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M ael moved the flashlight so he could see Echo better. His chest tightened, and panic clutched at his heart. After shoving the flashlight under one arm, he collected both sides of Echo’s face. “You can. You can shift.”

Echo shook his head.

Mael nodded. “You can. You’re in control. It’s your body.”

Echo trembled, clearly terrified. He took a deep breath and tried again.

No luck.

“Oh fuck,” Echo said. “I can’t change back.”

Mael’s eyes widened. “Try again.”

Echo squeezed his eyes closed, his body tensing. Nothing happened.

“Try shifting fully into your dolphin,” Mael suggested, hiding his fear from Echo as best he could. “And then back to human.”

“What if I get stuck in dolphin form? We’re not close to the water leading. You’d have to carry me through to the next chamber.”

“I’ll do what I need to do if it comes to that. Just try.”

Echo cracked his neck, his breath coming in short gasps before shifting into his dolphin with what seemed like ease.

Mael sighed with relief. One down. One to go.

“Can you return to human now?” Mael asked.

Echo closed his eyes before letting out a painful squeak. Toes peeked out at the ends of his flukes, which slowly morphed into feet. He was shifting, but much too slowly. From the spasms of Echo’s body, Mael sensed he was in pain.

“Just stop,” Mael said. “Go back to dolphin and I’ll carry you out.”

Echo either didn’t hear him or refused to stop. The torture went on. A shift that normally took seconds was stretched out. He could hear Echo’d bones crunching and popping under the flesh. Echo’s chest puffed out, gasping painfully between sections transforming. Once past his waist, Mael lifted him. They needed to get out of there and possibly medical attention. Echo could continue his transformation as they moved.

“I’ve got you, baby,” Mael murmured. He carried toward the chamber opening. “I’ve got you.”

Echo trembled against him. By the time he reached their tanks in the previous chamber, Echo’s face and head finally returned to human. Sweat coated his forehead, his eyes barely able to open.

“That hurt,” Echo whispered.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” Mael carefully set Echo on the stone floor and pulled his scuba tank onto his back. Flashing the light close, he noticed how pale Echo seemed. Scarily pale. It broke Mael to see him like that.

Echo weakly reached for his own tank and his wetsuit, but Mael stopped him.

“I need air to get out of here,” Echo argued, reaching again.

“You’ll get it.” Mael tightened his pack and snatched Echo’s oxygen tank. He handed his omega the breather from it and twisted the air valve back on. “I’m carrying you out.”

“You can’t carry me and the tanks… and swim out, too.”

“The hell I can’t,” Mael muttered. After he snatched the wetsuit, he lifted Echo into his arms. “Hold on.”

He slid through the entrance into the next chamber. The downward slope of the chambers was a hell of a lot easier than going up, though he’d not been carrying anyone up. They descended into the water, and Echo placed his breather into his mouth. Mael swam toward the next opening, which was smaller than the last. Carefully sliding Echo through, he pushed himself out and then collected his mate again. One more and they reached the cave entrance where Rav and Tempest waited for them.

Once free of the cave, Mael whipped his legs into his tail and shot toward the surface. Barely ten minutes later, he lay his naked mate on one of the couches aboard Storm’s boat. Echo was deathly pale.

He feared the blue shit in the water had made Echo sick. What the fuck was he thinking allowing them both to stay in there?

“What happened down there?” Havoc asked, brows knitted together.

“There was this weird cavern with a pool of water that had glowing blue light,” Mael told his brother, gaze never leaving his mate. “Echo fell in, and he half shifted… and then struggled to shift back into his human form once he got out. He was in pain. Intense pain.” He caressed Echo’s cheek. “You’re so pale, baby.”

“I’m okay,” Echo whispered. “Just tired.” His back arched… and he released a moan.

Mael’s hackles rose. After all that pain, his omega was going back into heat—with three of his alpha brothers nearby. He sensed them tense around Echo.

“Downstairs,” Storm grated out beside him. “Take the main cabin. Lock the door.”

Mael turned to eye his brother. He nodded before yanking off his wetsuit top and handing it over. He collected Echo into his arms again. As the others looked on, Mael carried Echo below. Once they arrived in the main cabin, he locked the door and then strode to the bathroom. He switched on the shower and then moved them inside.

He wasn’t sure what had been in that water, but he wanted to ensure it was completely gone. As well as he could, anyway. After lowering Echo to his feet, he washed every inch of his omega’s body with soap and water—and then did his own. Echo leaned against him as he washed himself, clearly exhausted.

