Rain pounded the beach, forcing palm trees to bow their fronds to the torrential downpour. Lightning ripped through the clouds and bathed the roaring waves in blinding flashes of brightness. Yet, despite the chaos, the moon illuminated the night the same as it always did.

Back in his human form, Jasper huddled on the couch wearing nothing but a bathrobe. With his suit still in the wash, this was the closest he had to anything that could cover him properly after he'd washed off all the salt water, and even this failed to cover his knees.

Not that it mattered. He couldn't go back to the ball, anyway. With the storm still raging outside, Mr. Wells had told him and Brooke that they'd be stuck on her grandma's island until the weather improved. He'd gone to the second floor to radio his wife and tell her Brooke was okay, leaving Jasper and Brooke alone.

"Why did you come out here?" Jasper asked. "Everyone was really worried when we couldn't find you."

Brooke stared at her hands. "It's hard to know when the Call of the Sea will pull me here," she said softly. "Sometimes, it's hard to resist it even when I know I should."

"Your father told me the Call gets stronger the more upset you are." Among other things. Jasper's teeth ached to sharpen into fangs at the memory of everything he'd told him about how fear could strengthen the Call like nothing else. Who or what could have scared Brooke badly enough for her to go into the ocean during a thunderstorm?

"It does." Brooke fidgeted with her sealskin, bunching the fur between her fingers. "I was waiting for Marina to go get you so I could say goodbye to you properly, but someone else came instead."

Silence stretched between them. The only sounds were the muted murmur of Brooke's father on the radio upstairs and the constant drumming of the rain on the windows.

Jasper rested his hand on Brooke's leg. He wouldn't force her to talk regardless of how badly he wanted to maul whoever upset her so badly, but he'd do everything he could to make sure she knew he'd support her whether or not she told him the rest of what happened.

"Mr. Evergreen said he wanted me to leave the Cowrie Cabana until after the Blue Moon Ball was over," Brooke continued. "I said I needed to stay since it's my job to make sure guests enjoy our events, but..." She squeezed her eyes shut. Her pulse quickened beneath Jasper's hand, and the scent of fear rolled off her in waves. When she spoke again, her voice cracked with unshed tears. "He tried to take my sealskin, and I fell into the travel tunnel."

Jasper growled so hard his entire body trembled. He'd kill him. No, that would be too kind. Anything would be for the vile waste of fur that had dared to attack his selkie.

"I'm sorry!" Brooke wailed. "I didn't mean to ruin everything for you."

She curled in on herself, collapsing into a sobbing mess. Tears streaked down her face like raindrops, and her breath came in ragged gasps.

Jasper forced his deep, rumbling growls back down his throat. Goddess, he hadn't meant to upset her.

"You didn't ruin anything," he said softly.

"But Mr. Evergreen—"

"Is to blame for all this." He dried her tears with his thumb, caressing her skin. "Now stop blaming yourself for what Mr. Evergreen did. That's an order."

Her eyes widened in surprise, only for her lips to twitch into a teasing smile. "Yes, Alpha." But as quickly as her expression brightened, it became as dour as the weather outside. "I just hope he doesn't use this all as an excuse to take things out on you and your pack."

"He would have found an excuse anyway." Jasper certainly had given him plenty. His tongue dried in his mouth as he thought of the one unavoidable truth that had been on his mind since the ball. "You know, when I was dancing with Gwen all I could think about was how much I wished I was with you."

"I would have loved to dance with you again." Brooke groaned. "Goddess, why does everything have to be so complicated? I didn't mean to make everything so awkward for you. You should be getting married, not giving your pack a heart attack by running after me."

Jasper grimaced. His father would never let him hear the end of this. No matter what happened, no one would ever forget he'd left his pack behind for a selkie. What scared him the most wasn't his father's disapproval, his packmates' concern, or even Mr. Evergreen's inevitable retaliation.

No, what scared him more than anything was he didn't care about the consequences. Making sure Brooke was safe and happy mattered more to him than anything.

"I wish there was a way for us to stay together," he said softly. "Our contract with Kudzu Pack says the Goddess must approve of my mate if I don't marry Gwen. Father and I always assumed that meant she'd have to guide me to my soulmate, but if she would just give us a sign..."

For a long moment, they sat beside each other in pensive silence. The rain pounding against the windows faded to a steady drumming, and the howling wind quieted to a gust. Still, no ideas came to Jasper save one.

"Since we'll be alone here until the weather gets better, we might as well make the most of it." He opened his arms, inviting her to come to him. Goddess and pack be damned, he loved her, and he'd make the best of what little time they had left, if she'd let him.

He needn't have worried. Brooke scooted closer to him and nuzzled her cheek into his chest. With nothing but his robe between her skin and his, Jasper's heart hammered beneath the fabric. More. He needed more of her. More closeness. More cuddling. More everything.

Adjusting his position on the couch so he could raise his arm without rolling her off of him, Jasper held her close and ran his fingers through her hair. He could lose himself in those crimson curls for hours, stroking their silky softness. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Brooke murmured, burrowing into his chest. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"Never thought I'd be glad the weather's so ugly." Jasper pressed his lips to her forehead, working his way to her cheek and leaving a trail of kisses along her neck. His breathing quickened as he reached the tender skin of her collarbone, teasing it with his teeth. One bite. That was all it would take to mark her, make her his, and make him hers. 

