Chapter Five.
Jase/Poseidon
A lthough he intended not to show interest, he had kept up to date on Willow’s rescue and the story that unfolded. The reports initially stated she was alive and marooned on an island. Then the information changed to her being attacked, bullet holes being found, and her fleeing into a storm to avoid them. The human had done as she’d been told, and her story held up, even under the media’s stern scrutiny.
There’s been an outcry and several suggestions of who’d targeted her, but no one claimed responsibility. Especially as the furore was similar to Amelia Earheart being found. Willow had been thought dead and now, miraculously, there she was. She was everywhere for the first six weeks, and then her appearances lessened due to declining interviews. But while she had her fame, Willow had pleaded to save the oceans.
It had inspired the humans for a short while, and thousands tried to clean the seas, but again, that slowly stopped as the media did. Jase snorted in derision, same old stupid. Half- hearted in all they did. Their time would soon come. His plans were in the works, and it was just a matter of timing.
But despite his intentions, his days hunting for his Sins and everything else he did, Jase wondered about the little human every day. She had faded into the background, and he wondered why. Had the trauma of the attack and her stay at the castle scared her into obscurity? He doubted that very much.
For some reason, Jase was unsettled. He sensed something happening but was unsure of the details. He refused to relate it to Willow and her coming here, even though a little voice deep down kept nagging him about her. Jase squashed it ruthlessly and tried to carry on as he had been. Soul mates. Rubbish!
Jase was working out with Durant when the call came from Mary’s tower. He frowned, confused because it was still early afternoon. Durant paused in his fight as Jase replied he’d be there soon.
“Everything okay, brother?” Durant asked.
“No idea, it’s not like Mary to want us at this time,” Jase responded. He could feel Mary’s worry climbing over his skin and wondered what was happening.
Leaving Durant, he strode to Mary’s tower, where he found Mary waiting for him, watching his mirror.
“What is it?” Jase demanded as he entered.
“You need to deal with this. You created the problem,” Mary said and moved aside so Jase could see.
“What the hell?” Jase complained. He stood in front of his mirror, and his eyes widened.
On The Swallow’s Nest, clearly arguing, was Willow. She looked remarkably different from when he’d seen her six months ago. Back then, she’d been pale and recovering from the bullet wound. Now, she was tanned, but her hair was wild, and she was talking to thin air, flapping her hands.
“What is she doing?” Jase demanded, puzzled, as he stepped close to peer at Willow.
“Watch,” Mary said.
Jase folded his arms across his chest, unamused, as Willow appeared to rant at nothing. His frown deepened, and his confusion grew.
“How is this my fault?” he asked.
“Look,” Mary retorted.
Jase sighed. Mary was in one of her moods. He watched for a few more minutes and was about to leave when he stepped backwards in sheer surprise. A bottle-nosed dolphin reared out of the sea and clearly began chatting with Willow.
Willow argued, waving her arms around and shaking her head, and the dolphin nearly came fully out of the water to make his own point. Wide-eyed Jase observed several other sea creatures as they appeared, including two turtles sunning themselves on the deck.
“What on earth?” Jase exclaimed.
“Soul mate,” Mary said succinctly.
“Bullsh… rubbish,” Jase denied. “The hell is she my mate. A stinking human!”
“Willow is speaking with your subjects. Only your soul mate could do that!” Mary pointed out, and Jase scowled. He didn’t need telling that.
“No, she must just be ranting,” Jase suggested.
“That is indeed a rant, but open your eyes, you stubborn man. Willow is clearly arguing with that dolphin and whale alongside her boat. They want her to target a bad ship and will help her. Willow is declining their assistance,” Mary replied. “And they don’t like her denying them a chance.”
“Are you telling me she is using my subjects to attack toxic boats?” Jase roared, puffing up.
Mary calmly reached up and slapped him around his head. “Listen up, you stubborn ox. Willow refuses them the opportunity, but they still go. She’s trying to figure out how to send them to safety, but they won’t leave her. For all intents and purposes, Willow has three bottle-nosed dolphins, two turtles, a seal with a lazy flipper, a crab, and two whales in her court. She doesn’t know they’re her court because they’ve not quite informed her of that. However, they do address her as She and Her. No need for me to explain those titles,” Mary said.
