Chapter 3
Rainse
Nothing had ever felt as right as carrying her in my arms as I swam us to safety.
The waves pressed against us as if trying to take her back.
I held her tighter and kicked hard, cutting through the water with strong, even strokes.
She coughed once, a weak, broken sound, and her head lolled against my shoulder.
The urge to keep her above the surface was so fierce it bordered on pain.
Her scent filled my senses, salt and fear and something underneath, warm and alive. The bond struck again, as sudden as lightning in a clear sky. A pull in my chest so strong I almost faltered mid-stroke. My body knew before my mind did.
My mate.
I'd felt it even before I'd touched her for the first time. I'd heard her voice from beneath the waves, felt the vibrations of her body through the water, and I'd known. She was mine. And I'd finally found her.
I didn't care that my clutch-brothers had taken longer to feel the bond to their mates. I had no doubts that she was the one for me. It was as much fact as breathing.
A flash of memory cut through me: Cerban and the chaos that had followed when he claimed his human.
The arguments. The threats from the agency.
The endless rules about protection and consent and human rights.
They would never allow this. They would take her away, wrap her in safety and study, and I would lose her before I had even learned her name.
I couldn’t let that happen.
The nearest islet rose from the sea less than half a league away, a ridge of dark stone surrounded by white sand and green water. I had used it before during patrols, a place to rest and watch the horizon. It would have to do.
I carried her there, lifting her clear of the surf and laying her on the warm sand. A small freshwater spring bubbled up between the rocks near the largest of the trees. At least she wouldn't die of thirst while I figured out what to do next.
She stirred faintly, her breathing shallow but steady.
Her body tensed when I shifted her in my arms, a quiet sound escaping her throat.
Even unconscious, she flinched at the pressure against her side.
My hand brushed something tender just below her ribs and she whimpered, the sound lost beneath the surf.
I drew back at once. Bruised, maybe cracked. I would find out when she was awake.
Her skin was cold against my hands. I brushed her hair - the colour of new coral - from her face and felt the fragile beat of her heart through my fingers.
“Live,” I whispered. “Please live.”
She didn’t stir. Her mouth parted slightly, lashes wet against her cheeks.
I could feel the mate bond humming between us, faint and steady, calling to me like the moon to the tide.
Would she feel it too, once she woke? Or would she be like the other human females, who had to be slowly persuaded and wooed?
I wanted to stay. I wanted to wrap myself around her and keep the world away.
But the other human was still out there.
The male. I’d seen him drifting before I carried her off.
And those sharp-toothed predators might return.
They had retreated when I'd approached the two humans, instinctively aware that I was the stronger predator.
Everything in me wanted to stay. The bond pulled at me. But I had a duty. I couldn't let the male drown. It went against everything I believed in, everything I'd sworn when I'd joined the navy.
But I couldn't bring the male here. I wanted time alone with my mate.
I had to get to know her, slowly break the news to her that aliens were real and that one of them was her mate.
And only once I was sure that she understood the bond between us would I swim us back to the island to introduce her to my brothers and the dating agency.
They couldn't do anything once the two of us were mated.
Hot Tatties loved rules and paperwork and scientific tests, but they also respected our most sacred traditions. The mating bond was one of them.
The sound of the waves lapping against the islet's rocky shore reminded me that time was of the essence. I had to leave to rescue that male human. I gently touched my mate's cheek, feeling her soft skin against my calloused fingers.
"I will be back soon," I promised. I gathered a few lengths of dried kelp and draped them across her to shield her from the sun and the wind, then slipped back into the water.
I swam as fast as I could. Every moment I spent away from my mate was a wasted moment.
When I got closer to where I'd defended the two humans from the sharp-toothed creature, a new sound joined the song of the ocean.
The ship from earlier, now slowly approaching.
That made my life a whole lot easier. All I'd have to do was to get the male closer to the ship so they could pick him up and give him the medical attention he surely needed.
He was in bad shape. His breathing was shallow, his eyes closed.
Only the air-filled vest around his chest kept him afloat.
He'd likely swallowed a lot of seawater, maybe even breathed it in.
I knew enough about human anatomy to know that this could be fatal.
He needed to be on that ship as fast as possible.
I grabbed the back of his vest and pulled him through the waves, propelling us with strong strokes of my webbed feet. He was heavier than the female - my mate - but still nothing near the weight of an adult finman. I was barely out of breath by the time the ship came into sight.
I didn't want them to see me, so I dived beneath the male and gripped his hips from below, moving him through the water that way.
It was slower and more tedious, but I couldn't risk exposure.
