Chapter Two

Belle swam slowly in

the healing waters, and it was glorious to feel the energy seeping

into her bones and muscles. She had been born on the islands, and

her brother was a mainland boy. It was funny and something she

could lord over her brother.

She swam slowly

across the pool and back again, pulling energy in slowly.

She heard the

hovercraft arrive and turned to see Dorian and Ambermarle

approaching.

Belle slicked

back her white hair and swam to speak to them. "Hello."

Dorian looked

at her with concern. "You are absorbing a lot of healing."

"I needed it.

Can you recharge it?"

He smiled and

nodded. "I will do it when we finish our climb to the top. Serin

wants footage that she can use."

Amby grinned.

"And I want to try again when I can actually pull up my own body

weight."

Dorian

chuckled. "And I can be a lot more touchy on the climb."

"Perv." She

snorted.

He grinned.

"Let's go, Amby."

"Fine, but you

are carrying the battery packs."

"Done, as long

as I get to kiss you at the head of the falls."

"As long as it

is only a kiss."

Belle watched

the smirk on his face as he said, "Of course."

Belle laughed

as they walked to the ropes that descended from the top of the

falls and the harnesses were put in place.

She continued

to watch them climb the cliff, and when they got to the top, there

was a strange pause, and then, a hefty surge of energy wrapped

around her. Ah, they had taken a break. The water was

super-charged, and her body was making use of the extra energy.

Her scalp

tingled, and she felt some growth in her hair. Figured.

She continued

to swim, but since her body was drinking in everything, she began

to smile and plan. Belle had been asked to do a test run of the

possible Alphas versus Betas run through the islands.

The sacred pool

of the island had done its job, Amby and Dorian descended in a

rapid flight, and Dorian braked for them with Amby facing him.

The affection

between them matched the adrenalin they had just brought to the

fore in the drop. Belle felt a little pervy, but then, she had seen

worse. Long hospital stays showed a whole lot of inappropriate

frisky behaviour on the wards overnight.

She kept her

swim back and forth slow until she was ready to get out. She

reached for the robe she had brought and smirked as she had trouble

getting it closed. She was back. Two years of cancer care had taken

her body down to nothing, but now, she was home, and she was back.

Her muscles, her curves, and her balance were now right.

Dorian stared

as she stepped off the rocks. "Holy shit."

Belle grinned.

"I always get what I need from the water. It is just faster to get

it from this pool because you dump so much energy into it. So, now,

I can get back to work. My second life starts now."

Amby blinked.

"Second life?"

"Yeah. I was

down in hospital, and my heart stopped a few times during

treatment. So, now, I am on to my second life." She slipped on her

sandals and gathered her clothing. "Step one, new wardrobe."

Belle walked

over to her single electric scooter and headed back to the village.

She left the lovers to their recharging of the pool.

Her robe

flapped around her legs, and as she got into town, she started

drawing attention. Belle snorted. She was thirty, and her body had

been invaded by nearly every medical tool known to man. If they

wanted to look, they could look. Her body had survived and earned

the right to be appreciated.

She parked her

scooter where she had borrowed it and walked the six minutes to the

commercial shopping area.

She opened the

door and saw the proprietor fussing over her beta. The beta was

blushing. "Ahheel, cool it. You have a customer."

"Don't mind me.

I just regained twenty-five pounds of fat and muscle. Nothing I

packed fits."

"Mini, nothing

is more important than you are."

"Right, well, I

need to work. So, shoo." The beta smiled and waved off her alpha.

"Or I will work in the café in the square."

Ahheel sighed,

kissed her mate, and straightened. "Right, well, what level of

modesty are we dealing with?"

Belle shrugged

and pulled off the robe. "What do you have that fits this?"

Mini's eyes

went wide, and she started scribbling in her notebook.

Ahheel blinked,

and colour stained her cheeks. "I have a few two-piece items that

should fit. Are you looking for underwear?"

