Page 50 of Ocean's Whisper

His mind raced through the tactical possibilities as he walked toward his motorcycle with purposeful strides. The mate bond kept flickering inside him, weakening with each passing minute. A primal growl escaped his throat as he pulled out his phone and dialed Xavier.

"She's been taken," Nereus said the moment Xavier answered, his voice deeper than usual, the wolf in him pushingto the surface again. "Siren witch. I can smell her all over that fancy houseboat two docks from Isolde's."

"Sirens? Here?" Xavier's disbelief crackled through the line. "Impossible. The truce?—"

"Is broken." Nereus cut him off as he approached his motorcycle. "Sound the pack alarm. All core pack members, now. We meet at Blackwater Cove in twenty minutes."

He didn't wait for a response before ending the call. The ancient cove lay hidden between two rocky cliffs, accessible only to those who knew of its existence—a sacred gathering place for the Seafang pack for generations.

Nereus arrived first, pacing the shoreline like the predator he was. The setting sun painted the water crimson, a visual echo of the rage burning through him. The weakening mate bond was like a physical wound in his chest—a constant reminder of his failure to protect what was his.

Within minutes, the soft padding of paws and the crunch of footsteps on sand announced the arrival of his pack. Some came in wolf form, others in human form, but all wore expressions of concern and determination. Xavier approached first, flanked by the patrol captains.

"Everyone's here," Xavier confirmed, his eyes scanning the assembled wolves. "What's the plan?"

Nereus looked out at his closest pack members—his core family—nearly sixty strong. The Seafang pack members that had followed him for centuries, through wars and peace, through triumph and hardship. His gaze landed on faces that had only days ago looked at Isolde with skepticism and distrust.

The injustice of it burned like fire within him.

"Before we discuss strategy," Nereus began, his voice soaring across the beach without effort, "I have something to say."

He ascended a large, flat rock that jutted from the sand—the Stone of Assembly where Seafang alphas had addressed their pack since before written history.

"For centuries, I have led you. I have protected you. I have guided our territory through times that should have ended us." His eyes glowed turquoise in the dimming light. "And in all that time, I have asked little in return."

The waves crashed behind him, responding to his emotions, rising higher with each powerful word.

"When my Luna arrived—when the Moon Goddess herself blessed our pack with her return—how did we respond?" His voice dropped dangerously low. "With suspicion. With rejection. With whispers in hallways and cold shoulders."

Several pack members lowered their gazes, shame evident in their postures.

"Isolde Morgan may be human by birth, but her heart—" Nereus thumped his chest, "—her heart is pure Seafang. She carries the ocean in her veins just as we do. Her connection to water rivals any born wolf among us."

The tide pulled further out as his anger built, the ocean itself listening to its prince.

"You saw her as weak because she didn't grow up with our traditions. You saw her as unworthy because she doesn't wear fur when necessary." Nereus's fist clenched at his side. "But where were you when she faced down attackers with fierce courage in the cave? Where were your judgments when she mastered in days what takes our born wolves years to control?"

He leaped down from the stone, landing with predatory grace, and strode through the ranks of his pack. They parted before him, no one daring to meet his eyes.

"Now my true mate—your Luna—is in the hands of our ancient enemy. A siren witch who would drain her power and use it against everything we've sworn to protect." His voicecracked slightly, the emotion breaking through his usually controlled façade. "And I ask myself, would things be different if we had embraced her from the start? If she had felt the full strength of the pack behind her?"

Xavier stepped forward. "You and I will find her, Nereus."

"No." Nereus shook his head, his eyes blazing. "Wewill find her. All of us. Together. Because despite our failings as a pack, she is one of us. Human or not, she is Seafang. And Seafangs protect their own."

He returned to the Stone of Assembly, drawing himself to his full height. The muscles in his arms flexed as he gestured toward the horizon.

"Out there, a creature thinks she can steal what belongs to us. She believes we are divided, weakened by our prejudices." His voice lowered to a dangerous rumble. "Let's show her how wrong she is."

The silence that followed felt electric. The entire group stood motionless, the only sound the rhythmic crashing of waves.

"Who stands with me?" Nereus challenged. "Who will bring our Luna home?"

The response came not as individual voices but as a unified roar. Every member of his core pack—from the youngest to the eldest, from the most skeptical to his most loyal—stepped forward as one.

"For the Luna!" Xavier bellowed, and the cry was taken up by every throat.

"FOR THE LUNA!"

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