Chapter 8

Mila was under the water when she heard the sound of footsteps.

She had stripped down to just her under garments and sunk down into the cool water. She would have been happy to stay like that for hours.

As human as she looked on the outside, she was still an aquatic creature by nature and she had gone far too long without a proper soak. Though she’d consumed as much liquids as possible, her skin had become frail and her movements cumbersome. She could feel her pores breathing in an attempt to pull as much of the life-giving water as possible.

The water was revitalizing her in a way that a human body could never fully experience. She could feel her muscles growing stronger by the moment. Like a vampire that had just fed, she was quickly repairing the damage done to her by too much time on the surface.



The footsteps intruded into her relaxed state. She was immediately aware of the presence of people. Winnie and Dillon were back to check on her.

Deciding to herself that neither was a threat worth exiting the bath, she ignored them. Even while they moved around the space where Mila’s few belongings left were stored. Even when their voices, garbled by water pitched.

No, she couldn’t ignore that tone. There was a panic to the sound and more were answering. If something was wrong... if what was left of the humans had found them...

Mila’s opened her eyes, peering through her second lids. There were more bodies in the room. Besides Winnie’s slight form and Dillon’s lanky body standing protectively over her, there was a third person.

Ripping her daggers from their slings at her chest, she rose from the water, poised to strike. Opening her second lids to get a clear picture in front of her.

“What’s wrong?” She demanded in a voice stronger than she’d been able to produce in months.

Winnie fell back in alarm, Dillon moving to shield her from sight. The third person loomed closer, hands out in front of him. Mila recognized him. He was the big wolf that had confronted her in the woods naked.

Now that she was able to see him properly and not just his intimidating form, she had to admit to herself that he was stunning. He had a chiseled face to match his perfectly toned body. He had a jawline that could cut glass, full, sensual lips, and eyes with the laser focus of a bird of prey surrounded by dark lashes. His dark hair was appropriately messy, windswept from whatever activity he had rushed away from to come here.

“You’re okay?” Winnie squeaked.

Mila frowned, not entirely comprehending. “Of course.”

Winnie poked her head around Dillon, her face pink, eyes misty. “You looked dead!”

Mila sniffed. There was nothing in the air to signify danger. Not that it was easy to smell around the pungent odor of werewolves. They had a very terrestrial, animal scent. Like dead leaves and wet fur.

She realized she hadn’t been able to smell it at all until after her bath. So dulled had her senses become since her time away from water. She’d been as bad as a human. Well, as bad as humans used to be.

Mila slid her daggers back securely in their slings in a quick motion that seemed to startle them. Dillon and Winnie were staring at her with a strangely awed and frightened expression. As though they really didn’t know what she was.

The third man had a tick going in his rock-hard jaw. His eyes were traveling over her slowly. He was measuring her. Assessing her.

“You look recovered.” He stated in a hard voice.

Mila threw back her wet hair, feeling it snap and fall into place at her back as if she’d taken the time to style it. Indeed, she felt worlds better. At her feet, the water was very shallow now. In her preparation for a fight, she had sucked in as much of it as possible. The water had surged to the places her body most needed repair.

Now, even her grimy, tangled hair was returning to a healthy luster, expelling the dirt that had dared to encroach. She understood now just how dire her situation had been. She had needed that bath.

“I am, thank you.” She said, almost coldly.

He was looking at her with a hard expression. She couldn’t entirely read it. His eyes had moved to her chest, but she was sure that it wasn’t to admire her figure as much as observe where the knives had gone.

“If you’ll return my things, I won’t overstay my welcome. I will be able to scent the border now. I won’t cross into your territory again.” Mila reluctantly stepped from the tub.

She didn’t very much like how much she needed to tilt her head to talk to the wolves. Dillon was quite tall, easily 6’0, but the other man was taller. Even Winnie, who was so petite by comparison to the males, was taller than Mila by several inches with more ample curves. The sooner she could be away from such company, the better.

“H-hold on,” Winnie began to protest.

“You are not permitted to leave yet.” The man said, a little menace creeping into his voice.

Mila’s brows shot up. “I have no intention of stealing your prey again. I hadn’t realized that I’d wandered so close to a claimed territory.”

“That’s not the issue.” He stated.

Mila waited, but he didn’t seem like he was in any hurry to finish his thought. The blank stares of awe from Winnie and Dillon were becoming entirely too burdensome though. Mila decided that she really didn’t like this man that was forcing this to continue. Even he still hadn’t looked away from her body as though trying to figure out what it was he was seeing.

“Then what is?” Mila pressed in annoyance.

Winnie and Dillon shared a look. Winnie was the one to speak. “What exactly are you?”

Mila scowled. How could they still not know? Had it really been so long since her kind had made contact with a pack that they couldn’t even recognize the scent?

“I’m a mermaid, of course.”