Page 74 of The Alpha's Mates

“Too deep.”

Sighing, I gave him an agitated look. “I’m a strong swimmer-”

“Not strong enough.”

“But how do I know I can make it down to where she is? How do I even know where to go? And then free her and return?”

He tilted his head with an exhausted smile. “You came here prepared for a one-way trip, did you not?”

I was about to ask how he’d known that, then remembered who I was talking to. It had been hard to think I was going to make it through both saving a Goddess and fighting my family. I’d been having these secret thoughts about what might happen once we reached the end of this trip, since we left Jessu’s village.

“If I can’t make it, how can I rescue her?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“If it were possible for me to rescue Lyas, I would have when she was attacked. It must be you. And you must do it as an act of faith.”

“An act of faith… So I have to do it on my own, knowing the bare minimum? But also knowing I’ll die?”

He nodded, his green eyes twinkling at me. His glow was illuminating enough of the area that I could see, but it wouldn’t penetrate very far below the surface.

“Am I allowed any help at all?”

“I like you.”

“Thanks,” I replied, tone dry.

“I’m going to give you a gift.”

“A…gift.”

He took a few steps forward until he was standing directly before me. I watched, frozen with fascination as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. Glancing down at myself, I looked to see if I’d grown a tail, gills, anything that would be useful. There was nothing.

“Some gift.”

His smile spread over his face. With him standing so close, I realized why he kept calling me little. He would tower over even my mates. He had to be eight, eight and a half feet tall. “Take a deep breath.”

“Huh?”

He gave me a sharp look. “Deep breath. Now.”

The power in his voice had me sucking in the requested lungful of air. Then he grabbed me under the arms and chucked me off my boat.

CHAPTER 32

Reese

Ihad to fight against gasping in outrage as salty water closed over my head. As soon as I bobbed to the surface, I sputtered in indignation. “What was that for?”

“You were taking too long.” He swept a hand up to the moon. It was still red, but the glow seemed to be fading. “If you don’t release Lyas before the end of the eclipse, Arune will find you and end this.”

That didn’t sound good. I nodded and reached down to pull off my soaked leather boots. Tossing them onto the boat, I treaded water. “Any last words of wisdom?”

“Good luck.” His voice whispered around me, but he’d already disappeared into the wind as quickly as he’d come. I couldn’t help but detect the pleading in his voice. It wasn’t hard to deduce that if both Lyas and Celinda faded away nothingwould keep Arune in check. Our world would change as we knew it and who knew what that would do to the Gods.

“Thanks for the help,” I muttered. It was back to being almost pitch black. “I’m going to die.” My words were resigned. At least my species would live if I could pull this off. That was the price, and me swimming down to free her was a one-way trip. If I’d told my mates what I suspected, they would never have allowed me to go. Our species be damned. But I didn’t want to think about my group of females, my best friend, the women in their village, living and dying without having the children they craved. Of all those we love, moving through our long lives with the knowledge that our lines ended with us. I would spare them that.

Squall’s answer to my question was ‘too deep’. He hadn’t answered how I was supposed to make it down to where he had Lyas hidden. Faith and devotion. It was what he’d said I’d need and it was all I had. “It’s now or never.” Taking a deep breath, I dove down.

My eyes stung as salt water filled them. I couldn’t see where I was going. The wavering moonlight from above was swept away as I dove deeper. Fighting against fear and claustrophobia, I forced my legs to kick, propelling me further down.

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