We were tearing across the water.
Our speed continued to increase, and I clutched my hammock for dear life once again. This time, inertia forced me toward the back of the ship, plastering my innards against my backbone. The hammock dug into my hands, gouging deep grooves into my fingers, but if I let go, I would fly into Dad and send us both crashing against the back wall, so I held on. The crew above continued to dance and sing, and I feared they’d never stop.
Exactly how far away was that freaking island?
My arms trembled from the strain, and blood dribbled down my skin. Darkness clouded the edges of my vision, and my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. Swallowing back bile, I tightened my grip on the now-slippery canvas.
Just as my fingers began to slide, the chanting and pounding above us died down. The unnatural speed slowed, and the g-force released me to slump forward, exhausted. Finally able to stand freely, I peeled my bloody fingers from the hammock and stumbled toward the porthole. My three companions bolted out the door, their footsteps echoing in the hallway and up the stairs. Gripping the iron bars outside the ship, I yanked myself forward to lean out over the water and emptied my stomach into the deep.
When the retching subsided, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and turned from the porthole. The alpha stood in the doorway, jaw tight, mop and bucket in hand. Mack and Rust were nowhere to be seen.
The alpha set the cleaning supplies aside, folded his arms across his chest, and gave me his undivided attention. “Talk.”
I straightened, wiping my hands on my pants as I leanedagainst the wooden wall. “The dragon has visited my dreams four times now.”
Outrage widened his eyes. “And you didn’t think to mention this?” His voice stayed level, which was far worse than when he shouted.
“I thought they were just nightmares at first?—”
“Thinking isn’t your job.” He stepped further into the cabin, arms dropping, fists clenched at his side. “I’m your alpha. You report to me immediately at the first sign of potential danger. That’s not a suggestion.”
The idea of reporting nightmares was preposterous, yet his reprimand still landed like a physical blow. He was right. I should have come to him after the second, or at least after the third, but I’d screwed up.
I lowered my gaze. “Yes, Alpha. I’m sorry.”
“What happened in these dreams?”
“Threats. Intimidation. But last night was different. He demanded to know where we were and showed me our den. He knew exactly where it was, and he ripped off the door and flooded it. Froze everyone inside.” My throat constricted at the memory of Tali screaming for help and Mauricio’s terrified face locked in ice. “He threatened to keep them that way unless I told him where we were.”
The alpha went completely still. When he spoke, his voice dropped to something deadly quiet. “You told him.”
“He had our people?—”
“It wasn’t real. More importantly, it wasn’t your fucking call to make!” The words exploded from him as he stormed across the room, stopping only inches from me. His eyes had gone molten amber, his wolf pushing at the surface. “You would have known that had you done your duty and reported the threat to your alpha. You are a soldier. Unqualified and untrained to negotiate with the enemy. You don’t surrender intelligence. And you sure as hell don’t hand him our location on a silver platter!”
I tried to back up, but my spine was already digging into thewall. I bared my throat on instinct, feeling my pulse hammer against my exposed skin. Pack law was absolute, and before me stood the judge, jury, and executioner. His wolf snarled behind those burning eyes, and for the first time in my life, I genuinely feared that my father might kill me.
But I’d make the same choice again.
“Is leatsa mo shaol, Alpha.”
“Your life is mine,” he growled, wrapping a hand around my throat in a way that made it clear that he was envisioning his jaws there. Fur ghosted up his arm. “Remember that. Had you told me about your interactions, we could have used this. We could have fed him misinformation or led him into a trap. Instead, the four of us now have to deal with a goddamn dragon on top of our mission.”
“I’m sorry, Alpha.” It was all I could think to say. Tears stung my eyes and dribbled down my cheeks as a sign of my shame, and I didn’t dare wipe them away.
The bones in his hand shifted against my barely healed throat. Fingers elongated, and nails dug into my flesh as his wolf clawed toward the surface. Bones ground and tendons strained as Dad fought the shift. If his wolf won the fight, my neck would be the first thing to go, finishing what Sereana’s ceremony started. The fishmen would be next. And then we’d all die on this ship, because an alpha wolf in a blind rage didn’t stop until there was nothing left standing.
The edges of my vision darkened. Dad had been mad at me plenty of times, but he’d never gone this far before. Panic seized my heart.
“It won’t happen again,” I rasped, struggling for breath.
Swearing, he released me. I gulped in air, fighting a wave of dizziness as my body began healing itself.
That had been close.
My heart still raced, reminding me I wasn’t out of the woods yet. The alpha continued to seethe, his fangs flashing at me as he took several breaths, and about a million of my rapid heartbeats,before turning and marching back to the door. He stopped and, with one foot, shoved the mop and bucket at me hard enough that water sloshed over the rim, splashing against the inch already on the floor.
“Clean up this mess.”
