I'm not sure if many of you know this, but I sell drawings full time now that uni is finished, so this week I had two really important deadlines on commissions, and I've only had time to draw and give myself a few hours to relax at the beach among the chaos. I would honestly update every day if I could, so don't think I'm updating slow because I have writer's block or I'm unmotivated etc. I've just been a lil busy ;)

Recently, life has been a surge of quite big waves, and I've just had to push past them to get to calmer water! I love you guys, I love this book, and I hope you enjoy!

- Sian

"Let's just get on with the deal," Rowan said before the werewolf's words made any effect.

The Alpha's lips curled disapprovingly. She clicked her fingers, and another female scrambled to her from the back of the room. "Shift," the Alpha demanded.

Kaerius edged closer to Rowan when the woman started to strip off her clothes. Their shoulders touched, and Rowan decided to focus on the flutter of his heart instead of awkwardly watching someone getting naked.

The woman got onto her hands and knees and started to tense. Her movements were like watching a bug shed its skin.

Rowan felt Kaerius move a little closer when the skin on the woman started to peel. Her toes curled, and her hands turned to fists. She screwed her face tightly as if she tasted something sour.

The werewolves were amused by Kaerius's horrified expression. They thought he would have seen weirder things in the depth of the ocean, but that was Kaerius's normality. Land, however, was a completely different world.

Rowan was more fascinated than disgusted, though he felt sorry for the werewolf. The shifting process looked extremely painful.

Rowan could feel Kaerius squirming next to him. When the werewolf, who had the head of a wolf and the body of a deformed human, started growling, Kaerius's hand brushed Rowan's. Rowan tried to pay attention to the strange hairless creature, but he couldn't stop thinking about the tingling on the back of his hand.

When the transformation was complete, Rowan and Kaerius found themselves looking at a disfigured wolf. The legs were too long, therefore, too bent. The back arched like a threatened cat. The head was too big for its body and had an unusually long snout.

There was one thing about the wolf that confused Rowan the most. "Why does it- she have no fur?" It was like looking at an overgrown sphynx cat with sharper teeth.

"Omegas are ugly," the Alpha said like her words were the least bit hurtful because she thought it was true.

"I think it's- she's beautiful," Rowan said, and everyone's eyes fell on the human. Even Kaerius turned and stared with a frown. "Just because she's... different doesn't make her ugly."

The Alpha frowned harder. "Fish boy, is your human okay?"

"No," Kaerius said, and it was Rowan's turn to stare at him with a frown.

"Anyway," Rowan shouted, "give us the claw, and we'll give you the poison."

"Rowan Solar, I hope you know that for us to get the poison, you have to be poisoned."

"What?" Rowan and Kaerius said in unison.

"Well, your veins will get infected. We can take it from your blood. Thalassic Mortal poison only works on humans, after all."

Rowan turned to Kaerius. His skin hurt from the simple thought of having the poison rushing around his body. "There has to be another way."

"Sorry Solar, this is the only way. You have the antidote. We saw it in your bag."

Kaerius felt Rowan's nerves. Having to intentionally scratch the human was somewhat troubling.

"I get that this is a deal and all," Rowan said, "but you want me to intentionally paralyse myself in a den of werewolves after you've established that Kaerius can't defend himself. I don't trust this."

"Solar, you're here because you want to remove your bond. How desperate are you?"

"Not desperate enough to play with my life like that."

Kaerius and the Alpha made eye contact. Kaerius shifted awkwardly on his feet. The guilt within him twanged sharp and painful. Rowan thought it was because Kaerius had to scratch him. If only Rowan knew how much danger he was really in.

The Alpha snapped her fingers, and the Omega lifted a giant paw. Her claws curled at the end and would undoubtedly rip through Rowan's skin like tissue.

The Alpha held onto the claw, and with a swift flick to the right, the Omega howled in pain. The Alpha separated the claw from the paw, and another werewolf broke the crowd to hand the Alpha a light green cloth to wrap it in. Blood soaked it instantly.

"The claw will grow back, and before you worry about how I'm treating my pack, Omegas have the best claws," The Alpha said, lightly patting the werewolf's head. "I'm trusting you to give me the poison. You're trusting me to give you the claw."

"Yes, but you're not paralysed when you do it, and you have an entire pack behind you." Rowan could be gullible sometimes, but he wasn't stupid. He had to always cover his own back. In this situation, he and Kaerius shared the same spine.

"I see." The Alpha looked back to her pack. "Go," she said, keeping eye contact with one woman who didn't seem amused. Rowan guessed she was the Beta wolf. The Alpha rummaged in a box by the door. When the room emptied, she lifted something that shimmered in the light.

Rowan saw the curve of a blade. "What are you doing?" he asked when she turned and pointed the handle at Kaerius.

"If I try anything while you're under the influence of sea creature poison, your fish boyfriend can at least try to defend himself."

Rowan's cheeks reddened. "He's not my..." Rowan didn't see the point of explaining. Kaerius obviously didn't care as he reached out and took the blade. "Fine, let's do it." Rowan knew that if anything happened to him, his mother would hunt the wolves for the rest of their lives.

