The frigid water surrounding us and the rumbling thunder disappeared. The rest of the world turned into fuzzy background noise. All I knew in that moment was Zakariel's burning gaze, like I was sucked into some kind of spell I couldn't tear myself free from.
"The best what?" I asked.
"The best fated mate," Zakariel said, dead serious.
I was torn between wanting to laugh in his face and awed silence. That definitely wasn't the answer I was expecting. Zakariel gave off the air of a player, an alpha who used omegas and threw them away--just like the ones who'd hurt the omegas in my haven. To hear that he was seeking a fated mate hit me like a bolt of lightning.
But so what? The chances of any shifter finding their fated mate were slim to none. Zakariel's crazy dream should've meant nothing to me. The key word beingshould have.Yet it stunned me speechless. I didn't even know how to reply to something like that.
The spell was broken as Zakariel's sober expression melted back into a stupid smirk. "Not thatyouhave to worry about that. I'd rather have my pelt shaved than be your fated mate."
"You're an idiot," I said, instantly irritated at him again.
"Good thing we won't be together for very long." There was a distant note in his voice. Subtle, but there.
"Agreed," I said a bit too quickly.
We swam on. I found myself wishing Zakariel would open his stupid mouth just to fill the silence because our conversation plagued me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Did Zakariel truly want to find his fated mate or was he just fucking with me? I didn't think he was joking. The grave gleam in his eyes said otherwise.
But that didn't make him some paragon of heroism. His goal was still the same--to claim an omega as his own. In a way, this was worse, because he could hide his true intentions behind a well-known shifter phenomena. All he had to do was assert that some unsuspecting omega was his fated mate and he could manipulate them however he wanted.
The thought deflated in my mind. No, I didn't think Zakariel was the type of man to do that. Even though he was an asshole, he seemed to understand and respect boundaries. Unless it was all a trick to lure me into a false sense of security.
Gods, I'm way too deep into my paranoia,I thought, annoyed at myself. It was exhausting thinking about every possible negative outcome all the time.
I shoved the worries into the deepest corner of my mind and focused on the journey to the island. Though the waves were rough and choppy, Zakariel hadn't once complained or slowed down. He just put one paw in front of the other. A total natural. That surprised me. Even Malke, a seal shifter born to the waters, had trouble swimming in these conditions.
Was it possible Zakariel really wasn't lying about being Nautilus's grandson?
The waters changed. It was sudden and jarring, like somebody flipped a switch. The saltwater streaming around my body turned into freshwater. It jolted me, making me grunt.
"Oh, man. Finally, the salt's gone," Zakariel said. "Wait, Kamari, you okay?"
A growl-like bellow rumbled in my throat. As a marine creature, I disliked being in freshwater. It was fine for a short period of time, but I'd get sick if I spent too long swimming in it. I would have to shift to human form if it didn't change back.
"Freshwater," I mumbled. I was prepared to give him the entire explanation, but Zakariel cut me off.
"Shit, sorry, I didn't even think about that. Are we close to shore?"
Did he already come to that conclusion by himself? He surprised me again. Maybe his alpha-father being a shark had something to do with it.
I glanced towards the horizon. There was a dark shape there, but I couldn't tell if it was the island we were seeking or just waves. "I don't know."
Zakariel scowled. "Dammit, I wish I had more of Granddad's powers. Come on. If we're fast enough, maybe you won't get sick."
Zakariel waited to make sure I was close behind, then sped off. Apparently, he could swim way faster than I thought--there was no way a normal wolf could reach those speeds in the water. How was he doing that? Sucked in by his urgency, I raced alongside him, no longer bound by having to keep pace with a mere wolf.
However, swimming faster also meant more freshwater battering my skin. My orca soul despised it. These weren't the waters I belonged in. But I refused to buckle under pressure. My omegas needed me. Iwouldfind Nautilus, no matter the toll it took on me.
"There!" Zakariel cried.
I blinked through the disgusting water to see a real, solid landmass up ahead. My heart leapt. We were close! I saved my breath, not wanting to waste it, and shot ahead with Zakariel close behind me. As fast as he was, he couldn't keep up with an orca at full speed, and I reached the island first.
Black sands stretched along the shore, leading inwards to an untouched forest. The sky above was oddly clear. The darkest clouds were still gathered over the water we'd just crossed.
Sudden exhaustion hit me and I beached myself before shifting to human form. I sputtered and coughed, groaning.
"Kamari!" Zakariel called.
