“He didn't abandon?—”
“He's not here, is he?” Reef pushes me back against the rocks, tentacles moving to bracket my shoulders, my hips. I'm surrounded. “I am. And I'm offering relief. Be smart, little female.”
His tentacle reaches my pussy, sliding through the wetness there. My body responds even as my mind rejects. The wrongness is overwhelming. Every cell knows this is incorrect, but the need overrides resistance. When the suckers activate against my clit, I cry out, but it's not pleasure. It's violation.
“Your body wants it,” he murmurs, tentacle sliding through my folds. “Even if your mind resists. I could make you cum. Make the pain stop.”
“It wouldn't work.”
“Let's find out.”
He pushes a tentacle inside me without warning. My body simultaneously clenches and rejects. It's the wrong size, wrong texture, wrong temperature. Too smooth where Aylth's have ridges. Too cold where his run hot. The suckers are in the wrong pattern, creating suction that feels clinical rather than devastating. Instead of relief, it makes the ache worse, highlighting everything that's missing.
“Fascinating,” Reef says, but his tone is frustrated. He pushes deeper, rougher. “You're actually rejecting compatible touch. Your body is completely bonded to his specifics.”
He withdraws roughly, making me gasp. His eyes narrow, and I see the real predator beneath the pretty scales.
“Fine. If you won't accept willing help, maybe you need convincing.”
His hand moves to my throat, not choking but threatening. The webbing between his fingers is rough against my skin. “I could take you anyway. Breed you. Once claimed, Aylth would have to fight for you. And there are others who would help me.”
Fear cuts through the withdrawal haze. This is what Aylth was protecting me from. Not just the ocean's dangers, but other hunters who would see my desperation as opportunity.
“You wouldn't win,” I manage. “Aylth would kill you.”
“Maybe. Or maybe the Ancient One is finally too old. Too set in his ways.” His grip tightens slightly. I feel my pulse against his palm. “Maybe it's time for younger hunters to claim what he can't properly hold.”
“I chose him.”
“And then you ran. That voids claim rights by traditional law.” He leans closer, and his breath smells wrong. Too sweet. Rotting fruit and deep water. “You're unclaimed territory now.”
Movement in the water behind him. Not splashing. Something more subtle. A displacement of current that makesthe smaller fish scatter. Reef doesn't notice, too focused on intimidating me.
“Last chance,” he says. Another tentacle rises, moving toward my spread legs. “Accept me willingly, or?—”
A massive tentacle wraps around his torso and yanks him backward.
Reef flies through the air, hitting the water twenty feet away with a crash that sends spray everywhere. Aylth surfaces where Reef had been, and the sight of him makes my body sing with recognition. His scales are almost black with rage, bioluminescent patterns pulsing along his tentacles in clear threat display. The water around him churns from the force of his movement.
“Female is marked,” Aylth says, and his voice carries harmonics that make the water itself vibrate. The sound resonates in my bones. “Female chose. Female returned.”
“She ran!” Reef surfaces, green scales bright with fear but trying to maintain aggression. A line of blue blood runs from his mouth where he hit the water. “Traditional law says?—”
“Traditional law says female who returns strengthens claim.” Aylth moves toward shore, and the water seems to part for him. Reef backs away with every foot Aylth advances. “This one allowed female to choose. Female chose correctly.”
“You left her suffering! I was helping?—”
“Young fool was attempting theft.” Aylth's tentacles spread wide, each one displaying different bioluminescent patterns. Storm warnings. Death promises. “This one heard every word. Saw every touch.”
He turns to me, eyes softening from storm-dark to silver-blue. “Female swims to this one now.”
It's not a question. I slide into the water immediately, my body knowing where it belongs. The salt stings the cuts on my palms, but I don't care. His arm wraps around me, pulling meagainst his chest. The moment our skin touches, the worst of the withdrawal eases. Not gone, but bearable. His chemistry calling to mine.
“You were watching?” I whisper against his chest.
“Always watching. Waiting to see what female would choose.” His hand cups my face, thumb brushing away tears I didn't know were falling. “Female rejected false comfort. Fought despite weakness. Proved strength.”
Reef surfaces further away, keeping his distance. “This isn't over. Others agree you're too old, too traditional. We'll challenge formally.”
