Page 21 of Seducing Scylla (Mated Myths #1)

Scylla

M y lips tingle where Morgan kissed me. The flash of heat that was doused just as quickly as it started made me shiver as I dipped below the water and through the cavern that opened out to the sea.

Be careful, she said. And I will be. But I will also be fast. The ache in my chest is already urging me to return to her.

I cannot tell if it is a side effect of the mate bond or my own feelings that have built over the short time I have known Morgan.

We are so different, but also the same in many ways.

The deep hurt that lingers in our hearts begs for someone to ease it, and perhaps we can do that for each other.

The water rushes past me as I use my tentacles to propel me forward at a dizzying speed, dodging currents and dangerous rips that could suck me down to the depths if I am not careful.

Be careful . Those words echo around my head, and I slow just a fraction so that I do not accidentally misjudge the motions of the sea.

While it would not cause me harm, it would delay me significantly, and I want to get home to my mate.

Our home , if she has warmed up to the idea of staying.

A rush of bubbles escapes my lips as I laugh underwater, imagining all the time we could spend together if she stayed.

She kissed me. Surely that means her heart is warming to me.

I wish to make her laugh, hold her when she cries, keep her warm at night, feed her sweet oranges every day, and feel her soft curves beneath my hands as I wash her in the hot spring.

The first of the big metal boxes, or containers, as Morgan called them, appears bobbing in the water above me.

I circle it from below, noticing the metal has not been breached, and I head to the surface so I can see the structure above the water.

Circling it, I find one of the shorter ends has what seems to be a door and a latch.

Pulling on the lever, it screeches as it shifts upwards, but the pressure of the water keeps the door from opening.

I brace my tentacles around the edges of the metal box, using my body weight to leverage myself as I heave the door open.

It shifts slightly, letting a rush of water flood inside, breaking the pressure seal.

The door then flings wide open, and the container swiftly plummets below the water.

I grimace and fling myself down after it.

If there were people inside, I may have just doomed them to a watery death.

The container slows its descent into the darkness now that it is full of water.

I reach the open door, my eyes allowing me better vision in the darkening water.

There is no one inside. Only brown cubes, all stacked atop one another.

I let out a sigh. That could have been catastrophic.

Morgan would be devastated if I had caused the deaths of other humans, accidental or not.

I propel myself to the next container, not too far from where the first one was.

This time, I bang on the metal walls, listening intently for any noise inside.

Nothing but silence replies as the waves lap at me.

It could mean there is no one inside or it could mean they are unconscious.

I decide to risk opening it, pulling at the latch on the door and breaking the pressure seal again.

This time, I am prepared for how fast it sinks, holding on as the door pops open. Brown cubes again. No humans.

I rush to the last container. It feels like I have been out here for a very long time, and the tension in my chest tightens with each mile I swim further away from Morgan.

I repeat the process, knocking and listening for any noises before tugging the metal door open.

A glance inside shows brown cubes again, and then I am spinning beneath the water, already on my way back to the cave where Morgan waits for me.

I think of her sitting on my furs in front of the fire, perhaps anxious for me to return.

It has been a long and mentally straining day for us both, and I decide to catch her some fish to roast over the fire for her supper.

I head to my usual hunting spot, the water brimming with sea life.

I still, my hunter senses taking over and letting the fish get used to my presence amongst them.

The silence is calming, and I feel my body relax into the tug and pull of the sea.

I hope Morgan will be happy with this meal since I am still learning what she does and does not like.

My tentacles snap out, catching two sea bass unawares.

My tentacles tighten around them, keeping them securely trapped.

I cannot stop thinking of Morgan as I make the return journey to my home, and of all the ways I might caress her, of how her body would move beneath mine as I teased her with every limb I have.

Would she make the same noises she did when she tasted the sweet orange?

Would she touch me? My chest pangs, the tightness becoming more painful despite nearing the entrance to my cave.

Three lethal shadows appear in the water before me. My sharks come to greet me as I return home. They are frenzied and at first, I think it is because of the fish in my tentacles.

“Not for you, my darlings,” I speak to them, pulling the sea bass away from their jaws.

“Taken.”

“Mate.”

“Male.”

They speak over one another in one-word sentences, repeating it as they circle anxiously around me.

I pause, trying to make sense of the overlapping words.

The sea bass is forgotten, my tentacles slackening to let them wriggle free.

I am frozen, comprehension washing over me. The male has taken my mate.