Page 15 of Rook

“But he’s hitting on a seal?”

“Aisling, if you want a story…”

She laughs softly. “Okay…go on, I’m listening.”

“Alright,” I mutter. “Well, as he looks closer, he realizes that this particular seal is in fact a selkie…a beautiful woman who can take the form of a seal, a creature of the ocean.”

Aisling raises her eyebrows like she knows where I’m going with this. I don’t let it stop me.

“She’s gorgeous, with deep blue eyes mirroring the ocean’s depths and hair like the gold spun from sunlight.”

Okay, maybe that’s too far.

I wonder if Aisling sees herself the way I do.

“Anyway…Liam’s struck dumb by her beauty, and who wouldn’t be? They fall hard and fast, despite every warning that selkies belong to the waves.”

“Love does that to you,” she murmurs, a note of wistfulness threading her words.

“And not only that, but when he talks to her he falls ever more in love…because she’s smart, kind, brave. She’s everything he could have wanted in a wife—a partner. They build a life, have kids with that same wild sea staring back from their faces. But Aoife, that’s the selkie, she’s torn between land and sea. Finds her seal skin one day hidden among rocks.”

“Does she leave?” Aisling’s voice is barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder might break the spell of the story.

“Good ol’ Liam knows he can’t cage something that belongs to the world. So he gives her back her skin, tells her to follow her heart into the deep blue.” I pause, letting the weight of sacrifice hang in the air.

“And she goes?”

“Like a shot.” I snap my fingers, a sharp sound in the stillness. “But it’s a love story, ain’t it? Their bond doesn’t just fade away. It lingers, strong as the pull of the tide.”

I wrap up the tale, feeling the words hang between us like a fog rolling off the sea. Aisling’s grey eyes fix on me, but they’re clouded over, her brow furrowing.

“Didn’t peg you for the type who enjoys a sad ending,” I say, trying to read her face in the shadows that play across it.

“It’s not that,” she murmurs, her voice a low hum that vibrates through the dim solitude of our makeshift sanctuary. “Why couldn’t the Selkie stay? Why did she have to leave?”

I lean back, considering her question, considering her—the omega who’s tangled with more hearts than she asked for. “Some creatures aren’t meant to be held down; they’re too wild, crave the whole sky, the entire ocean. One man’s arms can’t fence in a spirit made for the horizon.”

Aisling stares at me a moment longer, and something unspoken passes between us—a recognition, maybe, or a shared sense of kinship. “Thanks, Rook,” she whispers, a soft exhale of gratitude.

“Anytime, Stargazer.” Silence wraps around us like a blanket, thick and comforting. Her eyes flutter once, twice—stars winking out at dawn—and then she’s gone, swept away on the tides of sleep.

I lie there, listening to the rhythm of her breathing, finding a strange comfort in the sound. It’s not long before my own eyelids grow heavy, and I drift off to sleep where the dark waters of dreams await, and Aisling dances among the waves, free as any selkie ever was.

Chapter eight

Gunnar

This is a waste of time.

We’ve been in Oasis for two weeks, and I have nothing to show for it. I went to Nero after getting back from our raid on the Terra Vitae lab—when Aisling let me down, when she broke my fucking heart—and ever since then, he’s been hauling me around like an accessory.

And I’m getting real fucking sick of it.

The clink of chips and the rustle of cards fill the air as I toss my hand down, a smirk playing on Nero’s lips. “You’re just not in it tonight, are you, Gunnar?” he says, glancing over at the gorgeous beta females fluttering around like moths drawn to his flame.

I brush off the discomfort hugging my shoulders, trapped in a suit that wasn’t tailored for a frame like mine. “Not everyone’s cut out for this peacock show,” I grumble, eyeing his easy charm with a mix of irritation and envy.

“Come on,” he laughs, leaning back in his chair and sweeping his gaze across the bevy of betas. “Why don’t you let one of them brighten up your evening?”

---