Making Waves (Mythological Lovers) (4 page)

“It’s... She is not a filly, Fa—”

True happiness seeped into the strong mental voice. A chuckle of amusement followed. My dad hadn’t laughed at anything I’d said to him since I was a colt. “Ahh, then a widowed mare. Not what I would have chosen for you, but respectable. Kind. Who is she, son?”

I ripped the figurative Band-Aid clean off, speaking in a rush. “Her name is Alessa, and she’s human.”

The pleasure faded, vanished like a popped bubble. He stared at me at first, a silent horse waiting for the punchline to a bad joke. “Absurd. There is no such thing as courtship and mating between a hippocampus and human,” he snapped.

“I felt it, Father. I have never experienced anything of the like in all of my life. It was real.”

“You desperately seek fulfillment in a world outside of our own. Had you shown as much interest in our kind as you do of the stinking apes above, perhaps you would have a mate, Dante.”

I flinched. “I did everything possible, Father. Everything. I danced, I sang, I brought gifts and fought ocean predators for Calista to no avail. You and I both know it has nothing to do with my courtship efforts, and everything to do with my looks!”

Adon peered down his long muzzle at me and snorted.

“Is this why you hate me so much? Because I resemble Mother?”

He didn’t answer me directly. The pearl-furred mare at his side had moved, relocating to the water and swimming away to a more peaceful location. We lacked a word for stepmother in our language, but I had only one mother and would not call Delia mine.

“Your mother’s fascination with the humans caused her death. It will do the same to you. Your courtships fail because you give the topside more focus than your own kind.”

“I don’t—”

“Had you devoted this time to meeting and playing with our fillies this season, you may have met a match willing to accept a dark horse, and I would not be forced to relegate you to the guard. I have never felt more shame.”

“But—”

“Remove yourself from my sight,” he commanded.

My head drooped. “As you wish.” Ending my audience with my father, I dove into the water and hurried away.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I had no one to blame but myself for my irrational attraction to the topside world. I swam as if Hades himself chased me from the ocean depths, tail churning the water behind me, forelegs aching and sore by the time I returned to the island.

Maybe, if I hadn’t chased after a life on the surface, I’d have a true life down below.

Balmy, tropical air and an ocean breeze blew across my wet skin once I was on land again. I maintained full control of my emotions as I crossed the beach and retired to Abuelo’s home.

The soft hum of the oxygen machine welcomed me, as did the man in his recliner. He waved from a seat in front of the television, enjoying a thick slice of flan brought to him by one of the neighbors.

“Want some?”

“No thanks.”

A hot shower washed the salt and sand from my skin then I filled my belly with the fish tacos Gramps had left over from the daily menu. I settled beside him, and together we watched some silly action flick he’d picked up at one of the resort shops.

“Abuelo, I have to tell you something.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, but it’s difficult to express.”

Grandfather’s expression softened. “You are going to sea and not coming back.”

“Yes.” The ache in my heart didn’t ease, making my words quiet and tight.
How did he know?

“I had a feeling such a day would come. You’ve always been drawn to the ocean. And of course, it is where you belong.”

Yeah... drawn to it,
I thought.
Better to let him think I’m happy to go, than to worry for me every day.
“But what about you?”

“I got along just fine before you returned,” he said. He laughed warmly and squeezed my arm. “I’ll miss you, Dante, but you have to live your own life.”

“But who will take care of you?”

“I told you not to worry about me. There are good folk on this island. Ever since my Catalina passed away, Teo and his people have been a family to me. Alessa too. We’ll make do.”

His words failed to loosen the knot in my chest. Abuelo had never given me anything but unconditional love and respect since finding me on the beach as a child. Leaving him felt as if I were abandoning my only true family.

But what choice do I have?

“Have you told Alessa yet?” he asked, pulling me from my inner thoughts.

“No. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Make sure you do. She’s been a good friend to you, and to me. Don’t wait ‘til the day you leave.”

“I... You’re right. Dropping it on her and going would be wrong. Cruel.”

“Smart boy.”