"If you have

some in stock. I am not gagging for it." Belle smiled.

They began

shopping, and soon, Belle had a stack of clothes, and Ahheel was

sweating. Mini grinned. "I thought she only got that flustered for

me."

Belle smiled.

"Well, at least I am no longer shocking the wildlife."

She watched

Ahheel put the clothing in a bag.

Mini smiled.

"What brings you to the islands?"

"Oh, I was born

out here. Serin is embracing her role as Minister of Tourism and

wants to hold the next Alphas verses Betas out here. I am going to

do a trial run to find a safe route that is still exciting." She

smirked. "I would say that my brother and I were supposed to work

on it, but if our link is anything to go by, he's busy."

Ahheel

chuckled. "Twins?"

"Yeah."

"Me, too, and

the other alpha in our little group." Ahheel smiled. "Exeter has

his own twin. All fraternal."

"Yeah. Let me

tell you, that makes me nervous every time I have sex." Belle

smirked. "Good thing condoms work."

Ahheel smiled.

"With a female alpha, that wouldn't be a problem."

"Uh-huh. That

would be too many breasts for me. I have enough trouble with

these." She cupped her breasts and dropped them. The dark, gauzy

top was buttoned halfway, and her belly was exposed when the panels

moved. Her skirt had slits up to midthigh on both legs, and the

dark blue looked good with her frosty blue hair with green

highlights.

"You know, it

is odd. You don't have any scent."

Belle chuckled.

"Chemo does that. It's making its way out of my system, but the

process is slow. Paddling around Dorian's pool did me a world of

good."

Ahheel's eyes

widened. "Cancer?"

"Cancer. Cut

out, burned, and poisoned, but it's gone. Thanks to the pool, my

weight and muscle are back, hence the shopping spree." Belle

grinned. "Now, time for lunch."

Mini perked up.

"I could do with some lunch. Can I join you?"

Ahheel snorted.

"If you are looking for commonality, she doesn't have a mark like

you, Mini."

"I just think

she's interesting and probably has had fun occupations."

Belle grinned.

"I used to be a stuntwoman."

Mini was

walking toward her. "If I buy lunch, can I pick your brain?"

"Sure. Let's

go. Are you coming, Ahheel?"

The shop owner

sighed. "Mini, grab me something. I need to tidy up and set up an

order list. Just as well you will be in the square."

"Sure."

Ahheel walked

around and kissed her beta with a possessive stance.

Belle smiled.

"I will leave you to say your farewells and bring her back after

lunch."

Ahheel said,

"Leave your shopping here. It will be an added incentive to bring

Mini back."

Mini blushed

and said, "I am coming."

Belle left her

bag, and they walked out together. She had a question. "What does

she mean I am not your kind of beta?"

"You don't have

a mark on your back."

Belle shrugged.

"If she says so."

Mini asked,

"You mean you do?"

"Well, it isn't

visible in normal light, but yeah."

"So, another

kind of light?"

"Yup."

"Why can't she

see it?"

"She's not for

me." Belle chuckled. "I haven't met an alpha yet that was. I mean,

aside from entertainment, I don't have much use for them."

"So, how will

your alpha find you?"

Belle chuckled.

"Therein lies the mystery."

Mini smiled,

and they got a table at the café and used the digital menus in the

table.

Mini began

asking questions the moment that they finished ordering.

They chatted,

laughed, and got along quite well as Belle recounted her scariest

stunts, and Mini took notes.

One hour led to

two, and they got a few smiles from some of the overpopulated

alphas in the village. No one knew why the islands grew so many

alphas, but the last two generations had a bumper crop.

Ahheel walked

toward them, and Mini blinked. "Oops. Oh, I lost track of

time."

Ahheel had the

bag and held up Belle's phone. "Belle, your charter is ready."

"Oh, shoot.

Right. I forgot about that. Sorry, Mini. Another time?"

