Finding Their Mermaid

Cali Mann

Copyright © 2022 by Cali Mann

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

1.Maddy

2.Maddy

3.Alon

4.Maddy

5.Caspian

6.Maddy

7.Fisk

8.Maddy

9.Caspian

10.Maddy

About the Author

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Maddy

Ilooked through the open windows of the restaurant toward the beach and the ocean beyond. I felt like my whole life had been leading up to this moment. Moving to the island had been the best decision I’d ever made, and I couldn’t wait to start making friends and settling in.

“Maddy,” my sister, Tabitha, said, poking my arm across the table laden with the remains of our taco dinner. “Those guys are looking at you.”

“Where?” I found them. Three bikers stood at the bar, their leather jackets tossed over the chairs behind them. In tank tops and jeans, they were fit and muscular, and each of them had a mermaid tattoo on a shoulder. I did love me a tattooed man and hell were the pickings here better than at home. We’d only arrived on the island a few hours ago, and already things were looking up.

“Three guys just like the seer said,” Tabitha murmured.

I rolled my eyes. My adopted sister insisted on asking every fortune teller we met about her future, and they all said the same thing: she was a blank slate. What use was that? Bad enough that she gave them money to con her, but she always forced me or Mom or Dad to join her. This time I’d been roped in, and the fortune teller had said that I’d meet three men of the sea.

“And mermaid tattoos!”

“I should say hi, shouldn’t I?” I asked as I accidentally touched Tabitha’s shoulder, and she flinched. She’d gone to the beach as soon as we’d arrived and gotten sunburned. With her blonde hair and fair skin, she was doomed. I’d never been so grateful for my olive skin. “Sorry.”

She took a breath and nodded. “I’ve got my drink. Go. Say hi.”

I chuckled. Why not? I licked my lips. My libido had taken one look at them and woke the hell up. I’d come to the beach for a new life, no need to start being a coward now. I met their gazes as I walked up to the bar. They watched my every move. Leaning forward and giving them a view of my cleavage, I ordered a beer. My sister preferred frilly drinks with umbrellas, but not me. I felt braver than I had in a long time, but really what did I have to lose?

“Can I have this dance?” a voice asked in my ear.

I turned and met the blue-green eyes of one of the guys. I could get lost in the whirlpools of their swirling depths. Of the three of them, he was medium height but still towered over me. His brown hair was cut close to his head, and his strong jaw was bare. So close, he smelled of fresh air. The restaurant wasn’t really meant for dancing, with a long straight bar and crowded tables, yet I didn’t think that was going to stop this man. I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my lips. “Is there room?”

“We’ll make room,” he said, pulling me into his arms.

Pressed against his rock hard chest, I exhaled. Maybe it was the drink talking but I could spend days exploring him.

“My name’s Fisk.” He spun me in a circle and dipped me back, carefully avoiding the furniture and other patrons.

I barely caught my breath. “Maddy.”

He gestured toward the bar. “And my friends are Alon and Caspian.”

“Unusual names.” Fisk and Alon, both tall with brown hair and blue eyes, almost looked like brothers, and Caspian was built like a surfer—all blond hair and tanned skin. I motioned toward Tabitha. “That’s my sister, Tabitha.”

“Do you think she wants to dance?”

I motioned to her to come over and she shook her head.

As Fisk spun me around, I felt sorry for my sister, but it was her own fault. Only Tabitha would fall asleep on the beach as soon as we arrived and get sunburned. I sighed. I’d helped her put aloe on her burns and gotten her tacos and a drink. There wasn’t much else I could do, and I hadn’t moved to the beach to sit on the sidelines.

“So,” Fisk said, his lips against my ear. “You’re new in town?”

I smiled. “Yes, I just moved here from Wisconsin.”

A sadness flickered across his face, but he brushed it away. “Cold and miserable up there I expect?”

“For sure,” I said as he spun me around.

He laughed. His laugh was so warm and deep, it made me want to squeeze my legs together. I hadn’t had a reaction this immediate to a man in a long time.

“You guys live here?” I asked, trying to be casual. I studied the guys as we danced and chatted. Luckily I had a thing for remembering names, because theirs were different. Of course Alon looked like he could and would command any room, so I nicknamed him “bossy”. And Caspian idly sketched on a napkin, his glance straying to Fisk and I. He seemed quieter than the other two.

“Naw,” Fisk answered. “We travel around the islands on our bikes. Take odd jobs where we can get them—mostly construction.”

Of course they did. The tanned muscles my fingers were curled around spoke of hard work and fresh air. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be able to count them as my first friends on the island. I’d been adopted in Wisconsin, but I’d been old enough to remember being born at the beach. Every time winter hit, my whole being longed to return to the sunny shores.

“What do you do?” he asked, his hand stroking the side of my back just under my shirt.

Just the feel of his fingers on my skin set me on fire. There was something about him that made me want to jump his bones right there, and I was hardly the sex first type of girl—usually.

“What?” I stammered, too distracted to remember what he’d asked.

He chuckled again and I swallowed.

“What’s your job?”

“I’m a chef.”

“Oh?”

“I always wanted to return to the beach, and it’s a job you can do anywhere,” I said.

“Return?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I was born near the ocean,” I said, glancing toward the windows again. “And I always loved cooking with my adopted mom.” Annette was an amazing chef, and she had some of the best recipes.

He smiled. “You were adopted?”

I nodded. My goal had been to get back to the beach, and culinary school seemed a better bet than college like Tabitha. After all, they needed cooks all over. When a position opened up here on the island, it seemed like fate.

“Are you guys related?” I asked.

Fisk shook his head. “Naw, just friends who grew up near one another.”

“My turn,” Caspian said, cutting in. He looked like a sun god with his blond hair and sun-browned skin, and if he’d only smile, I bet he’d have all the girls that Fisk did.

Fisk let him take my hand and went over to sit next to Alon at the bar. They both leaned their backs against the bar, beers in hand, and watched us. I admitted to being a little jealous of their ease with one another. The only person I was close to like that was my sister.

“You’re very beautiful,” Caspian said, curling his finger in my dark hair.

My heart beat faster. But raising an eyebrow, I said, “Well, you aren’t too bad yourself.” I had to hold back my laughter at the redness in his cheeks. He was so cute.

“You were born on the beach?” he asked.

“Heard that, did you?”

He shrugged. I could so easily see him with a board in his hands, ready to tackle the waves. I wonder if he ever spent time on the water.

