Sharkbait

I was biting back laughter as I watched the boys looking back and forth like this was a tennis match. Makani finally got Ricardo’s attention, pulling him into a deep kiss, and Noelani wasn’t far behind. “Oh Luna, you really did it now,” I sent to Kai.

“Do I have to kill them?” He was not happy watching his little sisters getting hot and bothered with his friends. “They just turned eighteen! And they are still in high school!”

“And they are closer in age than you and Amy are, and she didn’t wait until she graduated to be with you,” I replied. “Manuel and Ricardo aren’t much older than they are. Still, they are human, so things will go slower with them than with a wolf.”

“Damn right they will.” He watched as the girls clung to their men as they took them up the stairs and into the salon, finding places on the couch to continue making out. Kai took Amy’s hand and followed Fiona and I up the stairs.

I closed the salon sliding door behind me. “Anyone have any ideas how we explain this to the twins without telling them the truth,” I asked them all over the link.

“Nope,” Kai answered. “Guys,” he said loudly, getting their attention. “Go down to the extra stateroom, shower and change.”

The girls didn’t want to let them go, but obeying orders was drilled into them. They got up, grabbed their bags, and followed Kai below decks. With three SEALs here, I gave Fiona the night off; she would be back for me after lunch tomorrow.

“Girls, with me.” Makani and Noelani followed Amy and I into the kitchen. “This could end up being a mess, so I want you to figure it out now. Call your parents and let them know what is going on before the guys get back up here. Amy, you call Alpha Steven and fill him in. And EVERYONE start thinking of how we’re going to get you out of this situation without revealing the existence of the mate bond.”

“Would that be so bad? They ARE our mates,” Makani said.

“They’re human, and you never know how they will react. If they were in love with you, what do you imagine is going to happen now that you’ve gone all wife swap on them? It’s WAY too early for that; you need them to be totally committed to you before you spring that surprise. Now get going.” The twins moved back into the salon and Amy went down to her stateroom, where her computer was set up. I started working on dinner. I wasn’t their Alpha, but I was the dominant wolf and the one Alpha Steven left in charge down here.

I’d prepped a big tray of lasagna after lunch, and I pulled that out of the fridge after starting the oven. I had time to slice, butter, and season the Italian bread with garlic before I put the tray in. I set the timer, then went downstairs to talk to Amy. “You guys decent,” I sent.

“Come on in,” she said. She and Kai were still on video call with Alpha Steven, so I sat on his other side. They were discussing whether the girls would be able to resist the mating impulse with the boys.

“I think you all need to come clean with the twins and with Hammer,” Steven said. “The longer this goes on, the greater the chance you don’t control how they find out.”

“Isn’t it too early,” I asked.

“Normally, I’d say yes, but we’re not dealing with normal people here. The Jimenez boys are warriors, and while they may not feel the full bond with the girls yet, they are loyal to Kai. Exposing their secret would go against that loyalty.” I hadn’t thought of it that way. They’d been on Kai’s boat crew from the beginning, a bond that was forged through incredible adversity. “Once they get past the idea that the girls switched on them, they’ll be fine.”

“How do we deal with that,” Kai asked. “They were clearly confused about the whole thing. I think they felt they were playing a trick on them.”

“With the truth. They didn’t feel right about how things were going, and seeing them again made them realize they’d been matched up with the wrong one. I bet by the morning they’re just fine with it.”

The morning. Thank Luna that I had a fourth stateroom! I sent the idea to the twins over the link, not knowing what their parents might say. “This weekend will be difficult to pull off; I have the auction tomorrow night, and I need to plan it if we want to be somewhere remote. I can’t have them running off, and we’re surrounded by people here.”

“Play it by ear, Vicki. I trust the three of you will help them through this. Ideally, you’d do this at sea where they can’t run, and if worse comes to worse, you can take them out.”

I didn’t even want to think of what it would do to the girls if their men rejected them and what they were. We’d have to kill them to protect our secret, and that would hurt us all. “I’ll see about next weekend; I’ll see if I can get a Captain down here to take us out.”

“Keep me posted,” Steven said. “And talk to Susan; it might be best to lay this on Hammer at the same time.”

“I’ll talk to Mom once we figure it out,” Amy replied. “Thank you, Alpha.”

“Remember that this is good news,” he said. “The girls are truly blessed to find their mates early, and their mates are strong humans. If they make the change, they will be formidable additions to the Pack. Vicki, place Alpha command on them; their wolves are not to shift or claim them without my permission.”

