“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Leo gave Devin a worried look as he started the jeep.

Devin stepped back, smiling at his little brother. “Don’t worry. I do.”

I hope. He kept the smile on his face as he waved Leo off. The truth was that his gut churned and was getting worse with every passing moment. His throat was dry, and if he thought too much, his head was going to explode. He was certain about one thing, though. Getting Leo out of here and out of the line of fire was the best thing he could do right then.

He realized very shortly after leaving the hospital that being away from Charity was a mistake. Sharks didn’t react to situations like other shifters did. There was no growling or beating against his chest like he’d heard his mammalian cousins report of. Rather, it was like vibrations. Shivers running down his spine. Gaping jaws and the need to keep moving, to go fast until there was nothing but his target in sight.

The feeling only got worse the longer he was from Charity. He had been thinking of his pack when he left the hospital. If he was arrested, all the work he’d been doing for them would crumble. And then who would help with arranging jobs? Who would help Hannah and others like her to escape from prostitution? Who would be there for them?

And the answer was simple. His brothers. The other members of the pack. He wasn’t the alpha, and with good reason. They didn’t need an alpha. They had banded together and were working together. He never was in it alone. Everything he did, he had a system of others that he worked with to accomplish. Maybe from one angle, he looked like he was in charge, but the truth of the matter was that he wasn’t. The pack would be fine without him. But him without Charity? Hopeless.

And so, he was sending Leo back to the pack to keep him out of the coming storm. If Charity’s family attacked him and got him arrested like she feared, at least he would know that he had been there for her instead of running away.

He headed for the hospital on foot, jogging. He’d had Leo drop him off a few blocks away. He used the time as he made his way to the huge building to work out what he was going to do or say to try to keep the situation from escalating. The best he could come up with was to just be quiet and ignore everything that they flung at him . . . 

Just as he reached the hospital doors, his phone rang. Devin skidded to a stop. He yanked the phone from his pocket and was surprised to see Hope’s number. His heart jumped into his throat. Why would Charity be calling him? Had Hope taken a turn for the worst?

“Charity,” he breathed when he answered. “I’ll be right there.”

There was a moment of silence, followed by a low chuckle. “Ah. You mean the hospital? Interesting. I didn’t think that you’d go back there.”

The voice was familiar. Similar to Charity’s, but with a layer of coldness that was far too unfeeling. A chill ran down Devin’s spine. He’d heard Honor speak often, with her many televised speeches against shifters. Calling for some regulation against them or blaming them for things that they had no control over.

And she had the phone that he’d left with Charity.

“Where is she?”

“My sister? She’s . . . nearby. She’s being uncooperative. I’m hoping that you’ll prove to be a bit better. She’s going to die unless you say that you attacked Hope and tried to kill her.”

“What?”

“Say it. Right now.”

“Fine!” Devin had to work to keep his voice low and calm. “Fine, if that’s what you want to hear. I attacked Hope. I wanted to undo everything you did. Happy? Now, where is she?”

Honor made a humming noise. “Yes. Yes, that will be just fine. Good. I was worried she’d ruin everything. But once I have your evidence to show the world, I’ll be cleared of all charges. They’ll think that Hope, if she has the courage to tell the truth, was just mistaken due to her trauma. And poor Charity . . . murdered by the man she foolishly fell in love with.”

No. All the air left his lungs.

“Oh, but you do have a chance to save her. She’s in Welsh Lake . . . She’s got about half an hour of oxygen left. I left you a blood trail.”

A click signaled her hanging up. Devin didn’t bother to think. He didn’t consider anything except for that Charity was going to die if he didn’t act. So, when he saw someone getting into their car, he pounced. He threw them out of the vehicle and took the car himself. His heart pounded all the way to Welsh Lake, a manmade reservoir that people often swam at despite the fact that there was an ocean only a couple miles away. The people who went to Welsh Lake feared sharks.

The sandy beach beside the lake teemed with people. Several boats were on the water, but Devin didn’t stop to think about any of them or what his presence would do. Instead, he plunged right into the water. As soon as he was deep enough, he shifted. His clothes burst from him as his form changed shape. His shark welcomed the cool embrace of the water—

But it was all wrong.

Devin struggled to move forward. The water was . . . thicker, somehow. Heavier as it pressed down on him. It felt like nails raking over his gills like he was trying to breathe through a feather pillow. He pushed himself deeper into the water, mouth gaped open. There was blood in here, muddled by the taste of bodies and thick algae. His gills flared as they tried to compensate for the heavy water. He could feel boats chopping the water along his lateral line.

He pushed that aside, concentrating on the taste of blood. There was no way of really knowing it was Charity’s, but it was the best lead he had. His tail beat the water as he skimmed the bottom of the lake. His eyes grew larger as the light grew dimmer.

