The sea was relatively calm as the kraken sped along the surface. The coming sunrise had stained the water and clouds purple, and the patches of sky visible on the horizon were a blend of soft orange and pink.

Jax had seen the humans’ home from afar, and, as they neared, Macy’s name for it — The Watch — seemed increasingly fitting. He felt exposed beneath the light-crowned structure atop the cliffs. Boats bobbed beside the dock, and the dark shapes of humans walked along its length. Jax had seen many of the boats from below during his travels, but had never been close to one…not until the day of the storm, when he found Macy.

Uncertainty crept up his spine. Would they be able to help Macy in this place? Was she going to survive, would her wounds fully heal? What would the humans do if they saw a kraken?

One question, stronger and more troubling, rose above the others — would they ever be together again? If she survived, would her people let her leave?

Despite any misgivings, his path was clear; he knew what to do, knew there was only one way to be sure she was safe. He had to go with her. Had to place himself at the mercy of her people. He had to ensure her survival, even at the risk of his own.

When she agreed to go to the Facility for the first time, had Macy felt the same fear blossoming in her stomach?

He tightened his hold on her and stopped, turning to Arkon and Dracchus.

“I will go on with her from here. You two stay back,” he said.

“Nonsense,” Arkon protested. “I will go with you, Jax.”

“I am not afraid of these humans.” Dracchus’s nostrils flared as he shifted his gaze to The Watch.

“No. It is too dangerous. I will take her, and whatever happens, both of you will return to our people. They cannot stand to lose three of us at once.”

“And what of you?” Arkon’s brow was low, his eyes hard.

“For her, anything,” Jax said. The words washed over him, easing the tension in his muscles. Macy had sacrificed much — her comfort, her friends and family, her home, her freedom — since they’d met. He would do the same, and more, if it meant saving her.

Arkon clenched his jaw and forced air through his siphons. “We will not leave you. We’ll keep watch from the sea.”

“Good luck, Wanderer,” Dracchus said.

Jax nodded. “Thank you both.”

He turned away from them, ducked beneath the surface, and swam toward the dock.

The humans will help her. She will recover.

He angled himself upward as he neared the end of the dock.

They will help her.

Adjusting his hold on Macy, he pulled himself onto the end of the dock with one arm and his front tentacles. The structure floated on the surface of the water, and its swaying, combined with the sense of heaviness he always felt in the air, set him off-balance.

“What the hell is that?” someone shouted from nearby.

“Oh, shit!” A second human stumbled back, calves hitting the side of his boat. He tumbled into it with a crash.

Jax cradled Macy in his arm. He shifted her wrist and brushed his fingertip over the control there, summoning the projection. She’d shown him how to perform some of the basic functions just to pass the time one day. He knew the symbols by their shapes, rather than their meanings, and touched them in the order she’d demonstrated.

He took the mask in hand and set it aside gently as humans approached, their footsteps heavy. Their hushed voices held a mixture of fear and awe. Carefully, Jax drew back Macy’s hood, uncovering her sweat-dampened hair and looked up at the humans. “Help her. Please.”

“That’s Macy!” One of the humans turned his head and yelled over his shoulder. “Get Breckett!”

“What is that?” another human asked.

“I don’t know… A monster.”

“Help her,” Jax repeated. Even with the suit on, even after hours in the water, the unnatural heat of Macy’s body flowed into his skin.

“And it fucking speaks!”

“Get her.” They shoved one of their number forward.

“Hell no! You see that things claws? Its teeth?”

Jax growled. “She doesn’t have time for this!” He moved forward; all the humans scurried back, stumbling over one another.

“What the hell is this?” someone shouted from the far end of the dock. Heavy footfalls plodded nearer.

The crowd of humans parted and glanced back at the two newcomers. One was tall and broad-shouldered, his face covered in hair. The other was familiar to Jax.

Camrin.

“Macy!” the larger male called. He shoved through the cluster of frightened humans without hesitation and barely looked at Jax as he snatched Macy from the kraken’s arms. He smoothed her hair back. “Macy girl?”

Jax backed away slightly, spreading his hands to the side and sinking down. They were unsettled by his appearance, fearful because they did not know what he was, and he didn’t want to push them to violence.

Camrin grasped Macy’s hand and pulled it to his chest. “Macy…”

“She is sick. Infected,” Jax said.

“Infected?” one of the men asked and looked at the others. Several of the humans retreated farther.

