Chapter Six

Thera sat on the boat and watched the open ocean. She missed this. Since her father passed, she hadn't been diving. This was going to be her first time back in the water in two years.

Orc came up and sat next to her. "So, do you dive much?"

"I was just thinking about that. It has been a few years. I used to dive with my dad when he was on research studies. I held the camera for him." She smiled.

"Did he do nature work?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Whale biologist."

She had all of their attention now. "Let me guess, one of you was going to try to scare me with your orca form?"

Orc looked at her in shock. "How did you know?"

"Why are you obsessed with my eyes? Don't think I didn't notice that it aroused each one of you when I met your gazes. Gosh, guys are easy."

"But... how did you know?"

She smirked and pulled her shirt off, leaving the bikini top covering her, and she slowly turned her back to him. "How do you think?"

She could feel his fingers tracing the three killer whales on her back. The whales were all different. One was hyperrealistic, one was painterly, and the third was a Haida design.

"So, you knew?"

"When I saw the three of you, yeah. Trust me, three wasn't my preference, but that is what something put on my back."

"So, you don't have a problem with what we are?"

"Did you know Andrej Sakorow?"

Orc was still tracing on her. "Yeah, of course. He was an amaz—he was your father?"

"Yeah. I swam with his other form all the time." She sighed. "I wish I had been with him when he had the stroke, but he knew he had issues, and he was in his eighties."

Skaay took the helm, and Kayak sprinted over to look at her back. "Wow. I look amazing."

Orc continued to touch her and murmured, "How can you be so soft?"

"Don't know. How long until we get to the reef?"

Skaay spoke over his shoulder. "We are twenty minutes out."

Orc got up and moved to stand in front of her. "If he was your father, you are... Teehee?"

Thera rolled her eyes and then blinked a tear away. "My dad called me that. He was the only one."

Skaay looked back at her. "No, we all called you that. He was here to teach us how to manage what we were."

She shrugged. "I was fourteen when I was here, and to come to a tropical island and still do homework was a bit of a pain in the ass. I didn't pay much attention to my dad's fanatical followers."

Orc said, "We needed to learn how to work together, and he taught us that. He was a great man."

"He was." She smiled. "I am going to have to charter you guys before I leave. He wanted his ashes scattered over his favourite spots."

Kayak started touching her back, and she looked back at him. "You break it, you buy it."

He grinned. "Usually, it is the locals getting paid for what I have in mind."

"Oh, the cuff thing? I don't have one of those." She smiled. "Too bad."

Skaay called out, "That can be fixed."

"No, dudes, I don't have an expense account that covers that kind of thing. This is cute, and I am glad to know what the mark referred to, but I have a job on the mainland."

Orc was staring at her. "You are serious."

"Yeah, probably not a great idea, to be honest, right before I hit the water, but I am not one for extended subterfuge."

Kayak was still caressing her back. "We have tanks for you. If we don't have to pretend otherwise, we are all freedivers."

"I am out of practice. I'll take the tanks." She went to her pack and pulled out her suit, smiling sadly. "Well, how many large sharks are in the area?"

"A few, but they avoid divers." Kayak smiled.

"Uh-huh." She opened her suit and looked at him. "What if I look like a baby orca? Dad always watched out for me, but considering that Orc still looks like I slapped him, I will just keep my eyes open. I only need one tank's worth of footage."

Kayak nodded. "We will keep an eye out for you. You don't have another suit?"

"Not one that fits. When Dad found a designer who would customize them like this, he ordered one in every size for me. I haven't ever needed a different one." She slid her trousers off and began to pull on her dive suit while the boat rocked and rolled.

She fitted the mask and checked the microphone. "Test, one, two, three pairs of irritated eyes looking at me."

She heard her voice coming from the receiver near the wheel, and Skaay said, "Loud and clear."

She nodded, got her camera out of the case, and made sure that it was functioning. Thera watched and felt the familiarity of the location. She had been here before.

The guys did rock, paper, scissors, and Orc insisted he come with her. The anchor was set, Skaay was on watch, and Kayak kept an eye on the other side.

Orc was just in swim trunks and was still staring at her as she put on the tank, strapped it in place, tested it one final time, and then glanced behind her and dropped into the ocean.

She turned the camera on and slowly moved her fins to get her about two feet from the surface of the coral and anemone.

Thera could see Orc just out of the corner of her eye and knew things were calm as she accumulated footage.

She had ten minutes of air when she turned and saw the enormous orca staring at her. She let out a yelp, and he moved with a happy wiggle. With focus, she headed back toward the boat just fast enough to make it back with air to spare.

