The Sea Wolf's Mate Read online

He threw himself back at the anchor and began to raise it. Sails—he needed to let the sails down. Set a course for land. The clamor in his head almost blinded him and he squinted through streaming eyes.

  It hurt. God, it hurt. Almost beyond bearing.

  He should turn back. Find Harrison. Harrison would deal with this better than he could. Arlo was sure to fuck it up—if he even got there in time and didn’t pass out from the pain.

  But he couldn’t. There might not be time. He couldn’t even look at the point on the coast he was aiming at. It seemed to shimmer, crackling with the weight of the psychic force coming from it.

  He couldn’t have done anything else. He knew the emotions roaring like wildfire out across the water. It wasn’t an attack—not a deliberate one, at least.

  It was fear, and sorrow, and confusion. And loneliness so sharp it felt like a knife twisting in his gut. He’d been there before. It was too familiar.

  But that wasn’t what made him urge his boat faster toward the shore. That sheer force of telepathic power, the solid weight of emotion carried with it… he couldn’t imagine any adult shifter being so open.

  The headache that had been plaguing him all day, the wall of pain and fear—it was a shifter child, crying out for help.

  3

  Jacqueline

  Jacqueline hissed through her teeth as the car’s back wheels slid on slick black mud. The coastal road out to the marine reserve was a twisting, broken-up mess at the best of times, but it had taken an extra beating in the latest storms—and the town hadn’t sent anyone out to fix things up yet.

  Or ever, Jacqueline thought, narrowing her eyes at the road ahead. That—oh, come on. I remember that slip from last time I was out here… how many years ago?

  Jacqueline shook her head as she counted back. Not since she’d started working at the sheriff’s office, at least. A few years into her marriage.

  Too long.

  The marine reserve was quiet and peaceful, but Jacqueline was in no mood to appreciate it today. It had taken her over an hour to get this far, but she had slowed down to a crawl the last half-mile as the condition of the road got worse and worse. And what she could see in her headlights didn’t exactly encourage her.

  She eased around a slippery bend and groaned. A landslide covered the road.

  And here I am in a two-wheel drive like some useless townie. If Reg hadn’t taken the truck to cart everyone to the party…

  Jacqueline tightened her grip on the steering wheel. No turning back now.

  Reg hadn’t returned her call. She didn’t know if he’d even got her message. Either way, this was up to her.

  Wincing, she trundled closer to the rocky, silty landslide. The car’s front wheels spun and spun—and gripped.

  “Yes!” she shouted. “Let’s do this!”

  She made it another ten feet.

  The car’s efforts didn’t end with a bang, or a crunch. It just sank slowly into the sodden dirt, wheels whining as they spun.

  “Drat!” Jacqueline snapped, smacking the steering wheel. “Useless—freaking—ugh!”

  She wrestled the door open and took stock. The car was sunk halfway up the wheels.

  So I’ll have to call a tow truck. What’ll that set me back? A few nights of cocktails?

  Jacqueline squelched around the car and grabbed her handbag from the trunk, slinging it over her shoulder and stomping awkwardly over the last of the slip. Her flashlight made a sad, small circle of light on the mud.

  The caller’s panicked voice echoed through her mind. She pulled her phone out of her bag and slipped it into her bra. Just in case Reg gets back to me. Or a call comes through from the office. She’d set up an auto-forward before she left, although she wasn’t sure how much she trusted it what with all the electrical weirdnesses lately.

  A light breeze made her shiver. It was almost pitch black by the time she made it to the parking area at the entrance to the reserve. Jacqueline swung her flashlight around.

  There wasn’t much to see. Just an empty parking lot and a concrete building with its doors and windows boarded up. The lights of a boat blinked out on the water. She couldn’t tell in the darkness what type of boat it was, or how far away.

  Whoever they are, I hope they’re having a better night than me.

  Jacqueline frowned at the concrete building. When she’d been at school, her parents had told her that when they were at school, the old building had been used for field trips. Jacqueline couldn’t remember ever seeing it without its doors and windows boarded up.