“The wounds on her leg are infected. She was attacked by a razorback.”

“What are you?” Camrin asked, staring at Jax with wide eyes.

“She needs help, needs medicine,” Jax said, keeping his gaze on the larger male.

The big human looked up from Macy, and for the first time, he looked directly at Jax. His eyes widened, and his mouth moved beneath his thick face-hair. “Did you do this?”

“No. I would never hurt her.” Jax gestured toward the water. “She was attacked by a razorback, and it bit her leg before she killed it.”

The emotion on the man’s face didn’t diminish, and he didn’t look away.

“What…what are we going to do with this thing?” someone asked.

A different human leaned forward. “You really think it’s not the one that hurt her?”

The large man shook his head. “If he did, why would he bring her here?”

“I will not leave her,” Jax said. “I only want her to be healed.”

“We can take it to one of those old tanks. Enough of them are empty that it won’t hurt to use one.” Camrin said.

“I’m taking my daughter to Doc Rhodes. Will you go with these men if they take you to place to hold you until we figure all this out?” the large man asked. His eyes were hard, but there was an undeniable honesty in them.

This man was Macy’s father, who she’d spoken of so fondly.

“Yes. I wish none of you harm. Just…save her.”

Macy’s father nodded and turned to the others. “It brought my Macy back, so it deserves fair treatment until we get some questions answered. Understood?”

The other humans made stammering replies, shifting their attention back to Jax. Macy stirred, moaning, and opened her eyes. They were glassy with fever. “Dad?”

“Yes, Macy girl. I’m here.”

“Jax?” she asked. “Where’s Jax?”

“Who is Jax?” Camrin asked.

“I want Jax.” She shook her head back and forth, slowly.

“Shhh,” the large man soothed. “You’re sick. We’re getting you to the Doc.”

“Jax!”

Macy’s father hurried down the dock as her cries continued, her voice weak and desperate. Camrin followed immediately behind. Jax watched with his jaw clenched, his chest tight, and his stomach churning. It took all his willpower to prevent himself from calling for her, from chasing after her. She needed medicine; he wouldn’t delay that any longer.

The remaining humans stood, staring at Jax, for several moments before they finally acted. Several stepped into boats — teetering to maintain their balance, seemingly unwilling to take their eyes off the kraken — and gathered weapons. Some hefted poles with pointed, barbed tips, others knives of varying size.

“A-Alright,” one of the men said. “Just listen to what we say, and we won’t have to use these. Follow me. Everyone else is going to be behind you, just in case you try anything.”

Jax nodded, and when they made room for him, he slowly rose and moved forward. The man who’d instructed him turned reluctantly and started walking.

Their gazes were heavy on his back as the humans fell in behind him. Jax focused on keeping his movements smooth and steady, on giving them no reason to make use of their weapons. He breathed deeply and evenly and did his best to match the pace of the male in front of him, who kept glancing over his shoulder.

They moved up a stone path cut between the cliffs. Jax tilted his head back to look up at the structures built atop the stone to either side; to his left, a device jutted past the edge of the cliff. It was a large metal arm, and a thick rope hung from its tip, the hook at the end swaying in the breeze.

Behind him, the humans muttered to one another nervously. Any one of them could lunge at any moment and bury their weapon in Jax’s back. Any one of them could be his end. And he’d brought Macy into the Facility, knowing the same had been true for his people; any one of them might have killed her at any time.

As they crested the path, Jax’s nervousness was temporarily forgotten. It had always been difficult to determine the size of The Watch from the sea. The sight of it now, from within, was stunning. The structures were so varied; a few bore a vague resemblance to the Facility, but many more were constructed of some sort of stone or wood, sometimes mixing materials.

There were more humans in the pathways between the buildings. All of them stared at Jax as the male in front of him led him onto a path that doubled back toward the water — toward the large building overlooking the dock.

Two of the humans hurried forward and slid open the big doors. They escorted Jax into a huge, dimly lit room. Rows of cylindrical glass tanks, all filled with water, ran from one wall to the other. The foremost were full of various fish; was this how the humans kept their food fresh?

Raised metal platforms ran between the tanks, set at the same level as the lids. The lead human climbed a ladder to get atop the platform. Two more humans followed him before they told Jax to follow. They directed him to one of the empty tanks.

One of the men bent down and manipulated a control on the lid. It slid open, and a light came on at the base of the tank, illuminating the water.