“Yeah,” I said, “I don’t remember too much of it, just the sand and the surf and the smell.”

“Smells like home.”

I laughed. “It does.”

We shared a glance of understanding. These guys lived here for a reason too. The beach was home. I leaned my head against Caspian’s shoulder and his arms squeezed around me.

A while later, Tabitha tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Maddy,” she said. “I’m going to go home.”

I stepped back from Caspian. “I’ll walk you out.”

She nodded.

“I’ll be back,” I said to the guys, and they just grinned at me.

Once we stepped outside the door, Tabitha spun around, her eyes sparkling. “Three lovers in your future? The seer was right!”

“Not this again.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Have fun, but not too much fun.”

I snorted.

She waved and climbed aboard the island trolley. It didn’t run on cables like trolleys of old, but was more like a bus. It did run up and down the street, though, and was better than walking. Tabitha would get home just fine.

I could afford to have a little fun by myself. I turned and strolled back into the bar.

Alon met me at the door, hands on his hips. He was easily a foot taller than the other guys, and they were big too. His brown hair was cut close to his head and his blue eyes were piercing. “Come walk with me,” he demanded.

“No,” I responded. Bossy and I didn’t get along on the best of days.

He scowled. “Please walk with me.”

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t know what to make of him. Fisk and Caspian had both been flirtatious, fun, but he looked at me like he was sizing up a prime piece of beef. And I didn’t know if I liked being looked at as a meal. I glanced at the other two, but they looked away. Fuck it. I was curious what his deal was.

“Okay,” I said with a shrug.

He grabbed my arm, tugging me toward the beach, and I let him pull me out onto the sand. The waves crashed, but only stars lit the sky as the moon was hidden. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.

I glanced back toward the bar, but Fisk and Caspian followed. My heartbeat calmed then. They wouldn’t let him do anything to me. I swallowed. At least I hoped they wouldn’t.

The sound of the surf was louder the closer we got. I suddenly thought about the bear spirits. Wouldn’t they be around on a night like tonight? I was being ridiculous. I didn’t believe in any of that lunacy—bear spirits, fortune tellers, any of it. I probably should have gone home with Tabitha.

Alon stopped on the very edge of the water and turned to me. His blue eyes were bright even in the dim light.

“What do you want?” I asked. It hadn’t been much of a walk, more like a drag, and I didn’t understand what was going on. “Why are we here?”

“Are you a mermaid?” he asked.

“No.” I blinked and laughed.”I mean my mom used to call me one since I could swim so well . . .”

He glared at his friends over my shoulder. “I told you.”

“She might not know,” Fisk said. “She hasn’t lived near water for a long time.”

I stared at them. They were just as crazy as my sister. “Mermaids aren’t real.”

Alon scooped me up, and I fought against him.

“Put me down!”

But he carried me into the surf and dropped me in. I fell, landing on my ass in the sand, and the waves washed over me. They were cool and salty. It wasn’t deep enough that I needed to swim, but I came up sputtering. My shirt and shorts were soaked, including my phone which I’d tucked in a back pocket. Crap.

“What the hell did you do that for?” I looked back and forth among the guys, but they didn’t say anything. They just looked disappointed. Had they really expected me to sprout fins and swim away?

With a groan, I got to my feet and trudged back toward the shore. “Well, I don’t appreciate being dunked.”

“See,” Alon said, stomping up next to me. “Just a human.”

I swung around and shoved him. He was like a rock, solid and immobile. He didn’t even have the decency to slide in the wet sand. “Of course I’m human.”

Fisk and Caspian didn’t say anything as I passed them. We’d had fun, but there’d be other guys. These ones were nuts.

Maddy

After the dunking, I didn’t think I’d see the bikers again. A few weeks after I met them in the bar, my life got upended again as my sister decided to move in with her boyfriends. She’d taken a job at The Three Bears cafe and somehow had seduced the three owners. Well, if anyone could, it’d be Tabitha.

The beach house we’d rented felt too big with just me knocking around in it, so I’d decided to move to an efficiency apartment instead. After all, there were no bad views on the island. I’d called one of the task helper services, and who’d shown up at my door but Fisk.

I was covered in dust and up to my eyeballs in boxes, and he stood in my doorway, grinning at me. In cutoff shorts and a t-shirt, he looked even sexier than I remembered. I idly wondered if my bed was still made. “What are you doing here?”

He ran a hand through his short hair. “I told you we did odd jobs as we got them. I’m from the service.”

“Where’s bos . . . Alon and Caspian?”

He grinned. “You only asked for one mover.”

“Oh.” I shook myself. I’d hired him for a job, that’s all. Not like they’d even taken my number that night, or even looked for me afterwards. It’d been weeks. “You brought a truck?”

Fisk pointed to the self-service delivery truck outside.

“Great.” I licked my lips. “Well, everything’s packed up down here, you can start carrying the boxes out.”

“Sure thing,” he said, grabbing the nearest box and heading out the door.

I watched his ass as he walked away and I wiped the sweat from my brow. I’d been pissed at Alon for my dunking, and all his nonsense about mermaids, but I’d hoped I’d hear from Caspian or Fisk. They both seemed like good guys and the island had been lonelier than I’d expected.

I took a breath and turned back to my work. But my eyes strayed to Fisk and his hot body and I wondered if he’d stick around afterwards. We finished loading the truck, and I scowled at the mess that still remained. I had a lot more work here before I could even begin working on the new place and it was already noon.

Fisk leaned against the doorframe, waiting for instructions. “Why are you leaving this place anyway? It’s pretty nice.”

“My sister was staying with me,” I said. “But she moved in with her boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends?” he asked.

“Yeah, the guys who run The Three Bears cafe,” I said. “But the space is too big for me all alone.”

“No roommates?”

“I don’t want to live with just anyone. Besides, I’ve only been here a little while, and to be honest, I haven’t made many friends.”

“And a bad roommate is worse than living alone.” He gave a small smile.

“You have some experience with that?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ve lived with some real assholes.”

I snorted. “Why don’t we grab some lunch and you can tell me all about it? The rest of this will wait.”

“Sounds good,” he said.

“Let me clean up a bit and we’ll go down to the boardwalk and find something.”

He nodded.

It didn’t take me long to rinse off and pull a t-shirt and shorts on. I put my swimsuit underneath, because after a morning of work it’d be great to take a dip. Fisk and I strolled along the boardwalk and picked up some hotdogs at the vendor, then we took them out to the beach to eat. We sat on the warm sand and watched the waves roll along the beach. He was good company, asking questions about me and my life.

