Chapter 6
Delmar
I can't believe I forgot that my mate had never learned to swim.
“I’ve never even been in any bodies of water,” she continued. “Not an ocean, lake, or pool. I don’t even own a swimsuit.”
My brain went blank for a moment. The idea of a selkie that couldn’t swim simply wasn’t possible, was it? If you had an animal, even if you weren’t born with it, shouldn’t you have that animal’s instincts?
“You think I’m dumb, don’t you?” she said and tried to pull away.
“Not at all,” I said, tightening my hold. Several of my tentacles rubbed her back, and one of them patted her head. She shooed away the one patting her head but didn’t seem to mind the others. She also didn’t try to pull away again.
“Did you have a bad experience when you were a kid?” I asked.
“No, it was my dad,” she said. “He almost drowned as a child. He was terrified of the water after that and wouldn’t let me go anywhere near it. His fear rubbed off on me, so I never tried to learn to swim, even after I became an adult.”
“I’m so impressed,” I murmured.
She tilted her head back to look up at me. “Impressed at my stupidity?”
“Impressed by your strength,” I said. “You went on Zak’s yacht despite your fear.”
“Janice asked me,” she said.
“You’re a good friend,” I said. “And then you stayed with me, even though we were on another boat.”
“You’re cute and a good talker,” she said.
“You’re a good mate,” I said, then winced when her eyes went wide.
“Mate?” She pulled away, and every single one of my tentacles hugged around my chest to comfort all of us. She huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I asked, confused.
“Look all cute and sad,” she said. “You’re making me feel guilty. At least that little voice telling me to get into the water has gone quiet. Well, no, she’s now demanding I make you smile.”
“Most magical creatures have mates,” I explained. “Other souls that are meant to be with us, to match our souls.”
“So, like, fated mates?” she said.
“Yes, exactly,” I said. “How do you know that term?”
“Paranormal romance novels,” she said. “I love reading them, but I never thought I’d be living in one.”
I shrugged. “There are a couple of authors who are shifters. I’ve read a few, they’re good.”
“Really? Which authors?” she asked, then shook her head. “No, that’s not what we should be talking about. Now that you’re smiling again, my seal wants in the water. Badly!”
“I have a thought,” I said. “I could get us really close to land, then I could carry you to the beach. No part of you will touch the water. You can shift on the beach and maybe that will satisfy your selkie.”
Her expression turned relieved, and she rushed at me. All my tentacles jumped out of the way to let her grab us. “Yes, that’s brilliant!”
“Someone has to be,” I said, making her chuckle and hug me tighter. I wrapped my arms and limbs around her again, and lifted her up to carry her into the cabin. I set her on the bed and wrapped her in a blanket.
“I’m going to motor as fast as possible,” I said. “If your selkie gets too loud, try eating a few sardines.”
Nina nodded, and I left to start our journey again. I knew the California coast like the back of my hand, and within the hour, I found a secluded beach. It was rocky, but surrounded by high, sheer cliffs so no one would accidentally stumble on us.
It took some skillful maneuvering and a long tentacle in the water checking the depth, before I was close enough to be able to walk Nina to the beach. The moment the anchor splashed into the water, Nina came out of the cabin.
My poor mate looked horrible. Her hair was a mess, probably from her tugging at it, her skin was even more pale, and she was sweating. If she were human, I'd assume she was terribly sick.
“You might want to get undressed,” I said. “Shifting in your clothing will ruin it.”
She looked like she was about to cry. “I feel vulnerable."
“I know what to do,” I said and rushed into the cabin to grab one of my shirts before returning to her. “Here, you can put this on. If you shift in it, you'll slip right out.”
She quickly stripped off her top and bra. I held up the shirt to help her slip it on. The shirt covered her almost to her knees. She looked relieved as she reached under the shirt to finish stripping. The moment she was done she looked up at me.
“I'm ready.”
I nodded and led her to the back of the boat. “I need to strip,” I warned her.
She tried to grin, but she still looked anxious. “That's fine, you're pretty to look at.”
