Martha let out her breath as a grinning Roddie swept up his bride and kissed her thoroughly, to howls of approval. “Well, that went more smoothly than I was expecting.”

“You feared they would not accept her?” The flickering light of the bonfire caught the stark planes of Finn’s strong forehead and jaw as he watched the pack gather around the newly-mated pair.

“Some of the older pack members are still having a hard time getting their heads around a rattlesnake joining us.” There were some hisses mingled in with the howls, but she was fairly certain they were coming from the snakes lurking at the edges of the crowd, and were meant kindly. “But since the youngsters are busy changing the world, all us old sticks will just have to learn to change with it.”

Finn chuckled, pulling her closer against his side. “I do not think you can cast all the blame on the young, when it comes to changes.”

She snuggled into him, the coolness of his bare skin refreshing in the hot, humid night. He was wearing his formal armor again, in honor of the occasion. Given that most of the pups at the party were haring around with their butts hanging out, shifting freely between two feet and four—or none, in the case of the snakes—his bare torso wasn’t going to raise any eyebrows. Though Martha had noticed more than one woman there sneaking a glance or three at his endless pecs.

Let them admire him. Her inner coyote was smug as a cat in cream. He is ours.

“All right, all right!” Nita leaped back up onto the impromptu platform—constructed out of a couple of planks laid across some beer kegs—in front of the bonfire. “Settle down. This isn’t the only petition tonight, after all.”

Martha felt Finn’s muscles go rigid against her. “You aren’t nervous, are you?” she murmured.

From the stony blankness settling over his face, he was. Quite a few coyotes drew back from him as he walked through the crowd. Martha couldn’t entirely blame them. Finn looked more like a man contemplating a massacre than a mating.

Even standing on the beer barrels, Nita still had to tip her chin up to look him in the eye. “Who seeks to join the Ochre Rock pack?” she asked formally.

“My name is Finn.” His rasping voice carried clearly over the expectant hush. Even the crickets seemed to fall silent to hear him. “Formerly the Master Shark, and the Voice of the Pearl Empress. In days long gone, I was the King of Teeth, ruler of all the sharks of the sea.”

A little ripple went through the crowd, from those who hadn’t heard his titles before. Nita let the murmurs die down before she continued. “And what do you offer the pack, Finn? Why should we accept you?”

“I am a good hunter. I can follow my prey halfway across the world.”

“I wish he couldn’t,” Roddie called, to scattered laughter.

“I know how to fight.” The bonfire gilded the edges of Finn’s armor as he glanced at the small knot of gathered rattlesnakes. “And, more importantly, how not to fight. I know how to keep the peace, even between those who are natural enemies. These are the skills I offer to the pack.”

Nita turned to the crowd, her hands on her hips. “Well, Ochre Rock? Does he offer us enough?”

“No!” every coyote howled back gleefully.

Martha was very glad Finn had just seen Celia go through this exact same hazing, because otherwise she would have put even odds on him having a heart attack on the spot. As it was, he stiffened, every muscle knotting tight. He looked on the verge of murder—a sure sign of extreme nerves.

Nita pursed her lips. “Well then, how shall we make him prove himself?”

Celia had been challenged to demonstrate a rattlesnake’s venom by cussing out her brother. With a gleam in her eye, she’d delivered a three-minute stream of inventive invective that had blistered the alpha snake’s scaly hide and made every mother present clap hands over the ears of their offspring. Even Martha’s twin boys had been impressed.

I wonder what they’ll make him do?

“Eat a whole cow!” Martha’s grandson Manny yelled out.

“We’re trying to give him a challenge, not a snack,” Nita said, sparking more laughter. “Anything else?”

“Make him walk barefoot across the desert!”

“Clear out the cacti from Ten Acres!”

Finn’s taut shoulders eased down a bit as the suggestions kept coming, each more preposterous than the last. When someone proposed that he beat all comers in a dance-off, he caught her eye. His mouth quirked slightly.

Martha grinned back, shaking her head in response. She hadn’t put her pack up to that one.

Wouldn’t they be surprised.