“Go on in,” the man said. “Please.”

Jax clenched his jaw. It was a cage; he’d have room enough to turn about, and no little more than that. He moved forward — slowly — and lowered himself into the water.

Surprisingly, its temperature matched that of the sea, and it was familiarly salty. A series of narrow slits ringed the bottom; water seemed to cycle through them.

“Does it need air?” one of the men asked.

“I don’t know,” someone replied. “Ask it. It talks, doesn’t it?”

“If it is no trouble to you,” Jax said. The men hushed and stared at him.

“How’d you learn to speak like us?” the closest human — the one working the lid — asked.

“We learned from humans, long ago.”

The men exchanged glances, and then the one at the controls swallowed. “O-Okay. Going to close it up. Keep your head down.”

Jax sank to the bottom and watched as the lid slid shut. The gentle sound of water flowing around him would have been soothing at another time, in another situation. Only Macy’s recovery would ease him now.

For an instant, the entire tank vibrated. Then several slits — not unlike the ones on the bottom — opened on the lid. Jax poked his head into the small space between the lid and the water.

“Alright, um…a couple of us will, uh, stay here. If you need anything, we’ll try to help,” said the human crouched there. Most of the others had already descended the ladder and were walking toward the door, glancing back as they moved. Their forms were distorted through the curved glass of the tank.

“I need to know if Macy is okay,” Jax replied.

It did not comfort him when he received no answer.

Macy floated in a haze of pain, darkness, and noise. There were voices, so many voices; raised voices, quiet voices, voices calling her name over and over.

Then silence. Blissful silence.

She slept, unaware of who she was, where she was. Her pain became distant. And she dreamt. She dreamt of waves, of strange, emerald eyes, and the secure embrace of strong limbs, cocooning her, protecting her from the world.

Her rock.

Her love.

Jax.

Jax!

“Jax,” Macy rasped, her broken voice thunderous in the silence.

She opened her eyes. Her vision was a blur of bright light; it cleared slowly, until she realized she was staring at a white ceiling.

“You’re awake!” cried a lovingly familiar voice.

Aymee’s arms slipped around Macy in a tight embrace.

Macy raised her hand and brushed her fingers over Aymee’s soft curls. When she turned her head, she saw her parents approaching.

“Oh, we were so worried!” Macy’s mother, Madeline, said, brushing tears from her face. “We all thought you were gone. We thought you were…d-d…”

“Dead,” Macy said. That had been the idea. She’d never meant to come back here, but now that she had, her own eyes misted. She’d missed them so damned much.

Breckett stepped closer and swept the hair from her forehead. “It was a close one, Macy. If it weren’t for that…” He looked away, brow furrowed.

“Jax.” Dread flooded Macy as she searched her father’s face.

Where was Jax? He’d brought her here, had promised to if she got worse. She remembered…remembered…the dock. Jax with his head bowed, arms spread; a stance of surrender. He’d revealed himself. For her.

“Where is he, dad?”

“That monster?” Madeline asked. “He won’t hurt you anymore.”

“He’s not a monster, mom. Jax would never hurt me!” Macy fixed her gaze on Breckett. “Dad, where is he? Is he here? Is he safe?”

“Shh,” Aymee soothed, pressing a hand to Macy’s chest and guiding her back down.

Macy hadn’t realized she’d been struggling to sit up.

Aymee glanced at Macy’s parents. “I think you should both go, for now.” She shook her head before they could argue. “She’s my patient, and she doesn’t need to get any more worked up right now. She needs rest.”

Breckett frowned, staring at Macy. Finally, he sighed and leaned forward, pecking a kiss on her brow. “We’ll see you soon, Macy girl.”

Once they’d said their goodbyes, Breckett led Madeline from the room.

“Where is he, Aymee?” Macy asked as soon as the door closed.

Aymee settled down on the bedside and searched her face. “This…Jax… He really is good?”

“Yes. He’d never hurt me.” Macy caught one of Aymee’s hands and clutched it between her own. “Please, tell me he’s okay.”

“He’s here. The people are wary of him, and there has been talk that he was the one who hurt you.”

“That’s not true!” Macy exclaimed, struggling to rise.

Aymee carefully guided her back down. “I know, I know. I believe you. People are just scared right now. He’s…different.”

Macy recalled the first time she’d seen Jax — his claws, his teeth, his inhuman lower half… She’d feared him then, too. She understood, and yet she hated to hear him called a monster.

