Sailing Deep by Noah Harris Page A

them. Blake kept walking, tugging Dylan along when his steps faltered. He squeezed his hand in reassurance.
                  The two came into view a few minutes later. A small side path joined with the wider one they walked on. From that small trail came a man and a woman. His dark dreadlocks were tied back, and he bent his head to whisper into her ear. His arm was casually and lovingly relaxed across her shoulders. She leaned into him, giggling. Her black hair, long and straight, covered much of her shoulders and back.
                  “Marcus! Lucy!” Blake called in cheerful greeting, ignoring Dylan’s sharp look of disapproval.
                  The two turned at once and spotted them, wide grins breaking out across their faces. “Blake!” They echoed, raising hands in small waves. They were a little ahead of them and upwind. They hadn’t smelled them coming. They stopped where the paths met and waited for them to catch up before the four of them continued their walk together.
                  “I trust you had a nice night?” Blake asked, one eyebrow raised as he smirked. He could tell that they had. He could smell it on them. If their smiles didn’t say it all, they reeked of hormones.
                  They exchanged glances and smiles. “You could say that,” Marcus replied.
                  “So this is your infamous mate,” Lucy said, leaning forward to eye Dylan around Blake.
                  Blake made a show of slapping his forehead. “Where are my manners? Lucy, Marcus, this is Dylan. My mate.” He said, grinning proudly and raising their joined hands.
                  Dylan leaned forward and gave them shy glances and a small wave. “Hi,” Was all he said. Blake’s chest clenched and it took all his self-control not to kiss the man right then and there. How was it possible that a macho looking sailor could be so cute? It simply wasn’t fair.
                  “Dylan, this is Lucy and Marcus. Marcus works as a member of the shadow guard and Lucy is a personal shopper.”
                  Dylan looked up at him. “Personal shopper?”
                  He smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get anything around here. The nearest towns are pretty far away, and there are a lot of people who’ve never had to shop online before.” He gestured to the tiger woman. “Lucy basically finds out what people want and then she shops for them. For a fee, of course.”
                  Lucy grinned proudly and shrugged. “I get paid to shop. What could be better.”
                  They walked the rest of the way with the other couple. To Blake’s relief, Dylan did wonderfully. He played the part of a shy mate well though Blake was starting to realize it wasn’t too much of an act. Dylan was no doubt uncomfortable. He had been suddenly thrust into an undercover operation where he had to play the part of an average werewolf with no preparation. He was in what he considered enemy territory, and he was expected to socialize like the average person. Luckily, his awkward uncomfortableness was easily seen as a shy awkwardness to anyone who didn’t know him.
                  Marcus and Lucy asked him a few questions, which he answered vaguely. When they asked where he was from, Blake was surprised to hear him answer honestly. Dylan briefly described their childhood pack and spoke with such fondness that Blake had a hard time keeping his face blank. When they asked what he did for a living, Dylan just shrugged and said he was still trying to figure it out. They all laughed at that and Blake grinned, proud of the vague and relatable answer.
                  The conversation stayed mostly on small talk. As they neared the castle, Blake asked Lucy if she wouldn’t mind shopping for a wardrobe for Dylan. Dylan was about to protest when