Page 38 of Crashing Tides

I can’t believe I just hit him. I’ve never actually done that before outside a couple of playground fights in the third grade. I think about the expensive watch he wears and pray he doesn’t remember this. I’m gonna get sued, I think helplessly.

But there’s no time for that. I babble, “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m scared to death to leave you here and we’re gonna die if we don’t get help soon, OK?”

I help him sit up, surprised at how warm his skin is beneath my frozen hands.

“Where… Where are we?” he asks.

The words spill from me in a jumble. “On the beach. I…” My voice is tight. “Something happened. I don’t… Are you… Are you a wolf?”

Instantly, I know I’ve fucked up. Duncan staggers to his feet. I reach for his forearm, hoping he won’t fall as he spits, “Don’t say that!”

“I won’t, I won’t,” I insist, still thinking of lawsuits. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Duncan just sways there. I’m afraid to let go. “I thought you were gonna die,” I say. My voice is so weak that the howling wind swallows it whole. “I, um, don’t know to give CPR to a wolf.”

His eyes flash. Actually flash, like lightning. Before I can ask how he did that, he demands, “What happened?”

Has he noticed he’s naked? I stoop to retrieve my coat and drape over his shoulders. There. Now he’s not cold. He can’t sue me for, like, neglect during an emergency or something. “I don’t know,” I say. “We were in the water and I—I don’t know⁠—”

He wobbles on his feet, but his gaze is sharp. “Did you know you were a shifter?”

I flinch at the words. Decide it’s best to play stupid. “A-a what?”

“A shifter.” He takes a wobbly step towards me. “A merman, or whatever?”

Wait. A merman?

Does that mean there aren’t tentacles?

“Is that what happened?!” I gasp, nearly relieved.

He leans against me. I automatically wrap my arm around him, simultaneously seeking the heat of his body, and also afraid that he might fall. “You had fins,” he mumbles. “Like my mom’s fish.”

I can’t take much more of this. “Like what?”

He shivers beside me. “Like my mom’s betta fish. They were all long and shiny.”

“I… Really?” Fish fins aren’t so bad. Not compared to tentacles.

“Yeah,” he says, voice gone faraway and dreamy. “They were really pretty.”

My face heats despite the cold. My mouth runs on autopilot as I try to process this. “Right. OK. That’s…” I can’t find the words. “New and horrifying. Awesome. Um…” I can’t help but laugh. This isn’t real. This can’t be happening. Any minute now, I’m going to wake up, and this dream will be an entertaining story that I tell Jane over lunch, nothing more. “We’re going to worry about that later.” I am going to freak the fuck out later. “Do you remember anything?”

This, I’m confident, is a good thing to ask. This is the kind of thing you’re supposed to discuss in an emergency, instead of asking someone if they’re a wolf.

I’ll never live that down. I’ll be incredibly lucky if Duncan doesn’t blackmail me.

He’s still leaning against me, warm even through the wet coat. I fight the urge to collapse against him. He gives a shrug. “I saw you fall. Went to rescue you. Now we’re here.”

I can’t get over the fact that he was a wolf less than an hour ago. “OK. Um, so you don’t remember turning back into a human?”

He doesn’t say anything, just shivers.

“I’m going to take that as a no,” I announce. We start taking slow steps away from the water. He’s silent a long time. Eventually, I ask, “Were you trying to take me to shore?”

I need to understand what happened. No matter how he’s here, it’s probably my fault, but I need to know exactly how guilty to feel. If he dove in after me… Well, that was his decision, I guess. But if he was nearby when the cliff collapsed, if he fell because of my antics… Well, I’d feel like shit.

“Yeah,” Duncan mumbles. “Sorry.”