He was partially at fault for not instituting better security around their place of work, Oceanic Shift. He had been complicit because he had not done enough to prevent Marty, Kinsley, and eight other women from being snatched off the city streets. The only bright spot in the entire daunting situation was that the idiots had snatched eight women from Oceanic’s front step. Only two women out of the ten hadn’t worked for Oceanic. Of the eight who did, five of them were shifters. And one was a rare sea witch.

None of the six smelled like the sea—they were among Oceanic’s deepest secrets. Two of the women, Marty and her partner, Kinsley, were trained agents for Oceanic Shift. The six women had saved themselves and the four human women.

Despite this, his heart hadn’t stopped pounding, one day later.

I nearly lost her. This refrain hammered through him with alarming intensity.

Might have lost her before they ever had a chance to be together. Before she realized they were mates. Even he didn’t know for certain if they were mates. Kinsley Jacobs and Mac Atlas had only recognized they were mates after they both shifted into their beasts, at the same time. It had been apparent to all of them on the boat that day that the two were mates. [Shifter Secrets - Book 1 - Oceanic Shift Series]

Logan had firmly suppressed his envy at his long-time friend’s good fortune. Mac had admitted to being attracted to Kinsley from the start, but they hadn’t known they were mates until they shifted together.

Logan’s dilemma was in shifting. Marty had barely made peace with her own beast. No one would say this adorable woman was comfortable in her shifted form. He understood that as it had taken him years to come to terms with his own beast. The biggest, scariest one he had ever encountered. And Logan had worked for Oceanic Shift for four decades. He and Mac were both pushing old age in human years, but neither looked older than their mid-thirties. Maybe younger.

Marty and Kinsley were in their forties but neither appeared to be out of their twenties yet. Thank you, shifter genes.

New hires, both of them, Marty had worked for a couple different private investigation firms while Kinsley had honed her skills as a military contractor. Both women brought amazing skills and deadly beasts. Both were necessary to excel at their jobs.

Logan had seen Marty’s beast, but he refused to terrify her by revealing his own. There were agents who had worked for them for decades who had never witnessed his beast. Mostly because he understood the possibility of causing widespread panic.

Oceanic Shift conducted a good amount of research on the ocean and on the natural and man-made shifts in the marine environment. But it also researched and hunted down bad criminals who used their ability to shift for sport or illegal gain. Most humans had no idea shifters existed. Much less that marine shifters existed. In fact, some marine shifters were unaware that “exotic” marine shifters existed.

Mac’s, his, and all the agents’ beasts were considered exotic. His beast barreled over the line into nightmare inducing. Marty had described her own beast that way.

If she describes her beast that way, what will she think of me?

He didn’t have an answer. Logan was as reluctant as his beast to introduce Marty to said beast. He quite liked his beast, now that he’d spent time with him and got to know him. Nightmare inducing for bad guys but reassuring for good guys. Or so Mac stated. Repeatedly.

But Marty might be afraid of his beast.

Marty stopped at the next intersection to allow traffic to flow past. Others congregated with her on the sidewalk. He held back. He didn’t mind if she spotted him, but he also didn’t want her to believe he was stalking her.

I’m not, right?

His beast snorted. Mate. Can’t stalk mate.

While partially reassured, Logan didn’t grow complacent. Marty had shown no indications that she realized they were mates. She hadn’t expressed they weren’t, either. Yet he might be alone in this belief.

Until she was on board, he refused to push her. She had only just become comfortable with her shifted self.

She had shifted while kidnapped. Her beast took out a nasty octopus shifter who had been last into the water. Well, her and Kinsley. Kinsley’s beast sported lots of sharp teeth. Marty then shifted back to human form to usher the human women out of the frigid open sea and back into the safety of the boat.

Logan had been impressed by the way the six women joined forces to protect the other four. They were agreed on their purpose in taking out the vile men who had thought to kill women they believed to be vulnerable. He’d have liked to have seen the scumbags’ shock and dismay when they realized five of the women shifted into much scarier beasts than them.

Much scarier.

His own beast hummed in contentment at having met Marty’s beast. He claimed to have even spoken to her. They both felt that his beast meeting Marty’s beast was their best course. That way her beast would recognize his and reassure Marty when he expanded. And expanded and expanded and kept expanding.

The walk sign lit, but most of those who had stopped on the sidewalk had already crossed. He hurried after them. Some protector I’m turning out to be.

He reminded himself that he hadn’t lost sight of Marty. Not at all. His musings might have distracted him, but he knew where she was at every moment. His beast wouldn’t allow for anything less.

Another reason why he’d come to like and trust his beast. Part of Logan’s job at Oceanic Shift was to help other reluctant shifters come to terms with their own beasts.

He had helped Marty to shift with those she trusted. She shifted while he’d been on the boat when Mac and Kinsley discovered they were mates. He’d seen her. And she had shifted during a traumatic experience—when she and the others were kidnapped. [Shifter Secrets – Book 1 – Oceanic Shift]

This spelled the end of their working together. She was more comfortable shifting now. He had done his job.

