Chapter One

Nerina watched the beating of the waves against the hull of the ferry. She watched the dock approaching and smiled at the familiar figure on the structure.

She raised her hand and waved. He waved and bowed low, which made her laugh. Drake wore his standard uniform of shorts and a tank top with sandals.

When the ferry docked, she walked off and laughed as she was spun around several times before she was set on her feet. He grabbed the loop on her pack and lifted her up. “Off your feet, Nina.”

She kicked her legs, and other alphas leaving the ferry laughed at her. “Knock it off. You are ruining my street cred.”

“There really aren’t streets in the Blackridge Islands.” He let her down, and she slipped free of her backpack. He started walking, and she stretched her legs to keep up.

They walked away from the ferry dock and down the shoreline toward a smaller vessel. “Come on, this will get us to the station.”

“Great. How many guys are out there right now?”

“Just two. They both know that it’s hands off.” He boosted her onto the ladder, and when she was up, he pushed the boat deeper into the water and pulled himself up. They floated free for a moment. He fired the engines, and they headed across the crystal blue water with azure highlights.

She stood next to him near the wheel. “So, how are things?”

“This is great. I wish I had come out here five years ago.”

“Five years ago, you were finishing high school.”

He laughed. “And yet, you graduated before me, and you are still stubby.”

“Shut it.”

He snorted and giggled. “How’s Mom?”

“Good. Dad, too.”

“Didn’t ask.”

“I know, but I know you were curious.”

He snorted. “True. Thanks for that. Now, it’s out of the way. So, what has spurred this visit?”

“Well, I went out on the lake with some friends, someone knocked me into the water, and uh... held me there. And then I got this mark on my back, and I just wanted people to stop staring and poking at me, so I contacted you, and here I am.”

“What kind of mark?”

“Oh, it looks like a tattoo but isn’t. You don’t need to worry. I am going to keep my shirt on.”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like nunya.”

“Nunya?”

“Nun ya business.” She chuckled.

“Well, you are going to be in the water with us, so you might want just to flash it and get it over with.”

She made a fist and punched his shoulder. “No.”

Drake winced. “You’ve gotten stronger.”

“I work out now. I can even snorkel now.”

“Oh, that’s good. We are going to get you certified in scuba in the first few days.”

“We?”

“Oh, sure. You are a group project. The guys have been in the background of all of our video chats.”

“Was everyone not wearing a shirt?”

“Of course. Who needs one?”

“I do. I don’t want my clothing taking a walk. So, I just cook and run supplies?”

“Yeah. That buys you a bed and some of the food you are making.”

“Nice. All I need. Don’t even need a bed. Good with the floor.”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah, so is having to listen to ocean sounds to get sleep. The world turns, and times change.”

“So, that wasn’t a joke?”

“Nope. I have different headsets and earbuds and a bunch of USB cables that let me keep everything charged with my phone.” She chuckled. “My tech is half my backpack and all in plastic baggies for safety.”

“Weirdo.”

“And yet... still your sister.”

“Yeah. That was just bad judgment on Mom and Dad’s part.”

Nina laughed, and they continued to the whale-watching station. It was connected to a stone outcropping attached to a small island. “What’s over there?”

“The guy who owns the islands. This all is private property. He lets us shelter if there are particularly bad storms.”

“Wow. How did he buy all that stuff?”

“Money would be my guess. Don’t get any ideas about snooping. If we cross the edge of the outcropping, he has the right to revoke our access. So, serious stuff.”

“Got it. Keep myself to myself.”

“Yup.”

They glided to the station, and she was boosted onto the ladder. She muttered, “They couldn’t build anything for betas?”

“Nope, you are short, weak, and useless.”

She got to the top, and he climbed up with ease. “Jerk.”

He laughed and put an arm around her while they walked to the building.

She listened to the beat of the water on stones and got sleepy.

Drake laughed. “You weren’t kidding. Are you behind on sleep?”

“I have been travelling for a few days. I am wiped out.”

“Damn. I am on the hook for dinner today.”

She elbowed him. “I can help. What do you guys normally eat?”

“Well, if we haven’t gone shopping, then fish, but since I hit the market while I waited for you, we have steaks.”

“Even one for me?”

“Even one for you. A little one.”

She snorted, and two tall figures emerged from the building.

“Drake, this is related to you?” One of the alphas with a shaved head grinned.

Nina muttered, “Drake, this works with you? Is he solar-powered, or do you have to shove batteries up his ass?”

The alpha paused. “Okay, I can hear the resemblance.”

“That’s Tono, and the guy on the right is Reg.”

She nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Tono, Reg. I am Nina.”

Reg extended his hand, and she shook it. Tono took her fingers and bowed over her digits. “My lady.”

