Chapter 1
Dante
“Get those sails down!”
The captain’s voice was almost drowned out by the chaos of the storm, but the other men sloshed around on the deck to follow orders.
I finished tying off some dinghies, knotting the thick rope so the extra boats wouldn’t slam around against the hull of the ship. A large wave knocked against the starboard side and I had to grip the wooden bulwark hard, splinters sliding through flesh as my hip crashed against a barrel.
Fuck, that was going to leave a nasty bruise.
Up the side of the ship came the large tentacles, but as the tip reached me, it danced in the air and paused.
Someone next to me was snatched and wrapped up by another arm before being dragged down beneath the surface.
Even as fear rippled through my shoulders, there was a heated need that burned through my stomach.
What was this feeling? This odd sensation that pulled me toward the edge of the ship and had me reaching out for the tentacle.
The suckers wriggled in front of me, but for some odd reason, I did not fear them.
I tilted my head, not sure if I had gone mad with seasickness or not.
As my fingers grew closer to the creature’s arm, I breathed in the salty brine of the sea, the edges of my tongue burning from the metallic aftertaste of blood on the wind.
“Watch out, Dante!”
The shout had come from my right, one of the deckhands had gotten a hold of a crossbow and had aimed it at the tentacle in front of me.
“Wait, no!” Panic lanced through my chest and before I could understand why I was acting this way, I tried to lunge forward to stop him.
I was too late, though. The deckhand pulled the trigger and the thick arrow sliced right through the wriggling tentacle. A roar of agony echoed all around us and I found myself grabbing a hold of the arrow.
“What are you doing?” The deckhand screamed at me, grabbing at my shoulder. “Leave it be!”
“It’s our own fault for being here! It’s only trying to protect the city!
We’re the enemy!” I shouted back. I picked up an old harpoon, using the serrated tip to cut into the wood of the arrow.
My hand barely could fit all the way around the shaft, but I continued to cut at it as the arm wriggled around in front of me.
“Fuck this!” The deckhand shrieked, reloading the crossbow before aiming it at the same tentacle that I was half embracing to help. He could fucking shoot me by accident, that bastard.
Another tentacle shot up from the water and zipped right up to the deckhand, wrapping itself around his throat before yanking him back over the edge, his body slamming into the side before falling over.
I refocused on the arrow, the harpoon working wonders and I couldn’t help the satisfied laugh as I successfully cut the shaft in half.
I dropped the harpoon and the back half of the arrow before I gripped the arrow from right behind the point and heaved, pulling it out of the tentacle as quickly as I could.
The creature’s blood oozed out of the wound, but it slowly sank back into the sea, disappearing.
It wasn’t long before another came creeping up, doing the same odd back-and-forth dance in front of me, just simply watching, though it didn’t have any eyes.
Was it trying to debate on whether or not to kill me?
Why? Sure, I’d helped it. But I really didn’t want to die, either.
Fear still hid behind my calm facade, but I wondered if I was right in that the tentacle didn’t want to harm me.
The tentacle made slow work of wrapping around my waist and creeping up toward my face.
Even as it tightened, a snug move that didn’t hurt as I thought it would.
The shouts of the surrounding crew snapped me back to reality as another crossbow was lifted, aiming at the creature.
No, they couldn’t hurt him. He was only protecting the waters.
I moved forward quickly, lunging out and over the side of the deck, allowing the creature to pull me down into the depths of the dark abyss. I could’ve just jumped to my death, but there was no fear in my stomach. No pit that clogged my throat.
Instead, a strange calm settled over my shoulders and I relaxed my body, giving in to the pull of the tentacle. Its grasp was firm, yet warmth moved through their suction cups that clung to my flesh and clothing.
Before my lungs could explode from the lack of air, another tentacle neared the one holding me. It placed a leaking box over my head. There was a small air pocket underneath that allowed me to gasp and cough out the salty brine that now burned through my throat.
The creature didn’t want me to die. That should be a good sign, right?