“I understand, Alpha. Goodnight.” Kai closed up the video call while I asked the girls to come in. They left their men upstairs and filed into the room. “We’ve got some things to talk about after speaking with Alpha Steven. He’s placing Command on you. You are not to shift or claim your mates without his permission.” As a mantled Alpha heir, I commanded their wolves to obey. It wasn’t as strong as it would be with Steven here, but it would help control their wolves until he could reinforce it.

“Thank you,” Noelani said. “My wolf was pushing for control; she wants her mate.”

“What did you tell the boys when you saw them? They must have asked what was going on.”

“We said we felt like we were better matches this way. They were confused, but we’ll get them over it,” Makani responded. “I shut down Ricardo when he asked if we were going to have an open relationship thing going on. I told him if he looked at Noelani that way again, he’d be sleeping back on the base.”

“My way or the highway,” Noelani said. “Manuel couldn’t say ‘yes ma’am’ fast enough.”

That was a relief. I pulled a quarter out and looked at Makani. “Call it in the air,” I said.

“Heads.” It was tails. “Makani, you and Ricardo can take the twin bed up in the crew’s quarters. Noelani, you stay in your stateroom.” The girls started grinning widely, while Kai started to growl. “You need to be careful, girls. Control your wolves, and don’t go too fast. Your first times should be special.”

“And you better use these,” Amy said as she pulled a box of condoms out of her bedside table. She split them up between the two girls.

“And for Luna’s sake, keep the noise down,” I said as I looked towards Amy, who started turning red. “I can’t believe everyone is getting laid but ME.” I walked to the door, heading up the stairs to the main deck. The twins were waiting for their girls to come up, and the girls decided to test them. Standing next to each other, they waited to see who would approach who.

Luckily, Navy men know the right answer when given, and soon the two pairs were engaged in heated liplocks again. I went back to the kitchen and worked on the salads while they moved to the salon. When Amy came up, she and Kai helped set up the outdoor table on the fantail for dinner. It was such a nice evening, and the breeze would help keep the smell of their pheromones from building up.

With three happy couples and the ‘plus one,’ I felt a little left out. That feeling went away as soon as they all started talking about who they could set me up with. Classmates, instructors, students at the Dojo; left to their own devices, I’d be wading through months of pointless dating. “Guys, please. I’m all right,” I said. “Honestly, between school, Bodyglove stuff, and preparing to film the series, I don’t have TIME for a guy right now.”

“Well, your show just got a lot more boring,” Kai said with a grin. “You aren’t just dragging along a married lady now, the other two have serious boyfriends.”

“Serious?” I looked at the Jimenez brothers. “No veo anillos en sus dedos?” (I don’t see rings on their fingers?)

“No por mucho tiempo,” Manuel replied as Ricardo nodded his head. (Not for long.)

“El que duda está perdido,” Noelani said with a grin. (He who hesitates is lost.)

“A menos que quieras que salgamos con otras personas en el extranjero,” Makani added. (Unless you want us to date others while overseas.)

The boys looked at each other, panicked. “Where’s the nearest jewelry store,” Ricardo asked.

“You don’t need to do it NOW,” I said. “Let’s just enjoy the evening.” Dinner was good, and Amy cleared the table while I grabbed the dessert out of the oven. Pecan pie with French Vanilla ice cream was the perfect way to end the meal.

The girls cleared the dishes away and went to get drinks, leaving me alone with Kai and his friends. “Are the two of you all right with what happened today?”

“It was weird, but it worked out fine,” Manuel said. “Honestly, it kind of fell out that way the first weekend we were over. I would have been cool with either one, but Makani was the one who put lotion on my back, and I didn’t want to mess it up.”

“Noelani was such a sweet girl; when she came to me, I was happy with it. I’m just glad it’s all worked out.”

“I was kidding about the rings, guys. You have time. Those girls are falling hard for you, and you don’t have to worry about them on our trip. I’ll take care of them,” I promised.

“Take your time, develop the relationships, and if you get engaged? Make it memorable.”

Amy just laughed. “Like you?”

“I fell in love with you the moment I saw you,” Kai said. “I wasn’t going to wait another moment.”

I let out a sigh. “I’m surrounded,” I said. “I have some work to do. You guys enjoy yourselves, and try to keep it down tonight.” We all got up and went back inside, and I went down to shower and get ready for bed.

I checked my email and messages; Sotheby’s wanted me there for the 2 PM auction start, a time picked to allow the European buyers to get in.

Mercedes asked me to wear two particular dresses she had sent tomorrow, both new designs that would be released soon. The paparazzi would be all over the auction and my evening. She’d scheduled me for a meeting with the Bodyglove executives over dinner, where they wanted to discuss my television series plans.

I pored over budget estimates and the daily report on production issues from Linda Cartwright until my eyes glazed over. I headed to bed, turning on music to drown out the sounds of the happy couples on board.