Page 33 of Shade
"Um, hello," I said hesitantly, and Shade's shadows tickled my ankle, making me relax a little.
"Hey, guys," he chimed in from my phone as I placed it on the table, and that relieved me even more.
"Hello, Shade. You've been hogging your mate all to yourself, you know. I've been dying to talk to him properly," a cheerful voice said, and I assumed it was Dustin because Shade had described Khush as a 'grump,' so it couldn't be him. "It'snice to meet you, Diego. My name is Dustin, and beside me is my mate, Khush."
"Hey," a deeper voice greeted, and I waved in his general direction, completely awkward. What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn't usually like this.
"I imagine all of this has been a bit crazy for you, huh? Meeting Shade again, finding out about all of us..." Dustin trailed off, and I shrugged.
"Sort of. I always knew there was more to the world since I met Shade, but I never thought I'd see him again, so that was a surprise."
"A good surprise, right?" Dustin teased, and I grinned.
"The best."
Shade
Watching Diego get along with the Sanctuary residents made my heart swell, and I stayed quiet for the most part since people kept coming up to the table to introduce themselves and talk to Diego.
While many of them had reacted negatively when the first humans came to live at the Sanctuary, they were doing much better now, and seemed to have accepted it. A part of it could be that the humans were mated to some of the more powerful supes here, but mostly, it was because everyone here was good at heart.
Jacinta came over then, the sticker on her t-shirt announcing today's pronouns as she/her.
"Hey, Diego. I don't think we've met yet. I'm Jacinta, she/her for today."
Diego smiled widely as he turned his face to her, holding out a hand. She blinked at it for a moment before giving it a careful shake.
"It's great to meet you, Jacinta. I wanted to tell you that I really like your cooking."
She stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "I like you, and so, I won't eat you."
Diego paused, as if unsure if she was serious or joking.
"Jacinta," I warned, making her chuckle.
"Shade, you're the friendliest person in this place. You don't scare me," she said, flicking her platinum blond hair behind her shoulders.
Sometimes, being a nice person came back to bite you in the ass. I couldn't let her think I wouldn't protect my mate, though, so I moved from Diego's shadow into hers, then pulled the ends of her tentacles in before returning to Diego's shadow.
"What the—" Jacinta tried to move back, but couldn't, and she glanced down, finally realizing what I'd done.
"What's wrong?" Diego asked, clearly sensing her mild distress.
"What's wrong is your mate stuck my tentacles in my shadow and now I can't move."
"Your... tentacles?" Diego asked hesitantly, then shook his head. "Shade, free her."
"But—"
"Shade," he pressed, and I sighed, then did as he'd asked, ducking back into his shadow when Jacinta tried to smack me with her tentacle.
"Thank you, Diego. You're a sweetheart. Tell me what your favorite dish is later, and I'll make it for you."
"Why did I never get my favorite dish?" Dustin whined, and Jacinta raised a brow at him.
"You will when you pop that baby out," she said, then sashayed away. It wasn't intentional, just what she looked like when she moved on land with her tentacles.
Diego's brows were furrowed, his head turned toward Dustin, and I realized I'd forgotten to tell him some very important things about the man.