If they saw me, they might wonder if there were more of me nearby.
They could stumble across the dating agency's island and. ..
No. This was safer.
I was getting too close for comfort to the ship when they finally spotted him. Shouts erupted above us. I held onto him for a little while longer, until I heard the sound of a smaller boat being dropped into the water. He was about to be rescued. I wished him well.
I dived deep, enjoying the freedom of swimming fast. I passed shoals of fish and a few shimmering jelly-creatures, before the change in water temperature told me that I was approaching land.
I angled my body upward again, bursting through the surface into warm, golden light. The sun hung lower now, spilling its glow across the sea in streaks of copper and gold. The air felt heavy with salt and heat, a sharp contrast to the cool deep I’d just left.
The islet wasn’t far. I covered the distance in a few strong strokes, driven by the pull in my chest that never quite eased. Every beat of my heart whispered of her, reminding me what waited on that patch of sand.
When I reached the shallows, I let the current carry me the last few lengths.
She was still where I’d left her, half covered by the strands of kelp I’d arranged.
One had blown to the side. I would find her a better covering soon.
Her breathing had steadied; her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm that soothed something restless inside me.
I crouched beside her and studied her face properly for the first time.
Her lips were cracked from salt and sun, her cheeks pale but not ghostly any more.
There was a faint bruise on her temple where the waves must have thrown her against debris.
Stray strands of coral-coloured hair clung to her damp skin.
It was long; when dry I was sure it would reach to below her breasts.
Her wet clothes clung to her. They had dried somewhat in the warm sun, but I should remove them soon, find something dry to cover her with. And then she would need food, water, other essentials. But for now...
A strange peace washed over me. She was safe. My mate was safe.
I reached out and traced the curve of her shoulder with the back of my fingers, light enough not to wake her. Her skin was so soft it startled me. Humans were fragile in a way that made them seem breakable, yet I’d seen her cling to life with stubborn strength. There was courage in her stillness.
A bird screamed overhead, breaking the silence.
I looked up, scanning the horizon. The ship was gone now, a faint smudge in the distance.
Good. They would have their rescued male and no reason to search further.
The ocean would erase all trace of me before they even thought to wonder what else had been in the water with them.
I sat back on the sand and exhaled. The sunpass was warm, the rock beneath me sun-hot against my legs. I could almost believe that the world had stopped turning, that it was just the two of us in the middle of an endless sea.
My brothers would notice my absence eventually. They’d ask questions. But I had time. A few hours, perhaps longer, before anyone thought to look. And by then, I’d have her awake and calm, and maybe she’d start to understand that I meant no harm.
She shifted slightly, a small sound escaping her throat. My greenskin fluttered instinctively, responding to her nearness, the soft pulse of the mate bond thrumming through me. I stilled, afraid to move, watching as her lashes trembled and her fingers twitched against the sand.
Not yet. Let her rest. Let her body recover before I start unravelling her world.
The tide had turned, drawing back from the rocks, leaving tiny pools filled with darting fish. I gathered a few shells and arranged them near her, an old habit from home — offerings of luck and protection. They glittered faintly in the sunlight, colours shifting like the surface of the sea.
My gaze drew back to her wet clothes clinging to her skin.
The wind had picked up, carrying a cooler edge, and I knew enough about humans to recognise the danger.
Their bodies lost heat too easily. I couldn't delay any longer.
But would she understand that I'd undressed her to protect her, not because I wanted to see her naked body?
I hesitated, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She needed warmth more than modesty.
Carefully, I loosened the fastenings of the strange human garments, peeling the fabric away where it stuck to her skin. The wet material was heavy and cold, the smell of salt strong in my nose. I worked quickly, keeping my movements precise, impersonal. This was survival, nothing else.
One day, I would undress her and revel in the moment. I would worship her body and plant kisses on her soft skin. But that was for later.
When the last piece was gone, I rinsed it in a tide pool and spread it on a flat rock to dry. Then I covered her again with the strands of kelp, layering them until only her face and hands were visible. The sun would do the rest.
I brushed a droplet of water from her cheek, unable to stop myself. Her skin had warmed a little, colour returning beneath the pale surface.
That was better.
I lay down beside her, keeping a careful distance, and let the rhythm of her breathing sync with mine. The air smelled of salt and sun-warmed stone.
I should have felt guilt for what I’d done, but I didn’t. For the first time in a long while, the ache that had followed me since leaving Finfolkaheem began to fade.
I closed my eyes and listened to the waves.
She was here.
And I wasn’t alone any more.