RIVEN
I knew her schedule better than I knew the currents of my own territory. I knew she woke an hour before dawn, when the sky was still dark and the ship was quiet. Knew she spent exactly twelve seconds applying the chemicals that masked her scent, twelve seconds of her hands trembling, her jaw tight with the unfairness of having to hide what she was.
I knew she ate one meal a day, sometimes two, never three. Knew she gave portions of her food to a younger crew member who didn't get enough. Knew she worked until her hands bled, until her muscles shook, until she could barely stand. I knew she flinched when Cort, the alpha, walked past, even if he didn't touch her. Knew the way her shoulders drew up when Decker's voice carried across the deck. Knew the exact moment each evening when she would slip away from her duties and make her way to the railing, to us, tohome.
I knew everything.
I watched everything.
I planned exactly what I would do to each and every creature who had ever made her afraid. The water was cold this deep, but I didn't feel it. I was too focused on the hull of the ship above me, on the faint sounds that filtered through the wood, on the knowledge that she was up there, surrounded by alphas and betas who would hurt her if they knew what she was.
Sirens don't feel cold, I reminded myself.Sirens don't feel anything except hunger.
That was a lie. I felt everything now. Every moment she was out of my sight was a wound. Every hour she spent on that ship was a knife twisting in my chest. Every time I caught the faint scent of her fear drifting down through the water, I had to fight the urge to surge up there and tear the entire vessel apart with my bare hands.
Kaelan surfaced beside me, silent as a ghost. His dark eyes were fixed on the ship, his expression unreadable, his ink-black hair drifting around his face while his charcoal tail moved in slow, controlled sweeps.
"Your shift ended an hour ago." His voice was quiet, measured, but I could hear the understanding beneath it. He knew why I couldn't leave.
"I know." I didn't look at him. Couldn't tear my eyes away from the ship.
"You should rest." He moved closer, his shoulder brushing mine in a gesture that was meant to be comforting.
"I can't," The words came out harsher than I intended. My claws flexed, extending and retracting in a rhythm I couldn't control. "I can't close my eyes without seeing her up there. Without imagining what could happen if?—"
"I know," he replied, his voice soft. Understanding. He felt it too—we all did. But I was the one who couldn't stop watching. The one who couldn't look away for even a moment.
"The big alpha." I said, my voice dropping into a growl, my golden eyes still fixed on the ship's hull. "Cort. He's getting bolder."
"I've noticed." Kaelan's jaw tightened, the only sign of the rage he kept so carefully contained.
"Yesterday he touched her arm when she walked past. Today he stood too close at breakfast, made her back into a corner." My claws dug into my palms, and I welcomed the pain. It gave me something to focus on besides the rage. "Tomorrow he'll touch her again. And the day after that. He's testing her. Testing how much she'll let him get away with."
"And what do you want to do about it?" Kaelan asked, his dark eyes finally leaving the ship to meet mine. I turned to look at him, and I knew my eyes were glowing. Knew the predator in me was rising to the surface, barely contained by the thin veneer of civilization I wore like an ill-fitting skin.
"I want to drag him into the water and hold him under until the light leaves his eyes. I want to tear off the hands that touched her and feed them to the eels. I want to—" I stopped myself. Drew a breath I didn't need. "I want to keep her safe. I can't do that while she's up there."
"She asked for more time." His voice was gentle, but firm.
"I know." The word scraped out of my throat.
"She needs to choose us. Not just run from something worse." Kaelan's hand found my shoulder, gripping firmly.
"Iknow." The word came out as a snarl. "But what if something happens before she can choose? What if that alpha corners her somewhere we can't reach? What if?—"
"Then we kill him." Kaelan's voice was ice. Simple. Absolute. His dark eyes held mine without flinching. "We kill him, and we take her, and we deal with the consequences."
I stared at him, my claws freezing mid-flex. "You'd do that? Break the plan? Take her before she's ready?"
"If he touches her, really touches her, then yes." His dark eyes met mine, and I saw the same madness lurking behind his calm facade. The same desperate, possessive need that was eating me alive. "She isours, Riven. The plan exists to make her happy, not to keep her safe at the cost of her wellbeing. If the plan stops working, we change the plan."
Something in my chest loosened. Just slightly. Just enough to breathe.
"Thank you." The words came out rough, inadequate for what I was feeling.
"Don't thank me yet." His jaw tightened, and his hand dropped from my shoulder. "Go rest. I'll watch until sunset." I should have listened. Should have sunk down to the seafloor and closed my eyes and trusted him to keep her safe. Instead, I stayed. Watching. Waiting. Counting the minutes until I could see her again.
I had a list. Not written down, sirens didn't write things down. It was carved into my memory, as permanent as the scars on my skin. Every threat on that ship, ranked by danger level, with detailed plans for how I would eliminate each one.
