"Itchy," Thane supplied, wrinkling his nose. "Like wearing clothes that don't fit. Everything feels too tight and too dry and just... wrong."
"But we can do it," Kaelan said, lifting me from the water and setting me gently on the stone ledge before shifting his own tail into legs. He stood before me, tall and broad and impossibly beautiful, water streaming down his human form. "For short periods. Long enough to gather supplies, to blend in when necessary, to get what we need." His dark eyes met mine, fierce and tender. "Long enough to find things worthy of you."
"We've never wanted to stay on land," Riven added, flexing his legs like they were foreign appendages he barely tolerated. "Never had a reason to. But having legs means we can be here with you. In the air. On solid ground." Something almost vulnerable flickered in his golden eyes. "However you need us."
"This is ours," Kaelan said, gesturing around the space, his voice carrying a note of uncertainty I'd never heard from him before. "Our territory. Our den. We've been collecting things for centuries—salvage from wrecks, treasures from the deep, things we've bought or traded for on land. But we never had anyone to share it with." His dark eyes met mine, fierce and vulnerable all at once. "We can find you somewhere else if you don't?—"
"It's perfect," I interrupted, reaching up to cup his face in my hands, feeling the sharp lines of his jaw beneath my palms. "It's absolutely perfect." The relief that flooded his expression made my heart clench.
"She likes it," Thane breathed, his voice thick with emotion, tears already tracking down his cheeks as he pressed close to my side. "She actually likes it."
"Of course she likes it," Riven said, but his voice was rough, and when I looked at him, I saw the same relief in his golden eyes, the same desperate hope he tried so hard to hide behind his scarred exterior. "It's the best den in the entire ocean. She'd be an idiot not to like it."
"Such a romantic," Vale murmured, but he was smiling, his silver eyes soft with warmth as he moved closer, his hand finding mine and squeezing gently.
I laughed—a real laugh, bubbling up from somewhere deep in my chest, surprising me with its lightness. When was the last time I'd laughed like that? Really laughed, without fear or caution or the constant weight of survival pressing down on my shoulders?
I couldn't remember.
"I love it," I said, looking around the cavern again, taking in every detail. The way the light played across the treasures. The softness of the furs piled on the bed. The way the four of them surrounded me, their bodies forming a protective circle even here, even now, even when we were finally safe. "I love all of it."
"Good," Kaelan said, his voice rough with emotion, his thumb stroking across my hip in that absent, possessive way of his. "Because you're never leaving." The words should have felt like a threat. Should have triggered every survival instinct I'd honed over eight months of running.
Instead, they felt like a promise.
"I don't want to leave," I admitted, the words coming out soft and sure, surprising me with their certainty. "I never want to leave."
Riven made that sound again, the broken whine that seemed to escape him whenever I said something that caught him off guard. He was at my side in an instant, his hands cupping my face, his golden eyes searching mine with desperate intensity.
"Say it again," he demanded, his voice rough and cracked, his scarred face inches from mine. "Please. I need to hear it again."
"I never want to leave," I repeated, reaching up to trace the scars that mapped his cheeks, feeling him shudder under my touch. "I want to stay here. With you. All of you. Forever." He kissed me—hard and desperate and tasting of salt and relief.When he finally pulled back, his eyes were wet, and he didn't seem to care.
"Forever," he echoed, the word coming out like a prayer, his forehead pressing against mine. "She said forever."
"She said forever," Vale confirmed, and when I looked at him, I saw tears tracking down his beautiful face, his silver eyes shimmering with emotion. "She's staying. She's really staying."
"Of course she's staying," Thane said, his voice wobbling dangerously, his whole body pressing against my back as his arms wrapped around my waist. "She's ours. She's always been ours. She just didn't know it yet."
I leaned into him, feeling the warmth of his body, the steady beat of his heart. Feeling all of them around me—their hands, their scents, their overwhelming presence.
My pack.
"There's something we need to discuss," Kaelan said quietly, and something in his tone made me look up, made my attention sharpen despite the warmth and safety surrounding me.
"What is it?" I asked, searching his face for clues, feeling a flutter of anxiety in my chest. He exchanged a look with the others—one of those wordless communications that spoke of centuries together, of understanding that went deeper than language.
"The potion," he said finally, his dark eyes meeting mine, his expression serious. "The one that lets you breathe underwater. It won't last forever."
"I know," I said slowly, not sure where this was going. "You said it wears off after a few hours."
"It does," he confirmed, his jaw tightening, something pained flickering in his gaze. "And we only have a limited supply. The witch... she gave us enough for perhaps a month, if we're careful. But after that..." He trailed off, but I understood. After that, I would need a more permanent solution.
"The transformation," I said, the pieces clicking into place, my heart beginning to race. "You want me to transform."
"Want is... not the right word," Vale said carefully, his silver eyes soft with concern, his hand finding mine again and squeezing. "We would never force you. Never ask you to give up something you didn't want to give up. But Lily..." He paused, swallowing hard. "If you want to stay with us—truly stay, forever—there's only one way."
"You'd have to become one of us," Riven said bluntly, his golden eyes fierce, his scarred jaw tight with tension. "A siren. Permanently. Your body would change—your lungs, your blood, everything. The water would become your natural home."