“Is he safe?” she asked.

“Yeah. They have him in one of the storage tanks in the warehouse. Your dad and some people from the town council have tried questioning him for a couple days now, but he refuses to answer them. He just keeps asking if you’re okay.”

Relief eased some of Macy’s tension; they could ask as many questions as they wanted, so long as they didn’t harm him. “How long have I been here?”

“Three days. It was bad, Macy. If he hadn’t brought you here…you would have died. We pumped antibiotics into your bloodstream to kill the infection, but your fever only broke last night.” Aymee grinned. “Your leg is a mess. Whoever patched you up had no idea what they were doing, but it probably saved your life. Whatever sea creature did that to you, you’re lucky you didn’t lose your leg outright.”

“Jax and Arkon saved me.”

“Arkon? Do you mean…there are more like him?”

Macy hesitated. This was Aymee, who she’d trusted more than anyone in the world. Still did. But she understood, now, Jax’s early hesitance to share anything about his people. “Yes. There are more.”

“Are they good?” Aymee asked.

“They distrust humans. They had a…bad past. But yes, I believe they are. They’re more like us than you can imagine, Aymee. Humans made them.”

After having Aymee help her sit up, Macy told her friend everything, from the disastrous boat ride to her battle with the razorback. She apologized several times for the hurt she’d caused by allowing everyone to believe her dead. Macy left nothing out, not even her relationship with Jax.

Aymee listened raptly.

“So…you had sex with him?” There was no disgust in Aymee’s voice, only curiosity.

Macy’s cheeks heated, but she nodded and smiled. “I know it sounds strange, maybe unnatural to some, but…yes. And I love him, Aymee. He’s mine, and I’m…I’m his. We joined.”

Aymee bit her lip, brow creasing.

“Please,” Macy begged, clutching Aymee’s hand to her chest, “don’t judge me. Don’t—”

“I’m not, Mace. Never. It’s just…” She inhaled deeply and met Macy’s eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Macy frowned. “What is it?”

“My dad had me scan you when you were brought in, and I found… At first, I thought…” Aymee closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled deeply, and opened them again. “Did you and Camrin go through with your joining?”

“What? No! No, we never even made it to land before the storm hit.”

“You’re pregnant, Macy.”

Macy recoiled as though she’d been slapped, hands falling to rest on her stomach — her slightly rounded stomach. She stared at Aymee with a mixture of shock and fear.

She and Jax were too different, practically alien to one another. The possibility of a child had never crossed her mind. How could it even be possible?

And yet, Aymee wouldn’t lie about this. The kraken were part human…human enough that she and Jax had created a life.

Macy hugged her abdomen. What would it look like? What would it be? Would…would it be okay?

No, not it. Her baby.

“What?”

Macy and Aymee started, snapping their heads toward Camrin. He stood in the doorway, his expression shocked as he stared at Macy.

“Y-You and…that thing?”

“Camrin!” Macy called, but he was gone, the door slamming behind him. She turned to Aymee, her heart pounding. “What will he do?”

“I don’t know. Stay here. My orders. Your doctor’s orders. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Thank you,” Macy breathed. “Don’t let him hurt Jax.”

“I won’t.”

The fish in the other tanks swam in endless circles, clustering in schools that moved with uncanny coordination. Jax had seen it in the sea; here, it looked strange, and reminded him of the funnel of water he’d once watched rise out of the water during an intense storm.

Sudden light caught his attention — the doors slid open, and a human entered the building, its form little more than a distorted silhouette from Jax’s view.

He pulled himself up, raising his head out of the water.

“I need to talk to that thing. Get out.” The voice was familiar, but only slightly.

“We’re not supposed to leave it unattended,” one of the guards said.

“It won’t be. I’ll be here.”

“Are you okay, Camrin?”

“Just get out!”

Shuffling footsteps clanged on the walkway. Jax watched the humans descend the ladder and head for the exit, just as another figure entered.

“Camrin!” the female called as the doors closed. “What are you doing?”

Camrin ignored her and marched toward Jax’s tank. As he neared, the grim set of his features became apparent.

“What did you do to her?” Camrin demanded and banged a fist against the side of the tank.

Jax’s hearts skipped. “What happened to her?”

“Nothing,” the female said as she drew up next to Camrin. “You need to stop.”