Finally, I turned to him. “Do you want to explain the mermaid thing?”

“Not really.” He looked away, and then back to me. “But I’ll try.”

I waited.

“My friends and I come from the same clan, the same group of families who have lived together for a long time.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like a commune?”

He laughed. “Kind of. We have a problem. There haven’t been any new children to the families in many years.”

“Infertility?” This was getting stranger and stranger.

Fisk nodded. “Yeah, and we went to a seer, a fortune teller.”

I rolled my eyes. They were as bad as Tabitha. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“She said the only way to break the curse was for us—Caspian, Alon, and I—to marry a mermaid.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “None of that is real. How could you be taken in by a fortune teller like that?”

He shrugged. “We’re desperate, I guess. I mean, Caspian has five sisters who are married and ready for babies, and . . . nothing.”

“So why did you think I was this mermaid?” I humored him, because what else did you do with crazy people? And I did feel for the sisters. Although, there were medical treatments and adoptions. There were tons of children in need.

Fisk slid his hand over mine and met my eyes. “Because we are attracted to you . . . I mean, I’m attracted to you.”

I licked my lips as that fire roared up inside me again. I couldn’t argue with that. These guys ignited something in me too.

He leaned over and kissed me, and I was pulled into a whirlpool. My thoughts fled, and I allowed myself to sink into the sensation. The rest of the beach and the people disappeared and it was just me and him for a brief moment.

Fisk broke the kiss and gazed into my eyes. “I really hoped you were the one.”

I swatted him in the chest. “So because I’m not a magical mermaid, you can’t even see me?”

He got a wicked look in his eye. Jumping to his feet, he yanked off his shirt and then scooped me up from the sand.

“Whoa!” I squealed as he rushed us into the waves and dunked me again. As expected, I didn’t turn into a mermaid, but I did surface annoyed. I stood in the shallow water.

“I wore my swimsuit,” I said, yanking off my wet clothes, “if you’d only given me a minute.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I just wanted to see you strip?”

Heat warmed my core, but I tried to ignore it. I tossed my clothes on the beach and dived for deeper water. Fisk followed me. We laughed and played in the water for a bit before we needed to head in and finish our work. This time, I gave Fisk my number before he left. “In case you ever get tired of hunting for your mermaid.”

I settled into my new apartment over the next few days, and was glad I’d chosen it. I still had a great view from my balcony, and the bar next door had live music most nights. I’d eat dinner outside with a gorgeous view and get a concert.

One night, I sat out watching the waves rolling beneath me and the moon glowing low in the sky. I’d thought I’d have more friends, having been here for a while, but the islanders were an isolated group. I hung out with Tabitha and her guys sometimes, but I didn’t enjoy feeling like a fifth wheel. I took a sip of my wine and swirled my fork in my spaghetti. Loneliness. That’s why I was sitting out here on my night off, drinking too much and playing with my food. Maybe I should take some lessons—surfing or snorkeling. I wanted to spend more time in the water.

And I was back to thinking about the bikers. I shouldn’t. They’d been rude and mean, and I should just forget them. Like dumping me in the sea was going to somehow turn me into a mermaid. Idiots. Or was I an idiot for even thinking about them? Of course I’d had fun with Fisk that day, but he hadn’t called. Not that I expected him to.

At that moment, I heard a roar of motorcycles down below and looked down to see the same three guys pull up to the parking lot beside my building. There was no mistaking those mermaid tattoos nor the muscles they were drawn on. Yum. I remembered the feel of Fisk’s fingers on my back and Caspian curling his in my hair.

They climbed off their bikes and crossed to the bar across the way. Alon had pissed me off, but Fisk and Caspian and I had been having fun. I was tired of being alone, and I wanted to have fun again. I set my glass down and headed for the door.

I blamed what I did next on the wine.

The bar was pretty calm since it was a weeknight and I found my quarry by the dartboard, beer in hand. I grabbed a drink and slid up next to them. “Hey, guys.”

Fisk spun around and gave an exaggerated shout. Then he scooped me into his arms, pulling me against his rock hard chest. “Sweetness, I never thought I’d see your beautiful brown eyes again.”

I couldn’t help laughing at his showmanship.

“Hi, Maddy,” Caspian said, but his eyes darted to Alon.

Alon just glared at me like I was an unwelcome surprise.

Caspian’s shoulders slumped and he turned away, and Alon refocused on the dartboard. Jerks. I ignored them. The band started to play, and Fisk pulled me toward the dance floor.

“Don’t mind those grumps,” he said, squeezing my waist. “I’m thrilled you found us again.”

I was too, though I didn’t say it out loud. I don’t know what pulled me to these men. Sure, they were all hot with sun-browned skin and rock hard muscles. Warmth curled in my gut just looking at them. Maybe the seer had been right and it was fate. After all, somehow my sister had found love.

But I should have more respect for myself than to go where I wasn’t wanted. At least Fisk seemed genuinely glad to see me.

Alon

“T he seer was very clear,” I said after I made my shot and turned back toward the table.

Caspian grunted as his eyes strayed toward the woman who was currently swaying in our friend’s arms. “Fisk is a jerk.”

I grimaced. “He just knows how to sweet talk a woman. You’re jealous.”

“But we are pulled toward her—all of us are,” Caspian said. “We knew that the first time we met her. And look, how could she find us as soon as we came back into town?”

“It’s a small island,” I growled, signaling the waitress for another beer.

“No,” Caspian muttered. “It’s fate.”

I shook my head. “The prophecy says that if we are to save our clan, we must mate with a mermaid.” I rubbed my shoulder, where we all had a tattoo of our mermaid, and studied the luscious curve of Maddy’s waist. She had just the kind of ass that a man could grab with two hands. I licked my lips and shoved my interest as far down as it could go. “And Maddy is very clearly a human.”

Caspian hit the table with a claw—no, a hand—and I sighed. My friend put the “crab” in crab shifter, that’s for sure, but even he knew better than to expose us in a human bar. “Maybe the seer was wrong.”

I glared. “Our clan is in trouble. I’d do anything to keep them safe.”

“We all would, Alon,” he said. “But a mate bond won’t be denied. If Maddy is the one . . .”

“She can’t be. The seer said that we have to mate with a mermaid or our clan will never have offspring again. I think that’s pretty clear.”