Jase shook his head even as he accepted what Mary was saying. By calling Willow She and Her, the sea creatures announced she was their queen to his king. They’d look to her for protection and lay their lives down to protect her in return.
“How the hell did this happen?” Jase groaned, a hand holding his forehead as pain shot through it. This was giving him a headache.
“Because you foolish man, like it or not, Willow is your soul mate and is inheriting your powers.”
“But I’ve not touched her!” Jase vehemently denied.
“But you did. When she was wounded, you carried her. The connection would start growing if you had an open wound, a tiny scratch, and your blood intermingled. But because you’re so far apart, Jase, it’s taken time. There is a clear mate bond, or Willow would not have your power to speak to any creature at sea,” Andie explained from the doorway.
Jase spun on her, ready to rail at her, but stopped. Andie was pale and looked tired. Mary moved swiftly as Andie’s knees went out from under her, and Jase leapt forward as both women fell forward. He held Andie up and carried her to Mary’s chair.
“I’m okay,” Andie said, waving a listless hand.
“You are anything but,” Mary shot back, and Jase sensed her reaching out to Lilith and Baba Yaga.
“So much is happening,” Andie muttered.
“And you shouldn’t be shouldering it alone,” Mary scolded.
Andie snorted. “Who would share my burden? This is mine alone.”
“It doesn’t have to be. We’re aware there is more to the story than we first believed, but there’s too much you hold tightly to, Andie,” Mary said urgently.
Jase didn’t disagree, but after Pandora’s betrayal, he’d had a hard time forgiving her, and the truth was he hadn’t. Everything that had happened to them was because of this one curious human.
And if Jase admitted it to himself, this was where his hatred of them began—with Pandora. But he knew she alluded to there being more to her story, so he had stayed quiet and didn’t rail at her like he longed to. Instead, Jase kept his distance and let his disdain show on his face. He cared not if that hurt Pandora or not.
But looking at Andie now, he couldn’t deny she was in pain and clearly unwell. Her vitality was gone, and she looked a mere ghost of her former self.
“You have to tell us what is wrong,” Jase ordered.
Andie gazed up, and a small smile crossed her lips.
“I can’t. No, Jase… I honestly cannot. To do so would endanger someone else. And he must be protected.”
“He who?” Mary demanded before Jase could.
“I cannot say. Speaking will bring danger to everyone. When it is time, I’ll be free. It approaches fast but is not yet. A reckoning is coming, and we will be ready,” Andie murmured.
That was more than they’d ever got out of her since she’d returned to them.
“I see so much; the future is in constant motion. But I know your prophecies, your soul mates, and what is to come. But I can’t see beyond the final battle,” Andie mused. Her eyes stared at nothing, but she was focused on something.
Jase wanted to shake her but refrained.
“What?” he asked gently.
“Final battle. The Legends against their suppressor. The truth will emerge, and the Heavenly Host will engage. Judgement will arrive to the guilty,” Andie said and blinked. “But I cannot see past that; it is rather annoying. Strangely, I can view everything else except this ending.”
Andie sighed, and then her strength seemed to leave her, and she collapsed in on herself.
Jase cursed and caught her as she slumped forward.
Rhett, Dullahan or Headless Horseman, as he was more commonly known, strode into the room with Lilith on his heels.
Lilith rushed across as Jase laid Andie down on the cool flagstones.
“What happened?” Rhett demanded.
His form flickered; Maeve noticed curiously as Rhett reigned Dullahan in.
Baba Yaga scurried into the tower. She took in everything in a glance and stiffly got to her knees to haunch over Andie and check her over.
“Andie is very weak. Archere, who has rooms next to her, says she barely sleeps,” Lilith murmured.
“Indeed. Well, we’ll make Andie sleep. And she needs some healing energy. Rhett, pick her up and carry her to my quarters,” Baba Yaga said, frowning as she checked Andie’s pulse. She exchanged a worried glance with Lilith, and Jase did not miss it.
Pandora might have been human, but she, too, carried Sins. Hope had always been hers, but she’d absorbed Lust when Kraken died. They were immortal, and so was Pandora now, and she shouldn’t get ill either. Yet the evidence was before their eyes: Andie was clearly sick, which meant they weren’t sure what condition Pandora was in, not until she shifted.
“Try to force her to shift. We must check Pandora,” Jase ordered.
