Finally, it was time to head back to port and unload all of the fresh crab. They had their quota, and Logan could tell Will was liable to do something drastic if they didn’t get off the boat soon. On their way back, something strange came up on the radar. A boat that wasn’t supposed to be there, that he couldn’t get an answer from that was, for all intents and purposes, invisible.

His curiosity brought him in its direction. It wasn’t much of a detour, and he thought it might be another boat stranded by bad weather, maybe someone needed help and their comms were down. As they got closer, it was clear the ship wasn’t stranded, but also that it was not supposed to be there.

It was a large, unmarked ship, all black, much bigger than his own fishing boat. There were no crab pots, but he could see a few large nets. Why would a shipping vessel be so secretive? He knew everyone around these waters, or so he’d thought.

He made a call on the radio to another crabbing boat he knew and asked if they had any idea what this ship was doing there, but they weren’t sure either. He thought about calling the Coast Guard in right away, but at the moment, the nets were up, the ship wasn’t doing anything illegal, it was just sitting there in the water waiting for something.

Logan decided to pass slowly, and make his way toward port. But he kept his eyes on the boat, and when it was nearly into the distance, he saw something that made him stop.

One of those huge nets went down, and as he watched, they lifted something huge and black and white, not fish at all, out of the water.

They were taking an orca.

Logan might be a fisherman, but despite what Will thought, he had morals. When you crab fished, you took only large males, and left the rest, to keep the population healthy. And if you ever accidentally trapped another species, you let them free. He wasn’t for the wanton destruction of the ocean, or the capture of innocent wildlife for God knows what purpose, and he was horrified as he watched the majestic whale be lifted out of the water.

He called his second in command up to take the wheel and ran downstairs to his mate.

“Will. You have to help me. They’re taking orcas.”

“What?” Will said in confusion, sitting up out of bed and rubbing his sleepy face. “What do you mean? Who’s taking them? How?”

Logan shook his head. “I don’t know. The ship is unmarked, but Will they have these giant nets and they’ve got an orca. Right now, they’re pulling it out of the water. You have to help.”

Will was appropriately horrified. He hurried to find clothing.

“How can I help?” he asked seriously.

Logan honestly wasn’t sure yet. “You know these animals. How can we help them?”

“Well, poaching is illegal, so we should call the Coast Guard. Also, you have to turn off your sonars.”

“My sonars?”

“Yeah, it confuses them. The pod will be able to escape more easily if they aren’t disrupted by the sonars.”

Logan nodded. “Meet me in the wheelhouse,” he said, and turned to rush back upstairs.

“Logan, wait! People will know. They’ll find out I’m not a wolf.”

The alpha took a deep breath, and then shook his head. “We can explain to the crew later. I need you up there with me.”

He left the stateroom in a hurry.

* * *

Will followed him up, and it was strange to climb those stairs on two feet. He got a lot of stares, and one guy yelling at him.

“Hey, who the fuck are you?!” he demanded.

Will ran right past him, straight to the wheelhouse, where Logan was guiding the boat through the water, doubling back toward the poachers.

“Any luck with the Coast Guard?” Will asked, and Logan nodded.

“They’re on their way, they said to try to slow them down if we can.”

“How are you going to do that?” Will asked, and Logan shrugged.

“Improvisation,” he admitted.

Will sat down as the boat bounced over ocean waves. He knew this was a detour for Logan, who really needed to unload his crab before they spoiled. It made him love Logan even more, knowing that the man cared enough about the beautiful whales to try to save them.

As they got closer, Will made a terrible realization.

“Oh no,” he said under his breath. “It’s Cupid.”

“Cupid?” Logan asked, and Will realized he hadn’t told his mate much about his research.

“One of the whales in our pod, the pod I was studying. A juvenile, Logan, I know this whale. We have a tracker on it.”

Logan’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Good. That might just be enough.”

Logan maneuvered as close as he could to the other ship and dropped anchor. He snatched his megaphone and walked out onto the deck.

“Hey! That’s our whale!” he called.

Several men on the boat had drawn guns, and they were pointed at Logan. Will went to stand with him, bringing his lover bravery and strength. “You’ve got this,” he whispered.

“Leave, or you both die!” One of the men with guns yelled, aiming for Will instead, but Logan was persistent.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that. That whale is ours. It has a satellite tracker on it. If you take it, we’ll be able to find it and your operation.”