“Make him wrestle all the other men,” Martha’s youngest sister suggested, her amber eyes wicked. “In mud.”

This proposal met with overwhelming feminine approval. Unfortunately, it was unanimously vetoed by the male members of the pack.

“Well, Ochre Rock, since it seems you all can’t come to agreement, it falls to me as acting alpha to set the challenge.” Nita turned back to Finn, her expression turning serious. “We have welcomed a rattlesnake into our pack today…but a shark? Our new sister Celia at least was born here, and has the desert in her blood. Now we are asked to accept someone into the pack who is as foreign to us as the sea. Someone who cannot shift and hunt with us under the full moon.”

Even though she was pretty certain Nita wouldn’t really reject Finn outright, Martha’s stomach still twisted. She made herself bite her tongue. She’d named her daughter acting alpha, and started handing over the day-to-day responsibilities of the pack. She had to trust that Nita knew what she was doing.

“That is a huge thing to ask indeed,” Nita continued. She looked every inch the strong, serious alpha. “It demands an appropriate challenge in response. So I will lay on you a task that will not be simply done once and quickly forgotten, but a service that you must perform for this pack every single day.”

Finn had gone as still as stone. Martha held her own breath.

“Finn, if you would join the Ochre Rock pack, this is what you must do.” Nita’s voice rang out in the utter silence. “Make my mother happy.”

His eyes met hers. Tears sprang into the corners of her own as the entire pack erupted into howls of approval.

“And keep her too busy to stick her nose into other people’s business!” her son Diego yelled out over the ruckus.

“I thought the challenge had to be possible,” Finn said dryly, causing a wave of fresh laughter.

“That it does. So we’ll go with just making her happy.” Nita raised her eyebrows at Finn. “Well, shark? Willing to face this challenge?”

Finn bowed his head, grave as a knight of old accepting some perilous quest. “I am.”

“Then, as acting alpha…” Nita flung her arms around his broad neck, grinning from ear to ear. “Welcome to the pack, Finn of Ochre Rock.”

Martha hung back as the other pack members surged forward, converging on Finn like a laughing, noisy tide. With every welcoming hug, every hand-shake and back-slap, the warm glow in her heart grew, until it shone brighter than the bonfire behind his towering form.

He was part of the pack. Now, he truly was her mate.

And soon she would be his too.

“I was so nervous!” Nita appeared at her side, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. “I’m sweating like a hog. You always made it look so easy to address the pack. Did I do okay?”

“You were just perfect.” Martha hugged her daughter, half-laughing, half-crying. “Oh, honey. That was perfect. You’re going to make an amazing alpha.”

“Still got a lot to learn.” Breaking the embrace, Nita snagged a beer from her passing wife. “So promise you won’t go anywhere.”

“Now, you know I can’t do that yet. Chevelon Canyon Lake is no more than a puddle for him.” Martha jerked her thumb at the quiet, rippling waters lapping at the shore beyond the bonfire. It was the biggest body of water in the pack’s territory, but it still wasn’t nearly deep enough for a megalodon. “The poor man has to take an eight hour drive just to be able to shift. I can’t ask him to do that long-term.”

Nita sighed, hunching her shoulders. “Well, guess I should be grateful you’re just considering retiring to San Diego rather than Atlantis. But I’ll miss you, Ma.”

“Don’t worry.” Martha cocked an eyebrow at her, grinning. “I promise I’ll call.”

* * *

He’d never been touched so much in his entire life. Every time he turned, there was some new relative wanting to clap him on the shoulder or squeeze his arm. He swam through a sea of smiling, upturned faces and warm hands.

I did not know I was so hungry, to be so full.

“Here, Finn.” One of Martha’s identical twin sons—Diego or Ethan, he still had a hard time telling them apart—handed him a bottle. “This calls for a toast.”

He accepted the drink, a little warily. It had become something of a game over the last few weeks for the younger men of the pack to try to find an alcoholic beverage he found palatable. He was still somewhat suspicious that the revoltingly foamy, insipid drink they’d called ‘beer’ had been some sort of elaborate practical joke.