Lilith and Baba Yaga both nodded as Rhett scooped her up.
“We’ll work with Andie first,” Lilith declared, then left the room, hot on Rhett’s heels.
“I have to inform the council,” Jase said, worry gnawing at his gut.
“You need to deal with your soul mate. I’ll tell the rest of the council,” Mary stated, turning him to face his mirror. In the few minutes he’d been distracted, Willow was now pointing a finger at the creatures and clearly telling them all off.
Jase sighed. “Can a mate bond be severed?” he inquired.
Mary looked shocked, and it was all Jase could do to stifle a smile.
“A mate, Jase, is a gift from God. Proof He hasn’t forsworn us yet,” Mary stated stiffly.
“And do you know what He can do with his gift? He turned against us when we absorbed the Sins. And He has shown no interest in us ever since. We were loyal soldiers and sacrificed everything, and where exactly has He been? Definitely not walking with us. If a human as a soul mate is his idea of a gift, He can shove it where the sun doesn’t shine,” Jase spat in anger.
Mary flinched, but Jase held his ground. His anger at God knew no bounds. Jase had spent millennia begging God to save his brothers and sisters, and there’d never been a reply. None of the Heavenly Host had bothered. Yet they were meant to care about them? No, God’s gifts always had a catch.
“So much hate,” Mary replied, her eyes narrowing.
“You’ve no idea,” he spat and walked towards his portal. “I’ll find a way to break this bond and then I will be back,” he said before stepping through his mirror.
Mary Worth/ Marie
“There is no way, Jase,” Mary murmured sadly.
Jase’s loathing for humans was tremendous. Not even she’d realised how much. And now she worried it might be too late for him to accept what was before him. A real gift, someone who would make him whole.
But if Jase continued to fight the mate bond, he could damage it irreparably. Worse, he could leave them mated but with a damaged bond.
Mary knew one thing for certain: a mate bond couldn’t be broken. And Jase would soon find that out.
Willow
She was at her wit’s end. Chatter, the dolphin, had insisted on accompanying her tonight. Beau and Bert, the turtles, weren’t going with her but wanted her to take Chatter. Luckily, Luna, the humpback whale, wasn’t here, nor was Segory the blue whale. Crackle the crab and Fish Diver, the seal, was also missing. But Chatter, his cousins, Giddy and Warrior, were all present. And all three dolphins demanded to accompany her.
A bright flash made Willow blink, and her eyes narrowed on the figure that erupted from the waves. Six months had passed since she last saw him, and he wasn’t any more welcome today than then.
“If you’ve come to take my ability away, go drown yourself,” she exclaimed at Poseidon as he approached The Swallow’s Nest in his merman form.
“Charming as ever, human,” Poseidon scolded.
“I’ve nothing to say to you,” Willow shouted, even though a part of her was thrilled to see him.
“Tough, I’ve got plenty!” Poseidon challenged as he came closer. Just as he neared the boat, a humpback whale popped up between The Swallow’s Nest and him. A large eye gazed at him steadily.
“Luna, no! Don’t get involved. Come here, girl,” Willow called, patting the side of the yacht.
Poseidon paused in his forward motion. He had no intention of hurting one of his own, Willow noted. It was just her he liked to make nasty remarks to!
“Luna, be at peace, lady of the sea,” Poseidon said gently, in an almost mesmerising voice. Willow found herself leaning closer to him, and then Chatter blew water all over her, shocking her out of her near trance.
Luna snorted a loud noise and then shot water from her blow hole in disgust.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” Poseidon reassured.
“No, like She,” Luna replied, staring Poseidon down.
Willow watched, amused, as Poseidon struggled to find a diplomatic answer.
“I don’t not like her,” he said, and Luna snorted again.
“King not like She. She not like King. Bang calves heads.”
“I’m not going to harm her,” Poseidon explained, and Willow managed to hold back a giggle at the exasperation in his voice.
“No hurt She. Luna defend. Segory blow, King,” Luna stated, and Poseidon sighed as an enormous blue whale appeared at the mention of his name.
“Wonderful, now I’ll never sneak off. You had to wake them both up,” Willow hissed angrily at Poseidon.
“If you hadn’t bellowed ‘go away’, they wouldn’t have woken up!” Poseidon shouted.
