It took me a few months of going round and round with Earl, but eventually he saw reason and helped me buy and convert the old bait shop off the wharf. Thus, Buoy Six was born. During the day, we serve breakfast and lunch, and then open up the bar side to host community meetings or clubs. The guys even started an Ocean Scout Troop for little Pip and his buddies.
At night, we open up the bar and the whole place turns into a cozy date night dive where local bands like to play, and locals come to eat and get on with their freaky supernatural selves. Traveling MC Packs occasionally stop by, and we’re getting more and more singles hanging around.
Fate has shined down on us and I am deeply, deeply, grateful.
After rolling out of bed and into my work clothes, I stroll up to the busy diner. Stopping just inside the door, I pause and inhale deeply. Sunday means Glenda’s cinnamon rolls. The smell of cinnamon and vanilla permeates everything in the diner and it makes my stomach growl.
Every booth is full and it warms my heart to see so many Misty Cove residents enjoying their morning. Asha gives me a wave from behind the counter where she’s using her magic to create designs in the coffee foam.
Jumping in, I start handing out menus and topping off coffee. “I’ll be right there!” I holler when I hear the door jingle.
A young woman is standing there, shivering from the cold. Her eyes are moving fast and she almost shrinks into herself under my gaze. Poor kid.
“You ok, hon?” I ask, shepherding her to the counter and pouring her a giant, steaming cup of coffee.
She takes a grateful sip and then sets the cup down before scanning the room again.
“Are you the one they call the Guardian?” she half-whispers, staring at my Matestone necklace.
Looking around, I am relieved to see that no one is paying us any attention.
“You’re a waitress?” I say loudly, startling the guys at the table across from us, “Well, welcome aboard, honey! Let’s get you all sorted out.”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind but lets herself be pulled to the back where my office is.
When I am positive we aren’t being overheard, I drop the act and look at her sharply.
“I’m going to need you to start from the very beginning, sweets. Don’t leave anything out.”
Her hands are shaking, but she pulls a bunched up napkin out of the front pocket of her jeans and slowly unwraps it to reveal a small pendant. It’s round, like a gold coin, with three distinct lines of color that intersect. It’s glowing.
“I didn’t mean to take it. I tried to put it back, but it won’t leave me alone. I’ve tried to lose it probably five times but it just keeps reappearing. At night, I dream of this place. And every night, my dream tells me to find you. To find the Guardian,” she whispers urgently.
I sit down heavily.
It’s been months since Bill first explained my role as Guardian after that strange visit with Dakira, and I still don’t fully understand it. Something about being able to channel the magic of Fate, the Fae, and the Aether makes me uniquely suited to be a catalyst for fated mates. He told me they would eventually start to find me, and my job would be to help them find their pod. The last Guardian had been born over a century ago and the magic of the Matestone risked extinction if I didn’t step up.
I agreed and then...nothing had happened. Bill left to do whatever it is that Bill does, and left the favor I owe him still hanging over my head. No one came knocking on our door having found a Matestone on the beach or anything, and I’d honestly almost forgotten about the whole thing, until now.
“Well, you’ll stay here, yes?” I ask finally. She’s so very skittish. If one of the guys were here, they would be able to tell me what she is. From her nervousness, I’m going to guess rabbit. Or maybe a guinea pig.
“You can work at the diner during the day and I'll make arrangements for you to stay with a friend of mine until you get on your feet. You’re safe here.”
She doesn’t look all that convinced. With a yawn, I grab the label maker from the shelf and prep her nametag.
“What’s your name, hon?”
“Kalena. Kalena Montague. And I think the guy I stole this from just found me.”
Kalena. That means... looking up I see a flash of bright red in the window before a poof of smoke and glitter covers my desk. A glitter covered man with a bright red beard, washboard abs, obscenely short leather shorts, and a corn-cob pipe sits on my desk.
He offers his hand to me with a smile.
“Dorin Mallory. Pleased to meet you,”
I shake his hand quickly, grimacing when I look down at my glitter-covered palm. Gross. Dorin turns to Kalena who is clutching her pendant and looking very, very pale.
“Hello, A stóirín. I believe you have something of mine.”
There’s a knock on my door and Chuck walks in. He freezes when he takes in the visual.
“YOU!” He bellows furiously, jabbing a finger towards Dorin as he steps forward in anger.
Well. Maybe this is where the Guardian business comes in.
....
The End
AUTHOR’S NOTE
THANKS SO MUCH FOR coming on this weird little journey with me. I had a dream about sea lion shifters in July 2020 and promptly decided that it had to become a book and thus this little piece of ridiculousness was born!
I hope you liked it, but if you didn’t, that’s ok too. Thanks for reading and please do leave a review.
Misty Cove is not finished yet and neither is my pod of sea lions. Look for additional books in the
