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Chapter Five

Alistair cracked open his third beer and took a pull, all the while letting himself become entranced in the lulling surf and the sparkle of the swollen moonlight on the dark surface. His skin prickled on his legs, a mixture of drying salt water, flaking sand, and his true form begging to come out. He’d long ago learned to ignore the ache and burn of scales refused a release. Going into the water used to be sheer torture, but the more time he spent immersed in the waves, the easier the unnatural resistance became.

Still, it never completely disappeared.

As the pull of the approaching full moon urged his body to embrace a form he’d been so long without, a few beers seemed to be the only ease for his nagging torment.

Another guzzle.

He barely tasted the delightful mixture of hops and barley over the flavor of the sea that coated his tongue.

“My time has come. How much longer do you think to punish me?”

Punish.

He chuckled with another tip of his beer can.

All this time, he thought the spell preventing him from returning to his home under the water was punishment. Then, that beautiful little friend of Annie’s had to traipse into town and fill his head with thoughts. Thoughts he really couldn’t, shouldn’t, entertain.

He’d kept all his past relationships short, dull, for this very reason.

He had no place in Cat’s Paw Cove to invite the idea of a long-standing relationship.

The little tidbits of information Danny shared before they headed to Pie in the Sky to meet Annie’s close friend—now he knew who she was—made him understand she had no desire to remain in the town, either.

Nierahatedtheocean. His home. The only place he ever felt comfortable.

“Would never work out,” he mumbled into his beer, washing away his regret with another cool drink.

No matter how much he drank, though, no volume of beer seemed to douse the attraction he felt for Niera. He resisted recognizing how deeply he wanted to get to know her. Maybe he could change her mind about the ocean. Maybe he could make her see the beauty of the vast waters, all the treasures it held.

And when he cradled her hand in his…

Gods of the sea, what was that…connection?

Niera had felt it, too. He’d bet his chance to return to the ocean she felt the zing-pull-snap of something falling into place.

He was about to finish his beer when a familiar low-frequency vibration touched him. The sound made the hairs on his arms stand up and the tortured scales beneath his skin fight more powerfully for freedom. What always came as a prickle turned into the sensation of serrated teeth pressed into his skin.

“Damn it, no.”

Alistair jumped to his feet and twisted.

A proud-looking Sherwood cat pranced toward him, its calico coat ruffling in the breeze. Something dark dangled from its mouth, but those eyes latched onto his, a mischievous glint in the silvery-green glow.

That glint had nothing to do with the moonlight andeverythingto do with botching his latest chance to return home.

He scowled. “Away with you. You won’t get in my way this time.”

The cat growled, lowering to its haunches, the fur along its spine bristling.

It lunged.

Alistair stumbled back, avoiding its antagonizing pounce. It landed a foot away, locked eyes with Alistair, and casually dropped the bag it carried on the sand.

“Meow.”

Alistair slowly crouched, not trusting the cat as he picked up the velvet bag and weighed it in his palm. A few things jostled inside, but whatever they were weighed little. Energy seeped through the material, something that battled the very makeup of his genetic core.