His hand squeezed around his beer.

“You’d do that to your sisters? Yourself?”

“No,” he muttered.

I sighed. “We’ll find her. She’s a mermaid, and she’ll save our clan. Maddy isn’t the right one.”

Caspian grunted.

Taking that for agreement, I handed him the darts. “Your turn.”

Maddy

Fisk and I danced, and then we played a few rounds of darts with the other guys. They kept the chips and beers coming, and they never seemed to get drunk. I tried to pace myself, because I wanted to remember this in the morning. But at least they didn’t mention the mermaid thing again, and they seemed to relax a bit around me. Alon still wasn’t friendly, but I didn’t think that was happening.

Fisk was flirty, and I let myself just have fun. I didn’t need three guys like my sister, or like the seer had said, anyway. I just needed one, and even a friend with benefits would be awesome. I looked in the mirror and fixed my hair where it had gotten crushed.

I was coming out of the restroom when Fisk caught my arm.

“This way,” he said with a smile, pulling me toward the deck.

I followed him, and we stepped onto the seaside planks.

Wrapping his arms around me, he pointed out at the water. The full moon hung low and shadows jumped in the waves. “Do you see them?”

“Dolphins?” I breathed. It was so beautiful. This was what I’d come to the island for—gorgeous weather and amazing views.

“Yes,” he said softly against my ear.

“They’re beautiful.”

“I missed you, Maddy,” he whispered. “We had such a good time together.”

“You’re the one who left.”

“I know.” He sighed. “ I have to go where Alon says, but I didn’t want to leave.”

I turned in his arms and met his gaze. They all had the most amazing blue-green eyes. They looked like the sea itself, just as the seer had said. “I was hoping . . .”

He leaned closer, our breath mixing. “Yes?”

I usually spoke my mind, in fact I was known for it, but this time I hesitated.

Pressing his thumb to my lips, he traced them. My nerves came alive at his touch. I was not innocent, but I felt new under his gaze as if I was just being discovered. I squeezed his shoulders, and he pulled me tighter against him. Spinning us around, he backed me up against the side of the building and pressed his lips to mine. My mouth opened, and his tongue darted inside. Warmth slid down my spine and pooled in my gut. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. Even with the cool ocean breeze, I was on fire.

His hand slid under my shirt, stroking my breast through my bra and pinching the nipple. I pressed closer to him, not even caring that the shadows were barely dark enough to hide us. When he touched me like this, there was only us.

He stroked along my leg, up under my skirt, and slid his fingers beneath my underwear. His touch on my most sensitive parts made me buck.

When he slid a finger inside, I gasped, “We’re in public.”

He chuckled, warm and low near my ear. Then he swirled his finger around my clit and I groaned.

He whispered, “I want to be inside you.”

I closed my eyes, savoring the sensations that flooded my body. Really, we’d only just met, but there was something about these guys that drew me. I couldn’t blame everything on the drink.

He kissed along my jaw, and dropped down to my cleavage. His fingers skipped along, teasing and pressing, while he waited for my answer.

All my nerves were on fire, and he stroked the flame even higher. His hard cock pressed against the side of my leg. I touched it softly with my hand, and he groaned. I had thought him more patient than me, but he wanted it as much as I did. So I said the only thing that I could. “Yes.”

He yanked off my underwear, shredding it somehow, and pressed his hardness against my sex.

I held my breath—and his shoulders—as he lifted me and slid me onto him, one slow inch at a time. When he settled deep within me, I gasped at the girth of him. Then he pressed me against the siding and began to thrust. The world exploded around me as we came together, and I couldn’t care anymore where we were.

All that mattered was that Fisk and I were here together. He washed through me like the waves, and the pressure built within me. Pulling open my shirt, he kissed my breasts.

“I’ve wanted to do this ever since that day on the beach,” he murmured.

I arched toward him, wanting him closer, wanting to be part of him. And we did, the rhythm rocking us together until we merged into a single tidepool. I’d never felt so connected to another human being. He was part of me now and I was part of him. It was a soul deep connection, and I wasn’t sure I could ever let him go.

When I came, I flew higher than I’d ever flown before and Fisk was beside me, every bit of the way. We exploded in bliss, and both cried out. Something inside me unlocked at our joining, and I knew I would never be the same.

I sighed in contentment, just being held by him, and he leaned his forehead against mine. His sea-green eyes met mine.

“My mate,” he said, a deep satisfaction in his words.

But a low snarl made us look up, and all those blissful feelings fled. Caspian and Alon were glaring at us. When they opened their mouths and began to shout, I chewed on my lip. Fisk hung his head, almost as if he was embarrassed by the beautiful love we’d just made. I narrowed my eyes at him. How could he regret that?

Fury roared through me. I turned on my heel and took off, muttering something about needing the restroom.

Caspian

“W hat the hell were you thinking?” Alon shouted.

Fisk leaned his head on his hands. His shoulders slumped.

“Give him a minute,” I said, unable to help the jealousy that coated my voice. I couldn’t believe he’d gotten his hands on her first. We were all attracted to Maddy, but we knew that she wasn’t our mate. That and our clan were the only things holding us back. When we’d tested her and determined she wasn’t a mermaid, Alon had given strict instructions not to touch her. What would make Fisk do it?

“No, I will not give him a minute!” Alon paced back and forth across the deck. His whole frame vibrated with anger.

Maddy had taken one look at our furious faces and hightailed for the ladies’ room. I couldn’t blame her.

“She’s human,” Fisk said, roughly running a hand through his hair. “She can’t be a mate.”

“Why not?” I tried to keep my tone even. Someone had to balance Alon’s fury.

“Our mate is a mermaid. The seer said so.”

“So you thought you’d just have some fun?” Alon roared. “And put our entire clan in jeopardy?”

Fisk was right, though. There was only one mate for every shifter, although sometimes small groups like ours shared a mate. But if our mate was meant to be a mermaid, then Fisk shouldn’t have mated to Maddy, no matter how much sex they had. It should have just been some fun in the moonlight. I glanced back toward the bar. Something had gone terribly wrong, and our entire quest was in jeopardy. My sisters were going to kill me. I swallowed.

We were going to die out—all of us.

Maddy

“A ssholes,” I grumbled as I walked up the steps of The Three Bears cafe the next morning.

When Fisk’s friends had freaked out about finding us on the back porch, I’d gotten out of there as fast as I could. I’d said I needed to use the restroom, but I’d run right out the front door.

