Prince of the Depths

by Eva Leon

  The Omega’s Trident

  by

  Eva Leon

  Prologue

  Halston

  “Dr. Halston will see you now,” the tall, slender secretary with jet-black hair and six-inch heels announced to the man and woman seated in Dr. Andrew Halston’s waiting area. Every strand of her onyx hair was pulled into a tight bun. Her silk skirt made a slight swishing sound as she walked back to her desk and sat down.

  Conrad Roe and his partner, Patty Dorn, stood up and made their way to the office’s huge mahogany door. Conrad pushed it open, and the pair entered the penthouse office that sat atop the Halston Research Facility. It was not a room to be in if you were afraid of heights. The floor to ceiling windows that made up three-quarters of the office’s walls gave the impression that you could fall off the building at any time. Dr. Halston had designed it that way intentionally. He liked to keep people uncomfortable in his presence.

  “You have good news I assume,” Halston said without turning away from the window. The height didn’t bother him, and he rather preferred the view to looking at his current company.

  “We found the human family of the specimen known as Alessa,” Conrad said.

  “You found the offspring?” Halston asked. “Because if you’ve come here with anything other than the offspring, you’re wasting my time.” He finally turned to face his agents. “I hate when people waste my time.”

  “Yes, sir, we found the child,” Patty said. She pulled a photograph out of the shoulder satchel she held clutched in her hands.

  Halston took the photo and looked at it. “How did you find him?” he instantly recognized the young man’s features. There was no way the Omega was anyone but Alessa’s son.

  “We hacked the FBI database and borrowed their facial recognition software. As you can see, the offspring looks enough like Alessa that we were able to get a match.”

  “Bring him to me,” Halston said. “The sooner the better.”

  “Yes, sir,” Conrad and Patty said in unison.

  “At any cost,” Halston reminded his agents as they scurried from the office like rats scraping for the last bit of cheese.

  Chapter One

  Caspian

  “Spring break!” the group of Omegas called out joyfully as they stepped from the airport into the tropical air.

  Caspian felt a tingle run down his spine as the scents of exotic flowers and salty seawater assaulted his senses. It was the most intoxicating thing he’d ever experienced. The sound of the waves was like a song, and if his friends hadn’t been flanking him, he would have dropped his bags and ran into the waves. As it was, he’d have to wait until the group was ready to go to the beach.

  They walked to the room, and Cas couldn’t take his eyes off the shoreline. He was happy they had a room facing the beach. Caspian dropped his bags on the bed and walked out onto the balcony. The breeze rustled his sandy blond hair, and he inhaled deeply. The notion that he could really breathe for the first time occurred to Cas as he closed his eyes and relaxed.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Nick said. “The hotel room’s nice and all, but let’s go see what this island has to offer.”

  The pull of the ocean was too much for Caspian once they got down to the boardwalk that ran from the hotel to the other restaurants and attractions in the tourist area of the island. He kicked off his shoes and ran across the sand to the waterline.

  Caspian’s toes touched the water and he felt a tingle run over his flesh up to his spine. Instantly he felt like a different person. It was as if he’d been tilted his entire life, and the ocean water lapping over his feet brought him flush.

  From somewhere off toward the horizon, the water began to sing to him again. Each wave carried a melody that entranced and enthralled not just his senses but his entire being too. He was about to strip off his clothing and plunge as deeply into the water as he could when his friend Kirk called out to him.

  “Come on, Cas, let’s go. We’re going to dinner and then there’s a club we’ve been dying to check out. We’ll go to the beach tomorrow.”

  Caspian wasn’t dying to check out any particular club, but he didn’t want to let his friends down. It was hard for him to walk away, but he found the strength. As soon as he wasn’t in the water anymore, Caspian felt as if a part of him had been ripped away. The wholeness he felt with his feet in the surf had left, and he wondered how he could ever go back to Kansas.

