Page 8

8

Laverne

I belonged to him? As if!

I pressed my lips into a sweet, demure smile, batting my lashes up at Albert. “Do I, really?”

Albert leered down at me, his tongue sensually sliding across his top teeth. “Mmhm.”

Ew. Had I really thought those teeth were attractive? More like overcrowded and showy, anchored inside the biggest idiot on this side of the Pacific! If he thought he could just take me into his harem after how he’d humiliated me, he was out-of-his-den deranged.

Although…

I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander over the deliciously bare skin underneath his coat. It was rugged and scarred, and just how I liked.

The silver in Albert’s eyes seemed to flash in the moonlight. His battle-worn chest expanded even further, causing his coat to slip back and expose more of his muscular physique.

My, my… His muscles were a sight to behold. Too bad they were wasted on such a cod-brained simpleton.

I mustered up a giggle that was sure to be convincing. “Lucky me.”

Beside me, Kai let out a loud gasp. His face had turned pink, making it clear what he wanted to say.

Don’t look at him like that, Laverne!

Sorry, Kai-Kai, but this was all part of my masterful plan—even if things hadn’t gone as smoothly as I’d hoped. Thankfully, my acting abilities were superb.

My gaze lingered over the tight slope of muscle leading to the prize between Albert’s legs. Yes, all part of the plan…

Big Brother was so lucky to have me. I’d panicked at first, but now that Albert had finally accepted me, that trident was as good as ours!

Albert reached out to assist me, and I collected my coat under my neck before accepting his hand. He lifted, and my legs wobbled, refusing to cooperate as I struggled to find my balance. Stupid feet!

I pivoted on the front of my toes and stumbled forward, falling against a rock-solid stomach that immediately erupted with laughter.

“ Ru—! ” I halted the insult mid-word, clamping down on my tongue to keep it in check. Instead of shooting Albert a glare, I forced out another giggle. “Seems I’m out of practice.” Of course, I was—this was only the seventh time I’d ever had legs!

Albert set me on my feet, and I stumbled a few steps on my own, too irritated to look back at Kai and Lee. Why were they just standing there? Scram already!

Looking like a fool wasn’t part of my plan. I was a proud sea lion, for goodness’ sake. I didn’t need legs! If I’d known that Albert would want to show off in his human form, I would have never suggested they pretend to be humans in the first place.

Albert looked beyond satisfied with himself as he took hold of my arm. He guided me away from them, but I couldn’t keep myself from stealing one last glance over my shoulder.

Kai looked devastated. His lips were slightly parted, his worry clear on his face as he watched me leave.

If I could have communicated with him in my usual way, I would have told him to quit with the gloomy face. I had this! But all I could do was stick out my tongue.

Leave the rest to me, Big Brother!

Because I’d finally done it. Albert was letting me into his harem, and it was time to take my sweet revenge. But as I took my first steps into his territory, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I’d also made a huge mistake.

For years, Freechia and I had kept our secret, but now Kai knew the truth... And Mama was going to be so upset when she found out.

At least one of her precious secrets was still safe.

Big Brother…

All Mama ever wanted was to see all three of her children happy and smiling. I’d get that trident for Kai-Kai so he could start smiling again.

Then Mama couldn’t be too upset with me, could she?

The giggling started up again immediately upon our arrival. The harem’s eyes collectively lit as they reached for Albert, stealing him right from my grasp.

Hmph. As far as greetings went, all I got were a couple of sideways glances, assessing and sizing me up. I clutched my coat, shielding myself from the ice in their stares.

I didn’t need their approval. I didn’t even want to be in this ridiculous harem! They were nothing more than a herd of jelly-headed harlots, impressed by muscles, a nice set of teeth, and little to nothing else.

Albert, oblivious to the tension, threw his arms wide to bark out an introduction. “Everyone, Laverne. Laverne, everyone!”

And just like that, introductions were over. One of the harlots gave Albert a playful poke with her lovely human fingers , and he took the bait, chasing after her with a deep, rumbling laugh. Imbeciles.

