12. Sasha

Chapter 12

Sasha

" C howder, where'd you go?" I whisper in the main living area, my voice barely cutting through the silence. It's past midnight, and the bedroom door cracked open when I woke up. Chowder wasn't in the bedroom, so now I'm worried about him getting lost or in trouble.

Stepping into the hallway, the darkness presses around me as I move slowly through the unfamiliar house, wondering where he's vanished to. I head through the next doorway and into the kitchen, flicking on the lights.

I blink against the bright light in the expansive room. Chairs and tables are on one side with white marble walls glistening under the light. Chandeliers and paintings are on the walls, displaying ships at sea during wild storms. The other end has a small island in the middle of the kitchen, complete with pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. There's a U-shaped counter, and everything is made of white marble, the doors and the counter adorned with thin lines of gold.

It leaves me thinking back to Kaden telling me he was a kraken, and as much as a large part of me doesn't believe him, a small part does… mostly due to the huge chip on his shoulder and the way he carries himself as though nothing can touch him. Even my seahorse shifter ex, who claimed to be a kraken, never pulled off the level of Alpha prowess Kaden carries effortlessly.

I'm curious, though, to discover the truth.

If I'm moving in with him, then I want to know exactly who my fated mate is. Anyway, back on my search, tracing my steps, I remember how much Chowder loves the bathroom in my cabin.

I'm there in seconds, pushing open the door. Light from the aquarium beyond the glass window gives the room a glowing haze, and there, inside the amethyst bathtub, I find Chowder. The tub's half-filled with water, and he's floating on his back, fast asleep. I hadn't put the water in there, so was it Kaden? I creep out to let Chowder sleep, a soft smile tugging at my lips at how easily he's adapted to this mansion.

Just as I start to head back to bed, a great splashing sound comes from somewhere in the house. I freeze, feeling like something huge just entered the aquarium. Curiosity and a bit of dread gnaw at me, so I follow the sound back to the living area and down another corridor that shoots off from the kitchen. The hallway is elaborately decorated with carvings and paintings of the ocean, with more closed doors, yet it's eerily quiet.

The hairs on my arms lift at the stillness.

I reach a set of grand stairs that lead both upstairs and downstairs. I've yet to see a front door, so I assume it must be upstairs. When another great splash sounds again, I know with certainty it's coming from downstairs. I glance down at the spiral stairs, its wooden banisters intricately carved with flowing wave patterns, while glowing sconces pierce the darkness.

I can't see anything down there, not from my angle, and when something splashes again, sounding louder, a shiver races through me. Is Kaden in his true form?

With a deep breath and a bucketful of curiosity, I slink down the stairs, each step silent. The darkness thickens around me, but I press on.

At the bottom of the stairs, I find myself in another hallway, this one dimly lit with soft, glowing sconces on the walls. The splashing sound is louder now, coming from behind a large, ornate door at the end of the hall. My heart pounds as I approach, pushing it open slowly.

No sign of Kaden.

Inside, I'm greeted by the sight of an underground room that has me stunned. It's as though I've stepped back in time to when kings and forbidden lairs existed.

The room is enormous, the walls a deep blue marble that seem to absorb the light from the sconces dotted overhead. Lofty pillars, engraved from floor to ceiling, line the walls, creating an air of majesty. To my right, the floor dips into the water, shimmering under the low lights, glowing bluish. There's a narrow walkway in the middle of the water that leads directly to an arched open way that I instantly recognize as the cave from the fjord waters. Except I'm inside the cave now, and past the opening, it's pitch black. The fjord waits out there.

Farther on my left stands a decorative stone, almost resembling an oversized gravestone, yet so much more beautiful. It's smooth and carved, and the center is hollowed out several inches, revealing an exquisite painting of a mermaid. Red hair flows like fire, her gold-and-green tail sparkling and curving beneath her. The stone is etched away in spots, the painting missing small bits here and there, yet it's still breathtaking.

In front of it are several steps with a flat stone table—more of a solid, oversized sacrificial table. At least, that's what comes to my mind. I really hope I'm not right about that, yet that's all I can think about now.

