I blinked, surprised by his sudden comment. "What are you talking about?"
"You take on huge responsibilities and bear the weight of them alone. Don't do that this time."
"Are you talking about me getting pregnant?" I asked.
"Yes." Zak's eyes flashed with a spectrum of emotion. "This whole situation's a mess, I know that. But it's not up to you to fix it." He shook his head and started mumbling to himself. "There has to be another way. Maybe we can try something else, like making out a whole lot..."
When it finally dawned on me what Zak's point was, I began to laugh. He shot me a confused pout. "What?"
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. His small muffled noise was lost as a moan took its place. When we parted, his cheeks were warm and flushed.
"Come with me," I said.
"Okay..."
I led Zak past the trees and towards the shore. We stood on the opposite beach that Nautilus and Mistral had gone to. We were alone. Black sand stretched beneath our feet. The dark grains glittered like obsidian beneath the sliver of clear blue sky.
Past the localized blue was grey. The storm had settled slightly, probably due to Nautilus's awakening, but it wasn't over yet. The turmoil lingered. The waters were uneasy. It wasn't the coast I knew and loved.
"When I left Craig, I had no place to go," I said.
Zak stiffened. He didn't interrupt but held my hand in a silent show of support.
"I was alone. I'd left the pod of orca shifters I was born into a long time ago, and I had no desire to return to them since we weren't exactly a happy family. Maybe that was why I was so eager to leave with Craig. Not that it did me any good. After I split off from him, I had nobody."
The murky waves stretched out before me sloshed back and forth in an uneven rhythm. Almost like my life.
"My spirit was bruised, but not broken," I said. "I don't know if it's just my personality or because I'm an orca, but I wasn't about to let shit get to me. My anger fuelled me. Ihadto do something.Instead of moping around, I took action." I faced Zak. "You know the cavern where the haven is?"
Zak nodded.
"It didn't always look like that," I said. "It used to be a lot smaller."
Zak's eyes widened. "Wait, are you sayingyoucarved it out of the cliffside?"
A proud smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth. "Yeah. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But I did it. I can't take all the credit. The foundation of the cavern was already there. I only made it bigger. Spacious enough to house people."
With an awed expression, Zak's gaze flickered across my biceps and upper chest muscles, regarding them with new appreciation. "Kamari... That's incredible."
"It was a good outlet for my anger," I remarked. "I spent a lot of time smashing rocks and dirt with a shovel and pretending it was Craig's face."
Zak snorted a laugh. "Good for you. Also, remind me never to be around you when you're holding a shovel."
"I think by this point we can safely assume I will never hit you with a shovel."
"What if I'm beingreallyannoying?"
"Too bad. I'm acclimating to your level of annoyingness."
Zak snickered.
Still holding Zak's hand, I stepped towards the lapping waves. They were calling me. I wondered if they did the same to Zak.
"Shift with me," I ordered.
"Sure, boss."
I smiled at Zak before leaping into the air and slipping into my orca form. My streamlined body sliced into the water. A moment later, I felt the thick vibration of a body canon balling into the water behind me. I arched around to see Zak's wolf form swimming towards me. Sunlight dappled the surface, making shafts of light illuminate him.
