Sunset couldn't come fast enough. When the sky finally began to turn gold and orange, I was already at the railing. I'd slipped away as soon as I could, abandoning my tasks half-finished, not caring if anyone noticed. Let them wonder. Let them talk. I needed to see them. Needed to feel their hands on me, their voices in my ears, their presence wrapping around me like armor against everything that waited on this ship.
They rose from the water before the sun had fully touched the horizon, earlier than usual, as if they'd been waiting just below the surface. Kaelan first, his dark eyes finding mine immediately, something sharp and worried in their depths. Then Riven, his golden gaze blazing with intensity, his massive body tense like he was ready to fight. Thane emerged next, his amber eyes soft with concern, his hand already reaching toward the ship. Vale came last, his silver hair streaming behind him, his sharp smile gentled into something questioning.
"Lily." Kaelan's voice was low, urgent. His pale hand pressed against the hull, reaching toward me. "Something's wrong. We could feel it. Even from below, we could feel something was wrong."
I didn't know how to answer. Didn't know how to put into words the fear that had been eating at me all day, the noose that was slowly tightening around my throat.
"My scent blockers are running out." The words came out raw, ragged. "The ship reaches port in a little less than two weeks. If I'm careful, really careful, the blockers might last until then. It's going to be close. Too close. One wrong move, one day where I have to use more than I should, and everyone on this ship will know what I am before we ever reach shore."
Silence. The four of them exchanged glances, that silent communication that spoke of centuries of understanding.
"What happens then?" Thane's voice was careful, gentle. His amber eyes held mine with tender concern. "When they know. What happens to you?"
I thought about Cort's hand on my thigh. His hot breath against my ear. His patient, predatory smile.
"Nothing good," my voice cracked on the words. "Alphas on a ship with an unclaimed omega... it won't be..." I couldn't finish. Couldn't make myself say the words. I didn't have to. I could see understanding dawn on their faces. Could see it transform into something dark and dangerous and absolutely murderous.
"We'll kill them." Riven's voice was a snarl, his claws fully extended, his golden eyes blazing with fury. "Every alpha on that ship. We'll drag them into the deep and tear them apart and leave nothing but bones for the fish to pick clean."
"Riven." Kaelan's voice was sharp, commanding. But his own eyes were black with rage, his pale face twisted with barely controlled violence. "Not yet. We need to think. We need to plan."
"What's there to think about?" Riven was practically vibrating with the need to act, to destroy, to protect. "Our omega is in danger. Humans want to hurt her. We kill them. Simple."
"If we kill the entire crew, the ship stops moving," Vale's voice was strained, his sharp edges showing through his usual smoothness. "Lily would be stranded. Alone. In the middle of the ocean, with no way to reach land and no way to survive."
"Then we take her now." Riven's voice was desperate, pleading. "Right now. She jumps, we catch her, we bring her down with us. She can live with us, breathe underwater, and never go back to that floating prison again."
"The potion only lasts eight hours," Thane's gentle voice was heavy with frustration. "She'd have to surface eventually. And without the ship, without land, without anywhere to go..."
"Then we go to the witch." Riven was grasping at solutions, throwing out anything that might work. "We get the transformation potion. We give Lily a tail. She becomes one of us, and she never has to breathe air again."
"That's not our choice to make," Kaelan's voice cut through Riven's desperation, sharp and certain. His dark eyes found mine, and I saw the war in them—the need to protect battling against something else. Something that looked like respect. "It's hers."
The word landed between us like a stone dropped into still water.
"Lily." Kaelan's voice was soft now, the rage banked but not gone. He pressed his hand more firmly against the hull, as close to touching me as he could get. "You need to tell us what you want. What you really want. Not what we want for you. Not what's easiest or safest or most convenient. What do you want?"
I stared down at them, these four impossible creatures who had appeared in my life like a miracle. Who had given me gifts. Who waited patiently. Who let me set the pace. Who looked at me like I was precious, not because of my designation, but because of me.
What did I want? I wanted to stop running. I wanted to stop hiding. I wanted to stop being afraid every moment of every day. I wanted to be held the way they held me. Touched the way they touched me. Wanted the way they wanted me. I wanted to belong somewhere. To someone. To them.
"I want..." My voice came out small, uncertain. "I want to stay with you. But I don't... I don't know what that means. I don't know what's possible. I don't know?—"
"Then we figure it out together." Kaelan's voice was fierce, absolute. "We have time. Not much, but some. About two weeks until the ship reaches land—and your blockers might last if you're careful, but that's a risk. We need to make a plan. Find options. Figure out what you want and how to give it to you, so you're not depending on 'might' and 'barely.'"
"You have to tell us everything," Vale's voice was gentle but insistent, his blue-green eyes searching my face. "We can't help if we don't understand. We can't protect you from threats we don't know about." He paused, his sharp smile gone entirely. "Why are you running, Lily? What are you running from? It's not just the alphas on this ship. It's something else. Something that made you hide in the first place."
The question hung in the air between us, heavy with significance. They'd been dancing around it for days, I realized. Waiting for me to trust them enough to answer. I did trust them. Completely. Absolutely. Without reservation. However, the words... the words were so hard to say. The story was so ugly, so painful, so wrapped up in shame and fear and helpless rage.
"Not tonight," my voice was barely a whisper, “please. I'll tell you. I promise. But not tonight. Tonight I just need..." I couldn't finish. Couldn't articulate the desperate, aching need that was consuming me.
"You need to come to us." Thane's voice was soft, understanding. He looked at the others, then back at me. "You need to be held. To be safe. To forget, just for a little while."
Yes. That was exactly what I needed.
"We have the potion." Kaelan held up the small blue bottle, glowing faintly in the fading light. "Four doses left after this. We should be careful, but..." His dark eyes held mine. "But you need this. You need us. And we need you just as desperately."
I didn't let myself think. Didn't let myself hesitate. I climbed over the railing and jumped. The fall was brief. The water was cold. Then their arms were around me—all of them, all at once, a tangle of hands and tails and bodies pressing close. Someone pressed the bottle to my lips. Someone else tilted my head back. I drank, and the cold spread through me, and my lungs transformed, and I breathed.