How was it any of their business who their friend slept with? They made me feel like I’d done something wrong, and that wasn’t fair. I’d just enjoyed a guy’s company. Every woman had a right to that. And I liked Fisk. He was fun loving and a great lover, and exactly what I needed. Until his friends had interfered.

Tabitha waved and poured two coffees as soon as she saw me. I’d never seen her as happy as when she moved in with her three men. I admitted I was a little jealous of her joy, but I really was thrilled for her.

I slid into one of the seats nearest the window and waited.

She had tied her long blonde hair up in a high ponytail and wore a cute little sundress. Tabitha was adorable in a way I could never hope to be. My looks were darker and more Mediterranean than my adopted sister.

“So,” Tabitha said, dropping into the seat across from me. “What’s going on?”

She’d brought two amazing cinnamon rolls as well as coffee. I took one whiff of the spice and died. How was she not as big as a house working here? Feeling the gaze of the three men across the room, I chuckled. That’s why. Plenty of extracurricular activity.

“Nothing,” I muttered.

She laughed. “Oh, Maddy. I know you too well. Who is he?”

I couldn’t help the heat that warmed my cheeks. “Fine. I saw the biker guys again.”

“The ones the seer told you about?”

“You don’t believe that nonsense.”

She smiled. “You never know what’s possible.”

I humphed. “Anyway, I hung out with them at the bar across from my new apartment last night, and well, one thing led to another and Fisk and I . . .”

“Of course,” she said, sipping her coffee. “You’re meant to be.”

I held back my desire to roll my eyes. My sister was so naive. “Well, his friends were not happy with him.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to remember exactly what they’d said. “Something about mates and a seer and their clan.” I laughed. “Sounding just about as ridiculous as you and your talk of magic.”

“Mates?” she asked, glancing toward the guys at the counter.

“Yes, what does that even mean?” I took a bite of my cinnamon roll. “Are they British?”

Tabitha bit her lip. “Um . . . Maddy . . .”

I frowned at her. What had my foster sister in such a twist?

She sighed. “I have some things to explain to you, but you’re not going to like it.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because it has to do with magic.”

“Come on.” My sister had told me she was a witch recently, and I thought she was pretty much nuts—just like those fortune tellers that she liked so much—but I still loved her.

She straightened in her seat. “I told you I was a witch, but what I didn’t tell you is that my guys are shifters. They can turn into animals.”

Now I did roll my eyes.

But Tabitha continued with determination. “I am their mate. That’s what shifters call their soulmate. The person they are meant to be with forever.”

She’d been reading too much fiction, obviously, but I lived in the real world. Magic, seers, shifters—didn’t exist. “That’s crazy.”

“It’s true.” She held my gaze.

“You’re nuts.” I started to rise.

“I can show you, prove it to you,” she said. “But that’s not important now. It sounds like you are Fisk’s mate. That when you made love, you cemented a psychic connection.”

I grimaced. This was insane. My sister knew I didn’t believe any of this hocus pocus stuff. “But his friends were pissed.”

“Did they say why they were angry?”

I scratched my head. Say this was real, or even say that for some reason they believed it was real. Why had it been such a problem that I was Fisk’s mate? Oh, yeah. “Because I’m human.”

Her brow furrowed even more. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because of some dumb seer and her vision for their . . . What word had they used? ‘Clan’.”

“Oh shit.” Jace had moved closer.

“You know something about this?” Tabitha asked.

“I think your sister might have met the crab shifters.”

I almost spurted out my sip of coffee at him. “Crabs?”

He smiled. “Shifters come in all types and kinds.”

“This isn’t a sign that he gave me crabs is it?” I muttered. No thank you to sexually transmitted diseases. This was exactly why I shouldn’t have let the wine let me get carried away last night.

Jace laughed then sobered. “No, but if he’s mated with you, it does mean very bad things for their clan.”

“The crab shifters’ problems are none of our business,” the other brother, Michael, grumbled. He was huge, mean, and surly. I hadn’t understood what Tabitha saw in him, until I saw the absolute adoration in his eyes when he looked at her. That man would kill for my sister, and that was good enough for me.

“She’s my sister,” Tabitha said, echoing my thoughts.

Michael grunted.

Jace looked back and forth between them, then he shrugged. “Their clan has been cursed. They aren’t having any offspring. So they went to see a seer and asked how they could save it.”

Tabitha nodded.

I looked around. They actually believed this nonsense. But I couldn’t help asking, “How was that?”

“Three clansmen, one from each of the main families, had to mate a mermaid. The three set out immediately and have been scouring all the islands for a mermaid, but no luck. Mermaids haven’t been sighted in many years.”

“The same mermaid?” Tabitha asked.

“Yes, polyamory is quite common among shifters.”

I stood. I’d heard enough. “Mermaids? Shifters? Magic?” I shook my head. “I thought you guys were good for my sister, but all you’ve done is fill her head with nonsense.”

“Maddy, wait!” Tabitha followed behind me as I marched toward the door, but I didn’t stop, just marched out into the street. I’d even forgotten the rest of my cinnamon roll. That was too bad.

Fisk

We’d gotten work for the day on a construction site. The other clansmen wouldn’t even look at me, and I’d spent most of the night trying to think my way out of the situation. That was the problem with magic, there was rarely a rational workaround. Besides, I was the lover not the brains of this operation. That was Alon, who was giving me some serious stink eye. I just didn’t understand how I could have mated with this human. I hadn’t been abstinent since we’d been given our mission. I enjoyed sex and women. But I’d never felt a connection like I had with Maddy. Alon had told us to stay away, and I thought he was just being a party pooper.

But as soon as I’d entered her, I’d felt the mate bond snap into place.

I dragged my handkerchief from my back pocket and wiped it across my sweaty brow. I hadn’t known. How was I to know? And now I’d ruined our one chance to save our clan. Alon was talking about going to the Sea Witch and begging for her mercy, because what else were we to do? Our clan was dying out, and I’d ruined the only way to save it. I was an idiot.

Setting my hammer down on the floor, I turned toward the main building. We were working on an expansion for a prominent local restaurant. They’d brought in a new chef from the mainland and everything. But they let us use the facilities as long as we cut through the kitchen and not the dining room. I was surprised they still had so much business with all the banging going on out back, but they did.

With a sigh, I headed toward the restroom and ran into none other than the woman of the hour. Maddy. My mate. I closed my eyes. I’d ruined my clan’s entire future for this woman, and even now, my whole being wanted to move toward her. I wanted to make sure she was okay.

