Word Count : 4152

The sound of splashing woke Harper suddenly, and she jerked upright on the gurney, her eyes immediately going to the tank where Matt lay. He was sitting up in the water, his forearms resting on the sides looking at her. She immediately rolled off the bed and went to his side, she placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face close for a kiss, when she pulled back she looked deeply into his eyes.

"I thought I lost you." Harper whispered.

"I told you I'd come back." Matt said, putting his hand over hers.

"You almost didn't." Harper replied. "Let me look at you."

Harper pressed a button to raise him in the water, and he laid back allowing her access to look at all his wounds. She gently prodded and pressed each one, measuring his response, he only grunted a few times when she pressed the deepest ones across his chest and ribs. They seemed to be healing well, the rips were completely closed, and she would probably be able to remove all the stitches tonight. There were deep bruises surrounding each claw mark, but the angry red and purple tissue from last night had mostly faded. Overall he was healing a little slower than usual, but he had a lot more injuries than he'd ever had before, so his body had a lot more work to do to heal him than it had ever had before.

"I think you're going to need to stay in here for another day. Some of these are really deep and you're not healing as fast as you normally do. What happened out there Mattie?" Harper asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were hurt so bad, you almost died, you almost bled to death before we could get you here. If Adam hadn't been with us, you wouldn't have made it! Did you know there was more than one? Did you go looking for them after you smelled them?"

"It's OK, Harp..." Matt started. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" Harper practically yelled, tears in her eyes, his answer told her the truth, he'd known there was more than one, he'd gone after them anyway after he told her he wouldn't. "Not a big fucking deal! How would you feel if it were me out there? How would you feel if it was my blood all over the sand?! Don't tell me it's not a big deal!"

"You're right, you're right." Matt soothed her. "I'm sorry I said that."

"I'm going to go get you something to eat. You need it to heal." Harper said, standing up. "I need to find some more of the healing seaweed and chop up and dump the bodies before the smell draws someone to them."

"Harp wait..." Matt tried but she was already walking out the door.

**

Adam jerked awake at the pounding on his door, it was only a little after 9 am, and he'd only had about 4 hours sleep, he groaned, pulling the pillow over his head.

Callum's voice sounded through the mind link.

Adam replied, dragging himself out of bed and going to the door, he knew they were not going to let him sleep in.

"What do you mean you saw Celie last night?" Callum demanded the second Adam opened the door.

"Come on in." Adam snarked as Callum, with Reese behind him barged into his room.

"How did you see Celie last night?" Callum asked again. "You went to bed; I was with you when you went into your room."

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk, I ran into her while she was out jogging." Adam asked, trying to be vague. He had been so tired and freaked out last night he hadn't had a chance to come up with a cover story.

"Sounds familiar." Reese remarked.

"What do you mean?" Adam said, turning to Reese suspiciously. He knew Harper had run into Reese last night, he'd heard her mention it when Matt woke up.

"I went out to get some air, just walking up the beach and thought about taking a swim, I waded out a little ways and the next thing I know Harper is yanking me back on the beach. Yelling at me and calling me an idiot for going out in the water at night. She was spouting something about sharks hunting at night." Reese said, scoffing.

"She's right." Callum said, glancing at Reese. "Sharks are a lot more dangerous at night, didn't you watch Jaws? Like the first person who got eaten was some chic swimming at night."

Adam couldn't help chuckling at the exchange as Reese narrowed his eyes at Callum.

"She was acting weird though, she seemed almost...frantic." Reese said. "She actually had some little binoculars and was looking out at the waves and then told me to keep people off the beach before she ran off."

"Wow, that's kinda weird." Callum said a little more seriously, his forehead scrunching in confusion.

"Yeah, it didn't seem like she was just out jogging." Reese said slowly. "It seemed like she was patrolling."

"There are rogues here?" Adam asked, trying to divert the conversation.

"No." Reese said. "That's what is so weird about it, and she wasn't watching the woods, she was watching the water. Rogues don't come out of the ocean and attack; she was patrolling for something else."

"Sharks." Callum said.

"No, I don't buy it, I don't think it was a shark she was worried about." Reese said.

"Had to be, what else could it have been?" Adam asked again, getting nervous and hoping not to show it. "They probably had a major shark attack around here recently that put her on edge. Anyone would be worried in that situation, no one wants something like that happening more than once."

"Adam is right." Callum agreed. "There's nothing else out there she could have been worried about, major shark attacks like that can cause serious issues, people get scared, and there are a lot of tourists around here that don't know about the danger."

"Like you." Adam said, smiling, earning a dirty look from Reese. "Probably has a major impact on tourism and the local economy."

"So Adam, how did you meet up with Celie?" Callum asked, steering the conversation back to Adam.

"Same thing. She wasn't trying to pull me out of the water though." Adam said, deciding to go with the truth up until the time Harper called. "I was just out wandering aimlessly, she jogged up and when I saw her and basically begged her to talk to me. We went back to their house and had a drink."

Callum and Reese stared at Adam blankly for a moment, then a brilliant smile broke out on Callum's face.

