I stood at the railing for a long time after they left. The sun finished setting, the sky fading from gold to purple to the deep blue of early night. Stars emerged one by one, scattered across the darkness like salt spilled on dark cloth. The water was still. Empty. But I could feel them down there. Could feel their presence in the deep like a weight at the other end of a rope. Something had changed. Something fundamental, something I couldn't take back. The ribbons had carried my scent, my real scent, the omega smell that the blockers couldn't quite hide and now they knew.
They knew and they hadn't fled. Hadn't attacked. The dark one had pressed his hand to his heart and claimed me with a gesture. I should have been terrified. Should have been planning to hide, to run, to never go near the water again. Every survival instinct I'd developed over eight months of running should have been screaming at me to get away. Instead, all I felt was anticipation. They knew what I was. Four alpha predators had scented my omega nature and their response hadn't been to hunt me, to trap me, to claim me by force.
Their response had been to struggle for control. To hold each other back. To look at me with wonder instead of hunger. I'd spent my whole life being told that my designation made me property. Made me something to be bought and sold and owned. Every alpha I'd ever met had looked at me like a prize to be won, a resource to be controlled, a thing instead of a person.
These creatures looked at me like I was precious. Not precious like property. Not precious like something to be locked away and hoarded. Precious like something rare and wonderful. Something to be treasured. There was a difference. God, there was such a difference, and I was only beginning to understand what it meant.
That night, I lay in my hammock and couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them. The dark one's hand on his heart. The scarred one's blazing golden eyes. The beautiful one's flushed cheeks. The warm one's darkened gaze.
They wanted me. All four of them. I'd seen it in their faces, felt it in the intensity of their stares. The scent of omega had affected them profoundly, had broken through whatever casual interest they'd felt before and turned it into something much more serious.
They'd held back. They'd controlled themselves, controlled each other. The scarred one had wanted to surge forward—I'd seen it in every line of his body—and the dark one had stopped him.
Why?
Why would predators hold back from prey? Why would alphas control themselves around an omega? Every alpha I'd ever known had taken what they wanted without hesitation, had seen restraint as weakness, had believed that their designation gave them the right to claim and control and possess.
These creatures were different. I didn't know how or why, but they were different.
When I finally slept, I dreamed of them. I dreamed of being surrounded by them, held by them, their arms and tails wrapped around me in a cocoon of warmth. The dark one at my back, solid and steady. The scarred one at my front, all that dangerous strength gentle for once. The beautiful one's fingers in my hair. The warm one's cheek pressed to mine.
Safe. Protected. Wanted.
Not owned. Not controlled. Not trapped.
Just wanted.
I woke up gasping, my skin flushed and my heart racing, tangled in my thin blanket. For a moment I couldn't remember where I was, couldn't feel the rough fabric of the hammock or smell the salt and sweat of the sleeping quarters. The others were still sleep around me as I got my breathing under control.
All I could feel was phantom warmth. All I could smell was the ocean.
Then reality crashed back.
The creak of the ship. The snores of the crew. The ever-present stench of fish and unwashed bodies. I was still here. Still trapped on this ship with Decker's cruelty and Cort's hunting eyes and the constant, exhausting fear of being discovered. The feeling of the dream lingered. The sense of being held, being treasured, being claimed in a way that didn't feel like captivity.
What's happening to me? I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat too fast beneath my palm. The pouch of their gifts rested there, hidden under my shirt—shells and sea glass and tiny pearls, the treasures they'd left for me over the past few days.
I'd given them ribbons and they'd discovered my secret.
Today, everything would be different. I didn't know how it would be different, didn't know what they would do with the knowledge they'd gained. Would they still come? Would theytreat me differently now that they knew what I was? Would they want me more, or less?
I stared at the darkness above my hammock and let the questions circle through my mind, unanswerable and urgent.
Later today I would find out.
I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait, and that terrified me almost as much as it excited me. I was looking forward to seeing them. Looking forward to finding out what happened next. Looking forward to something for the first time in so long that I'd almost forgotten what hope felt like.
Four mermaids in the water.
Four creatures who looked at me like I was precious.
Four reasons to survive another day on this ship.
I closed my eyes and let myself sink back into dreams of warmth and safety and the feeling of being wanted. Time couldn't come fast enough.
Chapter Six
RIVEN
