Chapter 96: The Codfather

ALEX

The strong, defined light of a single moonbeam guides us through endless stretches of trees, shrubs, and other foliage.

We descend the mountain on the opposite side of Fate’s Web, finally emerging from the woods to find ourselves standing on the shore.

So…the Moon Goddess is leading us directly into the high tide of the ocean.

~“Well that’s not all that helpful,”~ I mind-link Ariel. ~“What? Are we supposed to swim to the Royal Pack?”~

But just then, the moon’s spotlight cuts through the sea, and I can detect something in the distance.

It’s the outline of a small, humble fishing boat. But right now, in my eyes, it looks like the most miraculous thing in the world.

“AWO-OOOOOO,” I let out a loud howl in the direction of the boat. But then I realize that a howl could just deter it from coming closer.

I instantly shift back into my human. Ariel follows suit.

“HEY!” I call out in the direction of the boat. “HELP US! WE’RE STRANDED! HELP US!”

Ariel chimes in: “PLEASE! WE NEED HELP!”

We keep screaming louder, trying to make our voices heard over the sound of the crashing waves.

And after a moment, the boat actually starts to change direction and approach us.

In the light of the moon, I can see the words ~The Codfather~ painted sloppily in large red lettering on the side of the boat.

Finally, we hear the gravelly voice of an elderly man calling out to us.

“Well, look at that,” he says. “Yer naked!”

~Right…~

~Forgot about that.~

“We’re in trouble!” I call out to him. “We’re a long way from home and we need to get back!”

“There are rocks over on that there coastline. It’ll tear up the underbelly of me boat,” he says.

My smile sinks.

“But if ye swim on over to me,” he continues, “I’ll give you a lift.”

I watch as Ariel creeps toward the edge of the water. She dips her toes in and flinches.

“Cold?”

“Freezing.”

“We’ve been to hell and back today,” I say. “It’s about time we cool off.”

I’m trying to keep a positive attitude, but my body is completely dreading this next hurdle.

I take a deep breath in and out, grab my mate’s hand, and make my first step into the frigid water. My skin prickles and burns from the intensity of the cold.

To make it worse, the coral in the shallows cuts into the flesh of my foot. The salt stings the open wounds.

But if we can just make it to that boat, I’m certain we can make it home.

We keep walking until I can feel that the rocks underneath us are about to drop off.

“Deep breaths,” I remind Ariel, and myself. “Mind over matter. We can do this.”

I squeeze Ariel’s hand and then plunge headfirst into the water, fighting against the rough tide.

I hear the sound of Ariel kicking through the water as she keeps pace with me. I weave my way through muck and seaweed and Goddess knows what else. But every stroke warms my body, so I keep going.

Finally, when I think I’m getting close, I pull my head out of the water and gasp for air.

I wave down the fisherman, and he throws an inner tube our way. I grab onto it for dear life as Ariel grabs onto me.

Kicking together in unison, we reach the side of the boat. A rope ladder is hanging down off the side. I usher Ariel up the ladder first as waves splash water into my face, stinging my eyes.

I choke on a mouthful of seawater and nearly lose my grip. But I don’t. I hoist myself up after Ariel and climb aboard the boat.

We collapse onto the deck, gasping for breath, the night air only intensifying the chill on our bare skin.

“Wait here you two,” the fisherman says.

He returns a moment later with two thick, brown, woolen blankets. In this moment, I would have taken these blankets over a cauldron of gold.

I wrap myself up tight as I look into the face of our hero. He has wispy grey hair, leathery skin, and a wide, toothless grin.

“Thank you,” I say.

“So much,” Ariel adds.

“What choice did I have?” the fisherman says. “Ye two walked out of there looking damn well like Adam and Eve, didn’t ye?”

“Who are they?” I ask him.

His face morphs into a look of utter confusion, though I’m not sure why. The last thing we need is for him to be suspicious of us.

“It’s really hard to explain how we lost our clothes,” I say. “And how we ended up over there in the first place.”

“Try me,” he says, flashing us his gapped smile. “I’ve lived in this area my whole life. Ain’t never heard of someone making it out of the Web in one piece.”

“You know about the web?” Ariel asks.

“Yep,” he says. “Not sure why it’s called that, but everybody that’s climbed over those mountain peaks never made it back alive. It’s worse than the Bermuda Triangle, they say.”

I shiver at the thought of it.

“Ye two kids are awfully lucky I came by or you mighta met the same fate.”

“Hey there… Mister…?” I pause, waiting for him to fill in his name.

“Don’t call me Mister. That’s my dad’s name. Call me Grimsby.”

“Well, Grimsby, do you have a radio?”

“Course I do? Whaddya think—I’m a madman? Come out here in the night with no way to reach nobody?”

“Would you mind if we used it?”

NATALIA

I knock again on the door of Alex’s office. This time, I’m alone. Charlie’s setting up a bed for himself in his truck.

“Come in,” Dom says. His usually jovial voice sounds gruff and hardened.

I walk inside and find him pacing up and down the office. Helena is sitting in Alex’s chair, Camelia fast asleep in her arms.

