I Saw Mami Biting Santa Claws (gxg)

Chapter 7

Karano walked with Eliza back towards the cabin that she stayed in with her mom and Jack. "Do you think you want to go again tomorrow?"

Eliza's hair was a tangled mess, with the high speed boat causing the rushing wind to whip it all over the place, and her eyes were still wide from excitement. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That was the most fun ever! Can I still go when Hazel gets back?"

Karano thought about that for a moment. Usually, she and Hazel would take the boat out together, but if there was a smaller group that left a chair open, then there was no reason they couldn't bring her. "I'll tell you what, if we have a free seat, then you can still go with me and Hazel, okay? But that won't be every time!"

"Yay! Thanks, Karano!" The little girl threw her arms around the older woman's waist. "You're my best friend!"

Tears pricked at Karano's eyes as she disentangled Eliza's arms, and then sunk to her knees to hug her back. She didn't talk much to her friends back in Puerto Rico that she had in high school anymore, she didn't like visiting there and it was hard for any of them to visit the pack, and Hazel had become her best friend by default. Yes, she had friends among the clan too, but none that she would consider a best friend. Maria had become a quick friend along with her kids, so she could count Eliza among her friends now too. They were certainly spending enough time together now, since there were no other kids their age in the pack. "Eliza, you are a great friend too, so I hope we get to hang out a lot in the future."

The reality was, Eliza had been a joy to have on the boat. She was screaming in happiness at the top of her lungs the entire time, and that was infectious among the tour group who also started to really get into it. In fact, the group was so happy that the tips were almost as nice as having two bikini clad women aboard. Maybe with the three of them there, they'd really rake in the cash!

"We can do that all the time! Can I come the next time you hunt a snake?"

"Woah, hold on, Eliza. I would love for you to go, but until you get your wolf, it isn't safe, okay?"

Eliza's face fell, and Karano hugged her tight again. "Hey, come on. There is a lot we can do in the meantime! We can still go out on the boat, and I can teach you how to drive it when your mom thinks you're old enough. You can even help me do repairs if you like."

"That's still not a snake!" she pouted. "I bet I could take on the small ones at least."

"I know, and that isn't easy to wait on. But I'll do all I can with you in the meantime, okay? Now let's go tell your mom all about your first time on the boats."

"Okay!" Eliza turned before she paused. "When do I get my wolf?"

"You get your wolf on the first full moon after your 13th birthday, so you're more than halfway there."

She nodded quickly. "Okay. But you better not hunt all the snakes before I get there!"

Karano just snorted. They didn't get to hunt many, and the snakes were multiplying fast enough that they would need Eliza's help as soon as she could hunt them! Truthfully, they really did need to hunt more. "I won't, I promise."

When they got to the cabin, Maria was relaxing with Jack and watching a movie. She had the day off from the diner and Jack had no school over the summer, so they were enjoying the time together. Eliza quickly started talking a mile a minute about the boat ride, and Jack was looking enthralled at the story while Maria sat on the bed with a big smile at Eliza's joy. Karano slipped her $80 of the tip money during the tale, because Eliza had earned it, even if she didn't realize it, and Maria smiled gratefully up at her. They'd needed to buy a lot of stuff when they got here, since they hadn't had a chance to pack before they ran, and the kids always grew like weeds, so anything helped.

When her phone buzzed in her pocket, Karano glanced quickly at it, seeing that Hazel had arrived at her mom's house. Hopefully she'd be talking to her soon, so she could find out what big emergency was. Based on what things had happened in the past, the emergency would hopefully be something minor that would be fixed within a matter of minutes. Waving goodbye, she headed back to her own cabin, where she quickly jumped in the shower. Those boat rides always messed her up, and she needed it!

Once out of the shower, Karano looked at her phone, half expecting there to be a message from Hazel, but there wasn't yet. With nothing better to do, she wandered over to Wesley's offices near the souvenir shop. She always liked him but felt bad for their Alpha. He'd been kicked out of his pack when his mate rejected him, and it was that or be killed by the man she'd chosen, who was still not her true mate, but evidently, she never cared because he was a higher rank than Wesley. He'd done a great job of treating everyone here as well as possible and being able to empathize with whatever they'd gone through. She kept hoping that one of the wandering wolves would turn out to be a second chance mate for him, but now that he was almost 40, he'd given up hope on that. He just treated everyone like his kids and kept them all happy. For someone who had never been trained to be an Alpha, he was doing a damn good job.

"Hey Karano, how did the rides go today?" Wesley asked when she entered his office. He still did tours too, but mostly when it was the busier tourist seasons when they could really make money. Right now, getting one or two a day counted as a bonus. When there were no tours, that was when she and Hazel would hunt the snakes.

"Not too bad. I took Eliza with me, and that kid really got the tourists excited. I split the tip with Maria, because I think she could use it as they're still getting settled."

Wesley snorted in laughter. "I know you took her because I could hear her yelling throughout the swamp. It sounded like she had fun."

"Yep. I'll take her tomorrow too. We have a small group..." she stared before a wave of weakness overcame her and she had to brace herself against Wesley's desk. "What the fuck was that?"

He stood up quickly, and walked around the desk, grabbing her under her arm and easing her into a seat. "What happened?"

"I don't know, I just felt weak and dizzy there for a moment, but I don't know why." Karano sat there, her head in her hands trying to take stock of her situation. She didn't feel like anything was wrong with her, but maybe there was with Hazel, and she was just feeling it?

"Is your mark tingling?" Wesley asked while crouching next to her.

She concentrated on it, and then nodded. "Yeah, a little. What do you think happened?"

"Someone tried to sever your mate link, but it doesn't look to have worked."

"How can you tell?" she wondered.

"I saw it once in New Orleans. Someone tried to use Voodoo. But that one worked. One of the mates died, and the other was unconscious for a week. But you're still awake, so it didn't work," he explained.

"I need to get to Puerto Rico! If they tried that, then Hazel is in danger! It was probably her fucking ex!" Karano leapt to her feet, pulling out her phone and calling Hazel. She heard it ring half a dozen times before it disconnected, and then a text came through instead.

Hazel – Goodbye Karano, we're done! Don't ever call me again!

Karano just snorted. That didn't sound remotely like her wife. Someone obviously had her though, and she had a good idea of who it would be. José, that fucking bloodsucker. That just wouldn't do. She'd burn the whole island down to get her wife back if she had to, and then enjoy it when she found José and ripped him to pieces.

"Go. I'll cover the tour tomorrow and talk to Eliza too. Just go get your wife and get back here safely. We'll hold down the fort for you."

"You know I'm going to shred whoever messed with Hazel," Karano reminded him.

"Yeah, I got that. Just don't get caught. It shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure they have wild animal attacks, right?"

She just grinned, then nodded and ran back to her cabin. She had a trip to plan!