"Definitely."

Mini smiled and bowed slightly.

Belle gathered

her things. "Thank you, Ahheel. See you soon, Mini."

Mini

beamed.

Belle slid her

hand across the pay pad and took her stuff to the docks.

Orc and Thera

were standing on the deck of the charter boat. "Sorry I am late; I

got distracted by lunch." She smiled. "Permission to come

aboard?"

Thera reached

down and took the bag, which freed her up to pull herself onto the

ladder when Orc said, "Permission granted."

Belle clambered

up and grinned at Orc. "Hiya, Orc."

He looked at

her, and his eyes went wide. "Babybel."

"Yup."

"You... uh...

grew up."

Thera was

standing with a quirked brow. "I am guessing you know each

other?"

Orc blinked.

"Yeah. When she was little, she would come on holiday with her

family."

Belle smiled.

"My grandmother lived out here. I was born on the island, and we

came back frequently until I was twelve. Orc babysat me when I was

ten."

"She kicked my

ass at Scrabble." Orc chuckled.

Belle smiled.

"True."

"How old was

Orc at the time?"

"Sixteen." Orc

smiled. "So, where are we taking you today, Babybel?"

"The Denaki

Strait."

He blinked.

"Why?"

"I will explain

on the way."

He hopped off,

untied the charter, and they were underway in a few minutes.

They went over

a map, and she explained the premise of the catamaran portion of

the event.

"The waters

around there are deep. There is a lot of whale activity."

"If there isn't

some danger from below, then it won't be worth watching. We will

have rescue vessels nearby, and they will be as safe as we can make

them. We will train them to be as safe as possible and keep an eye

on them."

Thera smiled.

"We?"

"Deno and I are

moving back to the islands. I mean, he has to get his citizenship,

but I have mine."

Orc snorted.

"Yeah, that is a weird story."

Thera looked at

the map. "We have time."

Belle smiled.

"My parents were visiting my grandmother, and my mom was seven and

a half months pregnant with twins. So, she thought she was safe.

She had me in the village, and then an airlift got her, my dad, and

me off to the mainland for surgery. Emerald was in the path of a

storm, and we couldn't go there. Deno wasn't making any effort to

arrive under his own steam, so he had to be surgically delivered.

So, I have island citizenship, and he is a mainlander. Oh, and we

have different birthdays."

Thera blinked.

"Right, because of the airlift."

"Correct. Well,

our mom decided two was enough, and then, she just rolled her eyes

when we both became stunt people. All that effort and we jump off

buildings and take punches for a living. Dad was so proud."

Orc laughed.

"Yeah, well, I would be proud as hell."

Thera glared at

him. "Shut up, and drive the boat. I am crossing my fingers for all

girls."

Belle chuckled.

"Yes, by all means. Girls are great at it."

Thera looked at

her, blushed, and said, "That isn't what I meant."

Belle and Orc

chuckled, and Thera huffed. It was the start of a fun and prolonged

conversation.

The strait

loomed as they angled toward the port, gliding into the narrow span

and moving cautiously.

"So, on a

catamaran, this is about six hours of travel. Do we have time to

blaze through the passage and come around the other side of the

island?"

Orc said,

"There is a speed restriction in this passage. The inhabitant isn't

a fan of waves. He's an enhanced alpha and spends a lot of time in

the water."

Belle looked

around. "It's gorgeous, but I don't want to spend a lot of time in

here."

Thera asked,

"Why not?"

"You can't feel

it? There's electricity in the air."

Orc muttered,

"If you insist on speed, we are going to find out soon."

Belle walked to

the prow and watched the water. When something started to writhe

and bubble in the distance, Belle focused.

Orc muttered,

"Shit."

He cut the

engine, and they waited. Thera asked what was going on, but he held

up a hand for silence.

Belle glanced

back, and Orc put a finger to his lips.