He took a cautious sip. It was at least inoffensive. “Mildly refreshing.”

Diego, or possibly Ethan, looked around at the watching young men hopefully. “That close enough?”

“I think with two hundred bucks at stake, you’ll have to do better than that, Diego,” one of them replied. “What is it, anyway?”

“Straight bourbon.” Diego took the bottle back, looking at it mournfully. “Described as ‘mildly refreshing.’ No-one is ever going to win the bet at this rate.”

Sid, the rattlesnake alpha, had been watching from the shadows just outside the circle of coyotes. They bristled a little as he stepped forward. The young snake ignored the glares, though his tense shoulders showed that he was aware of them.

“I gather that there’s some sort of bet?” He held up a hip flask.

Diego’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t know if you should trust anything that comes from a snake’s hands, Finn.”

In answer, he took the flask. Without hesitation or a word, he raised it to his lips.

There was a long pause.

“Now that,” he said, lowering the flask again, “is a drink.”

Sid grinned, showing his fangs, as the coyotes erupted into groans and recriminations. The alpha snake held out a hand. Grumbling, the coyotes started pulling out their wallets.

“Did you really enjoy that, or is this just a shark’s sense of humor?” Diego asked Finn suspiciously as he counted out bills.

He tipped the flask upside-down. Not a drop ran out. “I will drink more to prove it, if you would like.”

Sid’s yellow eyes widened. He had slit pupils, like a cat. Much like shark shifters, many snakes had a hard time appearing fully human.

“You just drank half a flask of snakebite, and you’re asking for more?” he choked out.

“It is pleasantly bracing.” Finn handed the flask back to him. “Perhaps we could drink together again, some other time. There are matters I would discuss with you.”

The young rattlesnake looked wary. “Like what?”

“Among other things,” Finn smiled, showing his teeth, “where to find discreet dentists.”

“Hate to break up all this male bonding, but my man has to start making good on his promise now.” Martha had appeared at his elbow. She tugged at his arm. “Come on, Finn. Dancing’s about to start.”

With a parting nod, he allowed her to draw him away. The heat of her hand was more intoxicating than the burn of the snakebite. He fought down an urge to pull her away from the party and into the dark woods. Much as he was enjoying the warmth and laughter of the evening…she still was not fully his mate.

Soon, he promised himself. Soon.

“What was all that about back there?” she asked him, as they headed toward the bonfire.

“Diplomacy,” he replied, smiling. “Old habits die hard.”

She nipped teasingly at his arm. “No working tonight. This is an evening for fun. Enjoy it.”

He stopped, turning her to face him. Tilting her head, he ducked to plant a slow, lingering kiss on the side of her neck. Very gently, he pressed his teeth against her warm skin, and felt her shiver from head to toe in response.

“I shall,” he breathed.

From her dark eyes and the hitch in her breath, she too was contemplating the possibilities of some private, secluded glade. Nonetheless she shook herself.

“Later,” she said firmly, taking his hand again. “Come dance with me first. No one believed me when I told them you can salsa. I want to see the looks on their faces.”

He responded by pulling her into the dance hold. Laughing, she let him spin her around, her eyes shining in the firelight.

Hand in hand, they danced the rest of the way across the clearing, to where their family waited to welcome them.

* * *

“May I cut in?”

Panting with exertion, Martha looked up—and lost her breath entirely.

The Pearl Empress, ruler of all the shifters of the sea, smiled down at her. Her towering, indigo-haired mate stood behind the sea dragon queen, face solemn but eyes gleaming.

From the startled look on Finn’s face, he hadn’t been expecting them either. He started to go down to one knee, but the Empress stopped him with a gesture.

“We’re not here on official business. Just to dance at your mating celebration.” The Empress raised her eyebrows at Martha. “If you’ll let me borrow your mate for a few minutes?”

Martha relinquished Finn to her. He still had a slightly stunned look on his face as he took his Empress’s hands. They whirled away, the Empress falling easily into step with the music.

“I am afraid I am not one for dancing,” the Empress’s mate said to her, bowing a little. “But perhaps you will walk with me?”

