Page 22

NINETEEN

ISOLDE

I solde awoke from her nap. The gentle rocking of her houseboat, once a familiar comfort, now felt strangely hollow.

Sunlight streamed through the small porthole window, casting golden patterns across her rumpled sheets.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the wooden ceiling.

The knots in the pine boards she had memorized over the years now suddenly seemed fascinating as she avoided facing her thoughts.

"Damn it," she said to the empty room, her voice sounding too loud in the silence.

Her bed felt too big, too empty without Nereus's muscular frame taking up most of the space. She missed his warmth, his scent—that mix of ocean spray, earth, and something deeply masculine that was uniquely him. Her body ached for him in ways she'd never experienced before meeting him.

"This is stupid," she muttered, throwing her arm over her eyes. "I barely know him."

But that wasn't true, was it? She'd spent an entire week with him, training her powers, learning about his world, and feeling that inexplicable pull drawing them together. Somehow, in that impossibly short time, he had become essential to her.

She sat up abruptly, pushing hair from her face. "I can't just become someone's Luna. I have a life, a career—" But her career was currently underwater, and her life had been upended the moment that tidal wave crashed ashore.

The memory of Nereus's hands on her body made her shiver. Those powerful, commanding touches that somehow knew exactly what she needed. The way his blue-gray eyes darkened when he looked at her. The absolute certainty in his voice when he called her "mine."

"Stop it," she told herself firmly. "The pack doesn't want you. You don't belong there."

But the truth pushed back against her denial—she had never truly belonged anywhere until Nereus had shown her that her place was beside him. The pack's rejection stung, yes, but wasn't that just another obstacle to overcome?

The walls of her houseboat suddenly felt claustrophobic. She needed air, space to think clearly without the ghost of Nereus haunting every corner of her mind.

"A walk. I need a walk."

She pulled on a pale blue sundress and slipped into sandals. Outside, the afternoon sun warmed her skin as she made her way down the dock and toward the beach.

The shoreline stretched before her, nearly empty this late in the day. Waves lapped gently at the sand—the ocean calm as if missing her touch. She walked along the water's edge, letting the foam brush her toes, feeling the pull of the tide like a magnetic force.

"Why can't I stop thinking about you?" she whispered to the horizon, knowing somehow that her words might reach him across the distance. "I was doing fine before you crashed into my life."

But had she been? Alone on her thirtieth birthday, her friends scattered across the country, and her work her only true companion. And now she knew why the ocean had always called to her—it wasn't just scientific fascination. It was her power and her birthright.

A seagull cried overhead, its wings catching the sunlight as it wheeled above her. She stopped walking and closed her eyes, feeling the water recede around her ankles, pulling back, then surging forward again, just like her thoughts about Nereus.

"I miss you," she admitted aloud to the empty beach. "I miss your arrogance, your commands, and your certainty. I miss the way you look at me like I'm the answer to a question you've been asking for centuries."

When she opened her eyes again, she noticed a woman walking some distance behind her on the beach—a stranger with dark hair, watching her with unusual interest. Isolde frowned slightly but continued walking, her thoughts returning to the alpha who had claimed her heart so completely.

The ocean whispered against the shore, and for a moment, she thought she heard Nereus's voice in its rhythm.

"How am I supposed to forget you when even the waves speak your name?" she asked the water, letting her fingers trail through the air as if she could reach across the miles and touch him. The water responded with a gentle surge that curled around her ankles like a caress.

She knew then, with a certainty that shocked her, that running from Nereus was like trying to run from herself. The question wasn't whether she should go back—it was how long she could possibly stay away.

Isolde soon noticed the dark-haired woman approaching her along the shoreline.

Unlike the few scattered beachgoers in the distance, this woman walked with purpose, her eyes fixed directly on Isolde.

Her sleek black hair fell to her shoulders, contrasting with a flowy white sundress that caught the breeze.

There was something magnetic about her presence— a confidence that reminded Isolde of Nereus, though softer and more approachable.

"Beautiful evening for contemplation," the woman called out, her voice melodic against the gentle rhythm of the waves. "The ocean speaks to us when we're truly listening."