  She let her flashlight linger over one of the boarded-up windows. Some of the wooden slats had been broken away.

  Was that the storm, or…?

  Hairs prickled on the back of Jacqueline’s neck. She told herself it was just the cold.

  Beyond the abandoned building was a boardwalk, leading out over the shallows and rockpools.

  Given the state of everything else out here, that’s probably rotten, too. Jacqueline looked around. There was no sign of anyone, but—she ran her flashlight over the broken boards on the window again.

  Just in case…

  “Hello?” she called out. Her voice carried on the chill air. “Is there anyone there? It’s okay, you can come out. Your friend called me, he wanted me to come check up on you.”

  There was no reply.

  A gull cried in the distance. Jacqueline shivered. The sea breeze was growing stronger, filling her lungs with the taste of brine, and now that the sun had set, the already brisk air was becoming chilly. It wasn’t raining, but… Jacqueline looked up. Clouds. Which meant rain might still be on the agenda.

  Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked out into the middle of the parking area.

  “If there’s anyone out there… your friend asked me to come look for you. I’ve got food, and blankets back in the car—I work for the sheriff, I’m here to help you.”

  She bit her tongue. Come to think of it, that might not be the best tactic to take with a group of runaway-or-lost kids. Hey, kids! I’m with the sheriff! You’re all sure in trouble now!

  Again, there was no reply. Jacqueline looked around, uncertain. There was no sign of any children.

  Maybe it was a prank after all, she thought. Ha, ha. Very funny.

  Thank God.

  She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Her car was stuck in a muddy ditch, she’d ruined her shoes, and the news that she’d got herself into a tizz over some prank caller was going to be headline news in the office come Monday… but just for a moment, she stood and enjoyed the cool, fresh air on her face.

  What with the storm, she’d been cooped up inside all week. And even if she hadn’t been—when was the last time she’d been up the coast?

  I used to love the water, she thought with a sigh. Swimming, fishing, going out on a boat or body board, even if I had to wear a head-to-toe wetsuit to keep from freezing. What happened?

  She absently rubbed the empty spot on her ring finger.

  It was beautiful. Peaceful. The clouds above made the night sky look soft and endless, like a huge ink-blue blanket over the world. There was the soft shush of the waves in the distance, and—

  A shout echoed through the air and was suddenly cut off.

  Jacqueline’s eyes shot open. She spun on the spot, ears straining as she faced the direction she thought the shout had come from.

  The boardwalk.

  She broke into a sprint, the light from her flashlight zig-zagging madly ahead of her as she ran. The boardwalk was slick with seawater and she almost skidded over, grabbing the railing just in time. Panting, she swung the flashlight around, trying desperately to find the source of whoever had shouted.

  Or whatever. No. The voice had been human. High-pitched, almost a yelp—but human.

  She was sure of it.

  Jacqueline squinted, forcing herself to search the area thoroughly, and not just whip the flashlight randomly around. Light glittered off the waves and the water swirling through the
rockpools at the edge of the coast, and off a pair of dark eyes half-hidden in a pile of boulders.

  Jacqueline froze. Then she blinked, and the dark shadow around the gleaming eyes solidified into a small seal, hiding in the rocks.

  “Oh, shoot. I am such an idiot,” she muttered.

  That short, cut-off yelp—it could have been a seal, couldn’t it?

  She let the flashlight swing sideways, not wanting to disturb the seal any more than she already had. Just a seal. The call had been a prank after all, just as she—

  “Oh no,” she gasped, the blood in her veins turning to ice.

  The beam of her flashlight was illuminating the rocks right at the edge of the water, where the rockpools turned into open water. Perched on the top of one of the rocks, with waves breaking over her head, was a little girl.

  Jacqueline gaped. The girl was butt naked, with a tangle of curly hair that looked white-blonde in the light from her flashlight.

  The girl waved and grinned when she saw Jacqueline staring at her. Then she yelped as another wave broke behind her, swamping her with salt spray.

