The Skunk, the Tibetan Fox and Their Wolf Omega by Lorelei M. Hart
Chapter Six
Leif
My first days at work had been busy but fantastic. I did have some experience, but apparently Karma had been honest with the manager at Animals SD about just how much, and he’d arranged for me to shadow their main DJ and learn what their clientele expected and enjoyed. Also, how to use the equipment because this new club had all the latest and greatest, and there was much to take in.
The club itself was amazing, and I’d been lucky enough to get digs in one of the lower-level staff apartments. My place didn’t have an ocean view but the open common area at the front of the building did, and I found myself spending a lot of my downtime there. Some of my desire to get to the ocean had eased with the view, but on my first day off, I decided to visit the object of my dreams and maybe dip a toe into the ocean. I packed a towel, a water bottle, and a snack in my backpack, and drove down the hill, headed for the beach. “The” beach was a relative term in a place like San Diego where there were numerous stretches of white sand to spread my towel out on while sunbathing. Not knowing a lot about what made one better than another, I drove toward the coast then followed signs to beach parking and then directions to pay at the self-serve device.
We’d had a few days with some early fog, but today was all sunshine all the time, and I congratulated myself on my choice of days to visit. All right, it was my day off, but since I worked nights, I could finagle a little sun time almost anytime. And if this was what I could expect to find, that was going to happen.
Maybe next time I could see if any of my coworkers would like to come along. While I hadn’t gotten to know anyone too well yet, everyone was friendly enough, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to.
About to walk out onto the sand, I spotted a kiosk that offered rentals of all things beach. A picture of a Boogie Board on the front reminded me that I’d wanted to try one for a long time, and I veered toward the stand with that in mind. An old guy, some kind of fox, from what my wolf said, faced away from me, arranging sunglasses on a display.
“Hello? I’d like to rent a Boogie Board?”
The man turned around still holding a pair of sunglasses. “You and everyone else.” He waved at an open section of the stand. “Just sent my employee out to test drive our last one.”
Not odd at all. I suppressed my irritation. “Why? Was it acting up?”
“A Boogie Board?” He smirked. “Not much that can go wrong with those unless you forget to use the leash. If you want, I can start a wait list, and you can check back in a little bit? Dakota should be back soon. You could rent some skates while you wait?”
“Uh, no on the skates but yes on the list. Why not?” I almost suggested giving him my number to text but he didn’t look too high tech, and I didn’t mind checking back. It was my day off to relax. “Thanks very much.”
“If you haven’t been here before,” the man called after me, “just head straight down to the water. It’s the best part of the whole beach.”
“Okay.” It all looked about the same to me, but what did I know? “Thanks for the advice.” It was a fair walk down to the water’s edge, but I didn’t mind at all. The breakers rolled up on the sand, white foam hissing as they retreated to rejoin the ocean. I still wasn’t sure why I’d had this great desire to be at the ocean in particular, but I loved it already. The air held a particularly heady quality, and the sun warmed my skin even through my shirt.
I laid out my towel and dropped my backpack and T-shirt on top of it. For a moment, I hesitated leaving my things alone, even if it wasn’t a whole lot, but a young omega sitting on a blanket nearby with a pair of adorable toddlers flashed me a smile. “Go swim. I won’t let anyone take your stuff. We’ll just be sitting right here building castles.” He turned his gaze on the cuties. “They hate the water. Considering their dad is an Olympic swimmer, I hope they get past it.”
“They will,” I promised, having no idea how such things worked but impressed and hoping for a glimpse of the athlete. “Is your mate swimming now?”
“Boogie Boarding out there.” He waved. “With our older daughter who is as much of a fish as he is.”
“Thanks for watching my stuff.” I picked up my backpack and moved it over to where they sat. “Here. So you don’t have to divide your attention for my water bottle and granola bars.”
“All right. Go. Have fun!”
I was looking forward to getting hold of a board myself, but for now, I would take a dip and maybe body surf a little. The board made it a whole lot easier, but I was here to play, not win an Olympic medal for wave riding.
But before I could run out into the water more like a waterlogged sea lion than a Bay Watch lifeguard, a wave built high and fast and crashed right in front of me. Staggering, trying to remain upright as the foam swirled around my feet, I heard a shout. A man standing near me went down, tangled in a lead from a turquoise board. The wave’s retreat dragged the board, and the man with it, and without waiting to see if someone else would help, I threw myself after him and landed atop him.
My wolf howled and my breath whooshed out of me, but I hung on and dug my knees into the wet sand while gripping the board and trying to keep it from taking both of us into the ocean. Then hands were on my ankles and people were pulling us back from the freak giant wave and a possible salty death.
“What the hell, dude?” one of our rescuers shouted while I tried to untangle the leash from the other guy’s ankle. “Never heard of using the leash? That board came flying out of nowhere. Did you see what almost happened?”
“I’m so sorry.” Another man staggered out of the water, limping, and flung himself down beside us. “It’s totally my fault. My first time trying out a board and I somehow forgot the leash. And there’s no excuse for it at all, since I rent the things. My boss is going to kill me.”
“Dakota?” I couldn’t help it. Knowing his name made it so much more logical than what my wolf was telling me was true. About him and about the man I had just managed to extricate from the curly leash.
“How do you know my name?” He reached for the other man’s leg then let his hands drop. “Who are you?”
“Your boss told me your name when I went on the wait list for this board.”
“We don’t have a wait list.” He frowned. “I don’t think. I wonder if I was supposed to be doing one.”
“And,” I plowed on, “I’m your mate. Both of you.”
Silence surrounded us, including those who had helped us. A very built man and his cute preteen daughter grinned at us. Must be the Olympian.
Finally, the guy who’d almost been dragged out to sea spoke up, “I don’t think we’re all mates. It’s just the heat of the moment. But thanks for saving me.”
“Me, either, but can you forgive me? Do you want to see a doctor?” Dakota asked. “I feel terrible.”
“I’m more worried about you. What happened to your leg?”
My wolf was whuffing up a storm deep inside me. He knew, as I did, that we were mates, and the two who were so concerned about each other? They’d figure it out when the adrenaline from the near disaster faded.
Of course they would!
All my dreams of the ocean made perfect sense now. Fate was directing me to this time and place and the future.