Love at Sea

by Preston Walker

  “Ash goes first.”

  The red wolf twitched his ears in Linden’s direction, but bunched up his muscles and sailed upwards in a graceful leap that seemed almost too perfect to be real. The others followed shortly after, and Linden himself came last.

  He ignored the furious look thrown his way by Hank, who clearly believed that he shouldn’t have to come behind an omega for any reason. However, Linden wasn’t going to take the chance of Ash crashing into the other alpha like he had a tendency to do when jumping up after anyone else. Even though it appeared that the omega had medicine to take, he could still scent the other’s brewing sexual needs just below the surface.

  As they all transformed back again, Linden took another look at Hank. He vaguely recognized the alpha, although the boy didn’t have a particularly noteworthy appearance. With tan skin, nondescript hazel eyes, and medium brown hair, he could have been mistaken for any number of people.

  Hank glanced back at him, obviously knowing that he was watched. His lips curled up into what might have been a smile, but which Linden saw as a snarl.

  Frowning, he turned away and spoke to the others with his back to them. “Put your things away and then get to work. Remember Hank, Ash. Listen to the others. Let’s go.”

  Linden went up to the bridge and slid into his Captain’s chair. Skip followed along and watched him for a moment as he got settled in and started checking his displays and radars. “We’re going to do the equipment check,” he said. “Take about ten minutes. Storming Lady will be ready to go in another five after that.”

  “Fifteen minutes?” Linden asked, raising one eyebrow. He glanced out over at the open water before him and winced at the sight of all the other boats already nearly out of sight.

  “Well,” Skip grunted, “we’ve got new people, so…”

  “But you showed them how to do it during training?”

  “Aye.”

  Linden nodded. “Then, make it eight.”

  He figured that was a good compromise. It certainly wasn’t their normal five, but it was better than fifteen.

  Skip hesitated for a moment and then grunted. “Aye, Captain. Whatever you say.”

  Only two minutes later, Linden had finished with his checks. Now all he had left to do was sit there and watch as the other boats continued to leave harbor and head out, already getting the jump on them. Agitation and anticipation coursed through his blood, making him impatiently bounce his leg. The best spots were probably already taken by now. He could only hope that they managed to get into one of the several niches he had marked out. If only…

  He sighed and tried to force himself to relax, one hand falling away from where it rested against his equipment. It landed on his knee, and he rubbed his palm over his jeans. However, that made his cock start to wake up and he quickly stopped that. It seemed like any stimulation at all was going to work against him, and he hated that.

  Hell, he hated a lot of this but there was nothing he could do but grin and bear it over the next two long, long weeks.

  I remember when this used to feel like an adventure.

  Oh, but he had been so much younger then… So foolish.

  Lost in his own memories, revisiting his own story in a way he didn’t often allow, the next bit of time quickly passed and soon Skip was back at his side. “We’re ready to go,” he said.

  “Good,” Linden said curtly. After a moment, he added, “Thanks. Start prepping the pots and get comfortable. This could be awhile.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” Skip grunted back. His handsome face was lined with worry and wrinkles, making Linden suddenly aware of their age difference. The beta was eight years his senior; he realized now how old that seemed.

  Then again, wasn’t he eight years Ash’s senior? Didn’t that make him old, too?

  “Hey, if we get a good haul this season, maybe we should invest in a new boat. Or your wedding.”

  Linden let out a startled laugh. “Isn’t it a tradition for the bride’s family to pay for everything?”

  “Ash is no bride,” Skip said.

  For a moment, Linden forgot about the press of time that was upon him, and he turned to face his second-in-command. “Skip, am I going about everything all wrong?”

  Skip nodded gravely. “I’m afraid so. But, I think once you have time to get to know this kid…you’ll like him, Linden. You really will, trust me. And he’s willing to fight for you. How many omegas do you know would actually be willing to do the chasing, instead of settling for the one to be chased?”

  I hadn’t thought of that, Linden mused. There’s a lot I haven’t thought of.

  When it was clear that he was no longer needed, Skip went away again. And now Linden was on his own, with nothing to do but get to work, so he threw himself into it and put all his concentration into working his temperamental Lady up to a speed that any larger boat would have been jealous of. That, at least, was one benefit of the smaller vessels. Perhaps the only benefit, really. Speed and maneuverability.

  In his slightly-elevated bridge, Linden looked out across the water and observed the placement of the boat. With a few dial flips and mental swaps, he set their course more towards the north and kept an eye out for trouble. The seas seemed calm for now but a storm could blow in at any second, with less than a minute of warning. Not only that, but a larger ship could stumble into their path and not be nimble enough to get away again; in that scenario, it was up to him to back out safely.

  For a short time, it seemed as though everything might possibly be okay. All the other boats were heading mainly to the west, or south. The competition fell away, leaving a clear stretch of unbroken silver sea before them. The sun continued to rise, glinting off the ice caps that had formed in the water. Even the mountains were becoming illuminated now, ghostly-pale beyond the mist.

  Linden relaxed.

  He shouldn’t have.

  Out of nowhere, a dark shape emerged from the mist just ahead of him. It was sleek and harsh, obviously solid metal. Against his will, he let out a startled yelp and grabbed for his intercom. “Drop anchor!” he commanded. “Now!”

  His voice rang out across the small boat, and he heard small, frantic shouts as his crew scrambled to do what he asked of them.