“Maddy . . .” I started.

“I don’t want to hear it, Fisk,” she said.

“You don’t understand.”

She glared at me. “You’re right. I don’t understand.”

“I tried to explain . . .”

“You’re shifters looking for a mermaid mate? And I’m not that?” She sighed. “Yeah, I got that. I’m not good enough for you or your friends.”

“Maddy,” I tried again. “You’re great. You’re beautiful and fun and all, but it won’t save our families.”

“’Cause you’re crabs,” she muttered. Her whole face was disbelieving.

Fuck it. I didn’t want her to go away thinking that. I didn’t even know what I could do about the mate bond, but I knew I didn’t want to hurt her. So, I shifted, dropping into crab form before her eyes.

Maddy

Istared at the spot where Fisk had been standing. One minute he was there, and then he was just gone. Running forward, I stared at the pile of clothes on the ground. How could he have just disappeared? A bit of movement caught my eye, and I blinked at the crab speed walking sideways across the tile. Crab shifter. I shook my head. No, it couldn’t be.

“Fisk?” I asked aloud, and the crab froze. I gazed at him and I swear he gazed back. I backed up a step. This couldn’t be happening. Magic, shifters—it was all just the mad ramblings of my sister, wasn’t it?

The crab moved toward me, slowly using its claws as extra legs. Its eyes were on me.

I dropped down on my ass. The tile floor was cold from the air conditioning, and no one else was around, but the crab inched closer. He was a big red fellow. If he really was Fisk, shouldn’t he be brown like Fisk’s hair? I swallowed. The crab must have just wandered in at the same time. I didn’t know how Fisk could have done the disappearing trick, but a crab shifter, really?

A naked man appeared in front of me and I gasped. He really did have muscles all over, and that cock was as big as it had felt inside of me. I swallowed. Even after what I’d just seen, I could feel the magnetism pulling us together. I had lost it and I hadn’t even been drinking.

He reached out a hand toward me, and I scooted backwards.

“Now you know,” he said.

“What’s going on here?” a male voice growled.

I looked up at Alon. He loomed over us, hands on hips. His face was dark and stormy. “You guys really are crabs?”

He didn’t answer but picked up Fisk’s clothes and shoved them at him. “Get dressed.”

Fisk took his clothes and headed for the bathroom.

I stood and grabbed Alon’s arm.

He scowled. “Yes, we’re shifters. You’re still not a mermaid, though.”

I tried to remember what Tabitha’s guys had said. The crab shifters needed a mermaid to break their curse. “You need a mermaid to save your clan.”

His gaze darkened. “Needed. Until you mated with Fisk and doomed us all.”

“Mated?”

“It’s a soul-deep connection,” Caspian said, his voice more morose than usual. “And it’s for life. Fisk will never have another mate.”

“What are you trying to save your clan from?”

“We’re barren. The whole clan can’t have any more children.” Alon slammed his fist on the counter. “We’re going to have to visit the Sea Witch.”

“No,” Fisk said, shaking his head. “All of her magic comes with a price.”

“There’s a Sea Witch?” I asked.

“We failed our quest,” Alon said. “And I don’t see any other first sons, do you?”

“Maybe my sister can help,” I said slowly. There was so much information ping ponging around my brain, I didn’t know how I’d even been able to have a coherent thought.

Alon snorted.

“She’s a witch.” I didn’t even know if I believed it, but here I was just saying it out loud.

Caspian reached out and laid his hand on my arm. “Your sister?”

I nodded.

“Would make sense to try a friendly witch first before a known evil,” Caspian mused.

“What can she do?” Fisk asked. “Mate bonds are unbreakable.”

I couldn’t believe I was saying any of this at all. “I have to be a mermaid?”

Alon scowled. “And you’re not.”

“What if I could be made one?” If magic was real, if shifters were real, then couldn’t there be a way? My sister had said she was a witch.

Caspian’s brow furrowed.

“I didn’t believe it,” I continued, “but . . . I didn’t believe you guys could turn into crabs either!” Just a few minutes ago, I had thought all this stuff was nonsense, and now I was offering to let Tabitha turn me into a mermaid? Was that even possible?

“It’ll never work,” Caspian said, hanging his head.

“Worth a try though, right?” Fisk had just a note of hope in his voice.

Caspian

After work, Maddy and I went by The Three Bears cafe to see her sister. We’d run into the bears from time to time, but we hadn’t really hung out. We were fellow shifters but crabs and bears were nothing alike. At least that’s what I thought to myself the whole ride there with Maddy pressed up against my backside, her arms wrapped around my middle. Why in the hell did I suggest riding my bike to the cafe? She felt so amazing, I understood how Fisk had trouble resisting.

When we climbed off, I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to adjust myself. I looked up to find Maddy with a raised eyebrow.

She stepped closer to me, taking my hands in hers. “If my sister can do this . . .” Her voice was a bit breathy. Maybe the ride had affected her too. “I’ll be a mate to all three of you?”

“Yes,” I choked out. “Would you hate that?”

“No,” she said, her fingers rubbing mine.

“Why are you trying to help us?” I asked. “You barely know us.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, but it feels important.” Her gaze met mine. “You feel important.”

My breath caught in my throat. Even as the first son of a clan, I had never mattered. I was the wayward artist who annoyed my father and irritated my sisters and made my mother sad. That was all. I’d thought this quest to find a mermaid would change that somehow, that the heroes of our clan might be important.

I took Maddy’s face in my hands and kissed her. She tasted of bright sunshine and dancing dolphins, and I didn’t want to stop.

“This must be one of your crabs,” a woman’s voice said, and we broke apart.

I glanced up to see a pretty blonde woman standing on the steps. She may have been pretty, but as my hard cock reminded me, I only had eyes for Maddy. Just as well because three bristling bears stood at her back. Even in human form they were intimidating.

Maddy turned. “Hey, sis.”

They walked into the cafe together, and I turned to my bike, trying to catch my breath. I had never had a woman take it away so completely with just a kiss.

“Cool bike,” one of the bears said next to me.

I nodded. “Wanna take her for a spin?”

“Sure, man,” the bear said, and I gave him my keys. Then I turned and followed after Maddy and her sister. They sat at a corner table with their heads together.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Tabitha asked. “My mentor says once we do the spell, there’s no going back.”