“Not as pretty as you, but I'm glad you think so,” I said with a wink and quickly pulled off my clothes. I left them in a pile and then jumped into the water. It was deep enough that if I tried to stand, it would reach my neck, which would make carrying Nina difficult.
My tentacles all emerged and lifted me off the bottom enough to put the water at my waist. I moved close to the boat and held out my arms. “Let's go.”
Nina was shaking when she slid off the back of the boat into my arms. The moment she was in my arms, she shut her eyes tightly. I cradled her against my chest with her arms clutched around my neck.
“I've got you,” I murmured, making my way to the shore. It was terribly cruel that my poor mate was hit with a spell that made her a creature of the sea when she was desperately afraid of the water.
“I'm going to fix this,” I reminded her. “Soon you'll never have to fight yourself again.”
“It's all just bad luck,” she responded, eyes still closed. “You were trying to do the right thing, and I shouldn't have been snooping through your stuff.”
“Who wouldn't want to look at a bunch of shiny things?” I said. “I got into treasure hunting because I've loved finding things since I was a kid. Mom said I was always ‘discovering’ her jewelry box.”
“My mom said she knew I'd do something with numbers because I was obsessed with the counting blocks,” she said. “She claims I was doing math before I could speak.”
The conversation was helping to distract her so that she wasn't as tense by the time we reached the beach. My tentacles shortened but stayed out, ready to help Nina if her seal panicked.
“We're on the beach,” I said, setting her down on the rocks. The moment her feet touched down, her form blurred, and a seal slipped from my hands to the ground.
She let out a startled bark and wiggled around in the borrowed shirt she was wearing. I knelt next to her, pulled her free, and placed a soothing hand on her back.
“Easy, my heart,” I said. “It's scary, but your seal is part of you. She wouldn't hurt you. She only wants both of you to thrive.”
As I talked, she calmed and looked around. Her adorable round body rolled over when she looked too far in one direction. She let out a bark of surprise, then another bark that I think was a laugh as she rolled back.
“If you want to move around, let your seal take control. She knows how to maneuver this body,” I suggested.
She stared up at me for a moment, then gave a little honk. I took that as an agreement. She let her head rest on the rocky beach for a moment before her body started moving toward the ocean without hesitation.
She hit the edge of the water and suddenly rolled over and looked like she was convulsing.
Her seal wanted to swim, and this wasn't going to go over well with Nina!
“Hey, no, don't do that!” I said, grabbing her in my arms and tentacles. “I know you're scared of the water, but your seal needs it. It's her natural habitat. Let me hold you in the water. We’ll stay in the shallows. I’m here, and I’ll never leave.”
Nina stopped thrashing, touched her nose to my face, and let out another honk. Her eyes were wide and scared but also trusting.
I carried her into the water until it came up to mid-calf. Hopefully that would be enough to make the seal happy.
“Focus on your seal. She's upset too,” I said. “She doesn't understand why you're scared. Talk to her. Tell her you need time.”
I sat down. There was enough water to let her splash but not enough to cover her entirely. I loosened my grip but didn't release her. She went perfectly still, then opened her eyes.
She seemed surprised to be in the water and not dying.
“Move around a little,” I said. “Feel the bottom with your flippers.”
She experimented with her hind flippers while clutching my arms with her fore flippers. The blunt claws on her fore flippers looked like fingers grabbing me. So cute!
Once she realized how shallow the water was, she let go of me and slapped her fore flippers around in the water.
It took a few minutes of awkward movement before she and her seal started to cooperate.
To my shock, she moved a little further out until she could float.
It was still shallow, but I stayed right with her.
Lying on her back, she floated in slow, lazy circles around me.
“You're doing great!” I cheered.
Her shape blurred, and suddenly there was a human where the seal had been. She went from floating on her back to sitting with her head and shoulders above the water. She was quick to stand up, looking both stunned and elated.
“I’m in the ocean!” she exclaimed. “I’m in water, and I'm not panicking. I think … I think I like it!”
“You're amazing!” I said, standing up and grabbing her in a big hug. I twirled us around, her laughter echoing off the nearby cliffs.