“What is it, haze?”
“Your marking…” Her voice shakes, and I start to worry.
I follow the path of her fingers, trying to figure out what has her so shaken.
“Do you know what this means?”
Then it clicks. The marking on my shoulder.
“That weird blue thing? That’s what’s bothering you? I’m not particularly fond of it—mostly because I can’t see it—but if you hate it, I’ll burn it off.”
“No!”
Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.
I turn around and pull her into my lap, gripping her chin firmly.
“Hazel. Baby. You’re acting weird. Please explain.”
Her hand wraps around my wrist. “Dean… it’s inMeris. Siren language.”
No way.
“Can you read it?”
Hazel hesitates, then recites softly. “Waves lose when they return to the ocean.Death will find you where the waves touch the shore.”
My brows shoot up. “Are you telling me this has been carved into me for more than a decade, and it’s in your language?”
Hazel nods, still looking shaken.
I groan, dropping my forehead against her chest. “Fucking hell. I should’ve asked Elijah. I should’ve tried to figure it out instead of ignoring it.”
I lift my head, a thousand unspoken apologies between us. “I thought it was just Fates screwing with me. marking me with something I couldn’t even read. Fuck, Hazel. I swear if I’d known… even a hint that my mate was a siren, I would’ve torn the ocean apart to find you.”
The shine in her eyes twists something deep in my chest, but then she smiles and crashes into me. I grip the back of her neck,kissing her like I can make up for everything I didn’t do. For every second, she had to survive without me.
She was always meant to find her way to me.
I’ve beenher homeall along.
25. Under the stars
Hazel
Itoss and turn for an hour before finally giving up on sleep.
It’s a struggle to get out of Dean’s deathly grip on me. For some reason, he can only fall asleep with his arms and legs wrapped around me like a spider monkey.
This is what I get for slipping out of bedonce.Now mymate holds me hostage every night. Ever since he found me bleeding in the waterfall, he refuses to go to sleep before me like I’ll disappear if he closes his eyes.
I told him I only did it because of the full moon, but it didn’t change anything. His overprotective streak has dug its claws in, and I don’t see it letting go anytime soon.
It’s… kind of cute. But I’d never admit that out loud.
One night, after finishing my rounds, I found him sitting on my bed, head bowed as he dozed off. He startled awake the second I crawled into bed beside him, then dragged me into his chest before falling asleep.
Dean was careful not to unload his worry on me, but I could see the way he held on too tight, the way he never fully relaxed. He was checking on me a thousand times throughout the day, but even that wasn’t helping either of us.