The boat’s engine came on not long after they’d climbed into the shower, and they were finally in motion. Mael was too exhausted himself to tell which direction they traveled. He trusted his brothers. They wouldn’t take them back to the island, not with Echo in heat and onboard.

Echo’s whimper shot through Mael. He tried to fight the need to rut. Echo wasn’t well and he’d be even more exhausted after they’d fucked over and over again.

“Mael,” Echo whispered. “I need you.”

Mael gnashed his teeth. He wanted to protect Echo, yet nature refused to be denied. His body responded, the need to rut inside his omega screaming in his blood. Both of his cocks thickened moved toward Echo with a mind of their own.

Haphazardly, he toweled them dry before carrying Echo to bed. As soon as he slid Echo under the covers, he was yanked in himself. His little dolphin climbed on top and swiftly impaled himself on both cocks before Mael could stop him. He rode Mael, barely able to hold his own head up. Mael slowly rolled them over, continuing to give Echo what he needed without using up every ounce of energy his little dolphin had.

“Mael,” Echo whispered, his voice deathly low. “I love you.”

Mael caressed his mate’s cheek, chuckling as he fought off tears stinging the backs of his eyes. “I love you, too, baby.”

He stared down into his mate’s eyes, his heart ready to burst, as he surrendered to his mate’s heat. Capturing Echo’s lips, the kisses were somehow sweeter, even in the midst of their lust. His dolphin loved him, so of course they were.

When Echo arched against him and roared with release, Mael sped his pace until he followed a few seconds later, filling his mate with a double dose of seed. He rolled over to his side and brought Echo with him.

“Are you okay?” Mael asked.

“Uh-huh,” Echo whispered, the sound barely audible.

His eyes were already closed, his breathing even. Mael brushed back his damp hair and kissed his forehead.

He loves me? Mael smiled to himself. He loves me, and I love him.

Mael eased from Echo’s body and rolled to his back. Echo cuddled against him, mumbling inaudibly before growing quiet again curled up in the crook of Mael’s arm.

Even in the low light, he could see some of Echo’s color returning, which helped set him at ease. Maybe dolphins grew pale when they went into heat. He’d need to ask Echo what to expect before the next one.

Mael stared up at the ceiling and watched the light reflected on it from the water’s surface. The wavy white lines coiled together, stirring and undulating with the movement of the boat and the waves. Between the rocking of the boat and those peaceful reflections, he drifted off to sleep, content beside his mate.

* * *

Echo awoke in a big, unfamiliar bed alone. Mael’s scent and that of sex was everywhere around him. The memory of his heat and the many sex sessions they’d had through the night filled his memory. He sat up, sensing the gentle motion of water and assumed they were on a boat.

Where were they?

He barely remembered getting out of the underwater cave.

Echo didn’t hear movement or sounds above. Sliding out of bed, he grabbed a throw blanket from the foot of it and wrapped it around his shoulders, tugging it tightly around him. He climbed to the main deck where sunrise neared. The sky was gray, a tiny hint of pink suggesting the sun was ready to peek over the horizon.

It was light enough to view the scenery. In the distance, a small coastal town and fishing village appeared amid craggy, seaside cliffs. He assumed it was Maki Island. He’d never been before but had seen a few old photos from before the war tucked into his grandfather’s journal.

In those early hours, boats moved out to sea, filled with watermen prepared to begin their day. And yet the harbor was still bursting with boats, both working and recreational, even with the large parade of ones heading out. He could see bright crimson warehouses to one side of the harbor, some of them extending over the water itself. On the other was a boardwalk and pier with a long row of quaint-looking shops and a restaurant.

Behind all of that, homes dotted the cliffs amid tall pines, all of them brightly colored in rainbow hues. He wondered which one was Maelstrom’s. Labyrinths of white staircases zigzagged along the cliffside to reach the homes from the harbor. It was picturesque, reminding him of a lovely puzzle he’d once put together on a rainy day with his parents many, many years ago.

Mael appeared at his side, cradling a cup of coffee. His alpha handed it over before slipping behind Echo and wrapping both arms around him tight.

“I don’t like waking up alone,” Echo chastised, fighting a smile as he repeated Mael’s words.

Mael snickered and kissed the back of his head.

He melted back against mate.

Mael grazed his lips and teeth along Echo’s neck. “I didn’t expect you up for hours, so I snuck out to grab a little breakfast. I burned through a lot of calories last night and needed to eat. You got such little sleep between rounds last night that I let you sleep.” He pressed a kiss to Echo’s neck. “Hungry?”

“Not right this second.” He took a sip from the cup. He was rarely hungry after a heat, even though he knew he needed food. “You know, you didn’t sleep much yourself last night.”

