Page 43 of Welcome to Seaman’s Cove: Part Two

“Fuck,” Hunter curses, holding his shoulder. Blood spills down his arm. From above us, someone calls his name.

“Throw me the spear,” I yell.

Hunter picks up the long rod and tosses it to me in the water. I grab it before it can sink, for once grateful for my training. Pointing the sharp tip forward, I brace myself for the oncoming attack, looking briefly back over my shoulder at my pack alpha. “I’ll hold them off. Go!”

Hunter hesitates, looking from me to the helicopter.

“Get her out of here,” I growl, full alpha now, pure instinct. “She needs you.”

That gets him moving. We both know Madi’s the most important. She’s been trapped here in the sun, without comfort or care for days. She’s probably malnourished and needs medical attention. So does Hunter now that he’s been wounded. We can’t let my mother’s guards get to that ladder.

I’ll do anything to protect my pack, even if it means being left behind.

Another spear hurls toward Hunter as he climbs, but he dodges it. One of the guards in the back aims his weapon, ready to try again. I throw the spear with all my might. It strikes true, hitting him in his throwing arm. I’m going to pay for that betrayal later. But I’d rather forsake my mother and attack her guards than have any hurt come to my pack. My only loyalty is to them now. I may not have known them long, but they’re mine. We’re part of each other, our own family, our own kingdom.

With a feral scream, I charge the closest merman, dragging him under the water. The warriors shift all their attention to me, shock painting their features at their prince turning on them. The hesitation doesn’t last long, though. Moments later I feel a hand grip the back of my gorget and pull, making the scales dig into my skin painfully. Aeces, one of my mother’s guards who has always had it out for me, slams his fist into my solar plexus, a grunt barely able to leave me with the gorget choking me. I thrash my tail, only making it worse, until I reach up and unclasp the armor, releasing its hold from my neck as the male holding it falls backward from the force he was pulling with.

They chase me back to the surface. We’re far out from the prison when I break the top of the water. Hands grab hold of each of my limbs and yank me back down, and I finally stop struggling. It’s not necessary anymore. This isn’t a fight I can win, it’s just a distraction, and it’s over now.

My only comfort as I’m dragged below is the sight of the helicopter flying away.

30

“Go!” I’m panting as I climb into the helicopter. “We need to get out of here.”

“Where’s Caspian?” Madi’s already buckled into a seat, but her shaking hands frantically try to unclasp the hooks. “We can’t leave without him!”

“We have to.” I lunge for her, kneeling on the floor, and covering her hands with mine to stop her from trying to get up.

The pilot is already turning around as one of the crew members pulls up the ladder. I thought the helicopter was excessive when I first saw it, but now I’m so thankful.

Tears spring from Madi’s eyes as she shakes her head. Phoenix and Sebastian wrap her in their arms from either side, and we all offer what comfort we can.

Once the ladder is in, the crewmate offers me a headset. I quickly put it on so Madi can hear me better.

“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. He’ll find us. But we need to get you safe.” I squeeze her hand in my larger one. “It’s what he wanted.”

She just cries harder, her sobs breaking my heart. I can’t bring myself to separate from her, even just to sit in a seat across the aisle, so I stay where I am on the floor and rest my head in her lap.

We can all feel Caspian’s reassurance through the bond even with the underlying current of stress. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to calm our sweet omega.

We don’t talk on the rest of the short flight. We just hold each other and hope. I have to believe that Caspian will find his way to us. There’s no other choice. Now that the submersibles have been destroyed, we have no way of helping him. All we can do is stay close by and wait.

When we land, the captain is waiting for us.

“Thank the gods we found ya,” he says. “Had me nervous there for a minute, kid.” He claps Phoenix on the back as he climbs out of the helicopter first. “When ya didn’t come up, and we saw that sub wreckage floatin’…” He shakes his head. “Well, I’m just glad you found your way to safety, whatever happened.”

Madi and I are still in the chopper, but we can hear them from where they’re standing. She makes no move to get out, though.

“You okay?” I ask.

She stares past me at the ocean. “No. I just got you all back, and now… No, I’m not okay.”

With a sigh, I undo her seatbelt and lift her into my arms. The strain pulls at the cut on my bicep, but it’s not enough to make me let go of my omega.

“Let’s get you inside and have someone look you over. Then we can make a plan, okay, sweetheart?”

She doesn’t respond. The rest of the guys follow us into the ship. We don’t have a doctor on board, which was probably an oversight, but Phoenix says a few of the crew have some basic medical training. One such young man joins us in the main deck lounge. He attempts to look at the cut on my arm, but I pull away.