15

Sabrina

“No, no, no,” I scream at the lemon sharks gathering above us. Teeth just sprouted tentacles. He’s not ready to fight off a shiver of lemon sharks—despite how much he calls his enemies “yellow bellies.” I don’t know if he’s figured out his gills, siphon, or beak. My heart tears in two. He could die before we get the chance to start our lives together.

Where should I focus? Stay with him and teach him how to use his Kraken body, or fight off the growing threat above us? If any of his hearties jump in after us for a post-ceremony bath, sharks will swarm them. The devastation of luring his friends to their deaths by deciding to be a Kraken for me would tear him apart. His bitterness would tear us apart. As much as it will hurt him, I must abandon him to fight off the sharks. He will figure out his new body…

…oh no, my empty-headed husband is n’t the best at figuring out…anything.

Too late. I release a cloud of black ink over Teeth to hide him from the sharks. Hopefully, he has enough time to learn how to breathe underwater before he suffocates. Without knowing how to control his siphon, he will stay anchored on the bottom of the sea—much too deep for lemon sharks to dive. His gigantic tentacles will walk him across the sandy bottom, but even they don’t have the heft to lift such a large Kraken. But when he learns to control his new body, he will be a force of nature.

There are ten lemon sharks, with more golden shadows in the distance. The most curious one will approach me in three…two… Punch! I hit the shark’s sensitive nose with an uppercut. The animal rolls onto his back, which momentarily stuns him. As he floats to shallower water, the tides will turn him over, and he will swim off as if nothing happened. There’s no reason to kill these scallywags—they are more of a nuisance to the born Kraken than anything else. More importantly, they are food for the tiger sharks, who are a real threat to us.

A shark’s body brushes my lower back as it swims daringly close.

I punch two more lemon sharks—one with my fist and his friend with one of my tentacles. I must keep two tentacles by my side for punching and the other six cycling beneath me to keep me afloat. Spinning, I keep the closest shark in view. If I lead this battle to Teeth, he would be caught in the fray unarmed. Whirling around, I punch another shark. Bodies float around me as if I’ve stunk the water. I dodge them to assess the angle of the next shark. Damn shark curiosity makes them worse than alley cats. Where are they? A shiver of six circles above. Four lay stunned.

Two sharks bump their bodies against the tentacles to my left.

Ouch! Pain blooms from the tip of my right propulsion tentacle. Bastard nipped me! Worse than the toothmark scarring the smooth, red appendage, a fist-sized cloud of blood releases. The six circling change their swim pattern to include shallow dives as they smell the blood. What was a steady onslaught of curious animals changes into a feeding frenzy.

We aren’t safe here. Lemon sharks are cannibals, and their bloodshed will attract bigger predators. While lemon sharks can’t reach Teeth on the bottom, what they attract might have a deeper dive. What do I do? I could outswim them and retreat to deeper waters if I were alone. Teeth’s bulk was my strength limit in his human form. Carrying his Kraken form? I don’t have a prayer. I doubt I could push him across the bottom. There’s no time to plan. Hopefully, those nutmegs aboard the ship notice the splashing sharks and stay out of the water. Human sacrifices are the last thing I need.

I dodge a large lemon shark who snaps one of the stunned sharks in half. The blood cloud tints the sea red. I twist to avoid the cloud touching me and collide with a smaller lemon shark. Ouch! The bastard bites my elbow. I punch its nose. As the body floats upward, it’s swallowed whole by a tiger shark.

The stripes of a tiger shark send shivers down the tentacles of any Kraken—let alone a small one like me, surrounded by other predators.

My body contorts into a myriad of shapes to avoid teasing bites from the smaller lemon sharks. They love the consortium of tiny octopi and crustaceans in the coastal reefs. I don’t blame them for testing an animal that smells like their favorite food. I’m much too big for them to eat, but if I were injured, they might hope for a limb to fill their bellies. The more blood they spill, the more sharks they will attract.

A tiger shark’s bite would be fatal.

Should I blow another cloud of ink to shield Teeth? Teeth? Where the hell did he go? He should be where I left him on the bottom. Did he drown and float to the surface while I bungled this shark attack?

