Milo
Everything was going so well. It had been perfect even.
The selkies were all so close to home. Miki had her coat back.
Everything was exactly as it should be and my heart was so full until I realized the goddess was pulling me home.
Not to the home I’d built with Rowan, though.
No, she wanted me to go back to the colony.
It was the same pull I’d felt every single day before I’d found Rowan in the storm and thought she’d given me a new fate.
She hadn’t. I’d been wrong. She wanted me on land so I could find Miki, so I could lead the selkie against the poachers, and then she wanted me to go back to my life before all of it. It wasn’t possible.
My soul belonged to my goddess, but my heart belonged to Rowan. I couldn’t be without either of them, and yet she wanted me to go somewhere that he couldn’t follow me. I couldn’t leave him. I couldn’t disobey.
I was torn in two as I clung to my perfect human.
“Please,” I prayed. “Please let me have him. Please let me stay with Rowan.”
She didn’t answer me.
I cried harder.
Rowan held me tight, but he didn’t speak. He didn’t need to, because what was there to say?
“Please,” I projected to my goddess, as I had so many times before when I asked her to choose someone else. “Please.”
There had to be a way for us to stay together. There had to be something I could do to earn that. I’d do anything.
“Can’t you stay with me anyway?” Rowan asked, a tremble in his voice that made my heart ache. “Can’t you choose me?”
“I do choose you,” I told him, pulling back to take his face in both my hands and stare him in the eyes so he could see I was telling him the complete truth.
His eyes were wet and dark, like the storm I’d found him in.
“I choose you, Rowan. Even if fate has other plans for us, even if the goddess wills me to be elsewhere. I choose you.”
He sniffed, his bottom lip pulling between his teeth as he nodded.
“I choose you too. And if—” He cleared his throat.
“If you really need to leave, then… I’ll be here, waiting for you to return.
I’ll be here every day, waiting. Even if it rains.
Even if it storms. I’ll… I’ll sell my house and buy a new boat, one big enough to live on so that I can be here all the time, and maybe…
maybe I can buy something else, some diving gear or something so I can visit you sometimes.
We’ll make it work, Milo. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you. ”
I sobbed again, but this time around a smile as I pulled him to me and our lips crashed together. I believed him, and no matter what happened, we’d find a way to make this work.
“You’d really live on a boat just to be close to me?” I asked as we finally parted.
“Absolutely. And you can make a new nest on it, and I’ll keep it safe for you.”
He was so very perfect. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t chosen for me by the goddess, it didn’t matter if our bond would never be blessed and we couldn’t have pups. Rowan was my mate. The mate I chose for myself, and nothing would ever change that.
I kissed him again. And again. I craved him the moment our lips parted. How could I be expected to live away from him if I couldn’t even get enough of him when he was right here in my arms?
A throat cleared nearby, and I remembered my grandmother and Raq were still here, watching us.
“Your minds are made up, then?” she asked.
My arms and legs wrapped tighter around Rowan. “He’s mine. Even if the goddess demands I give him up, I won’t do it.”
She sighed, but there was a fond smile on her lips. “Well, then, before you go being all disobedient and making your lives harder, I think you should go ask her properly.”
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“The goddess. There’s a place I know of, a sacred place, where selkies have been known to be heard by her in times of great need.
I love you dearly, my boy. I’ve always wanted you to take over our colony, because I think you’d be the most wonderful leader, and clearly the goddess believes so too.
But more than anything else, what I want for you is to be happy, and to be loved, and it’s clear as anything that your human loves you, and you’ll be your happiest if you can be with him properly. ”
I nodded, then turned to nuzzle my nose into Rowan’s neck. “I love him too. I love our colony and our people, Aanaa, but my heart is with Rowan.”
She smiled a little wider. “Then let’s not waste any time.” My grandmother turned to where Panak and Miki were still watching us from their boat. “You there,” she called to him.
“Uhh, yes?” Panak stood a little taller as he responded.
“You’ll be taking us, seeing as this one can’t swim,” she gestured to Rowan. “And I refuse to bring this boat into a sacred place, given its origins. The sooner we can be rid of it, the better.”
Panak nodded, turning to face Rowan and me. “You gave Miki back her coat, and with it, a future for our family. We’ll do anything we can to help you.”
With a new spark of hope in my chest that this sacred place might be the answer to my oldest prayer, I kissed Rowan again and then begrudgingly let him go, so he could plan with Panak how to get this boat far away from selkie territory before we switched to the other boat and Aanaa could guide us to the sacred place.
Raq was smiling at me as everyone was busy making plans for our new mission.
“What’s that look for?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Nothing, really. Just… as long as I’ve known you…
you’ve never really been happy staying in place.
You’ve always wanted adventure and exploration.
You’ve always wanted more and dragged me along with you.
We definitely got enough of that last night for one lifetime as far as I’m concerned.
But what about you? Are you sure you’ll be happy living on land, surrounded by humans? ”
I smiled, turning to look at my mate as he handed Panak anything valuable from this boat.
“Yeah,” I answered honestly. “Loving Rowan is the most exciting thing I’ve ever felt.
Every day I wake up next to him is an adventure, even if we do nothing but sit in front of the fire and eat.
I think I was searching for him long before I found him out in that storm.
I’ve never felt more peace than I do by his side. ”
Raq huffed. “Damn, well… maybe I should try humans.”
I laughed. Raq had always had such terrible taste in potential partners. I wanted him to have what I had with Rowan someday. “You’re welcome to try, but just know that I already took the best one.”
He rolled his eyes, but an amused smile played on his lips.
“Alright.” Rowan ran his fingers through his short red hair as he approached.
A simple gesture, but I couldn’t help thinking how sexy he looked with his hair all messy like that.
“We’re going to take both boats well out of selkie territory, then I’ll set this one to keep going and we’ll jump over onto Panak’s so he can take us…
uh… wherever we’re going to go. Your grandma won’t specify where that is yet. Are you ready?”
I ran my fingers over the front of his coat, and up to the fabric around his neck, which I yanked to pull him down and claim his lips. “I’m so ready. Let’s go challenge a goddess.”