Chapter 20
Nina
I screamed as we fell, but Archer never let go of me. He flipped his body so his back hit the water, shielding me from the brutal impact.
The frigid ocean enveloped me, stealing my ability to think or move for a moment. I was still clinging to Archer, even as his body changed and his arms turned to flippers.
Right, we were selkies!
The moment I thought that, my inner seal came to life. She gleefully took over, shifting our body and shredding our clothes. We slipped away from Archer's grip and swam for the surface. My seal’s first thought was about our mate.
The moment I surfaced, the sound of gunfire filled my ears. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear screaming and shouting. Beyond that was the sound of people yelling and car tires squealing as colony members ran away.
Archer’s giant seal moved close and tried to nudge me out to sea.
I ignored him and dived under the water and made my way around the bend so I could get into the harbor.
I could feel him following me, but he didn’t try to stop me.
I was shocked at how well I could see underwater, despite the darkness.
It was almost as if I could sense everything with my body as well as my eyes.
My selkie sent me a duh thought, as if I was being stupid about how capable we were. She was right.
I got to the harbor and surfaced. The selkies with the guns had retreated up the road that led to the harbor as Delmar advanced on them. There were more men now, taking turns unloading their guns at Delmar while the others reloaded.
Norris was one of them; he had a long gun he held with practiced ease and fired it rapidly. I’d be upset except Delmar didn’t seem to care at all. I couldn’t see him bleeding anywhere, and it almost looked like he was playing with them.
He was throwing his tentacles out, tossing cars, destroying shops, and generally causing destruction and chaos without touching the men.
I froze with my head bobbing out of the water, surrounded by the remnants of wrecked docks and boats. I couldn’t take my eyes off Delmar’s immense kraken form. My gorgeous mate was a fearsome sight, and I loved it.
Archer surfaced next to me. We watched as Delmar made his way up the road until he disappeared from sight. I couldn’t stand not being able to see him. My seal couldn’t either. She gave up control without warning. I suddenly found myself in my human form, floating in freezing water.
With a gasp I swam to the boat launching ramp.
“Damn it,” I whispered to her. “Couldn’t you have at least gotten me over here before shifting?”
I felt her amusement and then I was walking up the concrete ramp, the air on my damp skin making me shiver even worse.
Archer had followed me in his seal form and then shifted once I was standing up.
He rushed past me, unconcerned and unbothered by his nakedness.
He opened a storage shed that had escaped Delmar’s appendages and pulled out a towel he wrapped around his waist. Then he pulled out a folded blanket and tossed it to me.
I wrapped the soft fabric around my shoulders, feeling warmer immediately.
Archer wasn't done because he pulled out two sets of cheap flip-flops and brought me a pair after slipping a set on his feet.
“We shouldn't get too close,” he warned as I slid my feet into my pair.
I ignored him and half walked, half jogged up the road as fast as I could without sending one of the flip-flops flying.
I rounded a bend, Archer at my side, to find that Delmar had done a good job of destroying a section of the main street.
A large delivery van sped down the street, clearly intent on ramming into Delmar. With a violent sweep of a massive tentacle, Delmar sent the van flying over several buildings. I couldn't see where it landed, but I heard the impact and a sudden explosion caused a bright light.
“That van was full of propane canisters," Archer said with a shake of his head. “Idiot was probably trying to get close and set it on fire. He must've thought he could blow Delmar up. I blame action movies.”
I looked up to see a bitterly amused expression on Archer's face. He rubbed a hand over his face and moved his gaze to mine. “None of this needed to happen.”
“I know.”
“This is my fault,” he said. Even though he was looking me in the eyes, I don't think he was talking to me. “I could've stopped this. I should've challenged Dad sooner. The moment he didn't give me an answer when I told him Abby was my mate, I should've stood up to him.”
“He was your dad,” I murmured. “And I think he might've been a good dad when you were growing up. That complicates things.”
Archer nodded but then shook his head. “My mate should've come first. I've been so blind.”
More crashing brought our attention back to Delmar. He was having a fun time systematically destroying each building on Main Street while the men had all retreated with helpless looks on their faces.
They probably ran out of ammunition.
Movement made me look to Delmar's right. Norris was there, holding a shotgun, but he wasn't aiming it at Delmar; he was running at us.
“Oh, shit!” Archer said, putting his body between me and the mayor. “Dad, what do you think you're doing? It's over!”
“If that fucking kraken is going to destroy my town, then I'll destroy something he loves!” Norris screamed. “Move, Archer, or I'll kill you too.”
“No!” Archer yelled.
I moved my head so I could see past Archer's bulk, trying to think of something I could say to get Norris to put down the gun. My mind was a complete blank, but I didn't need to think of anything.
A giant kraken tentacle slammed down on top of Norris, smooshing him like an overripe grape.
“My God,” I whispered, stepping out from behind Archer. He’d gone silent and pale, staring at the puddle that had been his father. I put a hand on his shoulder. “I'm sorry.”
Archer blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. “He wasn't the man I thought he was.”
Delmar lifted his head and screamed into the night. When he was finished, everything was oddly silent.
A row of shops and several houses had been destroyed, and one house was on fire from the truck exploding. It was a good night’s work. It would be a long time before any colony thought they could kidnap a selkie or kill a kraken!
I guess Delmar was finished with his rampage because he moved back toward me and Archer. The selkie ran to get out of the way, but I stayed where I was. I had no fear of Delmar, no matter how big he was.
I had a moment of doubt when he swept me up in a tentacle, but that was quickly gone.
He held me in a gentle grip and carried me to the water.
I thought I might need to take my seal form again, but he never let me get wet.
Keeping me wrapped safely in one of his appendages, he swam us out of the harbor and into the open water.
Only the top of his mantle and the tentacle holding me were above the water. He swam amazingly fast, putting distance between us and the town. Except we were out in the open ocean. Was he going to swim us all the way back to San Diego?
When I saw his boat, I understood.
“Home,” I murmured, hugging my arms around the tip of the appendage holding me.
When he got there, he lifted me up and set me down inside the boat before disappearing under the water. It wasn’t long before a human Delmar was climbing aboard, dripping wet but completely unharmed.
I let go of the blanket and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back, and we stood like that for several silent minutes.
Even though we looked to be several miles from the coast, it didn't feel far enough. Many of the selkies who'd attacked us were gone, but there could be more. It didn't matter that Norris was dead, I couldn't trust one of his followers not to come looking for revenge.
“I don't want to stay here,” I whispered. “I know it's late, and you've already done so much, but can we leave?”
“I want to leave too. Let me dry off,” he said, lifting me up and carrying me inside the cabin. He set me down and then grabbed his towel from a hook. After drying himself off, he threw on some clothes.
I could’ve done the same, but I felt strangely numb. I remained where he set me down, still wrapped in the thick, soft blanket Archer had given me.
When he was dressed, he lifted me up and carried me back out to the stern of the boat. He sat down with me on his lap and used his tentacles to start the engine and steer the boat, so he never had to stop snuggling me.
“I need this,” I whispered. I hadn't realized how cold I was until he was holding me.
“Same,” he agreed.
We traveled through the night, only stopping and dropping anchor when pre-dawn light chased away the stars.
We sat out in the morning cold and watched the sun come up. I'd never seen a more beautiful sunrise.
“I love you,” I whispered. “And I love my seal. I never want to be without either of you.”
Delmar let out a long breath, his arms tightening around me. “I love both of you too, and I swear that we'll never be parted again.”