She handed her camera up before Kayak reached to pull her up as Orc's nose pushed her skyward. It was scary to be manhandled by a whale she didn't know.

Kayak laughed. "He wants you to come back in. We will all join you, and then we can actually do what we have always wanted to do."

"Eat a na?ve idiot?"

He got a fresh set of tanks for her and replaced hers. "No, swim with a mate. It's the kind of thing our pod dreams of."

"You have weird dreams."

She heard a laugh from Skaay.

Kayak fussed around her and then said, "Check your gauges?"

She nodded; she had been topped up. "Efficient."

He grinned. "We do this a lot. The diving, not luring ladies into the deep."

"Hey, whatever you want to call it. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Orc's huge head spy-hopped and nodded violently. The waves frothed around him.

Skaay smiled. "Don't worry, we can catch the boat if it gets loose."

Kayak and Skaay were only wearing shorts as they got to the edge. "Come on and swim with us," Skaay said softly.

"Fine. But if I see one dick bigger than I am, it is back to the boat."

Kayak blinked. "Oh, geez, right. Best behaviour."

She held her mask and stepped back into the water. She felt the impacts of the other two on either side, and they each swam away on either side. She felt a humming sound, and then there were whales around her, and it was time to swim.

The next forty minutes were spent with them racing around as she held their dorsal fin and doing a strange spinning dance with her that felt strangely formal. When the ten-foot tiger shark showed up, it caught her by surprise. It swam toward her curiously and was suddenly struck hard by an angry cetacean. Kayak moved in next to her, she gripped his fin, and he took her back to the boat while Skaay and Orc mugged the shark. She knew what was going to happen when Kayak eased away from her. She changed her angle so that she was almost standing, and he pushed her up and out of the water, sending her skidding across the deck.

She landed hard and unbuckled her tanks, pushing all the equipment off her one by one. Kayak joined her and helped her. "I am sorry. I panicked."

"Yeah, I could tell."

She sat back and gingerly held her elbow. Thera felt her elbow throbbing in pain.

She reached behind her and unzipped her suit. With one hand, she pulled the upper portion over her head and then gasped as the hard part waited.

Orc came up grinning. "That was fun. You are graceful underwater."

She focused on peeling the suit off her good arm and then got it off her left arm. Kayak hissed. "I am so sorry."

Skaay smiled, came back, and then paused, getting serious. "What happened?"

A cold pack was brought to her, and she leaned back as pain started to roll through her in waves.

Orc knelt next to her. "Skaay can help. He's good with his hands."

She nodded. "Sure. Just ignore screaming."

Skaay came toward her. "I know it hurts, and it looks dislocated. Can I put it back?"

"Sure. Go nuts."

He nodded and held her elbow delicately, and with a snap and her scream, it was back where it was supposed to be. She gasped and panted as he covered the joint with his hands. A comforting coolness turned into warmth on her skin, and she let her head droop. The short gasps of pain evened out, and she relaxed.

She looked at the mortified Kayak. "It is partially my fault. I have never done it with tanks before. Mind you, without the tank, you would have flipped me up and over the boat."

He swallowed. "You landed on your elbow?"

"The tank slid, and I landed on it, elbow first."

Skaay held her elbow and nodded. "It was dislocated and cracked. It's repairing fairly easily."

Thera chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, my dad launched me into a cliff face and bounced me into a rock pool once."

Kayak nodded. "It does, actually."

"Yeah, I had a growth spurt that threw his balance off."

Skaay carefully moved her elbow before wrapping his hand completely around the joint. "It's coming along. It's going to be tender for a few days."

She flexed her hand. "Thanks for the repair."

"It isn't done yet. I don't know what you were planning for the evening, but you are done for the night." Skaay held her arm carefully.

"I am just going to crawl into bed and upload the footage."

"You need to eat dinner."

She smirked. "You would be wrong. I have snack bars."

Kayak murmured, "Please let me buy you dinner?"

"No more launching me off your upper lip?"

His mouth quirked. "Not unless you have a nice time."

She blinked and then laughed. "Ah. Right. Forgot about that man versus whale."

"We would win." He smiled. "Can I help you get the lower part of your suit off?"

"How careful can you be, and you had better leave my suit on." She was struggling to focus on him.

"I will take that as a yes." He eased toward her and slipped his fingers between suit and skin, prying her suit off.

When he got to her feet, he had to remove her fins, and then, he tugged her suit off her legs carefully.

She felt air rush around her and was suddenly getting itchy. "Is there a hose to rinse off?"

