Pain. Confusion. Fear. All this and more flooded Brooke's mind.

Bubbles streaming from her mouth as she screamed. Flailing limbs smacking against the travel tunnel's walls. Fur hugging her body. Sensations drifted in and out of her awareness like the tide.

Now there was only the Call of the Sea.

Louder than the thunder and stronger than the waves, the Call hummed in her bones. Pulled her toward her grandma's island. The home of her heart and soul.

She swam away from the Cowrie Cabana until it was little more than a speck behind her. Her mother would be so upset with her for running off in the middle of the Blue Moon Ball. This was the biggest event the resort had held since Brooke was old enough to start working there officially, yet she'd run off before the wedding ceremony had even started.

That was assuming her mom would even notice she'd left. With all the chaos going on, she didn't exactly have time to worry about the family screw-up. Worse, she might be relieved she didn't have to clean up Brooke's messes for once.

Regardless of what her mother thought, it was far too late to fix it now. Brooke could only keep swimming.

Or could she?

Brooke broke the surface, shaking plankton from her whiskers as she stilled her flippers. The persistent pull in her gut strengthened, but what had once been a clear guide to her grandmother's island had split into two competing currents. One led to memories of comfort and safety. The other urged her to chart a course for a future filled with just as much love promised by something just out of reach.

No, not something. Someone.

Where was Jasper now? With dark clouds hiding the moon and stars from view, there was no telling how late it was. Was he dancing alongside the other werewolves, or was he pledging his future to Gwen? Maybe they'd already gotten married, retreating to Jasper's suite to weather the storm wrapped in each other's arms.

Maybe he missed Brooke as much as she missed him.

No. She shouldn't let herself think about that. Couldn't. Not if she wanted Jasper to be happy.

She dove beneath the waves, praying for the Goddess to wash away her traitorous tears. Down here, no one could see her cry but the mackerel.

Even out here, miles from the shore, she didn't have true privacy. Brooke's whiskers twitched as rhythmic ripples carried through the water. These were too powerful and regular for a fish. It felt like...

A boat. In a thunderstorm. In the middle of the ocean.

What in the Goddess's name were they thinking?!?

Brooke thrust her tail as quickly as she could, careful to keep her head hidden beneath the blanket of glowing plankton. After how Mr. Evergreen had acted, there was no telling how the rest of his pack might treat her. It wasn't unheard of for a storm to swallow selkies like a starving killer whale, and she wouldn't put it past that awful Alpha to use that as an excuse to get rid of her.

But she knew this boat. The click click clunk of the old engine that had chugged along for longer than she'd been alive. The low, steady hum of the hull that had lulled her to sleep when she'd been a pup. The metal groaning against the onslaught of crashing waves, each impact sending vibrations trembling through the water.

What was her father's boat doing out here? He'd already hauled in more than enough fresh fish to cater the Blue Moon Ball, and not even the angriest Alpha could force him to brave the waves in such horrible weather. Something must have gone horribly wrong, but what short of the Goddess Herself bursting forth from the depths could make him risk going out in this?

Brooke broke the surface, gulping a fresh mouthful of air as she strained her ears for any signs of trouble. Two voices broke through the rain pelting her fur. The first was her father's, as strong and steadfast as an anchor. The second...

"There she is!" Jasper pointed through the pounding rain, only to lunge for the railing as waves surged beneath the boat.

He'd ventured out into the storm for her.

"Go home," Brooke yelled over the thunder. "It's not safe here!"

The storm swallowed her father's conversation with Jasper, but the tone of their voices told her everything she needed to know. Determination outweighed their fear.

Jasper ran down the deck, pausing beside one of the machines her father had installed. The boat shot the life preserver over Brooke's head, with a length of rope connecting it to a crank that could hall it back onboard. No matter how hard the water tossed it, the ring stayed on the surface waiting for Brooke to grab hold.

"I'm fine," Brooke yelled over the storm.  "Go back!"