Martha took his offered arm. She racked her brain for how he’d introduced himself back in Atlantis, but all that she could remember was that it had been long. “Uh, I’m afraid I forgot your title.”

“Royal Consort of the Pearl Empress, Imperial Champion for the Pearl Throne, Knight-Poet of the First Water, and Firefighter for the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.” He smiled down at her. He was even taller than Finn. “But you can call me John.”

“Firefighter?” she couldn’t help asking, as they headed away from the dancers and toward the peace of the lake shore. “Really?”

He inclined his head in confirmation. “It is a long story. But if you are ever in England, I would very much like to introduce you to my comrades on Alpha Team. One of them is…somewhat akin to your Master Shark. Born to a position of power, and isolated by his unique nature. But you, I think, would not be intimidated by him.”

“I’d love to. Um, though don’t hold your breath. I’ve already had one exotic vacation this year, and England’s kind of a long way away.”

He shot her a somewhat mysterious glance, one corner of his mouth twitching up. “Perhaps it may be closer than you think.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “How did you get here tonight, John? Sea dragons don’t fly, as far as I’m aware.”

“No more than sharks do.” He glanced back at the dancers, his expression sobering. “If I may ask…is he happy here?”

“Think so.” A sudden fear seized her heart. “That’s not why the two of you are here, is it? To ask him to go back?”

John shook his head, the gold charms braided into his hair catching the firelight. “On my honor, we are not. And we would not. His days of service are done. She came to give him some gifts, that is all.”

Martha let out her breath, slowly. “Good. Just be warned, if I ever get the feeling you all are nagging at him, I’ll put a flea in your ear. And any of my kids will tell you that you don’t want that.”

“I will consider myself warned.” He chuckled. “Though we may need to ask you to berate the Sea Council. They are begging the Empress to bring back the Master Shark.”

“What?” Martha’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought the other sea lords hated him?”

“Oh yes. But at least there was only one of him.” John’s white teeth gleamed against his dark skin, his smile rather predatory for all that it wasn’t as sharp-edged as Finn’s. “Now there are five. The Empress reinstated the Council of Teeth, giving them all official positions as part of the Sea Council.”

Martha smirked. “Five Shark Lords instead of one Master Shark. Sounds like a fair trade to me. Though I’d have liked to have seen the sea lords’ faces when she announced it.”

“I am surprised you did not hear the screams from here.” He gazed out at the reflection of the moon in the lake. “My Empress wished to speak with your mate…but I came to speak with you. I would ask you for a favor, if you would permit it.”

Martha blinked at him. She couldn’t imagine this strapping young man needing anything from her. “What kind of favor?”

“I am the Imperial Champion, and my greatest and foremost duty is to protect my mate.” His voice softened, his pride and love clear. “She is strong—stronger than even she knows—but even the strongest leader sometimes needs guidance from those older and richer in experience. She would never disturb the peace that he has earned…but I would ask you to visit Atlantis, from time to time. For her sake.”

“That we’ll do, and gladly.” Martha smiled up at him. “It’ll take us a little while to find the balance that works, how we’re going to live our lives from now on. I’ve still got my hands too tight on the reins here to let go easy. But if a Master Shark can learn to step back and let others have their turn driving, I guess an old coyote can do the same. You’ll be seeing us in Atlantis, never fear.”

He bowed to her, like a knight from a fairytale. “We will be honored.”

“Ready to go, John?” The Empress walked toward them, Finn at her side. He had a slightly strange look on his face, as if he was trying to process something. There was a black pearl around his neck, strung on a silver chain, that hadn’t been there before.

Martha went to her mate, taking his hand. “All okay?”

He nodded at her, but it was the Empress he addressed. “I will think on it. Expect to hear from me soon.”

The Empress touched the pearl at his throat. “You know how to reach me. Thank you, Master—that is, Finn.”

The pair waded into the lake. A wave of displaced water surged over the shore as they shifted, their human shapes blurring into the impossibly large, sinuous forms of sea dragons.

