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EMMETT

R ight foot down. Amaya floating in a yellow bikini . Left foot down. Maya splashing into the lake with a cheeky grin. Right foot . She breaks the surface with a scowl at Oliver after he dunked her . Left . My girl diving beneath the surface to make another attempt at scaring Sammy.

Amaya can swim . These memories scream persistently in my head as the seconds pass without her head breaking the surface.

With each slam of my foot on the dock, I try to calm the terror rising in my chest after seeing her tumble overboard. She’ll be fine, she can swim. So why the fuck isn’t she surfacing?!

“Emmett!” Oliver shouts behind me, but I pump my arms harder and force my legs to carry me faster. Something’s wrong .

The yacht continues speeding away with Samuel on it, but I’m not focusing on that right now. My omega fell off the fucking boat and the area she splashed into is nothing but fading ripples.

Three, two, one. Airborne. Arms outstretched over my head, my toes point and rise above my ass. I dive with no care for the chilly bite that swallows me as I sink.

Forcing my way up, I suck in greedy gulps of air and aim for the last place I saw Amaya. With every stroke, my lungs ache and my eyes burn, but I keep going. She never appears.

I hear Samuel's roar, then a splash in the distance, but she’s not here. “Fuck, Amaya!” I grunt and gulp down a final breath before diving back under.

Through the darkness, I see nothing. My fingers don’t swipe across her silky skin. I see weeds and feel water but still I don’t swim to the surface. I’m in the right area, I fucking know it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

My shoes weigh heavily, waterlogged and dragging me deeper, but if that’s where she is, that’s where I’ll go.

Come on, come on, come on!

My vision wavers, and my lungs convulse with the urge to breathe, but I push the natural instinct away. It's already been too long. I don't have time to go back up for another breath.

Boats above make my ears vibrate with their engines. Subtle currents tug me in different directions, teasing me with the idea that it's Amaya swimming near me.

But I hear her. "Don't be a big baby, Em! Just hold your breath for as long as you can. I bet I'll win!"

Little did twelve-year-old Amaya know, I just hated the idea of her struggling beneath the water so she could win a bet. I knew I could probably tell her no again and she would drop it, but her pouty lip forced me to indulge her whim. So we dunked beneath the water hand in hand. When I felt her grip tighten in mine, I surged for the surface and brought her with me.

"See?!" she sputtered while laughing. "I told you I would win!"

I had smiled, mesmerized by the water clinging to her dark lashes while she heaved for breath. We weren't under longer than eight seconds, but I knew then, like I know now, Amaya can't hold her breath for long.

The possibilities of where she could be swim through my head as I come to a stop. Cupping my hands, I swish them through the water, making my body spin in a circle. Up and around, I blink through the salty fire in my eyes and heavy lungs.

I can't hold on much longer. And if I can't hold on, then Amaya...

The heaviness in my neck doubles, my head becoming heavier. My arms slow and begin to float at my sides. Everything feels thick. Murky like the water that stole my omega from me.

Movement catches my eye, the glare from above warping for a moment before my best friend comes into view. I can hardly keep my eyes open and I'm pretty sure my legs aren't kicking anymore. The urge to breathe rises, scaring the shit out of me, but just in time for me to end it all, Sammy slams his lips to mine and breathes life back into me.

It's just a bit, but it's enough for me to blink away the black spots dancing in my vision and actually study the mess of weeds dancing beneath us.

I almost waste the oxygen Sam gifted me when a scrap of white catches my attention. Shooting my arm out, I hit Sam on the side and point. Dread and a whole lot of heart pounding fear zap through my limbs and mind, rejuvenating my body in a way my alpha has been roaring for. We don't waste a goddamn second before we're pushing our bodies to swim faster.

Holy fuck… it's her! Dark hair swirls in the current and mingles with the weeds as her head lulls to the side.

My eyes clash with Sam's, his terror mirroring my own. Without any further hesitation, we each wrap a hand around her tiny biceps and haul our asses to the surface.

I try not to notice the way her head drags down and only focus on getting her some fucking air. It feels like I've been underwater for an eternity, so what does that mean for her?

Will CPR even work at this point? How much water is in her lungs? Is it possible for them to be damaged if she survives? If she survives...

With that heart wrenching thought, the three of us break through the surface with heaving gasps of breath only coming from two of us. Sam curses and grips Amaya's cheeks. I place my hand on her forehead and sprawl her across my chest with my front to her back.

"Sam," I sputter, salt water and tears continuing to soak my cheeks as we bob with Amaya's dead weight between us. I can't bring myself to check her pulse. I'm weak. A failure. If she?—

"I know," he croaks, eyes clenching shut as he shakes his head as if to clear it. "I know, I know, I know."

We're suspended in time and space for a moment, both of us staring at our fated mate floating lifeless against me. My throat closes on an emotion far more strangling than the suffocation of drowning.

"EMMETT! SAM!"

Snapping out of our trance, our heads whip to the side. There, what looks to be about a minute to swim back to the docks, is Oliver being held back by Vincent. The big alpha looks tormented and my beta seems to want to throw himself into the ocean too.

Without a word, we swim as fast as we can, Amaya's weight barely slowing us down as we get her to safety. To someone capable of saving her fucking life. Because fuck knows all I'm capable of doing is letting her down.

The least I can do is get her to her alpha.