So, this was Albert’s territory.

As I scanned my surroundings, it became clear why he’d claimed this stretch of the beach. The rocks were smooth and inviting, perfect for basking, and the surf looked favorable. “Not bad,” I muttered.

“Look who decided to grace us with her presence—Laverne, the late bloomer,” a voice dripping with condescension called. Dorothy . The jellyhead separated from the herd, and I rolled my eyes, pretending not to hear her.

She’d become insufferably smug ever since Albert brought her into his harem last season. A bloated fish carcass was easier to stomach than listening to her snorty laugh.

“Though you haven’t bloomed yet, have you?” she added. Snort, snort. “At your age, one might wonder if you ever will…”

She was as predictable as ever.

Two of her usual followers stood behind her, but there was nothing they could do or say that would faze me. “Martha. Phyllis,” I greeted, keeping my head held high.

They exchanged glances before Phyllis murmured, “Good to see you again, Laverne.”

Lies! These three had been the ones to cackle the loudest back when Albert rejected me. They were as annoyed to see me here as I was to be in their presence.

Dorothy advanced with a smirk, her gaze traveling from the top of my lovely head to my dainty feet and back. “Quite the catch, Albert,” she hummed, spinning away with the grace of a seahorse caught in a tumbling wave. She recovered quickly, brushing the sand from her knees before straightening her coat on her shoulders. “It’s a pity he’ll take in just about any trash that washes ashore these days.”

Oh, that did it.

She thought I was trash? Had she ever gazed upon her own reflection?

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and called after her, “You should know, right?” My lip hitched as I stifled a snort. “After all, you were the latest addition to this ‘trash’ heap before me.”

Dorothy threw a nasty glare over her shoulder. “Excuse me?—?”

“My beauties!” Albert roared across the beach, capturing everyone’s attention, even Dorothy’s.

He’d recovered the trident, and it gleamed under the moonlight as he waved it through the air. “There will be no rest for us tonight!” he boasted with a smirk, and a chorus of delighted squeals erupted all around me.

But this wasn’t delightful! What did he mean, no rest? How was I supposed to grab the trident if he didn’t fall asleep?

The harem clapped their hands, exchanging excited glances while I remained motionless, clinging to the front of my coat.

“Stash your coats,” Albert commanded, his grin growing wider. “Tonight, under the blue moon’s blessing, we venture up shore!”

Up shore?

The harem broke into another chorus of cheers, but my stomach was busy cramping around all the fish I’d snuck while filling the bucket. He wanted us to intermingle with humans? Now? Was he insane?

Terror surged through me as Albert began snatching coats off of shoulders, creating a growing pile on his arm. “Hurry up, my beauties!”

WHAT?

While the other females giggled, willingly surrendering their sea lion skins, I clutched my coat like my life depended on it, sinking low.

No, no, no! Anything but my coat!

Horror rounded my eyes as I bolted into a stumbling sprint.

It didn’t matter that I was no good with legs; I couldn’t let him take it! Then I’d really belong to Albert, and I refused to become a permanent member of his trash harem!

Panicked, I scrambled up the dunes, desperately searching for a safe place to hide. But where, where, where? My coat had to be stashed somewhere secure—someplace where only I would know to retrieve it from. Not Albert! Definitely not Albert!

His roaring chuckle rang out behind me, spurring me to move even faster.

My instincts seemed to kick in the moment I noticed a secluded spot surrounded by thick tufts of beach grass. Yes! Somehow, I knew those sturdy blades would be the perfect cover. I darted into the grassy haven, my chest heaving with exertion, and collapsed to my knees.

Hide it! I have to hide it!

The sand was cool against my palms as I dug right in, my heart pounding in rhythm with each handful of sand I tossed aside.

Carefree laughter filled the air, and I scolded myself for even coming up with this plan. Not only did I have to hide my precious coat, but now I had to go around in nothing more than this… this human skin!

