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The rays of the early morning summer sun beat down upon Dave’s exposed tentacles. The long lengths curled around the warm rocks whilst the rest of his huge mass was still submerged. He loved the heat of the sun on his Kracken skin, loved the smell and taste of the sea.

Nothing compared to life as a Kracken, in his opinion, he had the freedom to swim the ocean, occasionally terrorizing ships as he search for his mate.

That's what Dave had always believed his life would be, freedom and matehood.

Boy, was he wrong.

Over the past six months, everything that he had known had changed, his simple quiet life as a Kracken had been turned on its head. He owed that to three females. Three witches who had not only changed his life, but his brothers’ and the inhabitants of his home, Kracken’s Hole.

A small town that was set within a cove off the coast of Dorset, England.

There was no access on land, and the only way into the town was via a special ferry, hidden to normal mortals.

It was also protected by a magical barrier, created by witches long ago, that stopped the simple mortal folk from finding their little town.

Although it was protected and kept off the human radar, that didn't stop problems from occurring on the regular. As protectors of Kracken’s Hole, the Moonchild Witches had restored the wards and taken up the mantle of protecting Merlin's Gate.

A source of great power, and as with all conduits of great power, it was sought after by many an evil villain.

In the short time the witches had called Kracken’s Hole their home, they had diverted a few catastrophic events. Although one such event had cost the life of his oldest brother, Maximus.

Dave missed his big brother, but his brother had protected Maeve and saved her life with his own. His statue now stood pride of place within the cavern guarding Merlin’s Gate. Dave would spend a great deal of time there. Talking to his brother’s statue even though he wasn't there.

Everything had happened so fast, and Dave hated that fact. Things had changed, his other brother, Brutas, was mated. Mated to a human, a Moonchild Witch… but that wasn't what made Dave uneasy.

The powers that had been released when the Witches had gone to battle had somehow managed to make it so Brutas and now Dave could do what no other Kracken before them had been able to do.

Shift to human… Brutas loved it. Dave not so much.

Dave liked his tentacles, liked being a creature of myth and legend, and he liked terrorizing the boats.

He also couldn't understand why his brother enjoyed having only a few extremities.

It was beyond him. With his tentacles, Dave could do multiple things at once, he could propel himself through the water at great speeds and could rip boats apart.

Although the last one he had been banned from doing.

Maeve had even bopped him on the nose the last time he had gotten rough with a few of the fishing vessels.

Apparently, he had been seen… Dave sighed. He missed the days when he was a myth, and they didn't think he existed. Humans were now on a mission to conquer the seas and, as such, it was more difficult for creatures like him to hide.

According to his brother, Brutas, the fact they could now shift to human meant they could hide better. But every time Dave shifted, it felt wrong. He would stumble and fall… and that useless third tentacle did nothing but hang there and bounced against his leg when he walked, well attempted to.

“Dave, Dave, you around?” Maeve's voice called out from inside the cavern.

Since the last catastrophic event, a new cavern had been revealed, which led to a secluded cove where he could now sunbathe without being beached or seen. The cavern also held many eggs. Eggs that would hatch the next generation of Krackens.

“Dave,” Maeve called out again.

He sighed, both annoyed at being disturbed, but also glad to see one of his favourite humans.

Maeve was a pure soul and had always looked after him.

Yes, she used the pokey stick on him when his tentacles wandered, but she did it with a smile.

Instead of sliding back into the ocean like normal, Dave closed his eyes and focused on turning his great bulk human.

In moments this, his many tentacles vanished and, in their place, were three legs and two arms.

“Oh, there you are… whoaaaaaa.” Maeve stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“Dave, honey, we really need to make sure there are some clothes lying around here for you.”

Dave didn't answer, he still wasn't used to speaking the human way. He tilted his head to watch her as she covered her eyes with one hand and turned. With her free hand, she waved and mumbled some words.

Tingles spread over his body as clothing settled on him. Dave shivered. He hated the feeling of the material against his skin. But it's what the witch wanted.

“Phew, that’s better. Can’t have you scaring people with that thing, can we?”

Dave didn't know what she was on about, surely, he was more fearsome in his Kracken form.

“Okay, so we have a visitor coming, one who is going to help you with the hatchlings.” Maeve grinned. “Has there been any change?”

Dave shook his head, the eggs had not moved, he had checked each and every one. He had even moved the ones that felt wrong to the other side of the cave. Maeve had spotted them.

“You moved these ones? Are they…?” Maeve's eyes filled with tears; she did that a lot lately.

Dave stumbled forward and lifted one of the eggs mentioned, he placed his palm over and then placed it against his heart, shaking his head. There was no life within, he had known the moment he had touched the shell.

“Oh, that’s so sad.” Maeve shook her head too. “But the others, are they okay?”

Dave nodded a firm yes; all of the others were healthy and strong.

They would grow into fine hatchlings. Not that Dave wanted to stay and find out, it had become clearer to him lately that he felt out of place now that everyone at Kracken’s Hole were mated.

Well, except the familiars, but they had their own issues.

Dave was also aware that he would be approaching his final growth period, a difficult time for a Kracken in the wild, more so for one that could now shift.

His emotions were in turmoil. On one tentacle, he wanted to be a free Kracken swimming the seas, and on the other he wanted what Brutas had.

But Dave didn't hold out much hope of another witch arriving in Kracken’s Hole and falling in love with him.

Dave knew he was a very good looking Kracken.

But as a human, all he had heard about his looks was that he was big and to cover himself up with clothing.

That right there said they didn't want to look at him. That he was not nice to look at.

“Dave? Are you okay?”

Pulled from his own thoughts, Dave looked at Maeve and nodded with a weak smile. Maeve didn't need to know what was going on inside his head. She had too much to deal with already.

As she eyed him, he felt like she could practically see into his soul, and that didn’t bother him. Maeve was one of the few people Dave could really trust. He watched as she slit her eyes at him and tilted her head.

“You would tell me if something was up, wouldn't you, Dave?” she enquired, causing an answering chill up Dave’s back.

Witches were scary at times; it was like she could read his mind. So, Dave simply grinned and nodded.