I move into the room, stepping closer to it, noting that on either side are more paintings on lofty stone murals. One of a kraken taking down a ship, its tentacles wrapping around the vessel with terrifying might. The other shows a siren with dark, piercing eyes that feel like they're following me. My skin crawls, the image of my mother flashing in my mind.

"What in the world is this room?" I murmur to myself, a shiver running down my spine. I drift closer to the mantel with the paintings, thinking there might be something more I should know about Kaden. I run my hand across its smooth surface—cold to the touch. Walking around the stone table, I notice a dug-out section behind it. A shelf catches my eye, something glinting back at me. A blade.

My stomach hardens.

Well, this isn't creepy at all. Just a casual sacrificial table in my new fated mate's mansion. Totally normal.

This place, beautifully disturbing, feels ancient and dangerous.

I draw in a long inhale, sensing the faint pull of belonging as it ripples over my skin. I rub the chill out of my arms when another splash behind me makes me twist around.

My heart leaps into my throat because, in the dim light of the room, it takes me a few moments to see a figure emerging from the water.

I freeze at first, trying to work out who it is.

Then the light hits his strong face, that powerful jawline, the piercing eyes.

Kaden.

Muscles, dark hair washed off his face, abs that go for miles, well-built thighs, and… I might just fall over at his size.

He's completely naked, water running down his chiseled body. And I've suddenly forgotten how to breathe.

He's carved of muscles, so many of them. Powerful and built, all those angled lines, and I realize how much larger he is when he's not hiding behind clothes. The V at the front of his hips, the one that makes most girls go wild, is sharp and pulling my attention lower and lower.

His eyes glint as they find me, like a predator catching sight of its prey. I'm trying my damn hardest to ignore how casual he is in his delicious nudity. If I thought I had problems ignoring him before, I'm completely distracted by all the flesh, by the huge thing dangling there.

I gasp for air, and he suddenly picks up a towel I hadn't noticed discarded near a pillar and wraps it around his waist, coming my way.

Partly relieved, I pinch my lips, still grinning like a teenage girl about to fangirl at seeing the most gorgeous man in the nude.

He strolls toward me, arms dangling by his sides, and I fight to find my breath, my words, my sanity. Heat pours through me, a force so powerful I'm left burning up. My reaction to him… it's the fault of this cursed fated-mate bond, isn't it? Here I am, trembling, trying really hard not to lower my gaze to the bulge pushing against his towel but holding his intense stare.

There's something different about him tonight. He's normally got that "I'll destroy you" look on his face, but tonight, it's cranked up to maximum. It's overwhelming, potent… and it's affecting me on a deeper level that leaves me quivering for him. Yet he hasn't even touched me.

"You shouldn't be here," he mutters, his voice a low rumble. "Sometimes, I can't be trusted around you… and especially on such nights." His gaze devours me, strands of dark, wet hair falling over his face. He's still dripping wet, beads of water rolling down his muscles. It's almost hypnotizing to watch.

Words slip past my lips. "What sort of night is that?"

A curl pulls at the corners of his lips, the kind I've seen on someone who knows they're out of control but having way too much fun to rein themselves in.

"Where I can't sate my beast, where he craves something I won't give him." He steps closer, towering over me, the fire from his body leaping onto me.

I back against the stone table, and he leans in closer, propping a hand against it, partially caging me in on one side.

My heart's beating frantically, my nipples hard points against the fabric of my tank top as I squeeze my thighs together. My exhales grow ragged at his proximity while my brain panics. Without thinking, I slip from him in the opposite direction from where he has me locked in. He's intimidating, but that's not the part that scares me.

It's the energy pouring off him, the sheer force of his presence, that I grapple to push away or ignore.

What the hell is up with him tonight?

"And why's that?" I take quick steps back around the table, then quickly descend the three steps across from him, putting distance between us. "Because you're going to go all kraken on me?" I say sarcastically.

Feet away from him, I glance back at him with a grin. He hasn't moved, yet darkness seems to have gathered around him. The water near the cave's entrance turns turbulent, lapping at the shores as though something massive has disturbed it. Except it's more than that… I watch it splashing up, seeming to reach out for Kaden.