The Empress was black as the night, every scale shining like the pearl around Finn’s neck; John, a deep, rich indigo, the exact shade of his hair in human form. The water closed over their jeweled backs.

“What did she want to give you?” Martha asked Finn, as they watched the V-shaped ripples head toward the center of the lake. “That pearl?”

He nodded, touching it. “It is for scrying. I used to have a similar one, when I was the Voice of the Empress. It will allow me to speak to her, when I wish, using the surface of a pool of water.”

“Sounds handy. And what’s this thing you told her you’d think about?”

He hesitated. “She…told me some news. The Pearl Empire will have a new heir, this time next year.”

“Oh! They’re having a baby?”

“Yes.” His gaze tracked the distant ripples of the underwater sea dragons. “She asked if I would be the child’s champion. Godfather, I think you would call it.”

She squeezed his hand. “Sounds like quite an honor.”

“It is.” He looked down at her, his deep-set eyes shadowed. “But…it is a tie to Atlantis. I did not know whether you would approve of that.”

She nestled closer to his side. “Of course I do. It’s where you come from, Finn. I don’t want you to never see your home again.”

He kissed the top of her head. “You are my home.”

“Oh, you.” Martha narrowed her eyes. The ripples on the water had vanished, suspiciously abruptly. “Hey, where did they go? For that matter, how did they get here?”

His lips curved in a slight, mysterious smile. “Do you have your pearl?”

“Of course I do.” Martha touched the golden locket that she always wore around her neck. “Why?”

Without a further word, he waded out into the lake. Turning, he held out his hand to her.

Martha glanced back at the distant bonfire, with the silhouettes of their pack gathered around it. The party was starting to die down now, parents gathering up dozing children and carrying them off to blankets under the stars. A few other couples were quietly slipping away into the trees, hand-in-hand. Soft laughter carried on the warm night air.

Their pack was safe, and happy. For a few hours at least, they wouldn’t be missed.

Her pulse rose in anticipation as she joined Finn, the lake water lapping around her thighs. Taking her hand, he drew her deeper, until the lake lifted her off her feet and into his waiting arms.

He bore her up in the water, her back to his front, his calm, strong heartbeat echoing in her own chest. Tipping back her head, she stretched out her limbs, letting the water stream like ribbons through her spread fingers. The cloudless night was ablaze with stars. Weightless in the water, she could scarce tell where the lake ended and the sky began. She floated through eternity, wrapped in her mate’s embrace.

“Ready?” he said softly into her ear.

“For what?” she started to say, but he was already ducking them under the water. Her words were lost in bubbles, the pearl around her neck glowing as its magic took hold.

The water of the lake tasted different than the sea had; a hot, muggy June day rather than clear winter air. It was murkier too, so that she could barely see Finn’s pale form swimming beside her. She kept a tight hold of his hand as he drew her down into the depths.

And then-

She gasped in shock at the sudden salt tang in her mouth. The green-brown lake waters turned to crystal-clear turquoise. The unmistakable murmur of the open sea filled her ears as they floated up to the surface.

The instant their heads broke into air, she flung her arms around his neck, whooping with delight. She could feel him smiling against her lips as she kissed him.

“A Sea Gate?” she said, when they broke apart at last. “Why didn’t you tell me there was one in our lake?”

His deep, rasping laugh vibrated through her bones. “Because there wasn’t, until tonight. The Empress made it. The third gift she came to give us.”

She hugged him tight, tears of joy mingling with the saltwater on her cheeks. “So now the sea is always just a short swim away. We can stay with the pack, and still visit Atlantis whenever we want, and—oh, Finn.”

“Not just Atlantis.” He turned her in the water, pointing. “Look.”

An island rose out of the sea, its low peak crowned by stars. The breeze carried the faint scent of jasmine across the waves. In the distance, she could just about make out a few scattered lights, nestled above the wide, sweeping bay.

All the breath sighed out of her. “Shifting Sands?”

He kissed the side of her neck. “It seemed only appropriate.”

The slight pressure of his teeth against her skin made her toes curl in the water. “How fast can you swim?”

