So he moved fast, killed quick, and butchered his prey carefully but efficiently. After wrapping the fatty liver in a waterproof sheet and stowing it in his satchel, he’d refueled his depleted energy reserves with a few bloody bites of thick blubber and flesh. The rest was left for Tempest.
Like all ocean beings, Emory had a healthy respect for the Hungry God. He’d heard that the land dwellers didn’t always feel the eyes of the other gods, but the merfolk felt their god’s presence constantly. They felt his anger, his need, his radiance, and his cruelty every day. It was vitally important that they remember him always, unless they wished to drown in a rogue wave or worse — never know the love of a mate.
Certainly the other gods in the pantheon mattered too, but they did not hold sway over the lives of merfolk and so were not his problem.
The majority of the great white, which had taken all Emory’s strength to subdue on his own, was not hauled back to his cove for preservation but left as a sacrifice. He was by no means humble, but he hoped it could at least appear that way when he gifted it to his god and asked for his blessing.
When the carcass was sucked away by the current, whisked out to deeper, darker water, he felt reasonably sure that his prayer had been answered. Tempest was often cruel, but he was not known as the god of love for nothing. No one had waited for a mate as long as the Hungry God had, and so no other god could empathize with Emory more.
Exhausted by his efforts but filled with optimism, he’d raced back to the islands as fast as he was able. It was mid-morning, which meant that his mate would be up at the lighthouse, doing whatever it was she did up there, and that would allow him plenty of time to sneak through the pool.
He had grand visions of waiting there for her, liver in hand, and finally seeing her up close. He imagined her gasping. She would be very impressed with his physique, and hopefully aroused by his prominently displayed genital markings. And then she would see the liver, become even more aroused by the gift, and?—
She wasn’t there.
When he opened the pool, his instincts screamed that something was wrong. A glance up instantly revealed why.
The submersible was gone.
His mateleft.
His heart jackknifed in his chest at the thought that she was alone out in the dark ocean and then, on the heels of that, the idea that she might have left because ofhim.Had he scared her off somehow? Would she ever return?
Abandoning the pool, Emory had frantically searched the steep underwater slopes around the islands before he picked up the low hum of the submersible’s engine. He’d simultaneously wilted with relief and wanted to shred something with his claws at the sight of it puttering through the water at a leisurely pace.
The more he looked at the bulbous little body of the vehicle, the more incensed he became. It was new technology, yes, but it looked flimsy. Any one of his kind could disable it with enough determination. A pod working together could tear it apart in minutes.
And that might actually happen, treaty be damned, if a group of unmated merfolk stumbled upon her. In their frenzy to get to her, they wouldn’t think of her safety, nor what might happen if her fragile body was exposed to the depths and pressure the submersible was designed to handle.
It was a good thing she already had an attentive mate who understood just how easily she could be harmed.
He wanted to demand to know what exactly she was doing putting herself at risk, but after a few minutes of trailing her, the answer became clear.
She wasn’t just out for a jaunt. She wasn’t joyriding. She wasn’t hunting. She wasn’t looking forhim.
His mate was heading straight for the closest dock.
She’s leaving.
Panic gripped him by the throat.No, she can’t. Not when I just found her.
He’d waited so long. He’d dreamed of what it would be like to have a mate and then had every one of those dreams upended by the reality ofher,soft and sweet-voiced and smiley even when she thought no one was looking. He refused to let her go. Hewouldn’t.
As if she somehow sensed his urgency, the submersible sped up. It arrowed toward the growing underwater beacon attached to the submersible dock’s gate.
Fuck!
Emory’s powerful tail flexed, propelling him through the water. He was damn fast, but he was also exhausted from his hunt. Still, he pushed himself, teeth gritted, to go faster, togetto her.
He would stop her. He would make her see that he would be a good mate, a loving one who only wanted to bask in her. He had to. He had totry.
His claws screeched against the reinforced hull before the gates slammed closed, forcing him back with a hiss. The water around the invisible fence was superheated, making it nearly impossible for his kind to tamper with or break through. He was forced to watch through hot, swirling water as his mate’s vehicle was hitched to a mechanical arm and pulled out of sight.
A great tearing sensation rendered him immobile.No,he thought, letting the current slowly sweep him away from the gate.No, she can’t be gone.
* * *
He waited. He waited and he hoped and he thought,If she comes back, I’ll not let her escape again.
