“You’re on my ship,” I say. “This is my room.”
It’s so nice to see his chest moving up and down with powerful breaths. He’s breathing in through his nose with every inhale.
“You’re the captain?”
“Yes,” I say, feeling a boost of pride. “Captain Calista.”
He closes his eyes and says my name like it’s sacred. “Calista.”
“What happened to you?” I ask. “Why were you half dead, pinned to a tree, and naked in the ocean?”
He closes his eyes again and takes a deep breath. “It’s… complicated.”
“I bet,” I say, not wanting to push him too hard too quickly. “Let’s start with something not complicated. What’s your name?”
“Kieran,” he says. “Kieran Stormfur.”
“Huh,” I say, wondering about that. Stormfur is the name of the neighbouring wolf kingdom. Is he a royal, or maybe allshifters take the last name of their pack? I don’t know too much about them. His species stays off the sea, so we don’t cross paths too often. Or ever.
“You’ve been watching over me,” he says. It’s not a question. “I could sense you here. The whole time.”
My cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I could smell you,” he says quietly.
I swallow hard, knowing what I smell like—dried sweat, salt, and fish. There ain’t a shower on this ship.
“Even when I was dreaming,” he goes on in a whisper. “Even when it was all dark. I knew you were here, Calista. Thank you.”
I don't know what to say to that. I look at my hands.
“Are you still in pain?” I eventually ask. “How long does it take a wolf shifter to heal?”
“Depends on the injuries,” he says with a sad smile. “I think I was on the edge of what a wolf is capable of healing. One additional splinter in my finger probably would have pushed me over the edge into death.”
I flinch. I don’t like him talking about his death, even in jest. I don’t know how I would have been able to go on if he had passed. It would have crushed me and broken my heart.
“Careful,” I say as he sits up in my bed. He still winces with every movement, but he looks soalive. I’m eternally grateful for that.
“I can’t believe you found me,” he says, staring at me with what can only be described as awe.
“Yeah,” I say. “You’re lucky we were sailing by.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he says. “I’ve been searching for you my whole life, and I wake up and you’re here.”
He’s not making sense. I touch his forehead with the back of my hand, expecting him to be feverish, but his skin is warm and feels as normal as ever.
“What do you mean, you’ve been searching for me?”
He smiles and the sight is so beautiful I have to grip the armrest on my chair.
“This is going to sound outlandish,” he says slowly. “But it’s the truth, Calista.”
I just wait for him to say it with my body frozen and my heart racing.
“You’re my mate,” he finally says. “We’re connected in more ways than you can possibly know.”
Mate.
