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NINE

ISOLDE

I solde awoke to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar windows. For a moment, she floated in peaceful confusion, her mind blissfully blank. Then reality crashed over her like another tidal wave—the research station destroyed, the impossible rescue, and the even more impossible explanation.

She sat up in the luxurious four-poster bed, noticing more clearly the opulent surroundings.

The room was easily three times the size of her bedroom on the houseboat, with high vaulted ceilings, ornate moldings, and furniture that belonged in a museum.

Her eyes caught on a sleek smartphone resting on the nightstand that definitely wasn't hers.

"Considerate," she murmured, picking it up. Her own phone was floating somewhere in the Atlantic.

The device unlocked without a passcode, revealing a clean home screen with only essential apps. She immediately opened the news app, her heart pounding. The headline made her stomach drop:

Mysterious Tidal Wave Destroys Marine Research Station - No Casualties

She scanned the article quickly, finding confirmation of everything she remembered—except the part about her causing it. There were quotes from meteorologists baffled by the lack of seismic activity and the impossibly localized nature of the wave.

"I need to help them," she said, throwing back the covers and grabbing her duffel bag. Her colleagues would be sorting through the wreckage, salvaging what equipment and research they could. It was her responsibility to be there.

After dressing in the jeans and light blue blouse she had packed, she stepped into the hallway, immediately realizing she had no idea how to navigate this castle. The corridor stretched in both directions, lined with intricate tapestries depicting ocean scenes and doors that all looked identical.

"Left it is," she decided, setting off down the hallway.

Her footsteps echoed on marble floors as she passed room after room, each more elaborate than the last. A library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

A sitting room with antique furniture. An empty ballroom with chandeliers that caught the morning light and fractured it into thousands of rainbows.

"This place is ridiculous," she muttered, trailing her fingers along a wall inlaid with mother-of-pearl. "Who actually lives like this?"

A prince of waterwolf shifters, apparently.

As she rounded another corner, she nearly collided with a young woman carrying fresh linens.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming," Isolde apologized.

The young woman's eyes widened. "You must be Miss Morgan." She gave a small curtsy that made Isolde instantly uncomfortable.

"Please don't do that. I'm just Isolde." She gestured vaguely around her. "I'm afraid I'm a bit lost. I need to find my way out. My colleagues need help with the cleanup from last night's wave."

"His Highness left explicit instructions that you were to be brought to him when you woke." The young woman's tone was polite but firm. "He's on the east terrace. I can show you the way."

Isolde hesitated. She needed to get to the research station site, but she also had questions only Nereus could answer. And beneath it all, she still felt that strange magnetic pull toward him that she couldn't explain.

"That's okay. I can find it myself. Besides, I would like to get more familiar with the castle since I'll be here for a while," Isolde replied, hoping the half-lie would convince the young woman to leave her alone.

The young woman stared at her for a long moment and then nodded, continuing down the corridor with her fresh linens.

Isolde wandered deeper into the castle's maze of corridors. The thought of breakfast with Nereus sent a flutter through her stomach that wasn’t because of her hunger. She turned a corner and spotted an ornate wooden door left slightly ajar, golden morning light spilling from within.

Her curiosity piqued, she pushed the door open and stepped inside to what appeared to be a study.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining one wall were filled with leather-bound volumes in varying states of age.

A massive oak desk dominated the center of the room, its surface scattered with papers bearing elegant script.

"Definitely not the east terrace," she murmured to herself.

The room smelled of parchment, ink, and something distinctly masculine. Nereus's scent. Her cheeks warmed at the memory of his kisses, how natural they had felt despite the bizarre circumstances.

Her eyes soon darted around his space, searching for anything that might help her make sense of this unusual situation.

Suddenly, a particular section of books caught her eye on the wall of bookshelves.

The book spines were a deep azure blue with silver lettering.

Drawn to them like the tide to shore, she approached and ran her finger along them until she found one titled "The Seafang Legacy. "

"This might explain a few things," she whispered, carefully pulling the book from its place.

She settled into a plush leather armchair and opened the heavy volume. The pages were filled with illustrations of wolves, oceans, and what appeared to be rituals. She flipped through until a chapter heading caught her attention: "The Luna's Ascension."

The Luna is the sacred counterpart to the alpha, guardian of the pack's spiritual equilibrium and wielder of elemental magic.

When a female wolf reaches her thirtieth year, her powers awaken, often manifesting dramatically through her connected element.

The alpha must then claim his Luna, or the pack's very foundation will begin to crumble. ..

Isolde's breath caught. Thirtieth year. Elemental magic. The tidal wave. It aligned too perfectly with what Nereus had told her.

"What do you think you're doing in here?"

The sharp voice startled Isolde so badly, she nearly dropped the book. An older woman stood in the doorway, her steel-gray hair pulled into a severe bun, wearing a formal black dress with a ring of keys at her waist.

"I'm sorry, I was just?—"

"This is His Highness's private study. These materials are not for casual perusal." The woman's eyes narrowed as she took in the book in Isolde's hands. "You're Miss Morgan, I presume. I'm Edith Carlisle, head housekeeper of this estate."

Edith stepped closer, her gaze falling to the open page. Her expression shifted from stern disapproval to something more complex.

"You're reading about the Luna?" Edith asked, her voice now carefully neutral.