  “Oh sh—hey, hey kid!” Jacqueline was moving before the words left her mouth. “Just stay there, I’ll come and get you! Don’t move!”

  If she falls in the water—

  Jacqueline cut the thought off sharp. Not going to happen.

  She ran further along the boardwalk. A plank gave way under her foot and she stumbled, losing one of her shoes. Behind her, the seal barked again.

  Jacqueline wobbled to her feet and kicked off her other shoe. She was as close to the little girl as she could get on the boardwalk, but there was still twenty feet of broken rock and treacherous water between them. She glanced further out to sea; the boat was still out there, but too far away to help, even if they heard her shouting. She was on her own.

  Jacqueline steadied her flashlight and gulped.

  “Hey, honey!” she called out, holding the flashlight so she could see the girl without blinding her. The girl was still crouched on the same rock, but the waves were crashing too close behind her for comfort. “I’ll be with you in a sec, okay? Just sit tight.”

  Jacqueline stepped gingerly out onto the rocks. They were jagged, but not slippery. She took a few tentative steps and then became more confident.

  “Okay, Jacqueline. You can do this,” she muttered to herself as the seal started barking more loudly. “Save the girl. Leave the local wildlife in peace. Attagirl.”

  She was less than six feet away from the girl when she stepped on what she thought was a rock and found herself hip-deep in icy, sucking water, surrounded by ropes of clinging seaweed. Pain shot through her foot as it landed on something sharp.

  “Ah-h,” she gasped, and grappled for a hold on the rocks before the water swept her off her feet.

  A wordless shout echoed across the rocks. Jacqueline glanced over her shoulder to see—You’ve got to be kidding me—another curly-haired kid following her. A boy, maybe nine or ten, and just as naked as the little girl.

  “Stop!” she called out. “Go back to shore!” And—put some pants on! What the hell? Have I stumbled on some sort of hippie commune?

  Jacqueline turned back to the little girl, trusting the boy would listen to her. The last thing I need is two kids falling in—

  Panting, she tried to haul herself up and slipped back again. The tide sucked at her legs.

  Shaking sea spray out of her eyes, Jacqueline raised her flashlight and checked on the girl. She was still there, and only a few feet away—but there was a deep pool between them. Dark water rushed through a gap in the rocks, treacherously fast.

  If I can hardly hold myself up in this current… then that one’s gotta be bad. Really bad.

  Jacqueline looked across at the girl, whose face was creasing unhappily. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, sweetheart. You just stay there and I’ll come get you, okay? We can get you home—”

  A decisive bark echoed across the rocks from back near the boardwalk. Jacqueline yanked herself up, managing to pull herself out of the water this time. She was measuring the gap—could she risk jumping across, or did she have time to find another way across?—when the girl stood up.

  “No, no, honey, stay sitting down, the waves are—” Jacqueline began, and then her voice cut off.

  I can’t be seeing this. It’s… no way. No way this is happening.

  At first she thought the shimmering around the little girl was sea spray catching the light from her flashlight. Then the girl stretched out her arms, laughed, and changed.

  Her tangled blonde hair disappeared, dark fur sprouted from her face and body, and a moment later there wasn’t a little girl standing on the rocks. There was a seal pup.

  Jacqueline swayed, dazed. A seal pup. That little girl had just changed… into a baby seal.

  Part of her brain remembered the seal she’d seen hiding behind the rocks near the boardwalk… and the boy who’d appeared as though out of nowhere.

  This isn’t a prank, she thought wildly. This is—this is—

  She blinked hard, as though it would change what she saw in front of her.

  Why did the guy on the phone want to call Hideaway about this?

  She opened her mouth, with no idea of what she was about to say—and then the pup overbalanced, yelped, and slid headfirst into the water.

  Jacqueline didn’t stop to think. She jumped.

  Icy water closed over her head. The ocean was like a hand, wrapping around her and dragging her down. She dropped her flashlight and it spun around in the water, blinding her—but there, a darker shadow, seal-pup-sized. Jacqueline kicked wildly towards it.