~Alessa~

“T
his almost feels like a date,” I teased. Humid air surrounded me as I breathed in the scent of green leaves and sweet orchids. Native island plant life grew wild, tamed only as needed for hikers and visitors on the trail. I held my sandals in one hand, delighting in cool soil beneath my feet.

“It’s not.”

“Are you sure? I expected you to bust out the sexy Italian at any moment.”

Dante’s warm laughter created butterflies in my belly. “I don’t know that much of it,” he said.

“So, how is it that you speak English so well but you don’t know Italian? Even I can speak fluent Greek and I’ve only been there part of my life.”

He laughed. “I’ve been coming here since I was a teen, remember? Abuelo is always complaining about me speaking English better than Spanish, too, but I can’t help it when English is the primary language on the island. Most of the tourists come from America.”

Dante and I walked side by side. He led me off the public trails into the private zone marked for cabana rentals. Small signs on wooden stakes led visitors where they belonged and told me we headed toward cabana #9.

He’d lured me out with promises of a swim race, so I’d dressed for it beneath my t-shirt and shorts by donning a green and purple bikini. It was the most revealing thing I’d ever purchased, but I wanted him to see my body without the giant silicone tail ruining the view.

“I lied to you,” Dante finally admitted before the silence became awkward. “I’m not really from Italy.”

“Huh?”

“I brought you out here to talk about something important. Something you should know. How much do you know about shapeshifters?”

“Silly, I know all about shapeshifters. I work for Teo, remember? I’ve known about him and Kekoa for a while now.”

“I know, but there’s... I never told you that I’m also one.” His gaze held intensity I never saw before, studying my face and watching for my reaction. When I didn’t move away or recoil in fear, he continued. “It’s part of the reason why I’m only present until fall. My herd migrates.” 

“Herd? Then... you’re not a wereshark like Kekoa or a dragon like Teo... what are you?”

My best friend wasn’t human? He’d fooled me, but in hindsight a thousand warning signs swam to the surface.

He didn’t have a driver’s license. He could barely do more than basic math and had absolutely no knowledge of world events.

Dante offered me the opportunity to sit on one of the stone benches bordering the walking path, but I waved it off and continued walking alongside him.

“I’m a hippocampus.”

“Like an enormous seahorse? Or... a... water horse? Neeeeigh,” I said, waving a hand for emphasis.

“Like a water horse,” Dante confirmed.

“I... I like horses,” I said dumbly.

He grinned. “This was easier than I thought it would be.”

“You brought me all the way out here to tell me that you’re a supernatural creature? Dante, you could have told me while I was making us dinner.” I leaned against him and bumped his hip with mine, his body heat familiar and inviting.

“I know, I know. It’s...” He dragged in a breath. “I have more to say than that.”

“More?”

We reached our designated cabana, a small hut with wooden support beams and heavy walls of straw and grass. A wicker basket awaited us with a bucket of chilled ice and a bottle of wine beside two coolers. I recognized Teo’s handiwork, having helped him once to prepare something similar for his anniversary. He’d implemented my suggestions and improvements by providing futons for couples with kinky plans of open-door sex.

“What the hell? It’s not my birthday, is it?” One of the small cooler boxes held an intricate edible bouquet. I plucked one of the flower shaped pieces of apple and a few grapes from the top.

“No,” Dante said. “It’s not.”

“What’s with the surprise and the wine?” I picked up another wooden skewer from the bouquet then peeked into the second cooler. Rows of my favorite sushi rolls greeted me. I breathed in the wasabi, pleased with Dante’s considerate gift. “You’re the best friend.”

“No I’m not.”

“You are, too. You did all of this for me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I did. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay?”

He inhaled a deep breath, consternation wrinkling his brow. I noticed the circles beneath his eyes for the first time. That he was stressed. “I brought you here to break some bad news to you as gently as I could. It’s my last summer visit. I won’t be coming back to the island again.”

At first, I waited for the rest of the joke.
He’s joking. He has to be joking. Why would he go away forever like that?
Then I saw the pain in his eyes and knew that he was serious. “What?
Why?
What about your grandfather? You can’t leave him. He’s sick! Did he tell you about how hard this winter was on him?”