Everything inside him disagreed.

Marty Mays wasn’t aware she held her breath until she stepped into her condo and locked the front door behind her. Then all the air suspended in her lungs whooshed out. She didn’t relax.

No, after being kidnapped, her sense of freedom and liberty had been snatched at the same time as her body. She performed a complete sweep of her home. Checked under beds, into the depths of closets, and around every corner.

Lesson learned. Her senses remained on high alert as she made a scanty dinner and retreated to her small breakfast nook to eat. She strained to listen to all the activity out in the hallway.

“Happy Friday night to me.” She cheered the nonexistent person seated across from her. Her social life kind of sucked. Where others were out with friends, enjoying the start of the weekend, she sat in her lonely apartment. Alone.

With little to no interest in any of the activities she normally enjoyed.

The feeling of being watched had increased since the kidnapping. Whether the watcher was friend or foe she hadn’t ascertained. Yet. However, her beast didn’t seem alarmed by the watching, so Marty suspected whoever kept watch was a friend.

A tiny thought infiltrated and sent a zing through her. Maybe it was him.

Even the idea of Logan Marxin watching out for her made her want to sing. Never a good idea. Her husky voice and lack of musical ability were not conducive to singing. Although… my singing might make the bad guys surrender way faster.

She shoved that thought aside to think more on being protected by the man who fired up all her senses and made her want to growl along with her beast. Attractive to the extreme, with dark hair, gray eyes, and chiseled features, she found herself clenching her teeth around him.

Yet the notion that Logan was attracted to her always deflated her. The man was seriously hot. No way on earth was he attracted to a woman who at best was considered cute.

Oh to be as beautiful as her partner Kinsley. Tall, blonde, and so beautiful she seemed unreal, Kinsley also had a great brain, good instincts, and the skill set to take care of herself and those around her.

Marty, on the other hand, had heard herself described affectionately as a cocker spaniel. And she totally saw it. Red-gold curls, big brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles, plus small, and husky voiced, she concurred on the cocker spaniel bit.

Not sexy, not beautiful. Cute.

She resisted the urge to bang her head on the table. That hurt and would likely give her a big lump that she’d have to explain. Which she did not want to do.

Men didn’t date cute women. They wanted sleek, sexy, and gorgeous like Kinsley.

Remember, Kinsley didn’t mate until this week. Until she found her mate. Once you find your mate, you’ll mate too and be everything he wants.

The voice in her head sounded like a combination of the snarky voice that lived in the back of her mind and her beast.

It held merit. Kinsley, despite being beautiful enough that she could have anyone she wanted, had waited for her mate. And she’d scored big. Mac Atlas, the director of Oceanic Shift, was a perfect contrast to Kinsley’s feminine loveliness. As handsome as Kinsley was beautiful, he also had the body of a movie star, the same skill set as Kinsley, only more, due to his longer tenure at Oceanic, and he was a good man.

He and Kinsley suited each other in every aspect. Even their beasts were the same. Kinsley once voiced the fear that she’d never meet someone with the same shifter form.

Marty thought about her beast. A scary, nightmare inducing one that wasn’t sleek or sexy either. Although she certainly could not be classified as cute. Other than her tendency to tickle her colleagues.

Huh.

Wait, do my co-workers think she’s cute? Even though she’s not, it’s her actions and her sense of fun that makes them not fear her. Same with my nephews and niece. They’re not afraid of her, even though she is scary.

This thought process completely changed a few tightly held beliefs that she had lugged around since her first shift. After the daunting realization that she wasn’t a dolphin shifter like her family.

They all smelled of the sea. She did not. They all were funny, wonderful animals who enjoyed swimming together as a pod. Marty had never been able to participate.

Not only because her beast was so much bigger than their sinuous shapes, but also because swimming wasn’t something she needed to do much in her shifted form. She could park in one place and wreak havoc.

Swimming was possible for her, and she was fast, but moving wasn’t necessary.

Marty brooded on this. It wouldn’t do to brood about her beast’s incompatibility with her family’s dolphins all night. Maybe she should lose herself in a book, a movie, or the internet.

None of those options appealed.

What do you want to do?

This errant little question circulated through her brain.

I want to spend the evening with Logan.

That’s not going to happen though. She stared listlessly at her pathetic little meal.

At least if I have to stay in tonight, I should be able to eat pizza.

Pizza sounded wonderful. Her stomach offered a rousing growl of agreement. Okay, that’s settled. A delicious meat pizza it is. Her beast had worked hard this week, and she liked her meat. Marty could forgo it, but she decided to treat her beast. And herself after a long week.

A quick call to the delicious pizza shop around the corner and she placed her order. If she got the largest size, she’d have leftovers for the rest of the weekend.

Can’t we share this? Her beast’s small question made her long for things that she wanted but seemed far out of her reach.