Floating Alone (2 page)

They could feel the body working, and their patient rolled with them, letting them surface. Marina sucked in a deep breath before they continued the roll. Based on the memory, the mommy-to-be had been in labour for hours.

Marina sighed, letting out a stream of bubbles. The manatee rolled again, and she grabbed another breath.

The amniotic sac was out. A pearly bubble against the grey skin. Irdan helped with whatever magic he could, and the delivery took thirty minutes. A rush of blood and the flick of a bright mind later and there was a new occupant to the tank.

Irdan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to the surface. He placed one hand under her butt and boosted her up and out of the water with ease. He planted his hands on the concrete and was sitting next to her in one smooth move.

“Well, you can count on my support. Give me a number, and you can have it.” Irdan grinned as another one of the pregnant ladies came over to visit him, snuffling at his legs as if disappointed that he wasn’t one of her kind.

Maweel sighed. “If my cousin is in, I am in. Consider yourself funded for operations and expansion for the next decade.”

Irdan smiled slightly. “On one condition.”

Marina stared. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

The moment that the words were out of her mouth, there was a flash of light and she was sitting on the floor of a wooden structure, wet and wearing her tank top and shorts.

Irdan got to his feet, and his suit fluffed and slid into perfect lines once again. He pulled her to her feet, and she felt the tingle of fey magic crawling over her skin. She was dry and presentable in moments. Her clothing was altered into a light sundress.

“Where are we?” She frowned at him.

“Well, you said anything, so I have decided you will be my wife, and then, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine.”

She blinked. “You can’t be serious. We just met.”

“We have met five times at charity fundraisers. This is merely the first time we have touched. Now that I know what you are, I wish to take you as my mate.”

Marina scowled. “What do you think I am?”

“A shifter.”

Marina looked at the couple that was watching them in bemusement.

The woman with white hair stepped forward. “She isn’t quite a shifter.”

Marina looked at her. “You know?”

“I can see it. You might want to explain it to him before he binds himself to you. This is not the place for it, please sign in and we will register you for the Isthmus. You will have privacy and a place to exchange your particulars.”

Marina shook her head. “No. I am needed at work.”

Irdan scowled. “I thought we could just bond and then return to the human world.”

Marina shook her head. “I would not advise it. I am not what you think I am.”

Irdan smiled. “Whatever you are, I am willing to give you half of me. Will you accept it?”

Marina stared into his eyes and saw nothing but calm certainty. “Why?”

“Because few things are certain in life, and the fey know it better than most. From the moment I first saw you, I knew that we were meant for each other. Destiny is not a fickle thing; she calls out only when she knows that there is a possibility and a future. She has called, and I am listening.”

Marina had no reply for that.

The woman cocked her head. “If you are sure, I will bring the balancer.”

Marina nodded slowly. “I think that it can’t be any weirder than my normal situation.”

Irdan smiled. “I love that you set the bar so low.”

Marina cocked her head. “Does destiny call you often?”

“This is the first and only time. It seemed prudent to listen.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure that you don’t want to know what I am before you link your fate to mine forever?”

“I am willing to roll the dice.”

Marina remembered his careful hands on the birthing manatee. “I love how you set the bar so low.”

He squeezed her hands as he grinned.

The creature that returned with the white-haired woman was human, but a human that Marina had rarely seen outside of a sci-fi convention.

Curly-toed shoes with bells on the tips, a patched pair of jeans, cartoon-spattered shirt and brightly patterned kimono top marked the garb of the creature that faced them.

The mage stared at Marina and started to laugh. “I knew it was possible, but I never imagined I would meet one.”

Marina stood still as the mage rushed forward and hugged her.

“Oh, you are a fantastic thing. Magic and nature triumph every time.” The woman let her go. “I am Melwiss, binding mage.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

The mage stroked her cheek. “You look so beautiful. It is amazing.”

Marina blushed.

Irdan cleared his throat. “I would like the binding to commence.”

The man who had been next to the white-haired woman brought a contract over. “If you are up for it, sign this.”

The ink of their names was still wet, and Marina didn’t know how they got her name to begin with, but she had gotten here by magic, so knowing whom she was wasn’t too much of a stretch.

The titles in front of Irdan’s name took up a few lines, but the words
Marina Wake, beast-born
were clear as day.

She signed her name and watched as he read her descriptor. Irdan didn’t flinch. He signed with a flourish and smiled.

Melwiss pushed back the sleeves of her robe and held out her hands. “Come on... gimmee your hands.”

Marina inhaled sharply and extended her hand to the mage. Irdan held his out without hesitation.

A magical charge began at the point of contact.

“Now, you two hold hands. This won’t work if you don’t.”

Irdan took her hand, and the circuit was completed.

Marina clenched her fingers around his as power rippled through them.

A roaring in her ears nearly deafened her. Melwiss asked her something, and she answered, “Yes.”

Irdan answered with more words, but the affirmation was the same. Marina swayed as the magic pushed and pulled at her, yanking on her soul and twisting her around. The hands holding hers were the only anchor points she had.

Screaming wasn’t an option. She really wanted to, but nothing came out of her throat. Fire, ice, water and wind mixed with the earth and animal that was her base. It wasn’t pain; it was the sensation of having your body and soul trying to fly apart in all directions at once.

She was sure she heard a strangled sound out of Irdan, but when the burn of power receded, her body was humming and her mind was done. She fainted.

She flexed her hands and gripped the sheets. This was definitely not her thread count.

Marina sat up and looked around. The air smelled familiar, but this was not her house.

Irdan came in with a tray and a smile. He was wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else, which explained why Marina was wearing the top.

“Good morning. The rescue facility is fine. Maweel stepped in and got some experts to assess the expansions needed while taking care of the animals you had. Your assistant was most helpful.”