Shivers snake down my spine at his power.

"Sasha," he growls in that dangerously deep voice, almost sounding like a warning.

"Look, I'll let you do your thing… whatever you were doing down here," I murmur, rushing toward the door, unsure what mood I've just stumbled on.

When he doesn't respond, I turn and hightail it out of there. But in a heartbeat, something snaps around my middle, something soft, cold, and extremely strong. It wraps around me so fast, wrenching me backward with a speed I barely keep up, but it's almost as though it carries me as my feet try to keep up.

A cry flies out of my mouth, dread surging through me as I shove my hands at the restraint to get it off me. When I do a double take, I notice it's a large octopus limb, complete with those thick suckers sticking to my skin.

Dread comes alive inside me as I realize how wrong I've been to not believe Kaden.

I'm twisted on the spot and now standing at the base of the steps. He's partially transformed, still mostly in his human form, but spearing out from his back are long, dark, sinuous tentacles. They're a deep, inky gray, glistening in the low light, with suckers lining their undersides.

It's impossible not to panic, especially at the glint in his eyes, as if he's teetering on the edge of fully transforming.

My breath catches in my throat. "Gods, you're a kraken."

No one's really seen one as they are rare as fuck, but everyone's heard stories about how gigantic they get, how unstoppable they can be, how they can command even the ocean itself.

So much makes sense now about Kaden. Why Asbesta, the Siren Goddess, wanted him in her house. Having a kraken as an ally gives her a tremendous advantage.

Kaden laughs, the sound dark and low, as if my shock and fear bring him pleasure. He doesn't answer immediately, his eyes unreadable. The octopus arm tightens slightly, but it's not painful, just firm.

"You chose not to believe me," he states, his voice rumbling with a primal edge. Standing up on the steps, he fits in with his surroundings. All he's missing is a throne to rule the waters and fishes.

There's definitely something else—something raw and restrained—about him.

"So, this is your way of dealing with your out-of-control night? By grabbing me with your… kraken arm? What's next? Sacrificing me on this table? Is that what you do?" I shove hard against the tentacle, but it doesn't budge.

"Sacrifice you?" His eyes flash with amusement, a dangerous glow behind them. "No, not that." His smile widens with all kinds of implications of what he'd like to do with me.

Is it bad that it turns me on to think about what he'd do to me?

He suddenly draws me up the steps, where the tentacle releases me, and I catch my breath, yet he's now holding me firmly with his hands on my hips. I'm suddenly off my feet and sitting on the side of the table, bringing me face-to-face with him.

I swallow hard, trying to calm myself while placing a hand against his chest to keep our distance.

He pushes against me like I'm no obstacle, his breath on my cheeks, his lips sliding over to my ear, leaving me quivering with need.

"You always fight me, little mermaid."

"I don't know any other way to be. And didn't you just tell me I shouldn't trust you on such nights?"

His hot breath is on my neck as he chuckles. "Trust and fighting me are two very different things."

"I beg to differ." I gasp the words, my body heating up, the fire between my legs soaking me. Fire burns off his body, and he's so close now, inches from kissing me, from claiming me, that it's becoming impossible to think straight.

One of his tentacles starts slithering up my leg, the touch cooling against my skin, while another winds around my waist, dipping under my top, finding skin.

A moan slides over my throat at the sensation of his touch, at him holding me in place.

"Trust is knowing I won't harm you, Sasha. Fighting me… well, that's just foreplay."

I snort, half out of nerves, half out of frustration. "Is that what you call this?"

His lips graze my ear, and my chest pushes out toward him as if even my body betrays me in my need for him. When another tentacle slides up my other leg and pulls them apart, I can already feel my resolve weakening.

"You're mine, Sasha." His grip tightens on me. "You're never leaving me. You belong to me." Then he licks my earlobe, tugging it into his mouth, sucking on it, leaving me completely helpless.

As much as I desire him, as much as I desperately want to give myself to him, I also want him to know he doesn't control me.