Nina nodded and pulled her hand back, looking at her fingers.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking for slime.” She cast him a sideways glance.

He grinned. “Yeah, I see Drake in there.”

“Well, we did share either an ovary or testicles at one point.” She beamed.

Drake said, “Ew. The thought of Mom and Dad having sex haunts my dreams.”

“Really? Well, if I hadn’t been so perfect, they never would have dared to try for a second. So, you are welcome.” She grinned.

Drake snorted. “I am going to unpack the boat. Someone catching?”

Tono nodded. “I will.”

Reg put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from the stairs. Wrapped bags shot out of the boat and into the air. Tono caught them and set them aside.

When six tight bundles were on the deck around the building, Tono grabbed four and carried them into the facility. Reg got the other two, and Drake popped up again and carried her bag inside. She followed and was brought to one of the six spaces large enough for a single alpha, so she had plenty of room.

Nina didn’t need to unpack. She had been living out of her backpack for a while.

The guys were all putting groceries away, with a small mound becoming the fixings for dinner. There were four large steaks and one small one.

“Are you guys having guests aside from me?”

“Kimo is coming. He loves steak, and this pushes his shopping back.”

“Kimo?” she asked.

“The owner of the islands. Yes, we suck up, but the research we are getting on migratory patterns is groundbreaking. The amount of animals that move through these islands is astonishing.” Drake smiled.

“Wow. You sounded all grown up there for a minute.”

The other two chuckled. They got beers out and soaked the cans in ice. Apparently, shopping day was special.

“When do you guys want to eat?”

Tono shrugged. “Two hours?”

“Okay, can I get in there to help?”

A head of lettuce came hurtling toward her. She caught it, darted around them as they put groceries away, and got the lettuce rinsed and torn into a salad bowl. Then she got a carrot, some tomatoes, and half a head of red cabbage. She learned the kitchen fast and had the salad ready in about half an hour. She had also gotten her steps in.

Drake grinned and said, “Do you want to do the mushrooms?”

She lifted the knife. “Do I have to cut a bitch?”

He laughed, and she got the potatoes into a pressure unit, sliced the mushrooms, and got them into a huge skillet with some butter and coconut oil.

She got everything going, and the guys were taking turns monitoring equipment. She would be nosey later.

Drake asked, “Do you want to grill for me?”

“Sure. What is everybody’s preference?”

“Rare.” “Rare.” “Medium rare.” Drake grinned. “We will have to ask Kimo. I think it’s rare, but I am not sure.”

“When will he be getting here?” She checked the twenty minutes on the pressure cooker and started making sides for the potatoes. It was a very back-home selection, but it was just what her stomach was after.

She paused. “Shit. Dessert!”

Drake laughed, and she shoved him away from the kitchen. She found a ready-made pound cake, and it was a familiar brand.

Nina turned to him. “You ordered this stuff for me.”

He shrugged. “You have been having a hard-enough time without having familiar food.”

She got out instant pudding, whipping cream, and fruit.

Tono looked toward her and opened his mouth.

She held up a hand. “Make a comment about this looking like a fun night off and I put your tongue through the egg beater. If that is your thing, I don’t wanna know.”

She had a multilayered trifle ready in ten minutes and then headed out to the grill and turned it on. This reminded her of her family hosting Drake’s football team and his hockey team and the debate team. Her brother was popular, smart, and athletic. Nina was average but competent.

When he became a marine biologist, the jokes had been plentiful, but aside from asking him to necropsy her can of sardines, she had tried to be supportive and help him study until he hit the tropics, then it was video chats and pictures of jumping whales.

She got the grill going and watched the temperature rise. Humming to herself, she got the steaks lined up and lightly seasoned.

She oiled up the grill and had three curious alphas following her. She put Drake and hers on first, and then she heard approaching footfalls.

Drake called out to the man climbing the ladder. “Kimo, how do you like your steak?”

“Medium rare.” He had a good voice, a really good voice.

She nodded and threw a steak on next to Drake’s. It was a good thing the grill was huge.

“So, this is the little sister?”

“Big sister. Age-wise anyway. My name is Nina.”

Drake chuckled. “It actually isn’t, but she doesn’t like to be called Nerina.”

“Shut up, or you are going to be diving for your steak, Ducker.”

“Geez, Nina.”

She flipped the first steaks and put on the two with a rare destiny.

She turned to smile at the newcomer and had to hold the smile with a sheer force of will. He was huge with eyes like the darkest depths of the ocean. Her tattoo burned, and she whipped around while he looked surprised.

“Um, pleased to meet you, Kimo.”

“Pleased to meet you... Nina.” His voice had gone from deep to a purr.

