Page 22 of Emerge

Chapter Seven

Riley

Ihad a fucking tail and nipple pasties that weren't pasties at all. Not to mention when I opened my mouth, if I wasn't careful, a stomach curdling screech escaped, or my words had some kind of hypnotic effect on Jax. I didn't understand what I was doing exactly, but it had something to do with my intentions with the words.

Being in the water didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was so relaxed I wanted to swim around some more. Breathing underwater was weird at first, but once I got over the mental part of it, it became natural. There were gills inside my mouth; I felt them with my tongue.

As we got closer to the cliff face, part of the rock slid to the side to allow us to pass through. I'd never seen anything like it before, but tritons did appear to be more technologically advanced than humans, unless common citizens weren't privy to all the technology available.

It had seemed like all of a sudden, the world went from giant, clunky computers in the nineties to laptops, smartphones, and civilian built rocket ships.

"I'll need to program you into the system so it will let you in." Jax let go of my hand as we entered the cave and turned to face me.

"Now what?" I floated in the water in front of him as his eyes raked over my new body.

"You're breathtaking."

I glanced down at my tail as I swished it to stay in place in front of him. I didn't even know how it worked and it felt weird, but I could have watched it move all day.

"What are we going to do?" I met Jax's eyes that had gone half-lidded as he watched me. "I don't know what I'm doing."

His arm wrapped around me and pulled me closer, our tails and chests touching. My entire body reacted to the feel of him against me.

A pair of feet landed in the water by the platform, and then Morgan dropped into the water, shifting. He grunted in pain and then his eyes landed on me. Time stood still as he took me in, and then he swam to me and pulled me to him.

"Fuck, vixen." He buried his face in my hair. "We were so worried you guys were trapped in the facility."

"Where's Blake?" I pulled away from him and floated between them.

"He left about five minutes ago when the call went out for all hands on deck. A submarine was attacking?" Morgan's eyes traveled south and stopped on my breasts. "So where are your nipples?"

Before I could think to respond he reached forward and touched where they should be. They were definitely there under the scales and hardened as his fingertips danced across them.

I swatted his hand away. There was no time to explore this new body while Dylan was attacking in a submarine, demanding I join him.

I swam to the platform and pulled myself up, my arm strength surprising me. As soon as my body left the water, I shifted back and looked down at my naked body as two pairs of eyes watched me from the water.

"I need to go back and check on things." Jax took off before I could argue against it.

Morgan pulled himself up and shifted back before I could get a look at his tail. He remained lying on the cement as I stood and got a towel.

"Are you going to get up?" I looked down at him with his eyes shut and his lips pressed together. "Does it hurt?"

"More than I care to admit." He released a shaky breath before his eyes opened and he slowly stood. "I'm supposed to shift a few times a day. This was my first time today, later it will hurt less."

We went upstairs, and after I showered and got dressed, I joined Morgan on the couch where we planned on studying while waiting on word about the attack.

Studying paled in comparison to what was currently going on in my life. Being a siren was making me reevaluate a lot of my goals. Now that I'd shifted, I wondered if a college by the ocean was a better choice for me.

If we didn't get the knife back, I wouldn't have a choice but to be near the water with easy access to Jax, Morgan, and Blake. They calmed me more than the knife even did.

"I don't think I've ever seen you study." I sat down next to him and opened my own book. "I'm so far behind."

"I figured I might as well try to get my grades a little higher since my chances at being a soldier are virtually zero." His shoulders slumped. "School doesn't come naturally to me like it does Blake or even Jax."

"What are your options if you aren't a soldier?"

"Pretty much academia unless I just want to stay in the Pacific City. Blake plans to go to college. He wants to be involved in political bullshit." Morgan rolled his eyes. "Jax is going to be an admiral, but I'm not sure if he has decided between which track he wants to pursue yet."

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