The churning in

the distance approached them, and a line of fins appeared on the

surface. Belle whistled softly, and the line of fins shot toward

them. She quickly stripped as it approached.

She heard Orc

shouting, but she hadn't had a good run in the water, and as the

huge eel shot toward the boat, she climbed on the railing and

jumped.

* * * *

Thera gasped. "Where is

she?"

"I don't know.

I can't see her. Shit, he's here!" Orc braced for the impact of the

blunt head, but it didn't come.

A being made

entirely of water rose from the surface with the eel in its

grasp.

Thera gasped as

the female continued to rise until she was nearly as tall as the

mountains to either side. "Holy shit."

Orc muttered,

"She didn't do that when she was ten."

The woman was

made of ocean water. Fish moved inside her, and the eel was in her

grasp.

"Wow. What is

she?"

Orc shook his

head. "I have no idea, but Xo is thinking twice about being an

ass."

The eel was

wrapping around Belle, and she wrestled him until he stopped

thrashing and hung from her grasp. She dropped him into the water

and turned to look at Orc and Thera. She sank low, and Thera felt

the vessel speed up.

Orc muttered,

"Hang on. I think she's getting us clear."

"Yeah. That's

what it feels like." Thera grabbed Orc and held on.

They were

pulled along like a tub toy until they were at the end of the

straight. The boat went still, and suddenly, a very naked Belle

crawled onto the deck. She flipped her blue and green hair back and

huffed. "Anyone have a towel?"

Thera grinned.

"Here you go. May I say you are tall."

Belle dried her

hair and ignored her body until her hair was sorted. When that was

dry, she wrapped the towel around her. "So, how tall did I

get?"

Thera looked at

her curious expression and laughed. "About a hundred feet."

Orc added.

"Above the water. Half of you was below the surface."

Belle smiled.

"I thought so. I am one big bitch."

Orc snorted.

"Xo certainly thinks so."

"Is that the

eel?"

"Yeah."

Belle smirked.

"Home, Orc. That made me hungry."

The engine

revved, and they headed back to the village. Thera tried to ask

Belle about her skill, but her answers were vague.

"Quite frankly,

this is the first time that I have been able to do it. I knew I

could, but this was proof of concept. I am surprised at my height,

though. That's unexpected."

Thera stared.

"You are kidding. You just jumped in front of him and had no idea

what would happen?"

"No clue. Well,

I knew I wouldn't be injured. You can't hurt water."

Thera got Belle

her clothing, and she dressed and was politely sitting when they

got back to the dock.

Thera asked,

"Can we join you for dinner? The other guys are just coming

in."

The second boat

was gliding toward the dock with a bunch of giggling ladies on

it.

The moment

Skaay and Kayak had the ladies safely on dry land, they rushed

toward Thera and took turns kissing her in front of the shocked

betas.

Thera felt

their desperation and held them in turn, stroking their cheeks and

shoulders. "There, there. The horny ladies can't come after you

anymore."

Skaay looked at

her. "They were scary."

Kayak nodded.

"Well, except that one lady who kept them from molesting us, but

they were biting us with their eyes."

Thera looked at

the woman who was so serene it wasn't funny. She ushered her

collection of drunk friends back to the village. The brunette with

dark brown eyes looked toward her with a slight smile and

nodded.

Belle chuckled.

"She's competent and good at dealing with drunks."

Thera smiled

and made the introductions, but Kayak grinned. "Ding-dong!"

He grabbed

Belle and swung her around. He set her down. "Wow, you grew up. And

out."

"Thanks, Kayak.

You look as dense as always."

Thera grinned.

"We are going for dinner. Are you two joining us?"

Skaay smiled.

"Please. It wasn't safe to let our guard down with those

ladies."

"Good, Belle's

hungry, and I am going to tell you the tale of how she earned it."

Thera grinned and hauled them over to the village to the quieter

restaurant that the locals favoured. Time to eat.