled creatures from human legend, including sea serpents, dragons, wolpertinger, unicorns, kitsune, phoenixes, baku, hellhounds, and more. We don’t tend to be terribly social, although there are exceptions.”

Adam’s eyes went round. “Wow.”

“Like I said, we’re very rare, and we can sleep through years, sometimes decades.”

Possibly even centuries, though Calder had never slept that long at once.

Adam’s brow furrowed a little, and Calder reached out to smooth it with his thumb.

“What is it?”

“Why would you want me?” Adam asked softly.

Calder cupped his face and kissed him until a wolf whistle reminded them that they weren’t totally alone on the pier. Adam flushed rosy, but Calder didn’t let him go.

“Because you’re you. You’re my mate, and you’re kind and smart and clumsy and bake the best cakes I’ve ever tasted.”

Adam looked like he couldn’t decide if he should protest or not. Calder leaned in and pressed another soft kiss to his lips.

“Because you were made for me, and I was made for you. I’ve got enough arms to keep you steady.”

Adam’s eyes went glassy, but he blinked back the tears, and the slowly dawning smile on his face reassured Calder that he wasn’t upset.

“Yeah, I guess you do.” He sniffed. “Maybe bonds and mates aren’t as bad as I thought. You can keep me steady, and I’ll bake you all the cake you could possibly eat.”

Calder grinned. “I’ve got a pretty large stomach. I can eat a lot.”

Adam’s smile grew brighter. “Challenge accepted.”

The Magic, it seemed, had known exactly what it was doing when it had led Calder to his fated mate.

They agreed that had been enough excitement for the day and took a ride share back to Adam’s apartment, cuddling in the back and not putting any strain on the Great Spell by talking about something that normal people shouldn’t overhear.

They ordered takeout on the way and managed to time it right so that the food arrived at the same time they did. Once they had a variety of Chinese food arranged on plates, they settled across from one another at the kitchen table to eat.

“Why don’t we all know about you?” Adam asked after he munched on his first egg roll, making adorable happy sounds as he ate. “Surely, you have to shift sometimes? The World Spell doesn’t somehow block it from witches and shifters too, does it?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Calder said. “I don’t know the exact parameters of the World Spell. I don’t think anyone does.” It had been created a long, long time ago. All the witches who’d designed it were long dead, and the mythical shifters who’d helped power it hadn’t been focused on the finer details. “But even witches and shifters can be uncertain about something they don’t think should exist.”

Adam was nodding slowly. “And I don’t suppose you usually roll up near the shore.”

Calder huffed a laugh. “No, not unless it’s an emergency. But to answer your question, in addition to their natural shift and their partial shift, mythical shifters have what we call an animal shift. We can appear as a more innocuous shifter if we wish.”

Adam looked stunned. “What? Really? A whole other animal?”

Calder tipped his head back and forth. “Well, a species of the same. I don’t shift into a fox.”

A smile appeared on Adam’s lips. “No, that wouldn’t suit you at all. Not enough arms. So you’re a much smaller squid?”

He nodded. “In these waters, I most often appear as a larger-than-average market squid. But much like a squid can blend in with their surroundings, I can change my appearance to any type of squid I wish.”