Chapter 47 Raven
Raven
The sun hadn’t risen over the trees beyond the playing field, but here I was, staring at the indoor swimming pool with a generous dose of trepidation swirling through my veins.
Maverick had wanted to come with Kai and me, but I’d made him stay back. I needed some time alone with my shy merman, and Maverick could be almost as overbearing as Zane.
Kai dropped his shorts and dove into the pool, his muscular legs shifting into a tail before he’d even hit the water. He vanished below the surface for a few seconds and then popped up, shaking his hair.
“When you’re ready, walk around to the steps at the far end.”
I nodded but didn’t move. The only time I felt comfortable in the water was when Kai gave me his magic so I could breathe underwater, and since he wanted me to learn to swim without a magic aid, I was going to have to pull on my big witch pants today.
Fig snuffled and trotted after me when I eventually found the courage to walk down to the end of the cavernous room.
I’d invited Kenji to join us as a bonding exercise, but he was still sulking. He hated Fig and nothing I said or did helped.
Knowing my familiar was unhappy made me sad, but I wasn’t about to abandon poor Fig to a sticky fate in the forest. Kenji would have to get over himself.
“Or I could put in for a transfer to a different witch on mental health grounds,” he snarked. “You’ll be sorry when I leave you.”
“Oh stop it. Fig is a pig. He’s no threat to you, so quit being so dramatic.”
When Kenji remained silent on the topic, I focused on the steps and sucked in a long, steadying breath. Kai waited for me with an encouraging smile.
“Relax, Raven. The water is your friend.”
“Wanting to drown me isn’t friendly,” I muttered. But I squared my shoulders and practiced some positive affirmations from my favorite witchfluencers.
“Fear is empowering,” I muttered under my breath, and then I took my first step into the pool.
Warm water cushioned me as I floated on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I squinted at the black mold creeping along the edges where the ceiling joined the walls. No lie, it was gross, but I was determined to maintain a positive mindset.
“Good girl,” Kai said with a smile as I kicked my legs. It had taken an hour of coaxing, but I finally felt confident enough to float without gripping Kai’s arm for dear life. He was right: once I stopped panicking, my body floated easily.
The next step was putting my face in the water without drowning, but I wasn’t ready for that.
Fig rooted around under the benches on the poolside. I’d brought a bag of vegetable peelings with us, but he’d eaten them all in the first five minutes.
“We should get out now.” I had a class with Oakman in an hour and needed to eat something. Maverick would be angry if I missed breakfast and went straight there.
Kai swam under me and pulled me into his arms.
“You’ve done so well,” he told me. “I’m proud of you.”
“I might not drown now if I fall into the water,” I joked. Yeah, I totally would, and we both knew it. But if I could float for a few minutes, it would give one of my mates time to rescue me.
“With some more practice, you’ll soon be swimming just fine.” Kai’s confidence in my abilities was truly admirable, even if I didn’t believe him.
Just as I was about to laugh at the very idea I’d ever not fear the water, the outside door burst open, letting a cold draft in, followed by five hulking shifters.
I recognized one of them: Jagger. He’d been especially obnoxious of late, but only when my mates weren’t around. Kai stiffened while holding me tight.
“Oooh, look, guys. We’ve interrupted a romantic moment between the witch whore and the fish.”
The wolf shifters all laughed. A stocky wolf with red hair sauntered over to the water’s edge and peered in.
“Damn, she’s wearing a bikini,” he commented. “I was hoping to cop a look at her tits.”
Kai growled, his arm muscles bunching around my waist.
“Fuck off,” he spat. “You’re not welcome in here. The pool is for aquatic species.”
“Is that so?” The stocky wolf grinned. “She’s a witch, so if she’s allowed in here, so are we.”
To my surprise, Kai started laughing.
“Okay then. Go for a swim if that’s what you want.”
The wolves all smirked. I threw Kai a panicked look. If all the wolves jumped in and attacked us, I’d drown. Had he lost his mind?
“Watch what happens,” he said in my head.
Two of the wolves dropped their pants and grinned at each other before leaping into the water with a tremendous splash that nearly drowned me.
For a few seconds, both wolves whooped as they splashed each other, but then their eyes widened in shock before they started screaming.
“What the fuck?” Jagger snarled at Kai. “What are you doing to them?”
I watched, horrified, as the wolves’ skin turned red and then broke out in giant pustules. They swam furiously to the edge of the pool before hauling themselves out.
“It hurts so bad!” one wailed while the other sobbed as he crawled over to the shower and stood shaking under the cold water stream.
After a few minutes, the redness faded and the blisters disappeared, but the trauma remained. There was no more laughter.
“The water is spelled against non-aquatic species.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” a tall shifter with pale blond hair fumed. “We should be allowed to swim in here!”
“Then take it up with Montgomery,” Kai said, rolling his eyes. “Want to dive down?” he asked me with a grin. “I’ll share my magic while we wait for these idiots to get bored and go.”
I nodded, but just as Kai leaned in, I heard a furious squeal. I’d been so busy worrying about the idiot wolves I’d forgotten Fig was still in here. Jagger had grabbed my pig in retaliation for Kai hurting his friends.
“Let my pig go!” I screamed, but the wolf just laughed.
“I’m feeling peckish,” he said with a toothy grin. “Maybe we should fire up the grill, dudes.”
“Hmm, good idea,” a second wolf agreed. “I’m in the mood for roast pork. Hell, my wolf doesn’t mind if the meat is still oinking.”
Kai summoned his trident and threw it at the laughing wolf before any of them had time to react. The prongs struck the wolf in the groin. He uttered a horrible, high-pitched scream. Fig went flying, landing in the pool with a splash.
My heart leaped into my throat, but to my surprise, Fig bopped back up and began swimming merrily in circles, snorting with joy.
“Pigs are great little swimmers,” Kai reassured me before kissing me hard to share his magic. “My magic will protect him from the water’s effects. Now dive to the bottom while I deal with these fuckers.”
I took a deep breath, just in case the magic failed, and swam below the surface. Muffled yells and screams reached me as I relaxed at the bottom of the pool, and a few minutes later, Kai joined me.
“They’re gone.”
“Gone as in dead?”
“No, sadly. But I doubt they’ll come back here for a while.” He pulled me back up to the surface, where Fig swam happily in circles. While the wolves had, indeed, gone, there was blood everywhere, along with a few chunks of flesh.
My eyes widened in shock.
Kai had always been my sweet, shy mate, but perhaps I’d underestimated the lengths he’d go to protect me.