Maddy looked at me. “Their whole clan will die out unless they mate with a mermaid, and I’ve already mated with Fisk. This is my fault and I need to fix it.”

“Okay, we’ll meet at the beach on Saturday night.”

“It’ll work?” I asked. “Aren’t you just a baby witch?”

Tabitha smiled. “In experience only. Jenny—she’s my mentor—she says my power is very strong. I come from a long line of powerful witches.”

Maddy blinked. “I can’t believe we are talking about this stuff like it’s normal, like it’s real.”

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it. “You know it is. You saw Fisk change.”

She nodded.

Tabitha waved her hand over the cinnamon roll in front of Maddy. The spark of magic in the air made my skin itch, but the roll became a pink cupcake.

Maddy’s mouth dropped open. “It is real.”

“That’s why I want to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into,” Tabitha said. “Mermaids can shift and walk on land, but they require a lot of time in the water.”

“Will I still be able to work?” Maddy asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

She nodded. “I’m sure.”

Tabitha explained the ceremony and what we’d need, and then Maddy and I left. She was very thoughtful as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. The sun had set, and the moon hung low in the sky. It wouldn’t be full until Saturday.

“You wanna walk?” I asked. “On the beach?”

“Sure.”

We left my bike parked out front and strolled toward the beach. As soon as our feet hit the sand, I sighed in relief. We were shifters, we could travel anywhere, but too far from our native habitat felt wrong. The beach was dark and quiet. The islanders believed the bear spirits roamed, so they rarely came down in the evenings. All the creatures of the islands had felt when that curse lifted.

“How did this happen to your clan?” Maddy asked, kicking off her sandals and stepping into the water.

“We don’t know,” I said, picking up her sandals and following on the sand. The warm salty air ran over me and I breathed it in.

“Oh. Is it like a curse? LIke my sister’s bears?”

“Maybe. The Sea Witch is known to be vindictive.”

“There really is a Sea Witch?”

I nodded.

“And she hurts people . . . shifters . . . whatever?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you hold me?” she asked, and I pulled her into my arms.

I buried my nose in her hair and just breathed in her scent. Even though I knew she was human, she seemed to be a part of the sea and the beach already. I sat down on the sand and pulled her into my lap.

“You don’t have to do this, Maddy,” I said.

She turned toward me. “Don’t I?”

I sighed. “Our problems are our problems. Fisk shouldn’t have done what he did, no matter what the attraction, but you shouldn’t have to change yourself.”

“I’m your only chance now, right? Won’t your families—your sisters—be angry?”

I saw their faces in my mind’s eye, none of them happy, but I’d never want someone to force them into this kind of decision either. This would upend Maddy’s whole life, and she was too good a person. “They will be angry, but it’s not their lives, it’s yours.”

“But never to have children?”

I stroked her cheek. “You are so good, so kind. We’ll find a different way.”

She turned back toward the sea. “I want to have children,” she said. “Being adopted, I’ve always wanted to make my own family and to make sure they never felt unwanted.”

“Did your adopted parents make you feel unwanted?”

Tears glittered in her eyes. “Never. But my biological ones, they gave me up. They didn’t want me.”

I squeezed her shoulders. “I want you, Maddy.”

“If I’m a mermaid . . .”

“No, that is a decision only you can make. I want you anyway.” I turned her around and kissed her. The world spun as we connected, and I felt the threads of fate swirling around us. Maddy was the woman for me, mermaid or no. Clan be damned.

Maddy

Saturday night came faster than I ever imagined. I’d tossed it over and over in my mind, but I couldn’t say no. Their whole clan would die out because of a curse that they couldn’t control. My feelings for Fisk and Caspian had come on strong, but I couldn’t see my life without them in it now.

Tabitha and her guys met us at a quiet area of the beach, and she set up candles in a circle on the sand. I stood near to Fisk and Caspian, and Alon paced the sand beside us. Tabitha’s men lingered near the edge of the beach, looking fierce and guarding. She’d finally told me their story the other night, about how they had been cursed to spirit forms and had hunted the beach every night for trespassers. Her witch magic had saved them, taking away the curse and leaving them just bear shifters who could change at will.

Caspian dropped into the sand. He pulled out a sketchbook and was drawing. I leaned over his shoulder and watched the scene appear. “You’re really good.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I don’t often get time to work.”

“Too busy hunting mermaids,” I said with a wink.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said again. “We’ll find another way.”

“Of course she does,” Alon growled.

“No,” Fisk said, standing in front of me. “This only works if it’s Maddy’s choice. We don’t have the right to demand it of her.”

Alon scowled at us and stomped away up the beach.

Fisk took my hand and squeezed it.

“Thank you.” I smiled. “But I’ve made my choice.”

“It’s going to work,” Fisk said. “I know it.”

“We all felt a pull toward you, even Alon,” Caspain said. “He told us so. He’s just scared to show it.”

“He’s the oldest of us,” Fisk said, “and always took on the most responsibility.”

I watched Alon stride down the beach and I almost felt sorry for him. He was in charge of keeping his clansmen in order and finding the woman who would save their clan. When did he get to let his hair down and have some fun? I had had a taste of that with Tabitha—always keeping after her when we were in school, making sure she was safe.

“I’m ready,” Tabitha called.

We all gathered around her circle. The moon hung low and full in the sky and waves crashed almost silently, as if the whole world held its breath.

“Come here in the center, Maddy, and lay on the sand.”

I followed her instructions. The sand was cool against my back. I wore just my bikini, because if it somehow did work, I didn’t want to ruin any clothes. I stared up into the bowl of stars above us. I really loved this island, and like Caspian and I had said on our first meeting, it was home.

Tabitha began to dance around me, chanting and circling her arms. I could feel the energy all around us—of the ocean and the earth below us.

My eyes scanned the men standing around us and stopped on Alon. Bossy had the oddest look in his eyes, almost as if he was scared. It made me want to pull him into my arms and tell him it was going to be all better. Could Caspian have been right, and his facade was just a way of containing all his worries and responsibilities?

A sudden flash, boom, and cloud of smoke jerked me out of my thoughts and I swore. The guys’ expressions as the smoke cleared were all of the confirmation I needed. The spell hadn’t worked.

I sat up.

Tabitha looked at me sadly. “I did everything right. It should have worked.”

Caspian and Fisk crossed the line to come to me.

“It’s okay,” Fisk said. “We’ll figure out another way.”

Caspain nodded.