  The restaurant was busy, but there were a few tables left out on the patio. The restaurant was close enough to the water that the smell of cooking food took some of the intensity out of the ocean scent that would not leave Caspian alone.

  “So, Vince met an Alpha right before we left on vacay,” Nick said.

  “Is that why you tried to get out of the trip?” Kirk asked while munching on a coconut shrimp. “You had to know that wasn’t going to fly.”

  “I just didn’t want to miss my chance,” Vince said. “An Alpha like him doesn’t come along every day. He was sweet.”

  “You mean he had a big dick,” Kirk said with a laugh.

  “They all have big dicks,” Nick retorted.

  “Yeah, but from what Vince said, this one has a really, really big cock.”

  “Oh my goddess, seriously? You already saw his dick? You have to spill the details,” Nick gushed.

  Cas listened and nodded his head at all the right times, but he couldn’t get into the conversation. Every time he was about to say something or ask a question, the scent of the ocean would overcome him and he’d feel heady and drunk. He wasn’t even drinking a margarita like his friends, so Caspian had no idea why he felt so intoxicated. He began to wonder why his father or his grandparents, who’d mostly raised him, had never brought him to the beach when his phone rang.

  It was his father, and not wanting to cross him, Caspian excused himself from the table to take the call. “I’ll be right back, guys. I’ve got to take this.”

  “Tell that hot piece of Alpha meat that Nick says hello.”

  “Nick, ew. That’s my father.”

  “He’s not my father, but I’d let him spank me,” Nick said.

  Caspian rolled his eyes and left the table. The other Omegas were obviously already tipsy, so he got as far away from them as possible so no one could shout out anything lecherous to his father while they were on the phone.

  “Caspian,” his father said when Cas picked up. That was his only greeting.

  “Hello, Father.”

  “I’m just calling to check in with you, Caspian. Your grandmother has informed me that you decided to go on the trip to Mexico after all. I thought we’d discussed this.”

  “We’re not in Mexico, Father. We’re on a small island in the Caribbean that’s close to Mexico.”

  “I don’t see how that makes a difference, Caspian. You told me you were going to stay home over break and get a head start on your studies. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t make the trip back to your grandparents’ house to see you.”

  Caspian thought that was a lie. His father hadn’t stayed away because he didn’t want to interrupt Cas’s studies. He stayed away because that’s what his father always did. He just stayed away.

  “Well, I’m doing fine with my studies, Father. I had the opportunity to go on this trip with my friends, and I took it. I think I deserve it. I made the Dean’s List.”

  “Your grandmother told me. Congratulations. Just don’t let it go to your head. You don’t want to follow up a solid semester with a bunch of slacking.”

  “I’m not sure why you would think that I would, Father.” Caspian barely held back the contempt in his voice. He was tired of his father thinking he was a good for nothing slacker when all he ever did was work his ass off at s
chool.

  “You need to stay away from the water, Caspian. You’re from Kansas. Don’t forget that. You don’t know how to swim, and even if you did, swimming in the ocean is dangerous for even the most accomplished swimmers. There are jellyfish, sharks, and riptides.”

  “Yes, Father. I remember the lecture you gave me from when I brought up the trip to Mexico the first time.”

  “Good. Don’t forget what I’ve said. It’s important.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Very well,” Kris Chadic said and cut the line before Caspian could say anything else.

  Caspian wanted desperately to believe his father was just concerned for his well-being. He tried to rationalize that his harsh words and lack of warmth were just how he made sure his son had the best chance at a good life. He had no idea how his father had turned out so cold, though. Caspian’s grandparents were both loving and kind to a fault.

  Caspian got back to the table in time for the waiter to take his order. He only got a chance to glance at the menu and cursed himself for not studying it more thoroughly while the other Omegas gossiped.

  The scallops caught his attention immediately and he ordered them. Everyone else was ordering things like fried cheese sticks and mini tacos. They wanted to indulge in booze and typical vacation food, but Caspian had lost his desire for those things as soon as he stepped off the plane. It was as if the island was enough to make him content. Sure, he needed to eat, but he only wanted light, healthy food.