She doubted they could hear her. Even with Jasper's wolf ears swiveling atop his head, the thunder was bound to drown out her words just as thoroughly as the thunder kept her from understanding what he and her father were saying.

But Jasper didn't need words to tell her he had no intention of leaving. Even from a distance, the tightness in his muscles as he inched along the deck was plain to see. His progress was slow, frequently pausing when Jasper squeezed his eyes shut against the boat lurching beneath him. Yet, he drew ever closer, clinging to the railing with trembling hands.

At last, he stared down at her from above, so close she could see the water dripping from his sideburns.

"Come home!" His voice tugged at the burning need flooding Brooke's heart, urging her toward the life preserver. Toward the boat fighting against the ocean. Toward him.

She couldn't follow that Call,  not if she wanted him to be happy. Yet neither could she turn away, not without prying her soul apart like an oyster forced to yield its pearl. Caught between her head and her heart Brooke couldn't bring herself to choose.

The ocean chose for her.

Waves surged. Her father's boat rocked like a toy in an overzealous pup's bathtub. 

Jasper slipped.

He hit the water in a frenzy of flailing limbs. Hands and feet gave way to gray paws, but they were not enough to fight the ocean. A panicked bark flew from fang-filled jaws just before the waves pulled her Alpha underwater.

Brooke dove after him. The current tugged at her sealskin like a thousand invisible hands as her heart thundered. Fish fled from Jasper's thrashing paws, and his tail slapped any sea creatures that ventured too close.

She couldn't take him to the surface if he kept struggling, not without risking him hurting her in his panic. But with each passing moment, his movements weakened. The stream of bubbles escaping his jaws thinned to a trickle.

He needed air. Fast.

Brooke swam above Jasper's back and tapped him with a flipper. Powerful muscles jerked beneath her touch, only to still as he turned his head. Amber eyes met her gaze, wild panic giving way to recognition.

She nudged one of his front legs with her nose, opening and closing her mouth so he'd understand what she was planning.

Jasper tucked his tail between his legs before holding out his foreleg. 

Brooke clamped her jaws around the offered limb, careful to keep her grip firm enough to hold him but gentle enough not to break his skin. Brooke's tail pushed through the water in a regular rhythm as she carried Jasper with her.

They broke the surface with a gasp. Jasper gulped a mouthful of air, coughing water from his lungs.

"Careful," Brooke said around his leg. "The ocean's rough."

"No shit," Jasper said breathlessly. He spat out a piece of seaweed as he panted for breath. "Why did you come out here? Everyone's been looking for you."

"Later." It wasn't exactly easy to have a conversation when she had his leg in her jaws.

She nodded toward the life preserver. Despite everything, the red and white ring refused to sink beneath the surface. "This way."

Swimming with a werewolf's leg in her mouth was even more awkward than Brooke expected. The instant Jasper clamped his fangs around the specially designed grooves in the life preserver, she released her hold on him and spat out a mouthful of fur. As unpleasant as the feeling of hairs tickling her tongue was, she'd deal with it a thousand times if that meant Jasper would stay safe.

Brooke's father cranked a wheel to haul Jasper and the life preserver back onboard the boat. He brought her aboard next, wrapping her in a tight hug as soon as she took off her sealskin.

With the weather too dangerous for them to go all the way back to the resort, Brooke guided her father through wailing winds, crashing waves, and booming thunder until he docked the boat at her grandma's island. Once the storm was over, she and Jasper would need to return to the Cowrie Cabana and face everyone and everything they'd left behind. After how he'd treated her, there was no way Mr. Evergreen would react well to Brooke coming back, especially not with Jasper by her side.

But those worries could wait. For now, all Brooke could do was lead Jasper into her grandma's house and drape her sealskin around his shivering shoulders while her father radioed her mom to tell her they were safe. Back in his human form, Jasper wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close as they warmed themselves on her grandma's couch.

No matter what happened, they'd weather this storm together.