Alon turned on his heel and hiked up the beach. I stood to follow him. Caspian and Fisk joined me, and I put a hand out. “Stay and help Tabitha clean up. I want to talk to him alone.”

“Okay,” they said.

I hurried after Alon. It took me some fast walking to catch up with his long strides, but I did because he finally stopped.

He turned to face me, and with a scowl, muttered, “What do you want?”

“I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Of course I’m not okay. You’re mated to Fisk, and halfway to being mated to Caspian, and you’re not a mermaid. Our clan is doomed.”

“There has to be another way,” I said.

“Dig ourselves in deeper with the Sea Witch,” he sneered. “That’s a fabulous idea.”

“Hey, I tried,” I said. “I was willing to give up my whole way of life to be a mermaid for you.”

He scowled and turned away.

I glanced back down the beach. Tabitha and her bears had gone, and Fisk and Caspian were clearing up the remains of our ceremony. The beach was empty as it was most nights since the islanders still feared the bears, and Tabitha had picked a quiet cove.

Turning back to Alon, I squeezed my hands into fists. I was helping them. This wasn’t my fault. How could he make it sound like it was? Then I blinked. His shoulders were shaking. My breath caught in my throat. I reached out a hand and turned him toward me.

Alon was crying.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t even know what to say. Instead, I pushed myself forward and pressed my lips to his.

He stood frozen for a moment, then he pulled me into his arms. His mouth opened and my tongue darted inside. He lifted me up squeezing my ass.

I pressed myself against him, wanting to offer him comfort and love, wanting to offer him someone to share his burdens. The world swirled around us as I sank into the kiss. I somehow knew this was what was meant to be. We were meant to be—mermaid or no.

Alon set me down on the sand, and he kissed his way down my chest, untying the straps of my bikini. He stroked my breasts. He took a nipple in his mouth and tugged on it gently. I arched toward him, wanting more.

He stroked over my stomach and hips, tugging on the strings of my bikini bottom. He followed his hands with his mouth. He kissed over my stomach and down between my legs. When his lips touched my bare sex, I gasped. His hands slid under me and squeezed my ass.

Alon looked up at me and said huskily, “I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you.”

Then he dipped down and swirled his tongue around my clit.

I moaned and curled my fingers in the sand. Sensation rolled through me in waves and my breath caught in my throat. Pressure built, and I needed more. I needed him. I pulled on his hair, his shoulders, on whatever I could reach as he pushed me over the cliff into my first orgasm.

Then he stood, stripping off his clothes and revealing a too tanned and muscular body to be real. I licked my lips. He dropped down and gently spread my legs apart, pressing himself between them.

“Alon,” I gasped.

His sea-green eyes met mine. A fire raged in their depth that told me just how much I was wanted. I hadn’t expected that. I’d known Fisk and Caspian cared for me, but to know Alon had been harboring this secret flame seared my heart. I needed to find a way to become a mermaid for them. I couldn’t let them down.

“Are you sure?” I asked, knowing that we would mate as soon as he entered me. It was there, burning in his eyes.

“Yes,” he said roughly. “I knew you were mine the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“But your clan . . .” Why was I arguing? I could feel the length of him pressed against my entrance.

“Will have to find another way, because you belong to us.”

He thrust inside of me and I cried out. If anything, he was bigger than Fisk had been, and I felt filled completely. He squeezed my nipples and kissed my jaw as he took up the rhythm. The waves pulsed with us and the whole world seemed to sing. I reached for him, stroking shoulders, arms, and chest, anywhere that I could reach. That sense of meant-to-be hit me again and I felt the mate bond snap into place. He was mine and I was his.

“Maddy,” he cried out. We surged together toward the biggest wave of them all and came in a burst of ecstasy.

He dropped against me, warm and heated, and I stroked his back.

Fisk and Caspian approached us and dropped down next to us.

“Our mate,” Fisk said.

Alon rolled over and Caspian took his place. He kissed my sweaty face and stroked my shoulders, exploring everything that I was. My tired body roared to life at his touch, ready for more.

“Let’s make it official,” he said. Then Caspian turned me over on the sand and slid between my legs, pressing against my core. He stroked the line of my spine. “I want to draw you like this, deeply satisfied and yet needy.”

I pushed up onto all fours, trembling. The other two watched, want in their eyes. I had never felt so complete as I did in their company. I could almost feel the mate bonds singing between me and Fisk and me and Alon, and I wanted this completion with Caspian as well.

He pressed his fingers between my legs and stroked my wet sex.

I moaned for him, rocking against his touch. I was ready to come again. “Caspian.”

He chuckled low in his throat. “Our mate. I want to hear you scream.”

Then he thrust inside me and the world exploded. Caspian gripped my hips and took me hard and fast. It was just what I needed after the slower lovemaking before. The waves crashed around us as the water moved closer, and my nerves sang with sensation as he pounded me. Pushing and pulling until I lost all sense of where or who I was. And scream I did, when we hit the cliff and my third orgasm rocked through me.

When the mate bond clicked into place and I felt all three of them around me, the world seemed so right. I’d thought the moment my life had changed was when I moved here, but it wasn’t. Finding these men, connecting with them, had been my purpose all along, and I couldn’t see any other way it could have gone. We lay on the beach quietly, staring at the moon and the stars above us, our feet washed by the waves that rolled in.

“You’re our mate,” Alon said. “It couldn’t have been any other way.”

“We love you,” Fisk murmured.

“And we will never let you go.”

I smiled. I was sweaty and covered in sand, but I was so happy, surrounded by my men. I sat up, achy in all the right places, and headed for the surf. I needed to get clean before the sand seeped into places it had no right being. I strolled out until I was waist deep, then I dove into deeper water.

My tail pushed me into the depths as I sped forward. I leapt and crested the surface, like the dolphins, and waved to my men. The energy running through me told me there had been no mistake. This was who I was meant to be.

My mates stood slack-jawed on the beach as they watched their mermaid swim.

***

Thank you for reading Finding Their Mermaid. If you want to read the rest of the series, why not check out Uncursing Her Bears!

About the Author

Cali Mann is the USA Today bestselling author of the Thornbriar Academy series and . She writes paranormal romance, the sexy kind with why choose, hunky shifters, sexy vampires, and women who stand up for themselves. She learned romance by reading through her mother’s entire romance collection in her teens, so she and romance go way back. When she’s not writing, she spends her time streaming shows, playing video games, and pestering her two tuxedo cats.

Find out more at www.calimann.com.

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