Page 47 of Welcome to Seaman’s Cove: Part Two

“You will marry Princess Farrasea, just as your father intended. You will help her ascend to the throne. And you will forget all about your human pet.” She screams the last bit, picking up a vase studded with bazal gems, and hurling it at the wall.

I flinch, unable to hide the movement, and she smiles before whipping her attention to Marius, who’s been silent through the entire conversation. “Throw him in the dungeons until the wedding.”

Fuck! Now how am I going to get to my mate?

32

By the time Hunter and Madi get out of the shower, I’m feeling pretty good about my plan. The only problem is we can’t act immediately, and I’m guessing my ocean girl won’t be happy about waiting.

Freshly showered and dressed, Phoenix and I sit at the end of the bed, side by side, as Hunter carries a towel-wrapped Madi into the room, steam billowing out of the little bathroom behind them. Madi blinks as if she’s just waking up, and smiles softly when she sees us.

Phoenix repositions to his knees, bouncing a little on the bed. “Bring her here.” He holds out his arms to take her from Hunter. “We’ve got to get this aloe on you, sunshine. Doctor’s orders.”

Hunter kisses her forehead before setting her on her feet. She yawns, looking around as she takes in the room, and then her back goes ramrod straight. “Caspian.”

The single word shakes with pain that makes my heart throb. I take her hand and pull her into my lap, the action surprisingly natural despite the limited physical contact we’ve had before now. She comes willingly, but doesn’t relax.

Phoenix moves closer to us, rubbing her back, and Hunter kneels on the floor by my feet, a firm hand on her thigh.

“We need to go get him.” Her gaze swings around the room as if searching for him, as if he’ll somehow materialize if she just wants it hard enough. “I can’t⁠—”

“Shh,” Phoenix says, “It’s okay, sunshine. Let Seb tell you the brilliant plan we concocted while you were in the shower.”

There’s so much hope in her eyes as she looks at me, my mind goes blank. What if this doesn’t work? What if this plan gets us all killed?

Eyes pinched shut, I focus on the weight of her on my lap, and take a long exhale before looking at her again.

“I’m not sure it’ll work, so don’t get too excited just yet.” That nervous anxiety makes my hands shake. Maybe I shouldn’t suggest this. I could just stay quiet about it. We could convince her to wait it out longer and see if Caspian makes it to us on his own. Oh, gods, I hope he makes it. Madi’s not the only one bonded to him. My firebird wears his bite as well. What will happen to him if his mate is forced to stay behind in the ocean and lost to us forever? Will I lose him like my mom?

Hell, no. I’m not letting that happen. Okay, this is a good plan. It’s flawed, but it might work.

“I think you’ve probably realized money isn’t an issue for me,” I start again.

Hunter snorts a laugh but doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah. So, one of the tech startups I invested in about three years ago has been working on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of underwater exploration. They’ve truly made some remarkable strides while maintaining the company’s mission of⁠—”

“Sebby,” Phoenix cuts in, “no need to default to CEO-mode. You aren’t giving an AlphaTalk, you’re with your pack. Just tell them.”

My pack. Those words do something to me I can’t explain. I never thought I wanted a pack. The idea of constantly having that many people around made my skin crawl. I like my solitude. People make me anxious and exhausted. And then there’s the fear of what happened to my mom.

But… right now, with Madi on my lap, my firebird leaning against my shoulder and Hunter at my feet, one hand on Madi and the other on my knee, I actually feel content. Being with the three of them feels right. Though, without Caspian, it seems incomplete.

Hunter raises his eyebrows at me, like he’s urging me to go on.

“Right. Sorry.” I look up at Madi, who’s gazing at me as if I’m about to save her entire world. Gods, I hope this works. “Anyway, this company created wetsuits that employ a new technology that uses⁠—”

Phoenix coughs and raises a brow. Shit, I was doing it again. It’s a habit for me to geek out, more comfortable with science than dealing with whatever weird emotions I’m feeling right now.

“It uses technology I’m not going to explain in detail right now, since it isn’t important. What matters is that these suits can theoretically be submerged up to 1500 meters. They’ve only been tested to 250 meters thus far, but the science is sound. I brought a few with us, since I wasn’t sure what we’d need to be prepared for. But⁠—”

“So we can use them to get to Caspian?” Madi jumps, attempting to get to her feet, but Phoenix wraps his arms around her from behind, pulling her back down. She glares at him. “What are you doing? Let me go, we have to leave!”

“Shhh, sunshine.” He presses more firmly into me in order to hold her still. “We have to wait for the suits and personal scooters to finish charging. They weren’t at full capacity because Sebby didn’t think we’d need them here. We had the submersibles, and Tythas is deeper than they’ve been tested.”

Madi deflates. “How long will it take for them to charge? We’re still gonna try them, right?”

“Yeah, ocean,” I share a look with the other men, “we’ll do whatever we can to get your mate back. The suits should be charged by morning.”