And my… betrothed. Will she search for me? It shouldn’t matter now that I’m bonded to my starfish. Surely that nulls the arrangement. Princess Farrasea is not the type of female to share. She’s a fierce alpha just like my mother, the Queen. She won’t want an omega, much less a pack, ruling alongside her. Fear swamps me when I think about what she might do to Hunter, Phoenix, and Madi if our connections were discovered.
My mother will have to understand. She wouldn’t separate bonded mates.
We pass a school of fish I recognize. They are peaceful, living calmly in shallow waters. We often eat them. I wonder if the inhabitants of this city ate them, too. I wishthis place wasn’t in ruins. If only it was still a thriving place where I could live with my pack.
This city is proof that humans and merfolk once lived in harmony. The fact that I was able to bond Madison further confirms it. What I need to know ishow. How did these two seemingly disparate groups thrive together? How did they breed? What of their younglings, were they merfolk or did they lack tails?
Why did Ocearus fall?
The answers have to lie in that library. They must.
A sharp jolt on my shoulder followed by the loss of Hunter’s touch has me whirling around, yanked out of my internal thoughts. My stomach drops when I see Hunter several paces behind me, his eyes closed and bubbles leaking from his mouth and nose. Suddenly, he jerks and is floating away. No, not floating. He’s being dragged.
I rush toward him, swimming under his body to try to see what has a hold on him. It’s a creature I recognize. Anagual.
Agual can grow to the length of two mermen, but this one is on the smaller side. It still surpasses the size of most humans. Its sleek silver body shimmers in the low light, reflecting the surrounding environment to camouflage itself. It’s part of what makes aguals so dangerous. Their most formidable feature, however, is their long, spear-like snout. The sharp tip contains venom glands along grooves in the sides. When the agual finds prey, it will quickly jab its quarry, and the protective sheathing that usually covers the spear breaks away, allowing the venom to seep into the flesh of whatever it has stabbed. The venom is not deadly, but it will render their victim unconscious so they can drag their bounty back to their dens. The tip will grow back.
This one currently has its teeth gripping Hunter’s backpack, and is using it to pull him away. My bigger concern, however, is that Hunt isn’t a creature native to the sea. His body won’t protect his lungs from breathing in water while he’s stunned. If I had the daggers I typically carry when in Tythas, I could dispatch of this horrid agual easily. But I’m not as prepared as I normally would be.
I don’t have time to think of each outcome, or Hunter will drown. Instead, I swim around to Hunter’s front, ripping the straps of his backpack down his arms. It slips free, and as I’d hoped, the agual thinks it still has part of its prey in its mouth, so it keeps swimming, not willing to face an apex predator for the rest.
I gather Hunter into my arms and push air into his lungs, but he can’t consciously inhale. It will have to do as I desperately swim in search of a place to break through the water’s surface.
39
Idon’t like being left behind.
Deep down, I know Caspian and Hunter didn’t leave me here because I was a disappointment or wouldn’t acquiesce to their demands. Their goal is my safety. Iknowthat. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting though.
It drags up old hurts, ones that were already close to the surface after we encountered Pack Prescott. I was always either too much or not enough for them. I wanted too much and wouldn’t become the quaint little house-omega they wanted. Instead of respecting me as a partner and a scholar, they tried to control me by sabotaging my birth control so I’d be forced to comply.
Before that, my parents were the culprits. Raised in a household that values appearance over feelings, I wasn’t given the time of day unless I was doing everything my parents demanded of me. And who was I to complain, really? Poor little rich girl doesn’t get enough attention from Mommy and Daddy.
That isn’t really what bothers me, though. What eats atme is the fact that if I’m not reaching their arbitrary standards, I don’t have value. As if earning my master’s summa cum laude wasn’t an achievement, but aburden. A distraction from my true purpose in life. It’s no wonder I let Pack Prescott walk all over me for so long.
Fishybillionaire47 did more for me than give me the confidence to leave Branson, Carter, and Rodrick. Helistenedto me. He made me feel heard and seen for who I already was. He loved my theories on Ocearus, and we’d video chat for hours sharing resources and anecdotes. I’d confided to him that I felt closer to my Aunt April than I ever did my parents, and he never once made me feel bad for that.
When she died in that underwater cave-in, I lost a part of myself. Fishybillionaire47 helped me gain it back. His support made me realize I should be proud of who I am, of my achievements and intelligence. That I shouldn’t let anyone put me down or hold me back. Then again, he eventually left me behind, too. What does that say about me? Not anything good, I guess.
“So… scent matches, huh?” Phoenix asks, breaking the silence and yanking me out of my thoughts. When I look at him, he has the most adorably awkward look on his face, which seems out of character for him.
“That’s what you’re going with?” I raise an eyebrow. “You aren’t gonna make this weird, are you? Please don’t make it weird.”
Phoenix barks out a laugh, and his shoulders relax a little. “Not exactly sure how to start that conversation after I’ve had you dripping slick down my thighs while your mate fucks you senseless. So, yeah, that’s what I’m going with.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh, though it’s paired with a red hot blush on my cheeks. The way he talks is so straightforward, yet playful at the same time.
“It’s crazy, right?” I ponder aloud. “I thought I was scent compatible with my ex-pack, but now that I know what a true scent match feels like, it doesn’t even compare. It’s like Branson’s pack may as well not even exist.”
I should do some research on scent compatibility. I wonder if everyone feels this kind of uncontrollable draw to a scent match. I’ve never felt so turned on as when I’m with Phoenix, Hunter, and Caspian. But it’s more than that. I feel comfortable with them in a way I don’t with anyone else. Like I’ve known them my whole life, even though we only just met. Is that normal?
I move a little closer to Phoenix, and decide I’m just gonna go with it.
“Yeah,” Phoenix agrees, though his thoughts seem far away. “Hunter’s scent has always appealed to me, and God knows Sebastian’s makes my mouth water, but yours?—”
“Sebastian?” I cut him off, heart in my throat. Does he already have a mate? Did he help me through my heat spike despite not being single? I feel sick even thinking about it.
Phoenix rubs a hand on the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Sebastian is my… partner. My beta partner.” Sensing my freak out, he continues before I can panic. “But we aren’t exclusive! He knows I want a pack and an omega. He just has some hang-ups around that stuff. I love him with my whole heart, though.”