A relentless wave of heat beat against my face as I continued to dig. It was a selkie tradition, intermingling with humans once we shed our skins, but what a ridiculously shameless tradition it was.

Reckless. Unnecessary!

But as long as no one found my coat, I’d be safe. I’d been told countless tales of selkies who had their coats taken, leaving them stranded on land in their human form for the rest of their lives.

A life as a human? Pfft! It would never happen.

Sure, a part of me had been jealous of Kai-Kai and Freechia’s mer-forms, but I was proud to be a sea lion. Because Mama had me, it meant she wasn’t lonely anymore.

Guilt started seeping in as the hole I was digging took shape. Mama would be so excited when she heard that Albert let me into his harem. She always wanted me to have the safety of living under a bull’s protection. Protection she never had for herself.

Too bad it wasn’t real.

I knew I’d never be accepted into a harem. Mama always said I was dainty, but the truth was that I was small. Everyone knew a small sea lioness couldn’t raise strong pups.

Even if I were to stay in Albert’s harem, he would never mate me.

Stupid Albert!

I was far from worthless. I could hunt better than any other sea lioness on these shores—I’d made sure of it.

I would have done an amazing job supporting Albert’s brood. But too bad for him! He’d never know what he missed out on with me.

My fingers scraped against hard, wet sand, and all other thoughts seemed to melt away. I pulled the coat from my shoulders and carefully folded it before sitting it in the bottom of the hole. “There,” I whispered, committing the spot to memory.

When the moonflowers started to wilt with the sunrise, I would come back to this very spot and reclaim it. Then I’d return to my sea lion form, figure out how to get the trident from Albert, and all would be well!

I filled the hole back up, and a strange sense of satisfaction washed over me as I looked at the mound of sand. So, this was what Mama meant when she told me I would ‘just know’ what to do with my coat. It felt... right.

Because it was right! My instincts were amazing, just like the rest of me.

It was the first time I was old enough during a blue moon to intermingle with humans, and look what a good spot I’d found!

Last time, I’d huddled with my peers like I’d done every time before, practicing using my legs under the protection of those in the colony too old to intermingle.

But not this time. This time, I was going to be a shameless, doting jellyhead. Ha!

I braced my hands on the sand and pushed myself up to full height, missing my flippers and tail. They were so much better than legs.

The wind beat against my exposed back, lofting through the strands of my hair as I realized… this was the furthest I’d ever been from my coat.

Ugh , look at me! I was stripped and bare, practically human, and it was all Albert’s fault?—

The grass in front of me rustled, and I startled with a gasp.

Someone was there?

Wait, was someone WATCHING ME? Who would be audacious enough to do such a thing?

“Who’s there?” I snapped, shuffling closer. My eyes strained in the darkness, attempting to discern any shapes hidden within the swaying grass.

There it was—a form, likely human.

“Come on, show yourself,” I demanded. The figure, however, stayed still, completely underestimating my ability to spot them crouching there like an idiot! I took another step forward and caught the sound of a sharp intake of breath, unmistakably masculine.

Was this some kind of PERVERT? Spying on a vulnerable lady?

My eyes narrowed. “Well, I guess I’ll just…” I lunged forward, tackling the grass and landing on top of the intruder. A loud grunt escaped him as we tumbled over the sand until we finally settled, his chest heaving beneath me.

Oh, he was a human, all right!

“Get off me, you crazy—!” he started, but I cut him off with a swift slap across the jaw. His head snapped to the side with a satisfying swish , and he momentarily went limp underneath me.

That’s right—that’s what he got for snooping on the beach’s most skilled huntress!

But my celebration was short-lived as he pushed forward. His hand shot out, gripping my throat with surprising strength.

Oh, HECK NO. My throat? Now, that was some dirty fighting. I might have been small, but I was feisty!

I clawed into his arm and simultaneously forced both of us back down to the sand, gaining control over him by straddling his chest. Once I had him pinned in place, he gave little resistance as I held his arms above his head.