  The flashlight flickered out and she couldn’t see anything, not even her own hands in front of her, but her fingers brushed something soft and she pulled the tiny creature into her arms and her knee hit something hard and she hoped it was the bottom, she hoped she was kicking off in the right direction because she had no way of telling what way was up or down and—

  Air. Jacqueline gasped and flailed one hand until she hit rock. She grabbed it and pulled herself up, twisting her body so she wouldn’t squash the seal pup—the little girl—the seal pup—What is going on—

  A wave crashed over her head. Jacqueline pulled herself further up the rock.

  “Hey kid,” she gasped, then coughed out a mouthful of saltwater. The seal pup wriggled against her chest. “It’s going to be—”

  Someone shouted. It sounded close. Jacqueline raised her head. If that boy had come out after her—

  Another wave hit, and she lost her grip on the rock. The water pulled her away and under.

  4

  Arlo

  “No!”

  The young shifters’ shouts echoed in Arlo’s mind as he threw himself into the water.

  His fault. He’d shouted when he was close enough to see what was happening, and the woman had lifted her head to look around. And the next wave had taken her.

  She and the child had disappeared under the surface as though they had never existed.

  I should have been faster. I shouldn’t have distracted her. I should have—

  Arlo forced the thought from his mind.

  The water was cruelly cold. His wolf reveled in it, staking its strength and agility against the power of the sea.

  Arlo strained his eyes and ears, ignoring the salt burn as he searched the water. It was pitch black, but the tiny shifter’s telepathic shrieks were more than enough for Arlo to locate her.

  There—the sea had pulled them away, but the next swelling wave might dash them against the rocks again. He swam towards them, his strong strokes cutting through the water like a hot knife through ice.

  The woman jerked as he grabbed hold of her. A bubble of surprise burst against his chest and then she clutched at him. He pulled them both to himself, his arm around the woman, the pup sandwiched between them.

  His feet slammed against the rocks at the bottom and he kicked, launching himself upwards. Sea spray batte
red his face as he broke the surface and the woman in his arms sucked in breaths, so hard it sounded like she was sobbing.

  Their mouths were inches apart. Their breaths mingled, and something in the back of Arlo’s mind went ping.

  His wolf bristled with urgency. Get her safe! Now!

  The seal’s heart beat like a tiny drum against his chest and without thinking about it he sent out a telepathic burst of emotion. No words, just feelings, as instinctive as the young shifters’ cries. Comfort. Safety. Protection.

  He hadn’t communicated with anyone like that in decades, with primal, instinctual emotion. Not since… a long time ago.

  There was no time to think about that now. His rowboat was bobbing in the waves a few feet away; he swam towards it and grabbed hold of the side.

  The woman coughed out a mouthful of seawater. “We’ll tip it—”

  “I’ll hold the other side while you climb in,” he told her. His wolf whined, impressed. She’d almost drowned, but she’d still kept her head enough not to try to clamber on board the rowboat and flip it over in the process.

  “Wait! The girl first,” the woman gasped. Then her eyes widened and she twisted to look back at the rocks. “There was another kid—oh, God, if he’s—”

  Arlo swept the shoreline. He could hardly sense anything past the tiny seal’s psychic shrieks of excitement, but whoever was on shore, they weren’t hurt or panicked. Just confused. Worried.

  “He’s fine,” he reassured the woman, and made a silent promise to make sure that was true. He sent out a psychic warning to whoever else was out there to stay safe while they got ashore.

  “Oh. Good.”

  The child shifter’s confusion popped against Arlo’s mind as the woman lifted her up over the side of the rowboat. She flailed against the woman’s attempts to put her on board. Arlo trod water, keeping the woman and boat steady and sending reassurance to the little girl until she let herself be safely deposited inside the boat.

  “Now you,” he said firmly.

  “Right…”

  Arlo hauled himself hand-over-hand to the other side of the rowboat and called that he was ready. The woman took a deep, shaking breath and Arlo’s heart froze.