Page 17

Jessica was thigh-deep in one of the nursery pools dealing with a very clingy hatchling. She was a little bit distracted. Who could blame her? Dave had literally rocked her world, and she was now dealing with the aftereffects. Her body was beautifully sore and yet she was also craving more.

Dave was a fantastic lover, who not only gave her the most pleasure she had ever been given, but he was caring too. He made sure he never hurt her despite his size, he made sure she was satisfied. Oh boy was she satisfied. Her cheeks heated at the thought.

“Come on now, off you go into the pool,” she cooed to the hatchling, smiling as it gave her arm a little squeeze before detaching itself to go and swim.

Jessica had been cataloguing each hatchling so they could identify each one and do a growth chart.

This was the first time anyone had the chance to monitor the growth of a Kracken from a hatchling, so she was determined to do it properly.

Each one was weighed and measured, and any markings noted down.

To start with, they had given each one a number.

They would name them but, for now, a number was easier.

Each hatchling was a blessing and Jessica felt so very honoured to be present and able to help. The work she had done with both the selkies and sea monsters helped immensely, and each hatchling was now thriving, although maybe a little chaotic.

As focused as she was on the task at hand, every now and again she would find herself searching for Dave, she couldn’t help it. But usually when she looked up to find him, she found him staring straight back at her with a smile on his face.

A whistle had her looking up to see Maeve, Arietta, and Isabeau standing by the entrance smiling.

She had already been made aware that they had come down earlier in the day and had played with the hatchlings.

Luckily they had finished playing with the hatchlings and then left so they had not be privy to a private showing of cleaning the cobwebs from the old womb broom.

They seemed just as obsessed as she was over them.

Careful not to step on any, she waded through the pool towards the edge.

“Ladies, welcome to my crib. As you can see this is where the magic happens.” She grinned and all three laughed.

“Yeah, about that magic…” Arietta grinned. “We heard it can be noisy.”

“Maybe scream-worthy, perhaps.” Isabeau waggled her eyebrows, and Jessica felt her cheeks burn.

“Oh, you didn’t, did you?” Jessica asked, all of a sudden feeling embarrassed.

“Well, we didn’t, but you’ve just confirmed it.” Maeve laughed and patted her on the shoulder. “I kind of got the feeling that you two liked each other and I must say, quick work there, honey.”

“Oh, now I sound like a slapper,” Jessica groaned.

“Nah, it’s the males here at Kracken’s Hole, there’s something about them that put your knickers in a twist. To be honest, I think mine are still twisted, that male drives me nuts,” Isabeau admitted.

“Not complaining though.” She sat next to Jessica and nudged her with her shoulder.

“Once you’ve had Kracken there’s no going back, hey. ”

All the girls laughed at that and Jessica wholeheartedly agreed.

“When you put it like that, nope, there is no going back. I can honestly say Dave is a VERY fast learner.” She grinned.

“Oh, come here, you little cutie.” Isabeau reached over and pulled a hatchling on to her lap.

“I swear, they cuter every single time I see them.” Arietta giggled as she leant over the pool to play with another.

“Hun, you’ve been down here twice.”

“Yeah, and they’ve gotten cuter.”

Jessica met Maeve’s gaze and they both smiled.

As much as Jessica loved her home, Kracken’s Hole was already feeling more like home than anywhere else.

She felt she could be herself and not have to worry that she wasn’t a proper witch.

She could be as nerdy as she needed and the girls would never judge her, they just accepted her for who she was.

“Hey, have you guys seen Edith? I’ve not seen her for a while,” Jessica asked as she climbed out of the pool.

“I hate to break it to you, hun, she’s now part of the clan, she is now a member of the FAT.”

“The what now?”

“The Familiars Association Trust, basically the little sods bugger off to the pub and have meetings.” Maeve did the air quotes when she said meetings. “They get pissed and talk shit, that’s about it.”

“Oh.” Jessica shrugged her shoulders. “It will do Edith some good, get her out a bit more.”

“Right, get yourself dry and presentable, we are all going to the pub tonight. Quiz night and Maureen has put some beers behind the bar for us.” Isabeau stood and wiped her wet hands-on Arietta’s top.

“Oi.”

“Shush.”

Maeve simply rolled her eyes and smiled. “Jessica, your presence is expected.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, but I still have four more to note down and then I am all yours.” She grinned.

“Perfect, I will mention it to Dave, and we will meet you at the pub then, you know where to go, right?”

“Oh yes I will be there as soon as these little cutie pies will let me.” Jessica grinned again with excitement.

She couldn’t help it; everything was coming together.

In a matter of a days, she had found somewhere she belonged and someone to belong to.

The girls all skipped off to get ready and Jessica went to work.

Luckily, with the sun going down, the hatchlings were getting ready to sleep so they were not as active, making life a hell of a lot easier.

It only took her another hour to get finished. Jessica loved the peace of the cavern, the small, cute sounds of each of the hatchlings and the gentle sound of the sea from outside. As she climbed out of the pool, she wiped her hands on her jeans and made to move to her little cave.

The hairs on the back of her neck went up as strange shadows moved across the cave.

“Hello, anyone there?” she called out, her voice echoing off the walls. The hatchlings stirred but not enough to wake.

“Dave, is that you?” she asked again when movement sounded from the entrance to the cove. It must be Dave; he was the only one that came and went from that direction.

Stepping out on to the sand, Jessica was distracted by the way the moon bathed the shore, the gentle lap of the waves shone and glistened within its pale light. It was then that she saw a ship, a small ship, but one that should not have been there.

“What the…” Her sentence went unfinished as unconsciousness took her, sending her to the sand in seconds. The shadows were quick, collecting her and taking her quickly to the boat as if she was never there.