As we went further down, though, the pressure of the water became too much and darkness encroached all around me. It started at the edges of my vision until it blurred and unconsciousness took hold of my mind, my body going limp.
When I awakened, there was no way to know how much time had passed.
I was within a dimly lit cavern, trickling water pitter-pattering against the rough surface and echoing all around me.
The air was heavy with a thick sheet of moisture, but I tried to breathe in slowly.
A few feet away was the murky water of the sea, its depths shrouded in darkness, with no hint of what lay below.
My arms didn’t bear any marks from the sea creature, yet I could still remember the heat its tentacle left behind as it grabbed me. I was alone in this little area, but there was a rough ridge that rose behind me, leading further into the cave.
On unsteady legs, I pushed myself up and balanced carefully on the uneven rock surface.
I scanned the water, but fear laced through my stomach and I knew I wasn’t going to try to swim out.
There was no way to know how deep we were in the sea.
The pressure had been so great I had thought my head was going to explode. I didn’t want to deal with that again.
I carefully pivoted and quietly stepped toward the side of the cavern where the ridge lowered and I was able to climb over. I did my best not to make a sound. Even if the creature hadn’t harmed me before, who knew if that was still going to hold true the next time I saw it.
My hands gripped the rough rock surface, and I heaved myself up, kicking my leg over the ridge so I could boost myself up.
Beyond my small area was an alcove with another trickling pool of water.
Though this spot held more light, with bright emerald crystals adorned along the walls and underneath the water, shimmering.
It was a shallow pool, knee-deep at best.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man, his body half-blocked by a jutting rock.
His figure was illuminated by the emeralds, causing his already bronzed hue to deepen with a tint of green.
His hair was long and dropped in luscious waves of ebony locks.
They sparkled with droplets of water as the man dipped his hands down into the pool and then ran them through his long hair.
A soft smile tugged at his full lips, his eyes closed as he basked in the feel of the water running over his shoulders.
His body was large and sculpted, almost as big as some of the shifters from the mainland, yet his muscles were more defined and smooth.
His hands, though large, had long fingers that appeared smooth and gentle as they weaved through his hair.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the man. Heat shot down to the pit of my stomach and stirred my cock without warning. To have this beauty of a man before me, wanting me, a filthy pirate? The thought brought my cock to full mast, and I gulped down my arousal.
The sound, though soft, seemed to echo all around me, alerting the man to my presence.
He whipped around, his swirling, dark gaze on me in an instant.
I opened my mouth to apologize for staring, but I couldn’t force the words out.
My brain shut down and my cock seemed to be the only thing working.
It strained against my still-damp slacks, demanding attention.
A shimmer of red flushed the man’s face, and he was the first one to break eye contact, his hand going to cover his mouth. Was this beauty shy? Could he not see how ethereal he was?
“I–I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” I cleared my throat as I slipped my other foot down from over the ridge and turned away. I should give him some privacy, but where would I go? Back over that ridge? Was there more room deeper in the cavern?
I heard splashing, and I chanced a glance back as the man rounded the rock that had hidden his lower body. I gaped, trying to force myself to tell him to stay. To keep himself covered. I didn’t think my cock could handle seeing his entire naked form.
But, as he drew closer, a jolt zapped up my back as realization cleared my mind.
The lower half of his body was not human.
His hips merged into scaly, rough flesh that moved and split into dozens of thick, meaty tentacles.
They writhed all around him, undulating under the water and forcing him forward.
Fear tightened around my heart and clogged my throat as my mind tried to comprehend what was happening.
This man, creature, was the one who had brought me down below the water.
He was the one who attacked the ship. He had to be, unless there was another creature just like him within the sea in this area.
Of which I had no idea if it was true or not.
I tried to step back but forgot I was still stuck next to the ridge, my back pressed up against the cold stone.
“I am Xexon,” he declared. His voice echoed throughout the cavern, a surreal resonance rolling over me and settling within my chest. Its gaze pierced through my walls and I swore it could see into my very soul. “I am the Protector of Brasil.”