“I told him a few days ago and he understands.”

“But you can’t... why?” I demanded, voice rising shrilly.

“I’m going to tell you more than I told Abuelo, so please. I trust you not to share this with him.”

My body tensed. I barely moved my chin while nodding.

“My people have traditions we abide by, and my failure to find a mate means I’m losing certain privileges. Like coming on land—”

“Then find one!” Tears blurred my vision and stung my eyes. I blinked rapidly to stave them off. I’d rather see him taken by another woman than lose his friendship forever. “Why can’t you just sweep some girl off of her hooves or something? What if you just decide to come back anyway? What’re they gonna do about it? Jail you?”

“Female hippocampi are particularly choosy,” he said in a dry voice. “And we have strict laws enforced by my father. He’s the alpha, so to speak.”

“Laws like what? Laws saying you’re not allowed to come back anymore?” I lost my appetite for the star-shaped cuts of pineapple speared to decorative slices of melon. I tossed them and the toothpick aside into a small wastebasket then stared at Dante.

“Because I haven’t contributed to the herd, I’ve been assigned to join the rear guard.”

“What the hell is that?”

He held up a hand, begging for me to chill, but I couldn’t calm when I was receiving the worst news of the year. My best friend was walking — or swimming, rather — out of my life. I’d never see him again.

“When we follow our migration route, we pass through some dangerous areas that aren’t hippocampus friendly. Imagine that you had a group of nomads in the United States, and everywhere the nomads went, marines from the military had to follow because terrorists were hot on their heels.”

Terrorists?
He must have seen the question in my eyes.

“Sharks. Orcas. Predators of the sea who are larger than us. The rear guard is our military, and we stay behind to fight while the rest of the herd gets away safely.”

“Do you guys win most of the time?”

He shook his head. “It depends on the predator. A leopard seal might try to eat a foal, but even the mother can fend them off. I’ve done it before easily.”

“And an orca?”

“Takes about three of us, but someone probably won’t swim away.”

“Why can’t you take a better route if this one is so dangerous? Where the hell do you guys go that it’s worth the danger? Kekoa protects the water here and keeps it shark free, but out there...”

“Once we leave this territory and cross the Atlantic, we’re in orca territory again. Like I said, they’re not so bad. Great whites are our greatest enemy.”

“The sharks,” I whispered, imagining four massive stallions teaming up beneath the waves to take on a great white. The image made my chest hurt and my eyes water. Nature was rough, I’d known it for years ever since I began studying marine life, but this man was my friend.

“Once we return to our home in the Mediterranean, we’re also returning to seas inhabited by sharks. But it’s
our
home. We have no other home like it.”

“Is it too late to get a mate?”

“No, but it’s not going to happen by September. I’ve accepted that.”

“Why don’t they want you?” I hugged him tight and set my cheek against his chest. His heartbeat was loud, powerful beneath my ear, a reminder that he hadn’t gone yet, that he wasn’t a lifeless body floating in some shark’s gaping mouth.

Dante wrapped his arms around me. We fit together well, his hugs too comforting over the years.

When I cramped and had PMS, he’d show up with ice cream and sashimi, then we’d curl up on my couch and watch movies into the night together.

When a guy broke my heart, Dante always found out, and he’d listen tirelessly to me as I droned on about how I wished I’d done things differently.

When Dad died last year, Dante had held me throughout the night. He’d packed my bag for me and contacted Teo. My boss flew me home for the funeral on his private jet because Dante asked him to do it.

How long have I been falling in love with him?

“I don’t get it,” I whispered. “You’re a great guy.”

“We don’t watch movies and do those kinds of things for entertainment out in the ocean, Alessa. I can’t impress a filly with my job, my wardrobe, or my music preferences. There, what matters is the color of your fins and whether you’ve got the most muscles in your tail. The biggest hooves. The fairest mane.”

“You have big feet and muscles!”

“I do, and I’m fairly large in my natural state,” he confirmed. “But black hair isn’t a favorable trait. Dark horses are despised and viewed with scorn. Some of the older hippocampi believe we bring blackness with us wherever we go and cause bad luck.”