Macy bit down on her scream, digging her fingers into the backs of her thighs. Pain and exhaustion saturated every cell in her body. Rhea and Helen were on either side of the bed, keeping Macy’s legs parted and bent, and Thana was hunkered at the foot of the bed. As much as it hurt, Macy had to push when instinct demanded.

“Almost there!” Thana exclaimed.

“You are doing so well,” Rhea soothed, brushing her hand over Macy’s damp hair.

Macy concentrated on her breathing; any second, she’d need to push again. Hours of labor had steadily sapped her strength. She didn’t feel human anymore; she was a mindless, baying animal.

The urge came again. She pushed, and couldn’t contain her scream this time. “Jax!”

There was a bang.

Rhea lifted her gaze toward the door. “What are you doing?”

“I will not wait out there any longer,” Jax said, moving to Macy’s side.

She looked up at him; his eyes were wide beneath a creased brow, his pupils narrow slits across their green backdrop.

“This is a female’s place, Wanderer,” Rhea said firmly.

“And this is my female,” he replied, not looking away from Macy. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “My place is at her side.”

Macy had argued that she wanted him there to begin with, but the females had been insistent.

Rhea opened her mouth to say more when another contraction hit. Macy sucked in a deep breath, reared up, and pushed.

“The youngling is coming!” Thana said.

Immense pressure filled Macy, crushing her insides. She released one more cry. Relief flooded her abruptly. She fell back against the bed, limp, and closed her eyes.

A loud, high wail filled the room. Jax tightened his grip on Macy’s shoulder.

“She is a female,” Thana declared happily.

Macy opened her eyes as Thana tied and cut the umbilical cord. Rhea wiped the baby’s face with a towel, and then the newborn was in Macy’s arms.

She stared down at her daughter’s tiny features; though the baby favored its kraken blood, she possessed some distinctly human features. Macy brushed her finger over the little nose, along the soft brows, and through the fine hairs atop her head. She moved her eyes down to the small, webbed fingers with their dainty claws. The baby’s skin was nearly the same shade as Jax’s, darkening near her waist, where her eight tentacles were drawn up in a tight bundle.

Jax sank down beside the bed, leaning over the low side rail, and gently ran the back of one finger over the baby’s cheek. “We have a child,” he said, voice filled with awe. “A daughter. She is so small…”

Macy turned her smile toward Jax. “You’re a father.”

Though the bewilderment in his expression didn’t fade, the corners of his mouth lifted.

“It is the mother’s place to name the youngling,” Rhea said. “She needs a strong name, so she will thrive.”

Macy knew the kraken took inspiration for their names from stories they’d heard through the holograms — stories from ancient Earth mythology, barely remembered in The Watch. She’d listened to a few of them with Jax and Arkon, but none of the names stood out to her.

“Jax?” she asked.

He finally pulled his gaze away from their daughter. “What is it, Macy?”

“Would you name her?”

“But it’s the female’s place,” Rhea argued.

“You thought Jax was strange before he took a human as a mate,” Macy said gently, “so why start conforming now? We do things differently.”

Rhea blew air from her siphons, though a smile tugged at her lips. “So be it.”

Jax’s eyes were back on the baby; he lightly traced her cheeks and chin with his bent knuckle. Macy lifted her up, and he carefully pressed his palm to the baby’s chest, covering it completely. He was silent for a long while, not looking away from their child. One small tentacle wrapped around his wrist.

“Sarina,” he said finally.

Macy’s breath caught, and her eyes stung. “Really?”

He nodded, and with his free hand, cupped Macy’s cheek, brushing away the first of her falling tears with the pad of his thumb. “She is birthed of land and sea, and will know the love of two peoples. She is…a new beginning. We cannot forget the past, but we can shape the future.”

Her heart expanded with love for Jax and their daughter, and she drew the baby close. Sarina began rooting, and Rhea helped Macy position the baby at her breast to feed.

Macy wrapped her arm around Jax’s head when he leaned in, turning her face to kiss him.

“You are the greatest treasure in the sea, Jax. You’ve given me more than I could ever have hoped for.”

“Anything and everything for you.” Jax looked down at Sarina and caressed her head. “Both of you.”