Skaay murmured, "You have to remain still for ten more minutes."

She sighed.

Kayak returned and sponged her off with warm water and a wide sponge.

She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Do you always grovel this much?"

He shrugged. "I have rarely fucked up this badly. He wanted to watch you fly."

"I did. Thirty feet straight up. Like I said, I was usually snorkelling or freediving when my dad did it. The more normal thing is just to let me balance on the lip and lift me out of the water."

Skaay moved her away from him, and Kayak took care of her back. He huffed softly. "We are really all on here."

"Yup. When they showed up, I tried to ignore them, but I recognized the shoreline and the cliff face."

Kayak continued to stroke idly. "You recognized us?"

"Well, I remembered the apprentices that Dad had and that you guys didn't want me on the boat when you four went out for your guy trips." She sighed. "Dad said that you all didn't want to scare me, and he didn't tell you that I had been swimming with him since I was four. After that first time, it was just how things were when we were here. I would go out on the research boat with him, but you guys would have private time out in the deep ocean. Hell, your species is rarely seen out in the islands."

Skaay chuckled. "It was a surprise to us, too."

"A shark incident triggered each of you?"

"How did you know?"

"I know my dad told you, but it is what normally triggers this kind of transformation. Something bigger than a human tries to eat you. Or a whale shark shows up and scares the crap out of you while you were primed to shift."

"Well, it was something of that nature."

Orc said over his shoulder, "We got a distress call. We are the harbour patrol. Tourists from Emerald had a rented boat that was foundering, and they had been shark diving, so they had chummed the waters. There was a set of children stranded on a sand bar, so we hit the water and boom. Two of us stayed as whales after we drove off the sharks, and Skaay got the zodiac and got the kids to their parents. We towed them back to the harbour. Kekoa got in touch with your father right after that."

"And then we started having vacations out here to help you get your shit together. I got some nice souvenirs every time we came out."

Skaay slowly bent her arm and made a satisfied noise. "Just a little bit more." His hand wrapped around her elbow in the bent position.

She sighed, and her hand could now move more easily.

He settled her against him, and she felt that she was using him as a throne. He moved his arm across her and focused on wrapping it around her ouchie.

Kayak sighed, got her suit, and started dealing with the equipment. The big island of Wonder was appearing in the distance, and Orc handed the wheel over to Kayak.

The boat stopped straining when Kayak was at the helm. Their progress got faster, and the world blurred past them.

Orc knelt. "So, he flipped you, and you landed on your tank?"

"Yup."

"But the launch was successful?"

"Of course. I have been jumping off orcas since I was eleven. It was my favourite part of hanging out with Dad."

Orc asked casually, "Have you ever been in danger underwater?"

"Sure. Dad hit me with his tail and barrel rolled on top of me when he forgot I was there. I have faced off against a lot of very pointy fish, but all in all, I breathe air and am underwater, so danger goes along with the situation."

Orc blinked. "Right. Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."

"It isn't a problem. It's a situation. It doesn't change." She stretched against Skaay and got comfy.

She rubbed her head against his shoulder and tucked against his chin. Skaay made a surprised sound and held her tight.

Orc chuckled. "You seem to be settling in."

"If you think this is how you catch a mate, you are sorely mistaken."

"You are making us guess?"

"My mother died having me, and that is why Dad and I moved around chasing migratory paths. He felt guilty, and we always headed to her homeland for her death anniversary, but when he died, too, I was stuck with his ashes and no home to take them to."

Orc blinked. "You brought Andrej's ashes here?"

"Yeah, I am looking for the precisely right place to turn him into fish food."

Orc smiled. "So, where do you call home now?"

"I live in the city with Ford and the others. Same place Haravin and Ambermarle came from." She was mumbling, and the sun was warming her into a comfortable doze. "Same place Serin lives."

Skaay tensed. "You know her?"

"Sure. She and I used to hang out all the time when you guys were off learning the best way to dive without belching or whatever." She sighed. "Ask King Kekoa; he's the one who hired her as media manager."

The three were tense, and she opened her eyes. "What?"

"We didn't know she was still alive. Her mate has been in mourning for her for six years."

Thera sat up. "Mate? She doesn't have a mate. Are we talking about the same Serin? Blue and grey hair, dark grey eyes, spots down her back? Walks with crutches?"

That got all of them to stare at her. Thera frowned. "What? She's been on them for a few years. She does a ton of Ford's admin. When she started chatting with Ven, she was loaned out to King Syar, and then Kekoa wanted to join the surge toward advertising the islands. So, now, she is the tourism minister for the islands. Why don't you know that?"

