For the first time in her life, Brooke didn't feel safe in the water. Despite the current stroking her fur and the familiar tang of saltwater filling her nose, there was no denying the danger above her. Who was this wolf, and why had catching his scent made Jasper so tense?

Brooke's lungs burned from her hurried plunge into the tank. Though she could hold her breath in her seal form for over an hour without needing to come up for air, her still human body had only allowed her a shallow inhale before she'd donned her sealskin and dived into the tank.

She surged upward, wincing as she instinctively blew water out of her nostrils the instant she broke the surface. Only the other seals in the tank witnessed her less than graceful rush for air, with Jasper and Waylon still out of sight. But just because Brooke couldn't see the two werewolves didn't mean she couldn't hear them.

Though they were too far away for her to understand what they were saying, the tone of their conversation was as plain as the blindingly yellow wet floor sign near the tank. Waylon's voice held the same sharpness as his overpowering perfume, and Jasper's short responses betrayed his anger as well as his fangs ever could.

Brooke circled the tank's glass walls. Every part of her from her whiskers to her tail ached to leap out of the water and give the werewolf bothering Jasper a piece of her mind, but she couldn't. Not without blowing their cover.

A large seal with a pelt as black as the night sky surfaced beside her with a soft huff. Though no words were exchanged, Brooke understood the question as well as if it had been spoken. "Are you alright?"

Brooke twitched her whiskers in answer. "I'm fine." She ducked her head below the water before reemerging. "Hiding."

More seals rose to meet her, examining her with wide eyes and caressing her with gentle flippers. "Safe here," the dark one who had first greeted her said. She nodded in the direction of the werewolves' voices. "Two predators?"

Brooke flicked a flipper. "One. The other is..." She couldn't tell them what her relationship with Jasper was without speaking and giving herself away. Calling him a mere friend would be a disservice, yet she couldn't call him her boyfriend. At least, not yet.

Her eyes widened as the werewolves' voices drew closer. There was no time to explain. "Hide me!"

Morgan led Jasper and Waylon to the side of the tank, her smile stretched thin and straining at the edges. "This is where we keep our seals."

"Pretty strange to keep so many different species together, don't you think?" Waylon narrowed his eyes as he peered inside the tank.

Brooke quivered with the urge to dive away from the Beta's green gaze, but she couldn't return below the surface. Not without drawing attention to herself.

"A lot of seals share the same habitat, and they get along swimmingly." Morgan's laugh cracked like ice threatening to break.

Her attempt to ease the tension made Waylon roll his eyes. "You can't fool me. I can smell her all over you."

"The only thing I smell is seaweed and sunscreen." Jasper wrinkled his nose with a grimace. "Perhaps your senses wouldn't fail you if you didn't douse yourself in such overly potent perfume."

"All the better to mask your foul, seal-loving scent." Waylon extracted a small glass bottle from his pocket and sprayed the side of his neck. The sharp scent of mint filled the air.

What began as a slight tickle bloomed into a burning pressure as Brooke's sinuses throbbed. Much like Kudzu Pack's Alpha, this werewolf wore a perfume so potent it made her nose run, increasing the pain in her head until there was only one way to let it out.

Brooke sneezed.

Thunderous barking drowned out the sound as the other seals voiced their annoyance with the scent. The cacophony of agitation masked Brooke's frantic struggle to silence her nose. Curse Kudzu Pack and their awful perfumes!

Jasper's gaze flicked toward her, his eyes widening. As quickly as it came, the alarm fled his face, leaving nothing but a slight twitch in his jaw.

"Now you're bothering the seals." Jasper crossed his arms. "I think you'd better leave."

"Or what, your little summer fling will get upset?" Waylon bared his teeth in an expression that was more snarl than smile. "I wonder what your father will think when he finds out you screwed over your entire pack just because an overweight seal decided to fawn over you."

Brooke slapped the water with her flippers. The remains of a half-eaten fish smacked Waylon in the face, with the mackerel's tail leaving a slimy trail down his chin.

"So that's how it's going to be." Waylon snarled, his teeth sharpening into fangs. "You can either order her to come out or I can drag her out of the water myself. It's your choice, Jasper."

"Now wait just a minute." Morgan firmly planted herself between the werewolves and the tank, grabbing the radio holstered on her waist. "I won't tolerate you threatening our animals."

Brooke watched the confrontation unfold with wide eyes. The tank's walls were low enough that its inhabitants could leap out if they gained enough momentum, making it far too easy for an angry werewolf to jump inside.

"If you touch a single hair on any of those seals, I will drag you out of here myself." A low growl rumbled in Jasper's throat as his fists trembled at his sides.

Waylon barked out a laugh. "I'd like to see you try, pup."

Waylon leaned over the glass, reaching toward the seals. A storm of frantic barking exploded from inside the tank as Brooke's heart hammered in her ears. One tug in the wrong place could rip her sealskin from her, revealing her true identity.

"Stop."

Waylon froze. Brooke stared at his outstretched hand with wide eyes. She dared not swim away, dive, or even blink.

Not when an Alpha's command had halted everyone in the room.

Jasper's eyes pinned Waylon with a burning stare, his irises no longer a human's earthy brown but a wolf's bright amber. "Leave."

The intruding hand left the tank as Waylon rose to meet Jasper's gaze. "Very well, Alpha." Every word that left his lips dripped with fury as his limbs quivered with the urge to obey Jasper's command. "I shall leave you and your seal, but rest assured I will report this to my Alpha."

They watched him go in complete silence. Only when Waylon's footsteps faded from the sanctuary did Brooke release a sigh of relief. At last, she was safe.

"May his paws blister and his tail be dragged through brambles," Jasper grumbled. He blinked, returning his eyes to their original color as he sagged against the wall of the tank. "That was way too close."

"You can come out now, dear," Morgan said gently.

Brooke didn't need to tell her twice. She leaped over the side of the tank, removing her sealskin and tying it back around her waist. "Thank you so much for not blowing my cover."

"Think nothing of it," Morgan said with a smile. "It's the least we could do."

The seal who'd been the first to try and help Brooke rose to the surface. "That wolf was as nasty as a tiger shark with a toothache," she said.

Jasper jumped, nearly slipping on the damp floor. "Did that seal just talk?"

"Of course she did," Brooke said with a laugh. "They're all selkies."

A chorus of greetings broke out from the tank as all the selkies introduced themselves. Jasper stared at them with wide eyes, offering them a little wave.

"Smooth Sailing is as much of a sanctuary for selkies as it is for ordinary animals," Morgan explained. She looked Jasper up and down. "It's not every day they reveal themselves to someone from out of town. Can I trust you to keep our secret?"

"Of course." Jasper slipped his hand around Brooke's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We'd really appreciate it if you'd keep the fact we came here a secret, too."

"I won't tell a single soul." Morgan straightened her uniform. "Now that things have finally calmed down, I'd better get back to feeding the sea turtles. You still up for giving it a try?"

"I think I'd like to spend some time alone with Jasper if that's okay." Brooke wrapped her hand around his back, hugging him closer to her. His muscles relaxed beneath her touch as his expression softened into a smile.

"That's totally fine. Safe to say you've both had enough excitement for one day." Morgan winked. "I'll make sure any other guests give you plenty of privacy."

For the rest of their visit, she and Jasper held onto each other like two seahorses sharing a strand of seaweed. Not once did they stop holding hands.