The tiger shark bears down on me at full speed—too fast to dive. If I drop to the bottom, it will swim over me…heading for where I left Teeth on the return pass…or leaving it free to breach the surface and gobble a floating Teeth. I’m paralyzed with indecision. My tentacles shrink into a ball to protect my beak…as if I carry eggs.

I’ll never carry eggs! My first day as a wife, and I’m eaten by—

A navy blue tentacle, the width of my waist, flashes before my eyes. It wraps around the tiger shark and squeezes. The animal bursts into a shower of blood, guts, and fins. Lemon sharks abandon their examination of my tiny wounds for a better scent. They descend upon the floating guts in a feeding frenzy. Larger lemon sharks, dissatisfied by the size of the tiger shark bites, hunt their brethren. Are those new blood clouds from snapped lemon sharks or further leakage from the tiger shark?

A pair of giant blue tentacles wrap around my waist and haul me backward. I hit Teeth’s chest with a thud. His arms cross over my clavicle as he hugs me against him. Warmth surrounds me in a loving embrace. With a torrent of bubbles, we sail through the water.

“Tell me where to swim,” he orders. The authority in his voice, laced with the thrill of his rescue, sends shivers through my body. “I’m not so stupid as to remain in blood-stained water, but I’m more lost than a nun in a brothel. Bloody ocean looks the same no matter which way I face.”

“To deeper water,” I reply, pointing to the south. “Stay as close to the sandy bottom as you can with your—”

“Impressively massive, monster tentacles,” he interrupts with joy and pride coating his words. “Don’t worry, my lady, I’ll keep you safe.”

“I believe you,” I whisper, and shockingly, I do. My vicious pirate nuzzles my neck like he did on land, and I’m reminded he’s fought to survive most of his life. He rose to Captain without the brains for the job. His battle skills and charisma won the votes.

A shark frenzy isn’t the worst threat in the ocean, but this one nearly overwhelmed me. Panic is what kills most Kraken…that and humans. Teeth must learn about fishing nets and hooks trolling through the water. Yes, he bested those sharks by assessing the threat correctly. But does he know that smiling dolphins are ten times more vicious? How will he react to an orca who is his size? Instead of terrified, I’m excited by everything I get to teach him.

We will be okay.

I snuggle into his arms until we reach the center of the Caribbean Sea. The journey that takes me half a day Teeth swims in a few hours—whilst holding me, and against a building current. His tentacles dance beneath us in an unorthodox pattern. I can’t wait to experience the rush of soaring through the water when he learns to swim properly. Wait…what about when he learns to use his siphon to propel us?

Wow…my mate is…wow.

“Let’s rest on the flat rock,” I say, pointing to a plateau surrounded by deep blue water. He must be tired. He’s using limbs he didn’t own when he awoke. Yes, the rock is in the open, but watching for predators is key until Teeth learns his tentacles.

He barrel rolls us to the rock in a flurry of bubbles. I can’t help the squeal that escapes my lips. Rocks and coral grow at an alarming rate as we approach the bottom of the sea. His answering chuckle as we settle is music to my ears. How can Teeth be cheerful and playful? I forgot how infectious his bright moods can be.

“We’re lying in Davey Jones’s Locker without dying,” he says between belly-quaking laughter. “Kinda worrisome considering how many men I’ve sent here…or threatened to send here.”

“What are you expecting? A hoard of disgruntled dead pirates?”

“Exactly,” he replies, hair tickling my body as his nod waves it around. “We say dead men tell no tales, but I think that rule changes when you join them at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.”

“I’ve lived my entire life down here and never seen a pirate,” I say, stifling my own laughter. “I think you’re safe.”

The warm rock on my back is a comfort after the narrow escape from danger. Our tentacles tangle as they drape over the end of the rock. Tucked against his side, I sigh with contentment. His bicep is more supportive than the firmest feather pillow. The other arm across my ribs hasn’t let go since we fled the sharks.

I’m safe in his care.

