Page 4 of Ocean's Whisper

He growled inwardly as he changed course, his powerful muscles propelling him toward the beach at supernatural speed. The shore appeared eerily extended, water pulling back fartherthan it should. Something was drawing it out—something very powerful. The moonlight revealed wet sand where waves should be breaking.

He dragged himself onto the beach, shaking water from his massive wolf form before shifting. His bones cracked and reformed, his fur receded into human skin, and within seconds, a tall, muscular man stood where the wolf had been. Nereus strode to the pile of clothes he'd left on higher ground, pulling on his dark jeans and black T-shirt with efficient movements.

The vibration inside him intensified, a compass needle pointing toward danger and destiny simultaneously. About a mile down the beach, near the marine research station, darkness gathered on the horizon—a wall of water building, feeding on the retreating ocean.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, raking a hand through his short black hair as his eyes narrowed. "Tonight of all nights."

His truck was parked at the beach access point. He sprinted across the sand, his bare feet finding purchase where others would slip. The F350's black frame gleamed under the moonlight like a waiting beast. He slid into the driver's seat, the engine roaring to life beneath his touch.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel as the tugging sensation pulsed stronger, more insistent by the second. This was no ordinary natural disaster. The ocean itself, the very element his pack had shared a bond with for millennia, was responding to something—someone.

A Luna. His Luna.

The realization slammed into him with a powerful force, much like the gathering tidal wave was surely about to do down the shore. After centuries of waiting, his mate's powers were finally awakening, and she was directly in harm's way.

"Not how I planned to meet you," he growled, throwing the truck into gear.

The massive tires bit into the sand as he turned the vehicle toward the research station instead of away from the danger. Every instinct in his human form told him to drive to safety, but the wolf—the alpha—knew better. Something more precious than his territory was at stake.

For the first time in decades, Nereus felt fear creep along his spine as he watched the monstrous wave gather height offshore, a dark silhouette against the starlit sky.

Nereus gunned the engine as he sped down the empty coastal road, his truck eating up the pavement toward the northern tip of the island. The pull in his chest intensified the closer he got to the tidal wave, a sensation both foreign and primal.

No lights from passing cars, no signs of evacuation—just as well. This remote stretch near the edge of his territory housed nothing but the marine research station, a fact that normally pleased him. Privacy from humans was a luxury he valued as alpha and Prince of the Seafang pack.

The road curved sharply ahead, offering the first unobstructed view of the shore. Nereus's jaw clenched as he witnessed the tidal wave make landfall—a mountain of water that seemed to defy nature itself. The massive wall crashed over the research station with terrifying precision as if the ocean had marked the building for execution.

"Fuck," he growled, hitting the steering wheel. Even with all his power as the alpha waterwolf, this destruction was beyond his ability to prevent. The ocean answered to no one, not even him.

His truck skidded to a halt at the beach access point nearest the research station, and he threw open his door before the engine had fully died. The tidal wave had already receded, dragging portions of the building back into its depths like a predator with its kill.

Nereus stood motionless for a moment, his eyes taking in the devastation. Where the two-story research facility had stood now lay a jumble of twisted metal, shattered glass, and splintered wood. Water still poured from the wreckage, seeking its way back to the ocean in rivulets that carved paths through the sand.

"This definitely wasn't natural," he muttered to himself, stalking forward across wet sand. His bare feet registered the temperature drop—the water was unnaturally cold. The scent of salt and destruction filled his nostrils, but underneath was something else. Something that made his wolf stir with recognition.

Magic. Awakening water magic.

The pull in his chest yanked harder like an invisible hook lodged beneath his sternum. His mate was here, somewhere amidst this chaos, and she had somehow—perhaps unwittingly—summoned the wave that destroyed the building.

Nereus waded into the knee-deep water surrounding what remained of the structure. Concrete slabs tilted at precarious angles. A laboratory door, still intact with its window, floated past him. Scientific equipment worth millions lay ruined and scattered across what had once been a parking lot.

"Impressive first display of power," he said dryly, appreciating the sheer force of the destruction despite himself. "A bit dramatic for my taste, but I can't fault the execution."

The water lapped at his jeans as he moved deeper into the wreckage, his senses extending beyond human capacity. He could feel the currents shifting, responding to his presence as Alpha of the Seafang pack. The moon overhead illuminated the scene in silver light, casting long shadows across the devastation.

As Nereus scanned the area, uncertainty crept into his mind. His mate was powerful—dangerously so. And from the looks of this destruction, completely untrained. A lethal combination.

He suddenly froze as the moonlight revealed several dark shapes bobbing out in the churning ocean water. His enhanced vision pierced the darkness—five humans clinging desperately to what appeared to be parts of a lab table, a filing cabinet, and what might have once been a door. Their panicked voices soon carried across the water.

"Dammit," he growled under his breath. Humans. The last creatures he wanted to deal with tonight when he should be searching for his Luna. But the pull in his body intensified sharply as if his wolf recognized that saving these people was somehow connected to finding his mate.

He shed his T-shirt with one fluid motion, tossing it onto a relatively dry section of debris. The moonlight played across the defined muscles of his chest and abs—a body honed by centuries of swimming the Atlantic's depths. Humans had their uses to his pack over the years. They kept the areas near his territory clean, respected the ocean, and provided valuable research. These particular humans might even know his mate.

"Hold on!" he shouted, his voice carrying across the water with commanding authority that seemingly calmed the panicking scientists. "Stay with your floating objects!"

Without hesitation, he dove into the swirling currents, his powerful body cutting through the water with a grace no ordinary human could match. The wolf in him wanted to shift, to harness his full power in the water, but he maintained his human form. Centuries of keeping his pack secret in this area demanded discretion even in emergencies.

He reached the first victim in seconds—a middle-aged man clutching a piece of insulation foam. The human's eyes widened at Nereus's approach.

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