“One sneaky mission, and as usual, here comes Mr Angst to wreck everything,” Willow spat, folding her arms across her chest.
“Well, Miss Interference, maybe they’re right to babysit you,” Poseidon yelled.
Willow couldn’t help seeing the mammal’s heads swapping back and forth as they argued. It would have been amusing if Poseidon wasn’t here to no doubt ruin her evening somehow.
“Well, why don’t you flip off? Then you don’t have to see me,” Willow retorted.
“Oh, believe me, if I didn’t have to deal with this, then I wouldn’t be here,” Poseidon shot back.
“With what?”
“The fact we’ve developed a mate bond,” Poseidon yelled.
Poseidon’s face turned puce, and Willow wondered about his blood pressure. Then his words hit her, and her jaw dropped open. Was he kidding? Willow had read enough shifter books to know what a mate bond was. Amusement flittered through her. She was not developing a mate bond with that idiot.
“Poseidon, have you spent too much time in the sun?” Willow asked sweetly.
Poseidon reared back in insult and rose out of the water, and Willow eyed his gleaming emerald tail. She realised there were hints of gold and silver in it, and it was really pretty, even though clearly masculine and muscled. Willow tilted her head as she couldn’t help but wonder how a merman mated.
Poseidon interrupted her thoughts by demanding, “Why are you looking at me?”
“How do you mate? I don’t see a penis or genitalia? Do females lay eggs, and you fertilise them?”
“What the hell?” Poseidon gasped, outraged.
Willow craned her neck even further and peered at him closer.
“Dolphins have slits for their sexual organs. Do Merpeople have the same?”
“I am not discussing Mersex with you!” Poseidon exploded.
“Well, I want to know!” Willow said firmly as she continued to consider his form.
She had to bite back a laugh when he sank his tail below the ocean and only showed his chest.
“How the hell could I be mated to a bimbo like this? It’s bad enough she’s human, but an airhead with it? I’m seriously being punished,” Poseidon complained to nobody in particular.
“Hey! That’s insulting, I asked a credible question,” Willow exclaimed.
“Asking about a species’ mating habits is rude,” Poseidon retorted. “Someone should paddle your backside and teach you manners.”
“You and whose army?”
“You do know I am King of the Seas and Oceans? Or did you forget that? I have an entire ocean at my command,” Poseidon sneered.
“And I’m protected, and they won’t let you hurt me. Furthermore, you will not harm them either; it’s not in you to do so,” Willow replied smugly.
“Mates,” Segory breathed, and Luna snorted.
“Lock in Davy Locker,” Luna agreed.
“Need to mate,” Segory informed her, and Luna rolled her eyes.
“We’re not mates. I don’t know why Fish Face thinks we are,” Willow said, reaching out to rub Segory as he floated nearer.
“Sex. Good fuc—”
“Yes, thank you, Chatter!” Willow exclaimed as the cheeky dolphin grinned and clacked at her.
“You’re gaining some of my abilities. Legend says mates share things. You have no gifts to give, but I do. Talking to sea life is a unique ability only I have. I bet you have found since you were wounded, you’ve been able to speak to any sea creature you’ve come across,” Poseidon said.
Willow bit her tongue. She didn’t want to agree.
“And I’m sure you can swim deeper and hold your breath longer,” he continued.
Willow’s hand flew to her throat. Poseidon wasn’t wrong. At first, she’d not noticed anything. Still, when swimming with Chatter and holding onto his fin, she’d realised she could stay deeper and swim underwater longer.
Then, a few days ago, she’d panicked when a sharp pain hit her throat, and gills had appeared. She’d been so frightened she’d almost drowned herself. Segory had risen from beneath her and surfaced as she clawed at her throat in panic. After calming down, she’d taken to the seas and swum for ages with her friends.
Willow glanced up and saw Poseidon nodding.
“The mate bond has that effect.”
“And you want to take it away?” Willow asked with her eyes narrowed.
“Nothing in this world would make me desire a human mating. I’d rather die,” Poseidon said succinctly.
“Tough luck. You’re not taking my powers away,” Willow stated and folded her arms again. “I refuse to break the mate bond! Now bugger off!”
Poseidon blinked as Willow’s expression dared him to do his worst. A look entered his eyes, and Willow suddenly remembered she was arguing with a God. Uh oh.