“So, we got the learning about sharks lesson out of the way,” he says with a lop-sided smirk. “What do Kraken do for fun?”

“Harass ships,” I say with a laugh. He tugs his beard as he contemplates all the pranks he could pull on a ship…but let’s see how many he recognizes. “My hobbies are stealing anchors, bending rudders, snipping Jacob’s ladders from boat hulls, stealing fish off hooks, and wreaking havoc on bathing day.”

“You little minx,” he growls before pouncing on me. His fingers tickle my gills as he bites my throat with teasing nips. I’m laughing too hard for us to kiss properly, so we bang our teeth as he plunders my mouth. “Your revenge on me messed with me hearties for years, didn’t it?”

“I admit nothing,” I reply with wide, innocent eyes.

“Everything I learn about you makes me love you more.”

“You love me?”

“Of course,” he says, reclining on the rock. I don’t know what to say. He’s so casual. I’ve waited years for him to love me as I loved him at first sight. This is more special because he wasn’t born with a soulbond waiting to be fulfilled. He chose to be mine.

“I love you too…and not just for completing the soulbond…and choosing for us to live as Krakens.” He deserves to know the truth—I would choose his adventurous heart without the soulbond.

“I was growing tired of the sweet trade. Chub called it ennui.”

“I don’t know what that is.” He takes my hand, lacing our fingers together to mirror the loose tangles of our tentacles.

“It’s a sickness caused by loneliness and boredom,” he says with a sigh. “You saved me. I was alone on a boat filled with family.”

Schools of fish flee for cover from the oncoming storm, but luckily, none are larger than my fist. Sand kicks up to the west. I haven’t a moment to enjoy my new life with Teeth before his brow scrunches with concern.

“Their first night under a new captain, and it’s a hurricane,” he murmurs.

“Will Bettina be okay?” My heart jumps into my throat.

“Chub will tie her to a mast if he doesn’t lock her below deck with Catty. That little troll is protective to a fault.”

“I doubt my sister will hide below deck.”

“No,” he replies. “She refused to when we took that Spanish prize, which was scarier than a hurricane. A hurricane resembles the wind and rain we battle every week until it sweeps you overboard or tears your hull to bits.”

“We can swim alongside the boat and catch anyone who flies overboard. I’ve done that before,” I whisper. He stops petting my belly to roll toward me. Recognition flares in his eyes. “Yes, Teeth, I’ve saved you, Chub, Eze, Greenhorn, and most of the nutmegs who fly off your boat.”

“If I didn’t love you before, I’d be smitten now. Thank you for saving my family.”

“I’m sorry to take you away from them.”

“Oh, Sabs, I chose this life. I chose you,” he says, squeezing me closer.

“Why? I could have followed the boat or met you at agreed-upon island taverns on the full moons.” I rub slow circles over his heart.

He’s the same Teeth, but different at the same time. His chest hair is gone. The hair on his head has thicker strands that shine like spun gold. His namesake teeth are jagged points instead of blunt, human teeth. Despite the newly ferocious smile, his cocky, lop-sided grin is exactly the same.

“Sabs, love, I’d bet my front teeth that you’d never step foot in a tavern again. If me hearty crew was too much, a room of drunken strangers would scare you to death.”

“You noticed? I tried my best to hold it together.” My cheeks burn like the fires of hell. I bet they are as red as my tentacles.

“Chub noticed—” Teeth pauses to chuckle when I groan and cover my face “—but he notices everything. That’s why I left the ship in Bettina’s care. He will notice her strengths and weaknesses and train her to work around them. She will be easier to teach than me.”

“Maybe it was difficult for you because you were in the wrong skin.”

“What do you mean?” His confused expression is too handsome for words. I kiss it from his features before I can stop myself.

“You took to using gills and tentacles within minutes. I assumed I would have to teach you like a newborn hatchling.”

“Hatchling?”

“Yes,” I say as my fiery blush creeps down my neck and into his duster. My nipples harden against the rough lace and smooth leather. The contrasting sensations against them are maddening. “I lay eggs in this form, and Teeth, I want lots and lots of eggs.”