Within fifteen minutes, he’d reached the end of the blood trail. He could hardly see the shape in the water, but as he bumped up against it, he knew it was human and it was alive. It was tied with rope to a cinderblock. His head swam fuzzily as his body screamed for oxygen. Bubbles escaped the figure. Was it wearing a scuba mask? He couldn’t tell.

His brain wasn’t working. He struggled to think as he circled the figure again. This had to be Charity. It had to be . . . He dove at the cinderblock. His teeth snapped as he chomped on it, but the heavy cement crumbled in his mouth. Taking hold of the rope gently in his mangled mouth, Devin turned and headed back to the surface. The distant light seemed to get dimmer the harder he swum. The water pressed down on him. His gills stopped flaring. Muscles cooled and it was all he could do to keep his tail beating . . . 

And then he was through. Cool air broke around his head. He shifted without another thought. Water bust from his lungs, then he sucked in a deep breath. The ropes caught his arms, pulling him under. He kicked hard, surfacing again, and pulled the person to the surface with him.

Charity. Her face was white, head lolling. A scuba tank was strapped to her back, but it was clear that she had run out of oxygen. He ripped off the mask and tried to buoy her up.

“Breathe,” he begged. “Breathe!”

They were a half-a-dozen yards from the shoreline. Devin rolled onto his back, cradling Charity’s unconscious form on his chest. He kicked hard, desperately trying to get her back to the shore. Nobody came to their aid. When he did get her on the beach, he saw that everybody was out of the water. They pointed, screamed, and videoed, terrified.

Devin ignored them. He laid Charity on her side and began working to expel the water from her lungs. He looked up, eyes roving through the crowd. His vision swayed and he realized that trying to survive in the fresh water as a shark had done more of a number on him than he realized.

He pointed at a pimply-faced teen in a lifeguard’s uniform. “Call 911,” he ordered. And then his mind rolled. He was vaguely aware of a familiar face in the crowd wearing a triumphant look, and then all went black.

***

Salt.

He was surrounded by salt. Devin’s eyes were closed as he lay still. Air swirled in his lungs, a rhythmic sound. He could feel his heart pounding, but his body felt . . . normal. He was surrounded by salt and water, and that was the way it was supposed to be. He was a bit light-headed, but it was nothing compared to when he had been swimming in the freshwater lake—

His eyes snapped open.

“Charity!” Water splashed all around him as he jerked to a sitting position.

He was in his home. In the bathroom. More specifically, the bathtub. It was a huge tub, custom built by his father decades ago. A couple of inches of water filled it. Seawater, with the taste of salt and sand. His head spun, but two hands latched onto his shoulders and when he looked up, he saw . . . 

“Charity.” The name came out as a breathless whisper. His arms wrapped around him and he all but pulled her into the water. He kissed her again and again just to make sure she was real.

“Stop.” Charity laughed as she pushed him away. “Crazy shark. You nearly got yourself killed.”

“You’re okay. How are you okay? You nearly drowned!”

Charity pulled away. Her arms circled his neck and she smiled at him. “You saved me.”

He gulped, holding her closer, then took a deep breath. “What happened?”

Charity’s smile faded a little. “Honor took me from the hospital. She wanted to trick me into saying something that she could use to have you arrested. When I wouldn’t say anything, she decided to go another route. She hooked me into that scuba gear and threw me into the lake. I guess she gave me the scuba stuff so that people would think that she wasn’t trying to drown me. She was going to say that you wanted me to become a shifter or something. I’m not sure. In any case, she was hoping that we’d both die down there. Me from drowning. You from being in your shark form in fresh water. But we both survived. You saved me.”

He pulled her closer, remembering the taste of her blood in the water. He shivered. “And Honor?”

“Was arrested. Hope woke up and told our parents that she shot her. She told the police. And after I was released from the hospital, I filed my accusations, too. She’s not going to be able to wriggle out of this one. She overextended, and it’s going to ensure that she never hurts anybody again.”

Devin kissed her once more to taste her life on his lips. “And the baby?”

Charity took his hand and pressed it to her belly. “The baby is fine. I’m fine. You . . . you had a close call, but you’re going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine.”

“Good.” He rocked her back and forth. His mind was still muddled, but he didn’t care. He understood well enough. Charity and their baby were both okay. That was all that mattered. He tangled his fingers into her golden hair and whispered in her ear. “I love you, Charity. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

He pulled back and looked deep into her eyes. “Marry me.”

A look of surprise was quickly displaced by happiness radiating from her face. She threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly. Devin laughed as he kissed her back. He’d take that as a yes.