"So, how did it go?" Callum asked. "Did you guys work anything out? She didn't reject you again did she?"

"Kinda, but then kinda not." Adam replied reluctantly with a sigh. "She barked at me a few times, interrupted me and told me not to apologize because she heard it, and to stop giving her excuses. Then said she needed time because I can't just show up at her house out of the blue after 7 years and expect her to open her arms to me after what I did."

"That's understandable." Reese said slowly. "Is that all?"

"I left on OK terms with her." Adam said. "I was hoping we could talk more, but we were both tired, yesterday was a long ass emotional day, so I came back here and crashed. Took a long time to go to sleep, I swear the sun was coming up by the time I dropped off and you guys come and wake me up after a few hours."

"Oh, sorry man." Callum said. "Didn't realize you didn't get any sleep last night; you can crash again if you want. If you guys had a chance to talk you don't need to go stalk her at her gallery today. I'll just head over to Harper's office while you chill here."

"I don't think she's going to be there today." Adam told him, no reason to let him go over there for nothing, he knew Harper would stay close to Matt today and they had bodies to dispose of. "Celie said something about it being Harper's day off or something, she and her husband were just going to bed when I left so it was late."

"Oh." Callum said disappointed. "Did you see Harper? Talk to her at all?"

"I saw her for a minute, didn't really talk to her though. She didn't seem thrilled about me being there, told me if I hurt Celie she'll rip my heart out and eat it." Adam said with a small smile. "I'm planning on going back over there, but I want to give Celie some time to sleep in, she was at the gallery late, then went for her jog and ran into me, so she was probably as tired as I was. Why don't you guys take a look around today? There are tons of stuff to do here, one of the tourist mecca's of America, might as well enjoy it, it's not like we get vacations very often."

"Yeah, there are a few things I'd like to check out, I'd really like to try some authentic Cuban food. I've heard it's amazing, and we don't have anything like that in our area." Callum said. "Not big on laying on the beach though, it's too damn hot here for that."

"I heard that." Adam said with a sigh, he was thinking of working out in the sun today, he'd told Harper before he left he would help her get rid of the triton bodies. It made him slightly queasy to think about it, she was going to chop them up with an axe and dump them out in the ocean. He wasn't looking forward to lugging, heavy, stinking dismembered body parts through the forest. He decided to go ahead and go over there, he had a feeling Harper would be up. He decided he would focus on what he had to say to Harper. He needed to apologize to her too, and she would have a lot of influence on Celie's decision. He didn't want to pressure her or try to get her on his side to gang up on Celie, he just wanted to explain and maybe keep her from being against him.

**

Adam stood at the door nervously, he hoped he wasn't waking anyone up, it was only 10 am, and they'd had a long day yesterday, and a late night. But he also knew they had a lot to get done today, cleaning up those bodies was going to be a pain in the ass, and he had a feeling it would just be Harper and him doing it.

"Hey Adam." Harper said as she answered the door. She looked worse than he did, there were dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders were slightly slumped in exhaustion. "You look as tired as me."

"Yeah, I had trouble getting to sleep this morning, but decided to come over early, figured the sooner we take care of those bodies the better, I'm not sure how many hikers you have around here and I think leaving them out in the heat is probably a bad idea." Adam said.

"There aren't that many usually, and this is private property, but it is right next to the park and people don't pay attention to the signs, they like to walk up the canal and that's right where the bodies are." Harper said, leading him through the house. "Did you eat yet? I was about to make some breakfast, Celie won't be up for a while, I don't want her helping with the bodies, it's a little too much for her. She's always been more squeamish than me. She was never a warrior or involved in the fighting, so being around dead bodies bothers her."

"Yeah, it doesn't thrill me and I'm used to dealing with rogue bodies." Adam said, "thanks for the offer, but I grabbed something at the hotel. How's Matt doing? He was pretty tore up."

"He'll be OK." Harper glanced at him, surprised he'd asked. "He'll be stuck in his tank for another day, but he'll be able to be moving around tomorrow probably."

"Why does he have to stay in the tank?" Adam asked curiously.

"Siren's natural form is their marine form, they are not like wolves in that way, they are born in the ocean, and they heal faster and better in their natural form. I also have extra salt, minerals, and filtration in the tank, so it aids the healing." Harper explained. "I moved him to the bigger tank this morning, so he has more room and can swim around a little if he needs to, the little one is just for me to work on him if he needs me."

"I still can't believe sirens are real." Adam said, sitting at the bar in the kitchen as Harper busied herself making eggs and bacon. "Are their other species out there? Are all the mythical creatures real?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm starting to wonder now. Matt doesn't know of any either, he had no idea werewolves were real until he met me. We must have all disguised ourselves very well to be so oblivious to each other, we know in ancient times we knew of the other species, it's crazy that we lost that knowledge or truly believed we each died out."

"Can you tell me a little about them?" Adam asked. "What is the difference between sirens and tritons?"

