Page 94 of King of Tides

“She is capable of great love and compassion. It is no surprise she is the mate of Ardan. Ardan, the passionate one, the one of desire and enthusiasm for life.

“The high achiever. It is time you allow others to hold your burdens with you. She can’t show you what you don’t show her.”

“What is it I’m not showing her?”

“Trust. You don’t give trust, Ardan. You would rather do things all on your own than give your absolute trust. You have entrusted those boys’ care to me, but you reach out more than a mother sending her cubs off to school for the first time.

“You do know I have work that needs to be done. If you want me to do something, allow me to do it,” Kenji says and rolls his eyes.

He is right though. I have been placing my attention on everything. I may delegate tasks, but then I micromanage.

Billy is my mate. I’m supposed to share my burdens with her. She was designed to bring me balance. Allowing her to help me doesn’t take away her independence. It does the exact opposite.

It also takes some of the pressure off all the things I have on my plate. A demigod can be overwhelmed too. I never complain because it’s in my nature to just go with the flow.

But if I’m honest, since the boys came into the picture, I’ve been finding it harder to surf through my duties. Finding my mate has only added to my responsibilities, but I should let Billy help as she’s been asking too from the beginning.

She put her life in danger for those boys. I can trust her with helping them. They already seem to have a bond with her.

“Ah, you know what I know now. You will make adjustments. This is good.”

“I will consider what you have said. Not everything is as simple as you make it sound.”

He waves me off. “It is. You will make adjustments. I am happy you are here. Come, you haven’t seen the upgrades I have done. Time for tour.”

Got It Wrong

“Good morning, My Queen. How did you sleep?” Dracon asks as I step into the hall where he’s been waiting for me.

“You can call me Billy. I promise you it’s not that serious.”

“You say that now. Have you met your mate? He would have my head for the familiarity if not the disrespect.”

“Well, when he’s not around, I’m Billy. If he doesn’t like it, he can take a dip. I’ve been Billy all my life.

“I’m not about to have people running around calling me queen all the time. I’m a cop. I lock up bad guys. I said what I said. Call me Billy, or don’t call me at all.”

Dracon chuckles at my rant. Clearly, to answer his earlier question, I didn’t sleep well at all. I’m grumpy and irritable. I slept fitfully all night.

Ardan didn’t seem too happy about that this morning. To be honest, he’s been in a bit of a mood since he returned from his time with Kenji after our arrival.

Ardan doesn’t usually wear his frustration or emotions, but it’s clear he has a lot on his mind. I plan to do something about that this morning though.

Since I don’t have my library to hide away in for my morning me time, I’ve decided to find Beck and Bourne so I can observe what their days are like.

“Where are we off to this morning? I made myself well acquainted with the layout of the entire property. Tell me where you want to go and I will lead you there, Officer Billy,” Dracon says.

“Oh, you have jokes. You know Ren is quiet. I wonder if Ardan would switch you guys out if I request it,” I taunt.

All the blood drains from his face and his smile falls. I can’t help bursting into laughter. I’m laughing so hard I stop in my tracks to bend at the waist and hold my knees.

“I’m just fucking with you. I know how much your station means to you. Even if Ardan doesn’t think I know all six of you are supposed to be my guards. Congrats on becoming first in command.”

He looks at me as if he’s in shock. I laugh and pat him on the back. “Like I said. I’m a detective. I pay attention to details. Now, about my plans for this morning. I want to find Beck and Bourne.”

He gets this look on his face as if he’s mind-linking. I wait patiently for him to get a location. He nods to whatever he is told and waves for me to follow him.

“They are in training,” he says as we continue to walk.

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