But he couldn't do that, not now. Not without talking to her first.

With a noise that was half groan and half whimper, he pulled away.

"Why did you stop?" Brooke asked breathlessly. Hungrily. Her fingers tightened around the fabric tying his robe shut. One quick tug, and nothing would stand between them.

Goddess, hearing her so desperate for him filled his jaws with a burning ache. But he couldn't give in. Not yet, maybe not ever.

Jasper took her hand in his, guiding it away from his robe and to his lips.

"If we go any further, I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself from marking you," he whispered. "The Goddess would form a mate bond between us, and since you're a selkie..." He swallowed. "Biting a human like that would turn them into a werewolf, but I'm not sure if marking a selkie would let them be both a seal and a wolf."

"I might never feel the Call of the Sea again." Brooke bit her lip. "I don't know if I—"

"I won't mark you unless you ask me to," Jasper promised.

She relaxed against him. "Thank you."

The two of them lay together as the storm died down. Thunder faded to a soft, distant rumble, and moonlight shined through the blanket of clouds. Rain pattered on the windows in a steady rhythm, filling the air with the scent of petrichor.

After what could have been anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, heavy footsteps thudded partway down the stairs leading to the second floor. "Folks are glad you're safe, and the weather finally let up enough for everyone who attended the ball to start going back to their rooms," Brooke's father said. Jasper couldn't see him from where he lay on the couch, but there was no mistaking the tiredness in his voice. "Anything I can get you two before I head to bed?"

"We're fine, Dad!" Brooke's face reddened. "Just, uh, relaxing."

Jasper dipped his head, feeling as if he was a teenager again. "We'll go to bed soon, sir."

"Make sure you get plenty of rest. We'll be heading back to the Cowrie Cabana first thing in the morning," her father said. "Guest bedrooms are up there down the hallway on the left. Separate ones."

"We'll behave," Jasper said. They had to, at least until they sorted out the mess they were in.

"You'd better." Mr. Wells grimaced. "Mr. Evergreen isn't exactly happy with how the ball went. We'll have a lot of explaining to do."

The mention of Kudzu Pack's Alpha cast a shadow over them like the clouds swallowing the moon. Even after Mr. Wells retreated to the master bedroom for the night, neither Jasper nor Brooke tried to get back to cuddling.

Brooke rolled off of him, smoothing out the sealskin tied around her waist. "What are we going to do when we get back? After how Mr. Evergreen acted when I didn't want to leave..." Her voice cracked as she squeezed her eyes shut. "What if he tries to hurt me?"

"I won't let him," Jasper snarled. He'd sooner gnaw off his own tail than let Mr. Evergreen lay a hand on her again. "Neither will anyone else. Mr. Evergreen may be awful, but even he wouldn't dare to hurt you in front of everyone."

"Not physically, but once he finds out we've been together, he could take it out on your pack. And the resort!" Brooke groaned. "Goddess, once word gets out I screwed up the Blue Moon Ball, no one will want to host events there ever again. Mom won't even let me help with birthday parties after that. I'll be stuck on clean-up duty for the rest of my life."

"You didn't screw up anything," Jasper said gently. He tied his robe shut, giving the knot a firm tug. "The storm knocked out the power, so we couldn't have held the ceremony even if I'd wanted to."

"They must have decided to postpone the wedding." Brooke grimaced. "They're going to expect you to go through with it."

"I won't. I can't." He brushed his lips against her cheek. "After how he treated you, I don't want anything to do with Mr. Evergreen's pack as long as he's in charge of it."

Brooke drew a sharp breath. "But you swore in the Goddess's name you'd marry Gwen if you didn't find your soulmate by the Blue Moon Ball."

He wasn't the only one who'd sworn in Her name. Mr. Evergreen had promised to let him search for his soulmate as he saw fit, and since he'd monopolized so much of his time with pointless events attended by those he already knew he felt nothing for, Jasper could argue Mr. Evergreen had broken his vow. Whether the other packs would agree was another matter, but if he could prove Mr. Evergreen hadn't adhered to the spirit of their agreement...

That was it!

"Don't worry about him. I'll handle it." Jasper whined softly as he forced himself off the couch. "For now, all we can do is rest. I'll see you first thing in the morning, alright?"

"You're going to bed already? I'm not even tired." Brooke stifled a yawn. "Don't think I'll be able to sleep."

He probably wouldn't either. Not with his entire future depending on how tomorrow went. And how could he possibly sleep knowing Brooke would be so sad to see him go?

"I suppose I could stay up a little later. I do have an important meeting scheduled after all." Jasper collapsed back next to Brooke, chuckling softly as she tossed the couch cushions out of her way and crawled back on top of him. 

In the morning, they'd confront Mr. Evergreen, and Jasper would try to figure out a way to stay with Brooke without harming his pack. For now, all Jasper had to worry about was enjoying the rest of the time he and Brooke had together.