"Sirens are more civilized, they are pretty solitary creatures, but they do have society and laws, they never have wars, they don't have specified territories, and they never attack each other. But tritons are just wild creatures, they don't talk or have any form of communication, they don't have any type of society, they will attack and eat anything, even each other. They can't take human form at will the way sirens can, the only time they can come ashore is during mating season. They never live together in groups, they are completely solitary creatures. Sirens will sometimes live in small pods, mated sirens stay with their mates, but many roam the ocean alone, choosing not to mate or waiting until they are older to mate." Harper started explaining.

"They have mates?" Adam asked, surprised.

"Not exactly like we do, not destined mates, but they have chosen mates, and they mate for life. Once a mated pair have been together for 2 years they have a bonding the way wolf mates do, but it is something that grows, it's not automatic, and it's completely voluntary. If their chosen mate turns out to be terrible, they can leave before two years and the growing bond is broken." Harper said. "Imagine how many lives would be improved if that's the way it was with wolves."

Adam shifted uncomfortably on his stool.

"I fucked up. I know that." Adam said, staring at the counter top. "But I wouldn't trade my goddess given mate for anything. I wanted her. I swear to you on my wolf, I did. I was just stupid, I was so shocked by what Reese did, and I was so worried about how he would react to finding out Celie was my mate. I should have told her that, I should have said, let's keep it quiet for a little while, so I can figure it out instead of rejecting her."

"You may not believe this, but I wasn't just being a coward, though that was a big part of it, I'll admit. I was actually trying to look out for Celie too, I was afraid of what would happen to her if I just sprang it on everyone. Charla would make her a bigger target, especially with you out of the way after Reese rejected you and basically cemented her position as Luna. She treated you like shit all those years because she was jealous of you, she knew you were everything she wasn't, and she wanted to keep Reese away from you and turn him against you, which she more than succeeded in doing. Her friend Jennifer was after me, they thought they would be Luna and beta female and rule the pack. Having Celie for my mate would have brought their attention to her unless I could protect her, and the only way I could do that was to get Reese and the guys on my side for her being my mate. Zach would have looked out for her in a heartbeat, I just needed to get Callum and Reese on board before I let everyone know. I really was going to revoke the rejection that night or the next day, I never intended to really reject her. I was just so shocked. I didn't know that day was your birthdays, so it really blindsided me to suddenly be staring at my mate the same second Reese was rejecting you." Adam tried to explain.

"Did you tell her that?" Harper asked, she was inclined to believe him, Adam had never been as cruel to them as Reese and Callum, he'd said a few things to Harper, but he'd never hit her or shoved her the way the others did. And she couldn't remember him ever being cruel to Celie, except when he rejected her. He clearly regretted his actions now, however she was not a fan of his, she still didn't like him, but she could see his sincerity.

"No, we didn't get to talk very long before you linked her that Matt was in trouble." Adam said. "I was going to, I was trying to. I'm not telling you all this to get you on my side or anything, I'm telling you because it's the truth and I want you to know, and I want to apologize to you too. I knew what they were doing to you was wrong, and I was too much of a pansy to stand up to them or try to protect you. Some beta I was, I know, but I never had anything against you Harper, I never thought you were a terrible person or loser, I was just too worried about my popularity to stand up for you. Zach was too, sort of, he hated the way they acted, and he did try to say something to them, but Reese just blew him off."

"Yeah, Zach was never mean to anyone, he never said anything horrible to me, he was just quiet." Harper said, remembering that she'd always been grateful that at least one person in the pack wasn't always on her back.

"He was so furious with us that afternoon, especially Reese over how he acted." Adam told her. "He told us we were a bunch of idiots, and he didn't care if we liked his mate or not, whoever she was he wouldn't reject her for any reason, and we were all assholes who didn't deserve mates. That was before we found out rejectors didn't get second chance mates, I guess he was on the same page with the moon goddess on that one. He stopped hanging out with us completely after they stopped looking for you and told us you guys were presumed dead."

"What happened to Zach?" Harper asked. "Did he find his mate?"

"Yeah, he did." Adam answered, smiling. "Her name is Emma, she was from the Silver Thorn pack, she's a little tiny girl with bright red hair, a ton of freckles, and she has him wrapped around her finger. They have two pups now, two little boys who look just like her. Zach is a total homebody family man, he teaches history at the high school, and coaches the pee wee football team."

Harper couldn't help but smile hearing that, Zach had been an enormous warrior, the biggest guy in the pack, and she could just imagine him being with a tiny wife and a couple of pups.

"Well, let's get going, those bodies aren't going to chop themselves up." Harper said with a sigh. "I'm going to go check on Mattie, then we can head out."

"Do you believe me?" Adam asked hesitantly.

"I believe you're sincere now." Harper answered. "But I don't know if I think you deserve a chance. You really hurt her Adam; I don't know if you will ever be able to understand how much. I was with her every day, I saw her struggle with it every day, the pain never went away for her. Seven years! It's not something a person can just forget like it never happened. She will think of it every time she looks at you for the rest of her life, she will never feel secure that you're not going to reject her again if you get in the mood."

"I would never do that!" Adam exclaimed. "Never."