“Toby is good that way.” She took the cup of coffee that he held out. “How far away are we?”

“About twenty miles. I have proprietary access to a good portion of swampland and coastline.”

“Why am I wearing your pajamas?”

“Because it was a little early for you to wake up naked with me wrapped around you.”

She had to support her cup because it wobbled radically. “Oh.”

Her body was in favour of having him wrapped around her, and that little tidbit shocked her. Like most manatee, her sex drive only kicked in twice a decade. This was not on schedule.

“What happened?”

“We were balanced, and you fainted in my arms. I felt a bit of the shock in your system. So, what exactly is a beast-born?”

He sat next to her with his own coffee in his hand and his hair loose down his back.

She cocked her head and decided to state it baldly. “My dad is a manatee shifter, and he fucked a wild manatee. She was killed by a boat, and I was found floating on her corpse in the marina.”

He blinked. “Your mother was a wild manatee?

“Yes. I met my father when I was eighteen. Until then, I travelled from foster home to foster home, keeping my other nature hidden.”

Shock was on his face. “You mean he isn’t your legal guardian?”

“No, he isn’t my legal anything. Apparently, his parents are dead, and he inherited quite a bit of money but nothing has been offered to the rescue centre. His showing up from time to time is just annoying.”

Irdan nodded. “His differing last name was a bit confusing. I thought you simply had your mother’s last name.”

“I was named after my location and the
No Wake
sign that was over the wall where I was found.”

“Marina Wake. The humans are twisted.” He shook his head.

She wrinkled her nose and sipped at her coffee. “I figured that out by the time I was three.”

“So, you never knew your mother?” Irdan placed the tray on her lap, and the bowl filled with fruit was next to another filled with whipped cream.

“No. I learned a bit about her from researchers when I was doing my practical studies at a research centre up the coast. They had images of her, identified her as pregnant, and two of the older researchers were delighted to find out that I was the child found with her body. No one had ever figured out where I had come from.” She ate and spoke slowly, trying to fight the emotion that the story always brought.

“You studied biology?”

“Marine biology. I wanted to understand how things worked. It took me a while, but I got it, and the moment I was free to choose my field of study, I went into manatee rehabilitation.”

“And that is how you became Dr. Wake.”

She paused with a piece of melon touching her lips. His eyes were watching her intently. Marina felt a curl of magic in her blood.

She lowered the fruit, and his eyes followed it for a moment before the gaze snapped back to her lips.

She cleared her throat. “How did you come to be located this near the inland marshes but on the coast as well?”

“My family became the territorial protectors of the local indigenous population. They slowly integrated with the colonists over a few centuries, but we have remained the guardians of this territory. We like it here, and it is a registered fey protectorate.”

She blinked. “Wow. That is news. Let me guess, your territory ends just a few yards from my door?”

“Three miles.” He finished his coffee, set her cup down on the tray and lifted it to the side.

His hand pressed her thigh through the covers. “After you fainted with delight at being bonded to me, Mage Melwiss mentioned that our binding is creating an attraction that will become stronger until it is all-consuming.”

“By attraction, you mean urgency.”

Irdan quirked his lips. “Yes. It has been very difficult to sit with you and not touch you.”

She cocked her head. “Why did you hold back?”

“I want your cooperation at all times. If you aren’t interested, I will simply wait until you are.”

“Perhaps I could take a shower first?” Marina smiled slightly.

“Of course.”

She waited until he got to his feet before she slid her legs out from under the sheets, feeling the silk of the pajamas cover her butt as she stood. Every instinct in her body was pulling her toward him, but unlike the rest of her kind, she was able to fight the reaction in her gut.

He held out his hand, and she accepted the help to steady herself. She felt different.

“Am I taller?”

“A few inches. The rest of the changes will occur when we consummate our union.”

It was such a nice way to say
sex
that she swayed toward him. Her mind slapped her instincts again, and she followed Irdan to the ridiculously large bathroom attached to the master suite.

He left her alone, and when he was gone, she locked the door as quietly as she could.

The wall of window was too easy. It overlooked the calm waves of the everglades where they reached into the ocean.

She touched the glass and sought the seams. It wasn’t the first time in her life that she had popped out a window, but this one was designed to withstand hurricanes. She could do better than gale forces.

She pressed against the seam with all her strength, and the glass popped free. As it fell, she took a few steps back before jumping into the trees below.

Marina landed heavily, but her destination was certain. She wanted to get to water, any water. Her body wanted to seek its safe place, the form that she wanted to stay in.

There were no sounds behind her, and she made it to the water without any interference. The silk hit the ground a moment before her feet entered the water. A few feet of wading and she was deep enough to shift.

She undulated into deeper water, using her flippers to propel her and keep her from impacting the floor of the waterway.

She headed for home with a slow and steady determination. Once she got home, she could think up what she needed to do to take in and adapt to her situation.

* * * *

Irdan slipped his robe over his shoulders and addressed his guest. “You were right. She ran.”

Herman Execar cleared his throat. “She will go home.”

“And she will find the new specialists.”

Herman blinked. “Not the rescue. She will go to her home. She lives inland near the small shack that I called home for all those years. She doesn’t know it was mine, but she feels at home there. She built a house on the property.”

Irdan smiled. “Good. I will follow her.”

“Do you need a map?”

“No, I can follow her anywhere. We are linked now.”

He nodded to his guest. “You can leave her to my care. She is mine by her own hand.”

Herman looked nervous. “Oh, right.”

“You did not mention that she was beast-born.”

“It was not a proud moment, but her mother was so lovely, so graceful, and I had spent close to a year as my beast. That action sparked my return to human, and I had no idea that it had been a fertile mating until years later. I came back to the area and heard the rumours, but the child was gone.”