  “You’re really no fun,” Vince teased after the waiter walked away. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I feel great,” Caspian said, and it was the truth.

  Caspian didn’t say much through the rest of dinner. The ocean continued to sing to him softly, and he was content to listen. His friends didn’t seem to notice much because they were embroiled in a boisterous conversation about Alpha muscles and penis size.

  As they were leaving the restaurant, Caspian noticed a man watching him. He could swear the same man had his eye on him while he was on the phone with his father, but Cas shook it off. There were probably lots of much older men on the prowl for young Omegas on the island.

  The group headed out to the Boom Boom Room. It was the club the other Omegas had been dying to get to. They’d talked about nothing else in the two weeks leading up to their vacation.

  Caspian thought it was cool, but he couldn’t figure out why they wanted to be inside a nightclub instead of on the beach. Fortunately, the Boom Boom had an outdoor dance floor, and a DJ spun tunes for the spring breakers who wanted to dance the night away under a tropical moon.

  They stayed long enough to close the club out. All three of the other Omegas were hanging off Alphas they’d met while dancing. Cas was going back to his hotel room alone. He’d danced all night too, but nothing could take his attention off the view of the ocean. A few men had danced with him, but they got the vibe he wasn’t interested when Caspian barely looked at them.

  They’d planned on walking back to the hotel, but as soon as they got outside, the same creepy dude was standing their waiting.

  “Let’s take a cab,” Cas said.

  “We can handle him,” the Alpha with Nick said as he flexed his meaty fists.

  “I’d rather not get into any fights,” Cas said. “Let’s just take a cab.”

  The group agreed and got into two cabs parked outside the club. The man watching Caspian didn’t take his eyes off him once as the cab pulled away from the curb.

  Chapter Two

  Caspian

  Despite the late hour, Caspian had trouble falling asleep. He opened the balcony doors and let the sea breeze wash over the room. Once he laid back down, the sound of the waves calmed him again.

  Cas walked out onto the balcony to stare at the water. He wanted to go out to the deserted beach, but he heard his father’s words in his head. The ocean was dangerous during the day, or so he’d been taught his whole life; it would probably be a nightmare after dark.

  He stood their staring at the water for so long the sun began to break the horizon. The light stung his eyes for a second, so he closed them and just listened to the sound of the waves rolling in against the sand. They seemed to grow exponentially louder, and when Caspian opened his eyes again, he was standing on the beach with no recollection of how he’d gotten there.

  His feet were in the bare sand, and Cas was mere yards from the lapping surf. He was alarmed at his lack of memory. How had he gotten there? But he couldn’t look away from the water. There on the deserted beach, there was nothing to distract him from the call.

  He took a step forward, and then Cas took another. He kept walking until the water was over his ankles. That familiar tingle started again. It was more intoxicating than the ocean’s song. It led him to walk farther out into the water until he was in past his knees.

  The waves grew stronger, and the roar was much louder. But Caspian wasn’t afraid. The ocean didn’t make him feel small or powerless. The strengthening waves made him feel huge and limitless.

  Caspian kept walking until the water was over his waist and it took all his strength not to let the rolling waves knock him over. His legs were tingling even more, but he still wasn’t scared. Whatever was happening excited him. He felt as though he were coming alive for the first time. It was like shedding a fake skin. How could swimming in the ocean make someone feel real?

  The moment was ruined as Cas turned and saw the creepy guy from the restaurant coming toward him with a gun. Instead of thinking, he acted on instinct.

  Cas dove under the crashing waves and swam away from the shore as fast as he could. He kept swimming out to sea and it didn’t occur to him that he hadn’t needed to breach the surface to breathe until he saw the drop off.

  Caspian surfaced and looked back at the beach. He was so far out that the man with a gun was just a tiny speck. There was no way he could shoot him.