“I didn’t,” Mael replied. “But I woke up feeling… energized. I feel like I’ve had the best night of sleep in my life, and I was awake more than I was asleep. How about you?”

“Oddly, I don’t feel very tired myself. And I should.”

“You were so pale last night. You scared me.” He squeezed Echo tight. “But you looked rosy cheeked when I slipped out of bed this morning, thankfully.” He kissed Echo’s earlobe. “Are you sure you’re not hungry? You didn’t eat lunch, and we skipped dinner—on top of having a very active day and night.”

“I’ll eat something, but I’m not ready for you to let go of me just yet.” After a sip from the cup, he rested his head against Mael’s chest. “Is this Maki Island?”

“It is,” Mael said, his tone changed. A hint of anger was in it, Echo was almost certain.

“Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t think my brothers would bring us here with you in your condition,” Mael said. “I’m upset they did.”

“Why? You’ve come to my home. Why can’t I come to yours?”

“Your town is larger. There are humans there. You occasionally get tourists and visitors. It’s a bit easier to blend in and go unnoticed. Here? That’s not the case. Everyone sees everything. There’s probably someone looking at us right now. Only a matter of time before it gets across the island that I have a tiny stranger in my arms here on Storm’s boat with a laundry list of guesses as to who you are—and likely none of them good.”

“Should we go inside?” Echo asked, nervous.

“No,” Mael replied. “They’ll find out eventually. If it’s now, so be it.” He ran a hand over Echo’s stomach. “Given that we just shared a heat, there’s a chance you’re carrying our child. A part of me hopes you are. It’ll make it harder for our pods to refuse this match if there’s a baby involved.”

“Only a part?”

“Well, we’ve only just met,” Mael murmured against his ear. “I’d hoped we’d have more time alone before babies came along.” He spun Echo and smiled down. “But if they come, they come.”

Echo agreed that he wasn’t quite ready to be a papa yet, but the thought of being pregnant with Mael’s calves warmed him inside. It was likely the lingering heat hormones, though. By the following day, he’d see reason. They weren’t ready yet.

“Although, we’d have eighteen months before we’d become three.”

“Eighteen months?” Echo asked, frowning.

“Are dolphin pregnancies different?”

Echo cringed. Dolphin pregnancies were bad enough, but they weren’t a year and a half. “Twelve months.”

“Ahh,” Mael said. “I suppose it’ll make things interesting waiting to see how it would end up. We can take bets on how long it’ll be. We might make a small fortune. We can set up Junior’s college fund early.”

Echo chuckled. “You sound almost certain that I’m pregnant.”

Mael’s smile faded. “We both know the chances are low. We shouldn’t allow that mural to get our hopes up.”

Echo’s stomach knotted at the thought of never having a child with his mate. He forced a small smile. “You’re right. There’s no way that’s us.”

He slowly spun to face the water, sipping his coffee. Tears welled in his eyes, and he blinked them back, focusing on the beauty of the rising sun and not the breaking of his heart. The damned hormones were making him weepy, and he wasn’t going to allow them to. Mael was his mate, and they would have a life of love and happiness together. Plenty of people couldn’t have children or chose not to—and they were not diminished by that in any way.

But he’d always envisioned becoming a papa one day.

His thoughts drifted back to the mural with the couple who looked like them.

“So…?” Mael asked, slipping his hands around Echo’s waist from behind. “I was wondering. Which… um… which one… is connected to the womb?”

“They both are,” Echo replied, chuckling to himself. He lifted a finger and casually flicked off the tear that slipped past his defenses.

“Oh? I assumed it would be one or the other, but not both of them connected to the womb.”

“Womb sss,” Echo hissed, grinning to himself.

Mael spun him around, his jaw slack. He searched Echo’s face a moment, eyes widening. “You have two?”

Echo nodded. “I think I’ve already told you that, haven’t I?”

“I don’t recall. I damned well think I would have remembered.”

Echo snickered at the wide-eyed, comical surprise on Mael’s face.

“For fuck’s sake, Echo…” His surprise shifted into a smile. “That doubles our chances, now doesn’t it?”

Echo bit his lower lip, not wanting to get emotional again. Fucking heat hormones. A heat flooded his system and often left him emotional for a day or two as he returned to level ground.

“And honestly, I think that’s just further proof we were meant to be,” Mael said.

“Is it now?”

Echo’s head whipped in the direction of a woman’s voice. Mael stiffened as a woman rounded to corner from the side of the boat, glaring at the two of them. She looked like an older version of Tempest with a few gray hairs threaded through the raven black.

She had to be Mael’s mother.

The orca matriarch.

And she didn’t look happy.