Tousled black hair covered one of his eyes as his flustered gaze met mine.

“ Bradley? ”

He barely even breathed, his face turning red-hot as he lay underneath me. I couldn’t believe it. It was him , the human I’d met in the Atlantic. The one that worked at Ren’s hotel!

But what was he doing here?

“I… uh…” Bradley stammered, his eyes flicking around like he couldn’t settle on which part of me to look at. I hadn’t seen that kind of look on a human before. With his fight completely gone, I released his arms and patiently awaited the explanation I deserved.

For a moment, we simply stayed there, locked in a tense silence. Fine—I’d start. “So, you followed me?”

His eyes widened like he’d been caught. “What? No!” His hair looked darker in the moonlight, or maybe it was because I was looking at him with human eyes. His teeth were as sparkly as ever, though. Such perfect chompers .

“Yes, you did. You totally followed me,” I murmured back, feeling a grin spread across my face. “Shameless pervert.”

Bradley’s face flushed a deeper shade of red. I couldn’t help but feel drawn to the specks of green in his eyes. They had a shimmer to them, like a school of darting fish, and they awakened the urge to hunt. “I’m not a—ugh, forget it!” With an unexpected nudge of his hips, he pushed me off balance, causing me to land flat on my back in the sand.

I let out a surprised gasp as he leaned over, careful not to bear any weight on me.

“Listen,” he began, his voice firm but not unkind. “I didn’t follow you. In fact, I don’t think we’ve ever met, have we? I just happened to come across you while you were…” He cleared his throat. “Undressing.”

The more I thought over his words, the stronger my suspicions became. “You were trying to steal my coat,” I realized aloud. My instincts instantly barked at me to go dig it up and hide it again. Just great.

“… Your what?”

“My coat!” I snapped back. As if he didn’t already know! “Admit it, Bradley, you were trying to steal it away from me. You want us to get marrie—” He silenced me with a sandy finger rudely pressed against my lips.

“Let me stop you there,” he interrupted, his voice going icy and distant. “I’m not trying to steal anything. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. In fact, you never saw me here.” He glanced in the direction where the harem congregated on the beach before pressing more weight against my mouth. “Is that clear?”

Not only was he not even remotely convincing, I really didn’t appreciate his tone.

With a sharp glare, I pushed Bradley’s hand away from my lips. “What happened to the charming, sweet Bradley I met at the Atlantic, hm?” I let out a dramatic sigh. “Remember how you loved to get the button for me?”

His bitter laugh was devoid of any humor. Those perfect teeth were clenched now, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “You don’t listen, do you? I just said?—”

I interrupted him by running a finger along his jawline, right where I’d struck him earlier. His breath hitched at my touch. “You know, I’d never been choked before. Maybe I prefer you like this.”

It was a daring move, inspired by one of Claira’s many shameless strategies for scrambling a merman’s brains. As it turned out, it worked on humans as well.

Bradley froze on top of me, his expression caught between confusion and surprise. “Do… you now?” He stumbled through the words, his gaze dragging down my body and up again. He wet his lips, something dark crossing over his eyes. His hands, which had been resting on either side of me, tensed before finally retreating. “I… should go.”

“What? Go?” Was he serious? “Bradley?—!”

He scrambled off of me, sprinting off into the beach grass. By the time I got back to my feet, he was already gone.

What!

“Brad!” I barked, stomping a foot into the sand. “Brad, Brad, Brad!”

Frustration filled me as I stood there, taking heaving breaths, trying to make sense of why he’d left.

I really didn’t understand humans.

Albert’s impatient grunts carried across the beach, and I let out a sigh. There was no time to think about it now—I had to focus on the plan.

As I was about to depart, my attention wandered back to where I’d carefully hidden my coat. Bradley knew its location—he’d watched me put it there.

But instead of nudging me to relocate it, my instincts whispered a different suggestion.

Leave it .

Yes, that was what I’d do. Just in case Bradley came back.

Who knew? Maybe I’d end this mission with more than just a trident.