The men stared at each other, speaking frantically. They were obviously trying to decide if Logan was bluffing. The discussion went on for several minutes while Cupid swung in that wretched net. In the water, he saw the rest of the pod circling, breaching the water as they, too, tried to find a solution to the disturbing situation. Orcas were incredibly intelligent animals, and Will wouldn’t be surprised to see them attempt something intricate to try to free their young podmate. He spotted Venus, and Will was sure if he had been able to listen with his usual equipment, he would have heard their clicks become rapid and filled with panic.

Will reached down and took Logan’s hand in his own. “Logan,” he whispered. “The other orcas, look.”

Cupid, stuck in his unnatural prison, became increasingly distressed with every minute the conflict went on, but Will knew that time was their only advantage. They had to draw it out as long as possible.

Logan squeezed his hand. “How long can he survive out of the water?”

It was a complicated question, but not really the right one.

“The stress could kill him first,” Will told his mate.

“You can’t do shit!” one of the poachers suddenly yelled. Logan stood his ground.

“Return the whale to the water,” he said. “He belongs to us.”

“You are a crabbing boat!” another yelled. “You don’t own any orcas!”

The poachers might have been deeply unethical, but they clearly weren’t stupid. It would take more authority than Logan possessed to stop them. Still holding onto Logan, Will held up his other hand for the megaphone. “I know what to do,” he told Logan.

Logan thrust the megaphone into his hand, and Will felt trusted. Those guns, ever present, were pointed at their heads. A normal bullet wouldn’t usually kill a wolf - but a headshot just might. Logan was putting their lives in his hands.

“He might not have any claim over these animals, but I do,” he said through the blaring horn-shaped machine, his voice distorted.

He didn’t own Cupid, but it might be the only way to make these men stop trying to pull the poor creature from the water. The net strained under Cupid’s weight, digging into his flesh. He had to convince them to let Cupid go, before the orca whale was injured.

“I’m a government researcher, and we have tracking devices on several of these orcas, including this one. His name is Cupid. If you take him, you will be found, and you will be prosecuted.”

Unlike Logan, Will spoke like a scientist. The story was just close enough to the truth that he didn’t seem like he was lying at all.

“Government?” he heard one of the men say.

As the poachers argued about what to do, poor Cupid was stuck hanging in the air in the net, crying to be free. Will’s heart ached for the animal. Orcas were one of the wildest creatures he knew, entrapment made them sick. Cupid belonged in the open ocean, unrestrained. He tried to will the Coast Guard to fly faster.

The poachers hadn’t lowered their guns, or let Cupid back into the water, as Will had hoped. The leader of the group had grabbed a megaphone of his own.

“Leave now,” the poacher demanded.

Will stood in place, bracing himself. Any moment now, the men, who were growing panicked, were going to start shooting. Will didn’t want to die, but he would go down defending this innocent life. Suddenly Logan grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him down flat on the wet, icy deck. Shots fired, ringing loudly in Will’s sensitive ears, but missed, whizzing above them.

His heart pounding, Will lay next to Logan, letting his alpha press him into the slick planks of wood. He didn’t want to die.

Just when Will thought the poachers had gotten their way, the whirr of helicopters overhead signaled the Coast Guard had come, and they ordered the poachers to lay down their weapons.

When they were sure the coast was clear, Logan and Will stood to watch the results of their efforts. Cupid was lowered back into the water, and Will sighed in relief to see him swim again, gloriously free. The young orca dove deep into the water, and Will thought he was gone, but then he leapt out of the ocean and into the sky with beautiful grace, splashing all over Logan and Will.

Will laughed in delight and fell into Logan’s arms.

“We did it,” he breathed, hugging Logan tightly. Logan hugged him back, and for a few moments everything was blissful.

Logan was very quiet, and after a minute, Will lifted his head and looked around, only to see the whole crew standing on deck, arms crossed, staring at the couple with different expressions on each of their faces: horror, disgust, anger, betrayal, confusion, curiosity.

Will opened his mouth to try to explain, but found himself speechless in front of the fishermen who had trusted him on their boat.

To his relief, Logan spoke first.

“I’m sure most of you have figured it out by now. I’m a shifter, and this is Will. He’s my mate. We hid our true nature from you because we didn’t want to scare anybody.”

“Scare? Damn right! You’re a bloody werewolf,” Aegis growled, and Will winced when he saw Oliver, the greenhorn, cowering away from them.

