Page 7 of Shark 2

“Is it because I’m not a werewolf?” I asked.

“Our birthrate has decreased every decade,” Reed whispered. “Soon, there may be no werewolves.”

Ouch.

“That’s not your fault,” Jong-hyun said. “You providing a litter won’t change that.”

“My litter could help us repopulate,” Reed argued.

His litter …

“I thought you loved me,” I whispered, tears burning my eyes.

Reed shoved a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. “I do love you, Kass, but?—”

“I’m going to bed,” I announced and stood. I stumbled a bit and they all reached out towards me. “No!” I snapped and spun away from all of them. “I need to sleep. Sorry. Guess the Pixie Lite doesn’t work well for me. Sorry.”

I ran up to my room, shutting and locking the door just in time as the tears flooded. We weren’t officially mates yet, but we were courting. I had expected to finalize our bond soon, but now … now I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Kass,” Reed called through the door and sighed. “Please, don’t cry. I haven’t decided yet. This is all crazy and out of the blue and I don’t know what to do.” He pushed against my door and then slid down it, likely sitting against the door. “At least try to see it from my point of view. What if the Atlanteans suddenly came to you and told you that your exile was lifted and you could return? Wouldn’t you consider going back? What if you returning could prevent your extinction?”

“I’m almost extinct as it is,” I whispered. “And I’ll never be welcomed back to a place that I can weaken so much.” Taking a deep breath I added, “You have to do what’s right for you and if I’m not what’s right … I just have to accept that.”

“Baby, it’s not you. There’s nothing wrong with you or anything, you?—”

I interrupted him, not wanting him to continue. “I need to sleep before work. Please leave.”

“Kass, don’t shut me out, please.”

“I can’t change what I am. I’m a shark, I’m not even a land shifter. If you care about repopulating, why aren’t you dating a human?”

He didn’t respond.

“When you’ve made your decision, you know where to find me.”

“Kass,” he pounded on the door.

Talking more tonight wouldn’t accomplish anything, so I jumped into the water tank in my room and shifted into my shark form, letting my mind blank as I swam in circles.

Reed was gone before I left the house, but the others wouldn’t say where he’d gone. They all wore somber expressions as we went to work.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get excited by the kids coming to see me or the other visitors smiling at me.

Halfway through the day, I saw Reed’s former pack enter, eyes scanning everything.

There were still three hours left before I was supposed to be off work, but I didn’t want to miss saying bye if he was leaving with them.

No, he wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I had to trust that he would do the right thing, in that at least.

Turning off my human brain, I resumed swimming in lazy circles around the aquarium. It was a relatively quiet day, with no schools visiting, so the day went by in a blur.

When it was time to shift and climb out of the tank, my anxiety returned, and I had to keep counting my breaths to avoid a panic attack.

Warm arms wrapped around me from behind, hugging me back against an even warmer chest. “It’s going to be alright,” Grant whispered in my ear.

“I’m hungry,” I said, instead of responding about Reed. “What should we have for dinner tonight?”

“Sushi?” he suggested.

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