"Rowan," Kaerius said while slashing the blade through the air. He had never been more captivated, but his soul forced him to think about the human. The worry was all over Kaerius's face. He wasn't sure about the deal, now that Rowan had pointed out the dangers. If Kaerius were surrounded by odd furless looking creatures with massive sharp teeth, even with a weapon, he wouldn't last long.

"We have to get the claw to end the bond," Rowan said, rolling up his sleeves. "What else can we do?"

Kaerius couldn't reply, so he pulled off the leather glove. He didn't want to hurt Rowan. In fact, the thought made his stomach churn. Kaerius ignored the warning signs from his soul and rested a finger on Rowan's wrist. It was warm to the touch and tingled his skin. Every inch of Kaerius suddenly wanted to be much closer. By now, the Thalassic Mortal was getting better at ignoring it, though it felt much more painful each time he did.

In his other hand, Kaerius gripped the weapon. The Alpha stood in front of them, staring at Rowan's wrist. Rowan was trying to control his breathing. Kaerius could almost smell the tension, and it wasn't from passion, which was what his soul craved the most. Rowan was anxious and nervous and trying to stay calm.

When Kaerius stalled for too long, the Alpha pressed Kaerius's nail into Rowan's skin, poisoning him instantly.

Rowan winced, and the sound felt like Kaerius had ruined his entire future, which wasn't false.

Rowan's veins turned black almost immediately. The poison travelled up his arm, and by the time it reached his elbow, his legs buckled from underneath him. Kaerius dropped the knife to aid his fall. Rowan's head fell against Kaerius's shoulder as he was lowered to the floor.

"The blade, Kaerius, defend yourself," Rowan said before his lips refused to move, and he was left to be a motionless mound of flesh and bones on the floor of a werewolf's den.

Kaerius rested Rowan's head on his lap and picked up the weapon. He pointed it at the Alpha whose face had only changed with interest. "Hurt Rowan, you dead."

The Alpha went to Rowan's bag and pulled out the antidote. She tossed it to Kaerius who caught it and held it close to his chest. "Get poison. Now." He felt Rowan's distress. Nothing about the situation was fair. Kaerius knew how much Rowan would hate him if he told him the truth about ending the bond. The hate was something Kaerius wouldn't be able to live with, but he feared that the guilt would consume him first.

"I have to cut his wrist to collect some of his blood." The Alpha's eyes flicked to the blade. "Are you okay with that, Kaerius?" She knew how strong bonds were because she was in the process of finding her own. Kaerius pretended with all his might that he didn't care. She knew that wasn't the case. It was impossible not to spend every second thinking about a mate.

"Careful."

"I won't hurt him more than I have to, okay? Don't panic. Focus on keeping your soulmate calm. If he's not relaxed, you won't be either." The Alpha used the tip of the blade that Kaerius held to slice a small and deep cut.

Rowan whimpered quietly, and Kaerius placed his hands protectively around his chest. Rowan couldn't feel his touch, but he could feel the pain of the poison burning him on the inside.

The black blood dripped into a small bottle. Once the blood flow slowed, the Alpha pressed a tissue to the wound to soak up the rest. "Give him the cure. I have enough poison."

Kaerius injected the antidote into one of Rowan's vein, ignoring his small but brave gasps. The poison dissolved almost instantly.

"He won't be able to move for a while. You'll have to sit with him like that until you can leave. My pack and I will be in the next room if you need us. Thank you."

Kaerius watched the tall woman hurry through the storeroom. She slipped through the door and didn't return. "How long?" he asked Rowan, who showed no signs of moving.

"Soon," he breathed and looked up to meet Kaerius's purple eyes. Despite not being able to feel anything physically, Rowan found it easier to separate his own emotions from Kaerius's. The Thalassic Mortal was very concerned about him. Kaerius didn't even try to mask it in his eyes.

"It hurt?" Kaerius asked. Having Rowan's head on his lap felt nice. Kaerius would have preferred it even more if he had his tail.

"Yeah," Rowan whispered and tried not to close his eyes. He was exhausted.

Ten minutes passed until Rowan started to feel tingling in his hands and feet. Another ten minutes passed until he could try and sit up.

Kaerius watched Rowan roll onto his side and use trembling arms to pull his body off the floor. Rowan only got about a foot off the ground before he rolled back and collapsed into Kaerius. The sea creature's hands automatically coiled the human's waist to keep their bodies securely connected.

Rowan felt Kaerius's chest against the back of his head, and Kaerius's hands on his stomach. Rowan decided to lay on him for a while longer. Neither of them seemed to mind. Their souls were getting what they wanted.

"I feel it getting stronger," Rowan said, hearing his voice echo around the room. "I don't even know how to explain it properly."

Kaerius glanced down, and he understood. Since Rowan had cared for him when he was ill, Kaerius had stopped seeing him as a stranger. Rowan was very kind and helpful and would clearly do anything to make others comfortable. Kaerius started to wish that Rowan was a Thalassic Mortal. He wouldn't dream of separating a bond with someone so pure.

Rowan was human, and he wanted a normal human life. Kaerius was losing sight of what he wanted. He thought he wanted a normal sea creature life, but being on land had given him so much excitement. Kaerius was afraid that the ocean would be too bland for him when he had to return. Even though it was home, it was his comfort zone. Kaerius didn't know until now that he had a heart for adventure.

"Yes, strong," Kaerius said, holding Rowan a little tighter.