The mark on her back was having a riot, trying to get noticed, but Nina kept her focus on the steaks. Six minutes later she looked at Drake. He held out a clean baking sheet, and she loaded the steaks onto it. She shut the grill off, double-checked it, and followed the men around the corner and to the table. Drake set up her plate with salad, dressing, potato with all the fixings, and her little steak. Kimo held her chair out for her, and she sat while the waves crashed along her spine and hips. The guys went quiet.

She looked up. “If something is missing, I can go get it.”

Kimo murmured, “Don’t you know not to run?”

“Yes, they take us aside and tell us that, but I was thinking of a slow walk and a retrieval of salt or something.”

The steak was good, the mushrooms were buttery, and the potato was sweet from the steaming and unrecognizable under all her preferred toppings. The salad was a nod to vegetables.

Drake chuckled. “There is so much butter in here, we won’t be able to dive tomorrow.”

Kimo said, “You are going out?”

“Yeah, the blues are due back in the area, and I think that Nina would lose her mind seeing them cruise past.”

She paused and swallowed. “From the boat, right? I am not getting into the water with whales when all I can do is snorkel.”

Drake smiled. “You’re smart; you will get the hang of it.”

“I’ll just watch the boat.”

Kimo murmured, “I can teach you to dive here. There are sheltered coves where it would be a simple matter in a safe place to learn.”

“Uh, I have come here to visit my brother.” She looked at her brother and stared.

Drake was a cross between amused and panicked. “Kimo, she is very new to the area and is just here to visit me and get away from stressors in the city.”

She nodded. She didn’t tell him that in a trauma-awareness situation, she had allowed her story to be portrayed in a video with details of the case displayed. She didn’t want Drake to find out what happened. She wasn’t raped, but she was drowned in a lake by one of his ex-teammates. Her survival kicked in when her back caught fire. Water had surged up to attack her attacker, and witnesses had called the police. Cameras had caught the water jet that she gave off.

Her parents had confessed that they loved her, but the attention they were getting because of the video and the dredging up of the legal case made them intensely uncomfortable. They hated that the attack rippled through to their daily lives. They really had no idea of how it affected her, but that was okay. They still had polite phone calls that didn’t mention anything of consequence.

Kimo nodded but said, “It is a necessary skill if she is to be here for any stretch of time, and while you are on the clock, I am not. I am a certified instructor and am more than willing to help her learn.”

She spoke up. “What Drake isn’t saying is that I currently have a bit of a water phobia.”

Her brother stared at her but didn’t say anything.

She looked at his confused face and sighed. “I really didn’t want to tell you about this, but there has been some publicity, and I want to make sure that you can see I am okay when I tell you.”

“What is it, Nina?”

“Well, three years ago, Andros Lingam broke in my apartment door, dragged me out of bed by my hair, and hauled me to the lake. He held me under while I struggled until I sucked in water, and everything went dark, and then my back caught fire, and the water surged out, left my lungs, and knocked him on his ass. Witnesses had already called the police, and he was hauled off for breaking and entering, stalking, kidnapping, and attempted murder. It was all on the security cameras, so there was no doubt, and I just had to make a statement from my hospital bed.”

Her brother looked furious. “Where is he now?”

“High security for the next three years, and then he gets out.”

“Andy... fuck! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were doing your practical exams, and I was fine. I talked to Mom and Dad, and if I didn’t make it, they would have called you. Pretty sure anyway.” She felt the other three alphas staring at them. “You are going to calm your shit down and finish your dinner and get your second helping of mushrooms because you love them, and I am fine. You can’t punch everyone who cuts me off in traffic, and I refuse to live in a tiny box.” She glanced at Tono. “But I know that is your favourite holiday spot.”

The guys laughed, and Kimo chuckled.

Drake sighed and got up. She knew what he needed, so she stepped into his arms, and he hugged her. She held him and hugged him back. He murmured, “Where did the water come from?”

“My back. It was saltwater.”

He blinked and looked over her shoulder. “What is your mark, Nina?”

“Crashing waves,” she mumbled against his chest.

“So, I know an alpha who has that kind of mark.”

“If it’s Tono, just kill me now.”

A soft voice from behind her said, “It isn’t Tono.”

Drake released his grip and made a formal introduction, “Nina, I would like to introduce you to Kimo, ocean alpha.”

She swallowed and turned to face what would be her mate. “I know.”

His smile was gentle, and he held out his hand. She slipped her fingers along his before gripping his wrist. His steady pulse sped slightly. “Hello, my beta.”

She blushed and looked around. “If nobody finishes dinner, there isn’t going to be any dessert. That goes double for Kimo.”

He chuckled and released her to sit down again, and Drake took a seat. He slowly smiled. “Well, Nina, it looks like you will be here longer than six weeks.”

She threw a steamed potato at his head.