Isolde nodded. "I found it interesting."

"And why would someone like yourself find that particular topic interesting?" Edith's tone was probing, her eyes shrewd.

"Because apparently I am one." Isolde closed the book and stood, suddenly feeling defensive. "According to Nereus, anyway."

Edith's eyes widened, her composure momentarily faltering. "Surely someone like yourself knows that people don't turn into animals."

Isolde lifted her chin. "That's not what Nereus demonstrated last night. I saw him shift with my own eyes." The memory of his magnificent wolf form still left her breathless. "He also told me that I am the Luna."

"But you're human," Edith sputtered, the keys at her waist jangling as she took a step back.

Isolde shrugged, replacing the book on the shelf. "I guess that doesn’t matter."

The woman's shock meant nothing to her—how could it, when all of this was still so new? Just yesterday, her biggest concern had been spending her birthday alone. Now she was supposedly some kind of magical wolf queen.

"I need to find Nereus," Isolde said, moving toward the door. "He's expecting me for breakfast on the east terrace."

Edith stood frozen, her face pale as she stared at Isolde like she was examining a particularly troubling scientific anomaly. After a few long moments, she finally blinked, her trance of disbelief broken. She smoothed her immaculate black dress with trembling hands and cleared her throat.

"This way, Miss Morgan." The housekeeper's voice had regained its formal authority, but her eyes kept darting to Isolde with a mixture of suspicion and awe.

Isolde followed her through a maze of opulent hallways, mentally mapping each turn.

The castle seemed designed to disorient visitors, its corridors flowing like ocean currents rather than in straight, predictable lines.

Sunlight streamed through tall windows, catching on gold accents and crystal fixtures.

The east terrace, when they finally reached it, took Isolde's breath away.

It extended from the castle like the bow of a ship, overlooking a private stretch of beach where waves lapped gently at pristine sand.

A glass-topped table had been set with fine china and silver, fresh flowers bursting from crystal vases.

Beyond the railing, the ocean stretched blue and limitless—the same ocean that had nearly killed her yesterday, the same ocean she had somehow, impossibly, commanded.

Nereus stood at the terrace's edge, his broad back to her, hands clasped behind him as he surveyed his domain. His posture screamed authority and confidence, an arrogance that Isolde found both infuriating and magnetically attractive.

"Your Highness," Edith announced with a curtsy. "Miss Morgan has arrived."

Nereus turned, his blue eyes capturing Isolde with a hunger that made her breath hitch. He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a fitted black Henley that hugged his muscular frame, looking more like a model than royalty.

"Thank you, Edith." His deep voice rolled over Isolde like a wave. "That will be all."

The housekeeper hesitated, her gaze flicking between them before she retreated, closing the terrace doors behind her.

"I hope you slept well." Nereus gestured to the table. "I've arranged something special for your birthday breakfast."

Isolde approached but didn't sit. The beautiful spread—fresh fruit, pastries, and what looked like smoked salmon benedict, her absolute favorite—would normally have delighted her. Today, it felt like a gilded cage.

"I need to get back to the research station site. My colleagues will need help with the cleanup." She twisted her fingers together, fighting the instinct to acquiesce to his plans.

His expression hardened slightly. "Your special birthday breakfast is more important right now. Besides, there's probably nothing salvageable left of that station."

"You don't get to decide what's important to me.

" The words sprang from Isolde's lips before she could second-guess herself.

The devastation flashed in her mind—years of research, equipment, specimens, all gone.

Because of her. "Those people are my friends, my colleagues.

If I caused that destruction, I need to help fix it. "

"You need to learn control first." Nereus pulled out a chair for her, his gesture more command than courtesy. "Sit. Eat. Today is the first day of your new life."

Something in his presumption ignited a spark in Isolde. She had spent years deferring to others, putting their needs before her own. Something about this man made her want to push back.

"As the Luna, wouldn't I get to do whatever I wanted every day? Not just what you decide for me." She crossed her arms, noticing how his eyes briefly tracked the movement across her chest. "You made it seem like the Luna is an important role in your pack. Basically, like a queen, am I right?"

Nereus went still, his eyes narrowing. "Queen? Where did you hear that term?"

"I found a very interesting book in your study. 'The Seafang Legacy.' Quite illuminating." She tilted her head, studying his reaction. "Why would you keep that information from me if I'm supposedly this important Luna figure?"

The muscle in his jaw twitched. Behind him, two staff members who had entered quietly to assist with the breakfast service paused, their eyes widening at her words. One nearly dropped a pitcher of tea on the ground.

"Leave us," Nereus commanded without turning around. The staff scurried away, the terrace doors closing with a soft click behind them.

He stepped closer, towering over her, his presence filling the space between them with crackling tension. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

Isolde stood her ground, even as her heart raced. "Enlighten me."

"The identity of a Luna is considered sacred information until the formal announcement. There are protocols, traditions—" He ran a hand through his dark hair in frustration. "And the fact that you are human makes this situation exceptionally delicate."

"Why is it such a big deal that I'm human?" she pressed. "And why the secrecy and confusion all of a sudden in the castle? If your staff know about Lunas and water wolves, why hide me now?"

His eyes flashed with something primal and unsettling. "Because a human Luna has never existed in the history of the Seafang pack. It changes everything."