Prince of the Depths

by Eva Leon

  Hope sparked inside of Caspian. Perhaps Halston had kept his mother captive all this time. He had the opportunity to save her. Singh said he thought his wife was here as well. Maybe that’s where he was, Caspian thought. It was Halston’s menagerie.

  The hope that had burned so bright was quickly extinguished. Halston walked to the wall and flipped a switch. A tank along the far wall lit up. Inside was Caspian’s mother, floating in preservation fluid. The giant Y incision in the mermaid’s chest and abdomen cleared up any doubt that Alessa was dead.

  Caspian turned away and dry heaved. “Turn it off,” he said when he was able to speak again. “You’re a monster.”

  “No, your mother was the monster. She killed herself and took her light out of my life. But now I’ve got you. I can harvest your cells and use them to develop powerful armor. I’ll make at least another billion dollars for that, but more importantly, I think I can use your cells to bring my Alessa back. And if I can’t, I’ll have you. You’ll be my prize, and just one look at you told me that you could fill the hole your mother left in my heart. I’ve never been with an Omega before. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’d rather die,” Caspian snarled.

  “You won’t get the chance to repeat your mother’s mistake.” Halston snapped his fingers and Conrad and Patty entered the room again. “Take him to the wet lab.”

  Conrad grabbed Caspian and pulled him away. The two agents took Caspian to a large lab with a tank on one side and a dry area with a table and cabinets on the other.

  Once the agents were gone, Caspian tried the door. It was locked. He went through the drawers and cabinets as best he could with his hands cuffed. There were quite a few unpleasant-looking implements, but not much he could use as a concealed weapon. Caspian eventually found a small screwdriver that he hid between his palms. He could only hope Singh and Claudia would make good on their promise to rescue him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Xavier

  Xavier felt kind of useless with only one working arm, but he knew he could still shoot. Claudia gave him a handgun like the one she was packing, and the five invaders made their way from the outer rim of the island to the interior.

  They had to move very slowly. It seemed that Singh had some sort of ability to cloak their movements from the island’s security measures and guards, but it was a struggle for him to maintain it over five people unless they crept along at a painfully slow pace for the Alphas.

  Once they got to a door, Singh shrugged off the backpack he’d been wearing. Inside was an explosive device. He attached it to the door and they all stood back.

  “I’m actually impressed,” Jaden said.

  “There’s more where that came from,” Singh said. “I should have told you sooner, but my plan is to destroy this whole place. So we need to hurry.”

  He pushed a button on the remote in his hand and the door blew. They rushed into the building through the smoke. The Alphas went to follow Singh and Claudia, but the werewolf woman stopped them.

  “I’m getting the scent of your Omega from that direction. Lilith is the opposite way. This is where we split up,” Claudia said.

  “Remember, my plan is to level this place,” Singh said. “Make haste.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Caspian

  Caspian wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Halston entered the lab with two research assistants. Halston directed one of them to get a blood sample from Cas.

  The Omega wasn’t sure how he could avoid the blood draw without alerting the researcher to the fact that he was concealing the screwdriver. Caspian knew he was pinning too much hope on the small tool, but it was the only hope he had. He didn’t want to reveal the weapon, so he let the woman take his blood.

  After she’d drawn a few vials, she stepped back and the male researcher began trying to undress Caspian. Fear and fury shot through him like lightning and he stabbed the man with the screwdriver in self-defense.

  Halston clicked his tongue with disappointment and walked over to Caspian. “Now now. That wasn’t polite at all. Roger here wasn’t trying to molest you, Caspian. We just want to see your full form. He simply wanted to get you ready to go into the tank.”

  Caspian lunged for Halston with the screwdriver, but he pulled a black device from his pocket. It was like the one Claudia had used on the Alphas. Before the flashing lights made the room go dark around Cas, he put together that Claudia must have stolen the technology while she was spying on Halston and modified it to work on humans.

  That was his final thought before his vision went black. He was then vaguely aware of being hoisted up using some sort of straps. His clothes were still on when the straps gave and dropped him into the tank of cold salt water. Someone had neglected to properly regulate the temperature, and the chilly water brought Caspian partially back to his senses.

  Caspian’s shorts ripped to shreds as his legs shift into a tail. Halston took a step over to the tank. He was completely mesmerized by Caspian’s transformation, and he must have expected the Omega to stay docile because he just stood there, staring at Caspian in rapt fascination.

  Halston was careless. Cas decided not to wait for anyone to rescue him. He darted to the top of the tank and turned so that he could strike Halston with his tail. The blow landed on Halston with a solid thud, and the insane asshole dropped to the ground.

  The female researcher went for the device to incapacitate Caspian again, but before she could use it, the Alphas burst through the door. They knocked the technician out and Jaden tied her up while Tate secured Halston.

  The Alphas used the hoist to help get Caspian out of the tank. Xavier went through the cabinets and found scrubs for Caspian to wear since his clothes were wet and destroyed.

  After Caspian shifted back into human form, he dressed and they all ran out. “We need to hurry,” Tate said. “Singh is going to blow this place to heaven.”

  “Wait,” Caspian said and stopped. “Then we can’t just leave that woman tied up in there.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jaden asked.

  “The woman you left next to Halston. We can’t just leave her.”

  “Caspian,” Jaden’s voice pleaded.

  “Fine, I’ll go get her myself.”