Orc said, "Kekoa has been busy. He hasn't alerted anyone, but I am relieved to find out that Serin is alive. After her sister did what she did, the village guessed that she wasn't long for this world."

"They really didn't give Serin a lot of credit." Thera huffed. "I have seen her take on stuntmen with those crutches."

The guys all said in unison, "Serin?"

She laughed. "Yeah. I am guessing she was different here, but at home, she's ballsy."

Orc asked, "What happened to her legs?"

"She has a degenerative condition, and she needs something she can't get at home." She looked at them. "She grew up around here. So, do you not know that? It's genetic."

"Her parents were dead, and she lived with her older sister. All we knew was that she was sweet and happy and energetic. Everyone smiled when she walked into the room."

"Oh. Wow. When she walks into a room, everyone holds their breath now." Thera laughed. "She's hilarious at budget meetings."

Skaay asked softly, "What kind of spots?"

"Oh, just regular, even spots." She examined her nails on her free arm.

Skaay squeezed her. "You know what kind of spots."

"Duh, of course, I do. If she wants to find a mate, she is going to have to head home. I don't see that particular individual on dry land."

Orc sighed. "Enough cat and mouse. What is he?"

"Whale shark." She shrugged. The guys looked stunned. "Oh, not who you thought it would be, huh?"

Skaay murmured, "Not at all. We know who it is, but we had no idea that he would have a mate. He is more like one of those guys that just sits on rocks and the world turns around them."

"Oh. Okay." She shrugged. "I have no idea what that means."

Orc shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

She wiggled her fingers. "Almost fixed."

Skaay kissed her cheek. "You are an excellent patient."

"Thanks. Hey, we are back." She paused. "Can one of you carry my camera to my place? No funny business, it is just a heavy bastard."

Kayak said, "I will do it. It's my fault you can't lift." He slowed the boat, and they drifted to the dock. Once they connected, she realized that she was sitting in a two-piece.

"Clothes first before I take a walk through town."

Skaay said, "Well, I had fun." He helped her to her feet.

She moved carefully to her pack and pulled on her clothes. By the time she was dressed, Kayak had snugged them up against the dock, and Orc jumped down to tie the lines.

She grabbed her pack, and Kayak got her camera case. They opened the gate and extended a walkway for her. He was still wearing sandals and his shorts as he walked with her.

"Are you staying at the manor?"

"Me? No. I am at the Argentine."

He muttered, "Those rooms are tiny."

"I sleep alone, dope."

He sighed. "Pity. Why are you staying all the way out here?"

"To keep away from Amby. I don't want her seeing me because she might insist on buddying up. That would defeat the purpose of her vlog. It would also interfere with her adapting to her mates."

"I see. I don't see why you would fight it."

She chuckled. "You wouldn't. My mom died because she mated with my father. I never met her. Dad was an alpha, and Mom was a beta. They didn't even get a year together before I ruined everything. Don't worry, I am not guilty. Dad made sure that I knew that I was wanted and loved, but I associate alphas and families with death. Even with these marks that indicate things will have a more favourable outcome, I still think what I think."

Kayak said softly, "I guess I can see how a family situation like that would alter your sense of family."

"My family is dead. Home is a concept I don't really grasp. No matter how fun you three look, I can't see myself here. There is nothing that appears achievable. I don't fit."

She got to the older hotel and walked to the room that had an exterior access.

Kayak muttered, "You are kidding."

"Nope. I don't like to be confined. I need a way out at all times." She opened her door and held it open with her shoulder.

"Yeah, I am getting that."

"Drop the camera on my bed, please."

He looked around. "Since there is nowhere else to put it, fine. Fuck, this place is tiny."

"Thanks for dropping that off. I am going to send the footage to Ford, and that's it for the day." She flexed her hand. "I think I might head to the first aid centre. It will be fun and different for them not to have sex sprains on the menu."

She got her computer up and pulled the drive from the camera. The file transfer to Ford's drop site was underway.

She looked up, and Kayak was still there, all muscly and nearly naked.

"You can go and find a shirt or something. Resume your normal daily tasks." She double-checked the upload and nodded before walking toward him. "I am still going to the first aid centre for a quick x-ray."

"You don't trust Skaay's work?"

"I triaged the injury. My shoulder is fucked up as well." She nodded. The door closed behind them.

She walked to the cluster of shops and went past it to find the first aid centre. She was pretty sure that she was in for another relocation. Her shoulder felt like hell.