The answer, it turned out, was ‘astonishingly fast.’ Before she knew it, he was carrying her out of the surf. She sighed again in delight as she recognized the tiny, hidden cove with its tumbling waterfall.

The place where she’d first shown him her coyote. The place where he’d first given her his smile.

“Oh yes,” she breathed. “Here.”

The white sands still held the warm heat of day. He lay her down on them, covering her body with his own. She closed her eyes as he kissed her gently, languidly, as though they had all the time in the world.

And oh, they did, they did.

The sea murmured in soft applause as they took their time. She was intimately familiar by now with every hard plane of his body, yet awed delight still rose in her like the tide every time she touched him.

She ran her fingers over the curve of his chest, down the hollow of his spine. She traced the tracks of old scars with her tongue. So many battles, so many long hard years, and yet he had fought his way home to her arms.

He stroked her in return; the laughter-lines at the corners of her eyes, the callouses on her fingers, the stretch marks curving over her hips. She knew that he treasured every part of her, as much as she treasured every part of him. They were who they were. Neither of them would have it any other way.

She arced up into him as he nipped his way down her body. He was always so careful, so exquisitely careful, with those sharp-edged teeth. But tonight they scraped just a little harder, teasing, tormenting. She gasped as he pressed them into the soft flesh of her inner thigh, anticipation flooding her core.

“Now, Finn,” she begged, winding her legs around him, offering herself up to his hungry mouth.

But still, he didn’t bite. Oh, he claimed her with his mouth all right, until she writhed against him and screamed out his name, pleasure pounding through her louder than the waves. Yet he still didn’t bite.

Spreading her legs wider, he pulled her upright, so that she straddled his lap. She cried out in wordless satisfaction as he slid into her. Slowly, so slowly, his bared teeth clenched with the effort of holding himself back. She bit at him, near-blind with need, but he didn’t relent. He made her wait, his calloused hands hard on her hips, as he gave himself to her inch by exquisite inch.

At last, he filled her utterly. She trembled around him, held right on the brink of ecstasy, an excitement more intense than any she’d ever known singing through her veins. His shoulders were hard as iron under her hands, his breathing ragged. She knew he was a hairsbreadth away from losing all control, and just the thought of that nearly tipped her over the edge all on its own.

His eyes were just a ring of silver around deep, dark pupils. Feather-light, he kissed her lips, then worked his way down her neck. She whimpered with every touch of his mouth, clenching around him.

And still he didn’t bite.

He rested his mouth right on the junction of her neck and shoulder. “Martha,” he breathed.

“Finn.” She tipped her head back for him, giving him her throat. “My mate.”

The sharp points of his teeth pressed down. And he was in her and she was around him and at last, at last, they were one.

He was her mate, and she was his. And they would never be separated again.

* * *

“Will it leave a scar?” she asked him sleepily, much later.

His rough lips brushed tenderly against the shallow bite-mark, already scabbing over. “I think so.”

She stretched happily, watching the horizon lighten with the first rays of dawn. “Good.”

He chuckled, moving above her to claim her mouth again. *My mate,* he said softly, mind-to-mind.

Oh, his voice was beautiful in her soul. Deep and rich and strong as the sea. She would never tire of hearing the music of his true, secret self.

*My mate,* she said back, reflecting that pure, endless love.

Her stomach chose to break the moment by growling loudly. She groaned, covering her face in embarrassment, as Finn’s shoulders shook in his dry, silent laugh.

“Oh Lord. Well, that certainly brings us back to reality with a bump.” She sat up, brushing sand from her hair. “We’d better swim back home and find some breakfast.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “It occurs to me…there is an excellent buffet on the other side of the island. It would be a much shorter swim. And we did cut our vacation short by a day.”

“Oh, no, we can’t just turn up at the resort unannounced, without even a reservation.” She bit her lip, tempted despite herself. “Can we?”

“There are certain advantages to being a shark,” he said, holding out his hand. His gray eyes gleamed wickedly. “No one expects me to observe social niceties.”

Laughing, she let him pull her to her feet. Hand-in-hand, they headed for the sea, their footprints side-by-side in the white, eternally shifting sands.