  “No, wait,” Tate said. “If that’s what you want, I’ll get her. You two get Caspian outside. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Dead guards lined the path between the building and the docks. Singh, Claudia, and Lilith had cleared the way. When Xavier, Jaden, and Caspian got to the dock, Singh handed the vampire that had to be Lilith a remote.

  “Wait!” Caspian cried out. “Tate is still in there. Give him a minute.”

  “We don’t have time for this shit,” Claudia groused.

  “Please, just give him a minute.”

  They all stood, watching the door. The couple of minutes it took for Tate to emerge with the researcher felt like hours to Caspian. His mind raced. Maybe Halston hadn’t been knocked out and he’d sent Tate to his death to rescue a stranger.

  But he finally emerged from the building carrying the female researcher. Tate ran from the building and set the woman down in the grass about halfway to the docks.

  “Let’s go,” Singh said.

  As the boat pulled away, Lilith pressed the button. It was clear that she was relishing the moment as the explosion sent a shockwave across the water and rocked the boat.

  For one moment, Caspian wondered if Halston had been right. Could he have brought his mother back? Guilt and shame filled him as he realized that she was gone for good now. The prospect of going back to his family under the sea sounded better than ever.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Halston

  Halston hadn’t been fully unconscious when they tied him up, but he pretended to be out because he figured they’d kill him if they knew he was aware. When the Alpha had come back to rescue the lab assistant, he’d contemplated killing the beast of a man, but a fight would
use up precious time he needed to escape.

  They probably wouldn’t blow the building with the Alpha still inside, but that wasn’t a chance Halston was willing to take. Once the Alpha was gone, he’d sprung to his feet and retrieved the screwdriver from the floor. Halston was able to use it to remove the zip ties they’d used to secure him.

  Rage filled him and it fueled him as he raced toward his escape sub. He secured himself in the seat of the tiny submarine and hit the ignition button. As he moved away from the island, a massive explosion went off a short distance behind him. The shockwave that traveled through the water made the sub tilt to the side a bit, but he otherwise escaped unscathed.

  His dream was destroyed behind him, and all Halston could see in his future was the prospect of revenge.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Caspian

  After they’d returned to the dock, Tate had slugged Singh hard enough to make the vampire stumble. Singh rubbed his jaw and said that he’d had that coming.

  “I wish I could say I regret what I did,” the vampire said. “But I would do whatever it takes to protect my Lilith. So, I thank you. If you ever need me to help you do whatever it takes to protect your Omega, you call me.” Singh handed Tate a card with a phone number on it. “Claudia and I are at your service and in your debt.”

  Tate slipped the card into his wallet and gave Singh an understanding nod. “Thank you for not blowing the place while I was still inside.”

  “Well, that’s enough of the emotional stuff,” Claudia said. “Let’s get my sister a meal.”

  With that, the two vampires and the werewolf were gone. The Alphas and Caspian piled into the car they borrowed and drove it back to the lot where they’d acquired it. Jaden even stopped on the way and filled it up with gas.

  Xavier’s truck looked untouched, so they got in and headed for Tate’s apartment in California. Xavier would eventually need to get back to his fishing boat, but he couldn’t bear to leave Caspian just yet.

  They all decided to hole up in Tate’s apartment and decide what to do next. Jaden could go anywhere, but Tate and Caspian had school. Xavier had a business to run. And yet, none of them could even fathom parting.

  “We’ll find a way to make it work,” Xavier said. He could read the worry on Caspian’s face as they discussed their options. “Even if we have to be apart for a while, we’ll come back together.”

  Epilogue

  Caspian

  Caspian didn’t move back into the college housing. He and Jaden got an apartment off campus. Since he was the only one who could live anywhere, he’d stayed with the Omega, vowing to protect and care for him.

  Tate and Xavier hadn’t been happy about having to leave, but it was necessary for them to part for a while. They just had to trust that their best friend would care for their Omega, and that they would all be back together someday.

  Three weeks after returning to school, Caspian had gotten sick. He was tired all the time, and he could barely hold down any food. He’d made an appointment with the campus doctor, but a couple of days into his feeling crappy, Cas’s Omega friend, Nick, showed up with a little bag from the pharmacy.

  “I am not pregnant,” Caspian protested when Nick handed him the test.

  “How do you know unless you take the test?” Nick insisted.

  “What are you Omegas up to in there?” Jaden called suspiciously from his office.

  “Nothing,” Caspian answered sweetly. “Just Omega talk.” Cas heard Jaden get up from his office chair. “Fine, just give it to me.” Caspian snatched the test from Nick’s hand and disappeared into the bathroom before Jaden could see it.

  He peed on the stick and waited five minutes. The box had said results could take five minutes, and Cas didn’t want to sit there staring at the little window. So he kept the test face down on the bathroom counter and stared at the back of it instead.

  He was dying to know if a life growing inside of him was the reason for his recent physical misery. In that five minutes, he began to imagine the possibilities. He’d been with all three Alphas, and the way his cells worked, he dreamed it was possible that a baby could belong to all four of them.

  But, was he ready to have a baby? Caspian still had years of school left ahead of him, and his Alphas were scattered across the country. How could they make a family work?

  When the timer on his phone went off, Caspian turned the pregnancy test over. His eyes went wide when he saw the symbol on the little blue and white stick of plastic.

  Caspian had told himself that he could manage no matter what the test said, but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. He dropped the test onto the floor.

  The answer was not what he expected.

  To be continued…

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  Copyright ©2018 Eva Leon

  This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is coincidental.