“Where’s Chuck?” Dom asks me.

“I thought—after last time—I didn’t want to bother—”

“Oh, please. Don’t let General Dave get to you,” Dom says. “He’s just stressed.”

“Of course. We all are,” I say. “Any good news?”

He shakes his head. “No news at all,” he says. “The helicopters can’t spot a trace of any wreckage through the thick mist. And now it’s too dark. They are going to start the search again in the morning.”

I can’t believe an entire day has passed without a word from either of them.

Maybe my mother was right. Maybe I was being ~youthfully optimistic~. Maybe they really are gone.

I sink down onto the dark leather couch as my knees start to give out underneath me. I drop my head into my hands.

If they are gone…then what?

How would the kingdom recover from the loss of both its king and queen?

How would I recover from the loss of my sister?

~Again.~

I was cruel to her for so long.

I’ll never forgive myself.

I’ll never—

Just then, I hear a crackling noise that pulls me out of my misery.

I peek between my fingers and see Dom running over to the desk and picking up the Royal Pack radio.

Someone is talking on the other end. The voice is muffled, choppy, and almost entirely unclear.

“Do you cop—is Al—Royal—Pa—”

But Dom messes with the dials, and, suddenly, I can hear him.

“This is Alex. Do you copy? Can anyone hear me?”

I jump up and lunge toward Dom, who is clutching the radio now, a smile beaming over his face.

“Alex!” he says. “Holy shit! You’re safe.”

I wrestle the radio out of his hands.

“What about my sister?” I ask. “Where’s Ariel?”

“I’m safe, too, Natalia,” she says. “What? Were you worried about me or something?”

She laughs, but I’m not ready to just yet. My knees start to fail me again, but this time out of relief.

“Where are you?” Dom asks, grabbing the radio back from me.

“We’re on a fishing boat, sailing along the coast, just south of a place called the Web. And now we have no money and no clothes.”

~The Web?~

Not only are they safe, but Charlie was right. He’s not crazy after all.

“Thank the Goddess, dude,” Dom says. “We really thought you were done for.”

“We thought we were done for too,” Alex says.

“I’ll deal with the General. He’ll arrange for your pickup,” Dom says. “It’s time to bring our king and queen home. Over.”

“Thanks man,” Alex says. “Over and out.”

Dom sets the radio back down on the desk, and Helena instantly jumps straight into his arms, clutching Camelia to her chest. He holds her close as the destined mates share a kiss of pure, ecstatic joy.

My wolf whines. She wants to celebrate with her destined mate too.

She wants Charlie.

ARIEL

Grimsby opens a hatch on the deck and shines a light down a small set of wooden stairs.

“Ye two go down there and keep warm,” he says.

He stays on deck to steer the boat, and closes the hatch. Alex and I find ourselves alone in the darkness again.

But everything is better now. We’ve gotten in touch with the Royal Pack. Help is on the way. The worst is over.

There’s nowhere to sit except Grimsby’s small, stained cot. So we just sink down onto the floor.

“Give me your feet,” I say to Alex.

The wounds that I got from walking on the ocean rocks have already healed over, but I can see that Alex’s haven’t.

He places his feet in my lap and rests his back against the wood-paneled wall.

It’s always easier for me to heal people that I love. And I love Alex more than anyone in the world. So with one effortless, gentle touch, his cuts miraculously heal over.

“Good as new,” I say.

“Perks of mating with the Moon Goddess’s favorite,” he says.

I pry open his legs and scoot in between them so that my back is pressed into his chest.

“So…,” he says after a moment, “was that the best honeymoon ever, or what?”

I can’t help but laugh. “You were right when you said it would be a surprise.”

“Just didn’t expect it to be a surprise for both of us,” he says.

Even as he’s joking, I can detect some darkness in his tone.

“Can you believe all that stuff that Fate was saying about me and Xavier?” I ask him.

Alex doesn’t respond. I know nothing upsets him more than the fact that I was ever destined to be with that monster.

“All I can say,” I continue, “is that bitch has ~no~ idea what she’s talking about. You are the only mate for me. And I will fight off Fate every day to keep it that way, if that’s what it takes.”

His arms squeeze around my waist. He presses his lips into my neck. “I know you will,” he says.

“Xavier will never be my destiny,” I say. “You’re the only thing I need.”

I can tell that my words are having a positive effect on him, by the growing hardness pressing into my back.

We’ve already joined the Mile High Club today. Why not join the sea-level club, too?

But just as I feel his hand slip under my blanket and between my thighs, there is a knock on the hatch.

“Hey Adam and Eve!” Grimsby calls out. “Your ride is here. And holy shit, she’s a huge one!”

We scramble up and out onto the deck.

Sure enough, the Royal Pack Navy’s huge yacht is approaching, dwarfing this small fishing boat.

It’s official.

We’ve finally been saved.

Relief begins to wash over me.

But then the wind picks up and I hear Fate’s seductive drawl one last time.

~“Goodbye, Ariel”~ she says. ~“For now…”~