  That was the moment that Cas looked down and saw his body. His legs were gone, and they had been replaced by what looked like a tail, but that couldn’t be right. He blinked his eyes and looked again.

  Cas reached down and ran his hands over the place where his legs used to be. He dove down under the water, thinking it had to be a trick of the light, but once he was submerged, Caspian could clearly see that his legs had become a shiny, green tail.

  It occurred to him then that he wasn’t losing his breath underwater either. There was a slightly strange sensation at his neck, though, so Caspian felt there as well. What he found were tiny gills.

  Impossible.

  And yet, he felt more awake than he’d ever felt before. It couldn’t be a dream. Something out farther to sea called to him, so he swam toward the beckoning that only his heart could hear.

  He felt as though he could swim forever. That wouldn’t prove to be true.

  Chapter Three

  Xavier

  Xavier and his crew worked hard to haul in the morning nets. Once the catch was emptied out onto the deck of the ship, Xav could swear he saw a giant green tail sticking out from the rest of the gray, flopping fish.

  His eyes must have been playing tricks on him, but he did find something amazing. There was an Omega tangled in the nets, and much to Xavier’s surprise, he was still alive.

  The Omega startled awake and crawled backward away from the piles of fish and the Alpha fishermen until he’d backed into the side of the boat. All the color drained from his face and he began to hyperventilate.

  Xavier felt a rush of protective instinct. He hurried to the Omega’s side and knelt down next to him. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  The Omega looked up into Xavier’s eyes. “You won’t hurt me?” he asked softly.

  “Not only will I not hurt you, but I’ll kill anyone who tries.”

  The Omega thought about it for a moment, and he must have decided that he believed Xavier. “I’m Caspian,” he said and shook his head from side to side as if to clear it. “How did I get
here?”

  “You were in the nets. I don’t know how you survived in the water, but I’m glad you did.”

  “I…” Caspian remembered how he’d gotten in the water, and he thought it best not to tell the Alphas around him the truth. He remembered getting tangled in the nets as well. Caspian figured he must have become exhausted at some point and passed out.

  “It’s okay. Let’s get you something to wear and some food.”

  Xavier got Caspian some coveralls and a plate of food. His aversion to junk food was overridden by how hungry he’d become. Swimming that much must have burned a ton of calories so he gladly accepted the corned beef hash with eggs and toast.

  The other fishermen got the rest of the catch hauled in, and the boat headed in to the docks. Once he’d had some food and rest, Caspian had to fight the urge to jump back into the water. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back to his old life. There seemed to be an entire new one waiting for him out at sea.

  Still, his friends and family would think he died if he didn’t go back. They deserved better than to feel that grief, so Caspian did not jump overboard.

  Once they were back, Xavier walked him back to the hotel. Caspian’s friends were gathered in the lobby, looking sick with anxiety, and he was glad he returned. Even if he was going to leave again, they deserved a story that would make them not worry.

  “Where have you been?” Vince shrieked as Caspian and Xavier walked through the hotel doors.

  “I’m so sorry, guys. I ran into this Alpha, and I just couldn’t resist.”

  Xavier threw him a questioning glance, and Cas pleaded with his eyes for the Alpha to just go along with it. Luckily, he did.

  “Yep, sorry guys. I meant to have him back to you sooner, but it was just so hard to let him go.”

  “Aw,” the other three Omegas cooed in unison.

  “Well, maybe you don’t have to go yet. We’re about to head to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. You should totally join us.”

  Xavier looked at Caspian, and Cas returned a yes nod. He decided to go along with whatever was happing. Partially because he had to know how the gorgeous Omega had ended up in a fishing net in the ocean, and partially because he had to know Caspian. It was as if a switch had flipped inside him the moment he laid eyes on him. He’d never felt such a strong pull toward an Omega before, and Xav had to know where his meeting with Caspian would lead.