Karano surveyed the scene in front of her, only partially sated after ripping Angel's head off. Normally she wouldn't have resorted to such measures, but after he had a hand in helping to kidnap Hazel and try to ruin their relationship, he was a dead man. It was her first time having shifted since Hazel had bit her, and she was still struggling to control her newfound power. She'd only meant to hurt him a bit, because she wanted to savor his death, but the whole head had just popped off. Oops. Now, hunched over in the main cabin she was looking down at a woman that she didn't know, but who was clutching a bag of incense that she evidently thought might help her.

She was wrong.

Karano's hand shot forward, clutching the witch by the neck, and pulling her close to the gaping jaws of the immense hybrid. "You are the witch that tried to sever our mate link," she growled.

"I... I was paid! It was just a job!" Nazarena sobbed. "I'm not a bad person!"

"A good person would have never taken money to rip apart loving mates from one another." Karano squeezed, watching the witch's eyes bulge from her head as her air was cut off. She let out a few gasps as she turned various shades of blue and purple, and then Karano abruptly loosened her hold, so the blood rushed back to her head. With a growl, she shot forward, letting her canines extend as she latched onto the witch's carotid artery and sucked deeply from the blood flowing back to her brain like a kid with a juice pouch. It took almost no time at all before the body was twitching, and she dropped the almost lifeless witch to the floor. "I left a little for you," she told a smiling Hazel. "Should I assume you're dealing with that trash?" She pointed at José.

José was pressed up against the bulkhead at that point, and he could obviously see the writing on the wall. He made a break for the stairs using his supernatural speed, but Hazel almost lazily reached out a hand and snatched him by the leg, whipping him back into the corner with a snarl.

"You dared to try and make me yours? After I already found my mate and my love? What right, beyond your own selfishness, makes you think that is remotely acceptable?" she roared at him. "I told you when I found out the truth about mates, that I would never be with you, and you are just too full of yourself to care?"

"You should have been mine!" he screamed at her. "I made you! You're nothing without me!"

"I would still have found my mate without you, and with her I would have my love, regardless of you." Hazel placed a giant clawed hand on his chest, ripping into it and gripping his shrivelled heart. When he yelled in pain, she shoved the fingers of her other hand into his gaping mouth, yanking his lower jaw down as he gurgled out another scream. José's jaw snapped in half, and his scream turned to moans as she released it to take a hold of one of his lower canine teeth. "You." She ripped the tooth out letting the bloody root trail behind it, and causing him to squeak out a yelp. "Never." She moved to the other lower canine and yanked that out as well. "Deserved." This time it was an upper canine, that was still elongated, and was torn out with almost no effort, the bloody stump leaving a stain on the deck. "Me." She grabbed the last canine, and yanked once more, then let his sobbing body sink to the floor.

Hazel took two steps to Nazarena's twitching body, and hoisted her up, latching onto the other side of her neck, and getting nothing more than a faint whimper in reply. She drank heartily, having not had food since the previous day, and soon she was holding an empty, lifeless husk of a body. "Thanks for leaving me some!" she said to Karano. She dropped the witch in disgust and turned back to José. "I'd ask you for your last words, but I don't think you can talk too well right now." With a final growl, she leaned over and slashed her claws through his neck, cleaving his ruined head from his body, and letting it bounce across the deck, where it came to rest next to Angel's, the Santa hat still atop it.

"Mi amor," Karano purred, taking her wife in her arms. "You were magnificent."

"As were you, mi diosa. Can we go get cleaned up? I feel an overwhelming need to wash off the stench of this boat, and then I want to make sure that our mate bond is as strong as ever."

"It has never been stronger, mami. But I'll prove that to you all night if need be."

A short time later, they were in the rowboat that Karano had borrowed, and she was paddling them to shore. Behind them, the fishing boat was quickly sinking, thanks to some massive slashes and holes in the hull. They would let the fish clean up the corpses of Hazel's captors.

It was much easier to reach the shore from the boat than it had been to find the boat to begin with, and it was a nice night for the two to be out on the water. The pair even let Eowyn and Lunaera talk as they rowed so the wolves could get to know each other. Yes, they couldn't wait to go for a run when they got back home, and they were already making plans for such a thing. Based on the charcoal grey fur of her other form, Karano was assuming that Hazel's wolf would be the same color, but she wouldn't know until she saw her.

When they got to the shore, they walked a bit until they found some businesses, and then Karano pulled up the Uber app and ordered a driver. "We're heading to your mom's place, okay? We can get cleaned up and then sleep before we go home tomorrow."

"Perfect. I need a shower, and I have to find out where they sent my mom and sister. I guess that witch used magic to make them compelled go somewhere," Hazel said wearily as they sat in the back of the Uber, her head on Karano's shoulder.

"We'll find them, mami. And we'll never have to worry about them again, okay?"

"Thanks, bebé. I can't believe all this happened. I just want to get home."

"Oh, but Eliza will be sad. She had so much fun filling in for you, we may need to get another boat for her!" Karano had sent her one picture via text but pulled up more that had Hazel giggling at the sight.

"She's going to be a wild one, just like you, mi diosa. We'll have to keep an eye on her."

When they got back to the house, they both quickly gravitated to the shower. The hot water helped relax Hazel, and the steam filled the room as they clung to each other. They took their time washing, gently running hands over one another and showing their love in each caress. There was desire as well, but an acknowledgement that they needed to recover first.

With nobody else left to bother them, they had an eternity to pleasure one another, and they knew that they would take that time, gladly.

"How are you feeling bebita?" Karano asked once they were dried off and dressed in some sleepwear. There were still some older clothes from Hazel's high school days that fit them well enough for the night.

"A little better now." She'd found her phone next to that of her mother's in one of the kitchen drawers, and then charged them both, but had been able to text her sister to find out that they were safe in New York on an impromptu vacation. Not wanting to worry them, she'd just told them to have a good time, and take a lot of pictures. The house wasn't well stocked with food, but they had some popcorn and shared a bottle of wine while they snuggled in the little bed.

"Do you remember the first time we shared this bed?" Karano asked her wife with a grin.

Hazel slapped her shoulder. "Are you trying to remind me of something in particular, papi? I seem to recall worrying that we might break the bed the first time we were here!"

"Honestly, I can't believe we haven't broken the bed at home. Maybe we've just been lucky."

"Well maybe tomorrow we'll break this one before we go. But for now, I need sleep. Rocking on a smelly boat in a cage doesn't help you get much rest," Hazel pointed out.

"Get some sleep then, mi amor. I love you." Karano wrapped Hazel up in her arms, enjoying the luscious curves of her wife back in her arms. She'd never let anything like that happen again!

"Good night, mi diosa. I love you too."

Their minds finally at ease with their partner by their sides, they were finally able to fully relax and sleep.