Isolde felt an immediate connection to the stranger's words. "It does, doesn't it? Though lately, it's been saying things I'm not sure I want to hear."

The woman smiled, extending her hand. "I'm Marina. Just moved into the houseboat two down from yours. I saw you on the dock earlier and thought I'd introduce myself."

"Isolde." She accepted the handshake, noting how cool Marina's skin felt against her own. "Welcome to the neighborhood, I guess. Though I haven't been around much this past week myself."

Marina gestured toward the horizon. "Mind if I walk with you? New places can be lonely without friendly faces."

"Sure." Isolde nodded, surprising herself with how comfortable she felt with this stranger. Something about Marina's presence felt soothing like cool water on sunburned skin.

They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes before Marina spoke again. "You seem troubled. The ocean carries our burdens if we let it, you know."

The gentleness in Marina's voice broke something in Isolde. Her carefully constructed walls crumbled, and words spilled out without thinking through them first.

"I turned thirty last week. Spent my birthday alone, then watched a tidal wave destroy my workplace.

Now I'm being told I have water powers and that I'm supposed to be the Luna to a pack of wolf shifters.

" Isolde laughed bitterly. "And I'm falling for their alpha, who's gorgeous and commanding and makes me feel things I've never felt.

But his pack hates me. They actually attacked us. "

Instead of the disbelief Isolde expected, Marina's expression remained open and oddly understanding. "Water powers? That's why I felt drawn to you. I have a connection to the water myself." She reached down, letting the incoming tide swirl around her fingers in an unnatural pattern. "See?"

Isolde's eyes widened. "You have powers too? I thought I was the only one."

"I just have a special affinity for water." Marina smiled mysteriously. "This alpha of yours—he's demanding things of you, isn't he? Expecting you to adapt to his world immediately?"

"He's..." Isolde hesitated, feeling a flash of loyalty to Nereus. "Intense. Commanding. Used to getting his way."

"Men like that take without asking," Marina said softly. "Especially those with power. They expect women to bend to their will, to put their needs first."

The words struck Isolde with unexpected force. "He says I'm his Luna, that I belong with him and his pack, but it's all happening so fast. I've been training my powers constantly, trying to please him and prove myself worthy to a pack that doesn't even want me."

Marina placed a gentle hand on Isolde's shoulder. "And what about what you want? What about your needs?"

The two simple questions pierced Isolde's heart. When had anyone asked her that? Even her best friends were too busy with their own lives to celebrate her birthday.

"It's not selfish to make sure you're okay before attending to others," Marina continued. "The ocean gives and gives, but even it needs the moon's pull to replenish itself."

A tear slipped down Isolde's cheek. "I just wanted some space to breathe. To figure out who I am with these new powers before becoming who he needs me to be."

"That's perfectly reasonable." Marina squeezed her shoulder. "You know what you need? A break. Some fun. I've got a hot tub on my boat and a pitcher of margaritas with our names on it. Just us girls—no wolf shifters, no pack politics, no training. Just relaxation."

Isolde thought of her empty houseboat, of the crushing loneliness that had driven her to the beach in the first place.

She thought of her five best friends being too busy to visit for her birthday.

The idea of female companionship, of simple conversation without expectations, called to her like a siren song.

"That sounds..." Isolde smiled, truly smiling since leaving Nereus today. "That sounds perfect, actually."

Marina's answering smile was radiant. "Excellent! Let me show you where I'm docked. And on the way, you can tell me more about these water powers of yours." She looped her arm through Isolde's as they turned back toward the marina. "I think we have much more in common than you realize."

As they walked, Isolde felt the ocean's waves growing slightly stronger behind them, but she ignored it. For once, she was going to focus on herself. Not on the water, not on Nereus, and not on what everyone else needed from her.

Isolde soon stepped onto Marina's pristine houseboat, immediately noting how much larger and luxurious it was compared to her own modest floating home. The deck gleamed with polished teak, and the interior featured sleek furnishings that looked straight out of a design magazine.

"Your place is gorgeous," Isolde said, running her fingers along a smooth marble countertop. "Mine looks like a floating shack in comparison."