“We’re not dangerous,” Will tried to explain, but it was too late. Every single one of those men was suspicious of him, even hated him maybe. Logan had been right to hide their true identity.

Logan spoke in that strong, captain’s voice, and Will was relieved that his alpha could take care of this.

“We’ll unload at dock, and then you’re all free to take your money and go. You never have to come aboard Seawolf again. Now, there’s no more time to waste talking. Let’s get these crab back to dock.”

The men reluctantly did as they were ordered, but Will couldn’t shake the feeling of being stared at. They were unwelcome on Logan’s own ship. Shifters might have become mainstream, but there would always be those who believed they were dangerous and untrustworthy.

Logan took Will up to the wheelhouse, and for once the couple was able to talk as Logan steered the boat back to dock.

“Fishermen are a suspicious lot,” Logan admitted. “I haven’t met many who are friendly to our kind at the docks. That’s why I never told them. It seemed easier. Cowardly maybe, but...”

Will nodded, reaching out to squeeze Logan’s shoulder. His mate had hidden from a lot of things in his life, but he had put his life on the line to save an animal, and Will would never forget that.

“You’re not a coward,” he said, and Logan was quiet for a few minutes, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Still reeling from being shot at, Will didn’t mind.

“When we get to land, do you want to leave too?” Logan asked him when he spoke again. Will stared at him, shocked that he would even ask such a question.

“No, of course not,” he said. He loved Logan more than ever.

Logan took a deep breath, and Will could tell he was trying to spit out something difficult.

“Then… You and I should leave Alaska. Find a new place to settle down, for our baby.”

Will’s heart skipped a beat. Logan really wanted to make a life with him. He was ready to commit, to be a father.

“What about Seawolf?” he asked.

Logan shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll retire her as a fishing vessel at least.”

Will nodded. He didn’t blame Logan for being attached. The ship was beautiful, and had been his life. He didn’t want to just sell her.

“Where should we go?” Will wondered, as the idea finally set in.

“Home,” Logan said.

“New Zealand?”

The captain nodded. “Yeah,” he admitted, although there was sadness in his voice. “New Zealand. We’ll have to fly before you get too pregnant.”

Will smiled and pressed his palm to his belly thoughtfully, looking down at himself. He wasn’t even showing yet, but they both knew. Neither of them had a doubt.

“New Zealand,” he said, and it seemed sort of magical. He’d always wanted to see more of the world. He’d heard New Zealand was beautiful. Maybe they really could find a place to raise their family, there.

Logan nodded, wrapping his arm around Will. “And Will?”

“Yeah?” Will asked, cuddling up to him and enjoying it.

“I love you.”

Will gasped softly, looking up at Logan in wonder. What had changed? Where had that come from?

“I love you, too,” he admitted, and then kissed him, deep and passionate, lost in his embrace. Finally Logan pulled back, chuckling.

“I have to steer the boat, love. Wait. Look!”

He pointed, and beside the boat on either side as they headed back to the harbor were several orca whales, a whole pod of them.

“Will, is that your pod?”

Will stood, looking out, and then quickly ran out onto the deck to get a closer look.

“It’s them! It’s all of them,” he said with delight, a huge smile on his face. He was so relieved to see this family safe and happy. He felt like the intelligent animals knew what had been done for them, they were grateful in some way. Saying thank you.

He leaned over the rail and reached down into the water and Venus jumped out of it, nudging his hand with her nose. Bittersweet tears came to Will’s eyes. If only his team could have been there to see it.

The pod followed them all the way back, and Will waved goodbye to the leaping giants as they made port. The other fishermen pushed him out of the way, annoyed with him, but Logan went over and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight.

“That was incredible,” Logan said, and Will nodded, still wiping tears from his face.

“It was. Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for them.”

Logan just nodded, running his fingers through Will’s hair.

“It was never a question. I’m not as evil as you seem to think.”

The captain nuzzled at Will’s throat, and a deep shiver went through the omega. Logan was irresistible.

Will chuckled. “I never thought you were evil, just…”

“Selfish? Unethical?”

Will shook his head.

“My heart is yours, Captain.” It might be the last time he got to say that. It seemed strange that Logan wouldn’t be a Captain anymore.

To his delight, Logan gave him a handsome smile and replied, “And mine yours, my little seawolf.”