“Stop? Stop? That fucking thing—” Camrin glared at Jax, “—that creature touched her!”

“Is she alive? Is she healed?” Jax growled. Camrin’s problem didn’t matter; only Macy mattered.

“You weren’t supposed to be in there, listening to what I was telling my patient,” the female said.

“I had a right to know! She was supposed to be mine, and you’re my friend!”

“That doesn’t mean you’re entitled to her private information! If she wanted you to know, she would have told you in her own time.”

Jax slammed his fist into the glass. The tank rattled, and a thin crack appeared in the side. Camrin and the woman turned their attention toward him.

“Is she safe?” he demanded through bared teeth.

“Macy is fine,” the woman said calmly.

“She’s not fine! She has a fucking monster growing inside her!”

“What is he speaking of?” Jax kept his gaze on the woman.

“That’s enough, Camrin,” she warned, eyes narrowed. “This needs to stop, right now. Regardless of what happened, Macy is still your friend, and how would she feel to hear you talking like this?”

Camrin clenched his jaw, gaze flickering between Jax and the woman.

“Think. You don’t want to do anything that will hurt her. And hurting him,” the woman waved toward Jax, “will hurt her.”

“It’s wrong. It’s…foul.”

“All that matters right now is that she’s alive and safe.”

Camrin growled, hands fisted at his sides.

“Go home. Please. I know you’re hurting, but this won’t help.”

He was silent for a time, glaring at Jax. Without another word, he turned and left, sliding one of the doors open only wide enough to shove through.

The female looked at Jax.

“Let me out,” he said. “Take me to her.”

Regret filled her eyes. “I can’t do that.”

“I will break out if I must.”

“That’ll make things worse. A lot of people think you’re dangerous, and that’ll just prove to them their fears are justified.” She stepped closer, her gaze moving over him, pausing first at his claws, then his tentacles.

A few more blows and the tank would shatter. He’d be free to find Macy.

And how would that help? He didn’t know The Watch, didn’t know where she was, and the place was full of humans. Though they’d escorted him here with simple weaponry in hand, he’d seen the long guns the guards carried now. They’d kill him, and he’d never know for sure if she was safe.

“I need to see her,” he rasped. It brought her eyes back to his.

“Macy just woke up. She…told me everything.”

“So you know I did not harm her. You know I am only here to ensure she is safe.”

“Yes. And I believe her. Believe you. But there are a lot of folks here who won’t. Camrin and I are her friends, but others… They’re not going to see past what you are very easily. Being here could be dangerous for you, and now, for her.”

The concern in the female’s voice broke through Jax’s desperation for a moment; she cared for Macy, deeply. “You are Aymee.”

She smiled. “She talked about me?”

He nodded. “Yes. With…love.”

“And I love her, which is why we need to get both of you out of here. Not now, but soon. Can you trust me enough to give me some time?”

Aymee held his gaze as he searched her eyes.

“Macy trusts you. So do I.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“What did he mean, Aymee? What monster is growing inside of her?”

“Not a monster. A baby. Yours.”

Jax froze; his muscles refused to move, his breathing ceased, and his hearts were still. It seemed like many moments passed in that state. The entire world was motionless. When he could finally move, it was a struggle to speak. “She…how? How can you know?”

“She told me how your kind were made. That you have human DNA. When her father brought her in, I was the one to check her, and I…saw it. It doesn’t look like a normal human fetus. And she’s… It’s far more developed than it should be by now. She’s only been gone for a month and a half, but the fetus looks like it’s in its second trimester. How long do your kind carry babies?”

“Four months.” He barely heard his own response. Offspring were so rare for the kraken, so precious… The thought of procreating with Macy had never crossed his mind. How could it even be possible?

What would their youngling be? Human, kraken, or something else entirely? What would his people think of the child? Would they rejoice, knowing that there was a chance to grow again, to thrive, or would they think such offspring abominations to both kinds?

The doors opened wider, and light from outside streamed into the building. Aymee glanced behind her.

“I have to go. Please, be patient. I’ll talk to her, and we’ll make a plan. Just know that she is okay.”

He nodded numbly and watched as she turned and hurried out, gesturing to the guards on her way. Jax closed his eyes and dropped to the bottom of the tank. His mind swirled like the churning sea beneath a fierce storm, but he took some solace in the knowledge that Macy had woken up and was well.

Aymee had given her word.

Jax would see Macy soon.