  Meanwhile, he twisted on his wheel and tried to edge the Storming Lady sideways, which would make her cumbersome and slow her down until the anchor could fully stop them. He gritted his teeth, hairs on his arm prickling and standing up straight. Fear filled his mind as the other boat loomed, filling his line of sight until that was all and everything. The entire world had gone grey and blank.

  Then, abruptly, when the two boats were no more than twenty feet away, the Storming Lady gave a terrible lurch and stopped on her course.

  Furious and scared, and angry that he was afraid, his emotions brewing into a storm of their own, Linden lurched out of the bridge and stood on the side of his ship, looking out at the other vessel.

  The name painted in vivid yellow on its side said Hornet’s Nest.

  Protocol dictated that he find Hornet’s radio channel and have a nice, calm conversation with them. However, Linden was feeling anything but calm so he tossed back his head and yelled, “What the fuck?”

  His voice carried like a wolf howl, elongated and haunting.

  A few heads poked up the side of the ship to stare at him. He threw his head back again. “Don’t you know how to use your fucking radar?”

  There was plenty of time for them to try to turn, to at least give me a little room. Fucking assholes.

  Suddenly, the radio inside the bridge gave a short crackle, a burst of static as someone tried to reach him.

  Fuming, ignoring the shouts of his own crew as they came his way to ask him what was going on, Linden threw one long arm deep inside the bridge and snatched at the radio, slamming down the button to accept the call.

  “What the hell?” he snapped, his lips brushing against the mouthpiece.

  An overly-pleasant voice rea
ched his ears. Even filtered through a veil of static and bad connection, Linden still recognized it.

  “Hello there, Captain Linden.” His name slid out like a curse.

  Linden rubbed one hand over his eyes, fury prickling inside him. He gritted his teeth together and hissed from between them. “Murphy, what the hell are you doing? Do you not know how to use your radar?”

  Murphy’s words were like a shrug, nudging responsibility aside. “I knew that your…little boat would be able to avoid us. Good thing too, or I would have to sue you for damages.”

  Linden bit his tongue, blood pounding in his ears so hard that his vision went red. He would have risen to that challenge, but he knew it was worthless.

  “This is our area,” he said instead. “We have it mapped out. We were here first.”

  “Yes, and now we’re here,” Murphy said smoothly. He sounded unruffled, like a bird that doesn’t realize it’s about to be pounced on by heavy paws and slavering jaws. “There might still be some scraps for you further north, if you’re lucky. But this is our place, now.”

  “I’ll ram that goddamned boat of yours,” Linden snarled. “I’ll ram you. I’ll take the damages. It’s not like I haven’t had to escape trouble before. I’ll ram you!”

  In the short silence that followed, he realized he had given away a bit too much information. When Murphy replied, the human sounded wary and a little scared, but confident that he had the upper hand with what he had just learned. “So, you’re saying you’ve run away from the law before. I wonder if your little mate there knows as much? I wonder if the law would love to find you.”

  I didn’t say a thing about the law. I’m not a fugitive.

  “Move on, ugly wolf. Your scary tactics won’t work on me,” the human hissed. “Get out of my territory.”

  It was beyond wrong to relinquish what should have been his fishing grounds, but he knew he had no choice.

  “Don’t move, then,” Linden said darkly. Part of him hoped the stubborn human wouldn’t listen. There was just barely enough room left between them for him to work his way around if he was careful, but if Murphy moved his ship, Linden could ram him and pretend like it was an accident. Consequences be damned. Or, he eyed the gap, he could just jump the distance and strangle the little bastard himself.

  He did none of those things. Murphy held the Hornet’s Nest steady and Linden slowly guided his ship around the other, using his anchor at first as a pivot point until the two vessels were directly parallel with each other. Then, he took the Storming Lady slightly west and mostly due north. Only instinct and occasional glances at his monitors kept him on track. He was too furious to even see properly.

  After a minute of driving, Linden was aware of someone else standing with him in the bridge. He turned and locked eyes with Ash.

  The other’s pale golden gaze made his throat tighten, and his scent was all around. “What do you want?” Linden choked out, suddenly unable to breathe for a completely different reason.

  Ash blinked nervously and swallowed hard. Linden watched his throat bob and looked down, but the sight that greeted him there was at once ten times better, and a thousand times worse. The omega had a sizable bulge in his pants. He stammered, and Linden felt his arousal constricting his voice.

  “What?” Linden choked out again. “What do you want, Ash?”

  “Uh…everyone wants to know what happened.”

  Linden snorted. “A bigger ship with an asshole captain is taking over our spot so we’re being forced north.”

  “Oh.” Ash swallowed again, shuffling his feet nervously. “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

  “It’s none of your concern,” Linden snapped, stress getting the better of him. “It’s my job to worry about this and your job to do what you’re told. Go back with the other worthless greenhorn and just sit tight until we tell you what to do.”

  “Hey!” Ash sounded hurt, and that made him feel guilty. Dammit, he hated feeling guilty. None of this was his fault. “That wasn’t necessary, okay? Why are you being a jerk to me?”

  “I didn’t ask for any of this,” Linden snapped. “Go away.”

  The omega stood his ground, his lip curling up in a snarl. “I didn’t ask for it either! None of this is either of our fault, so stop acting guilty, and stop treating me like I’m guilty. We’re both stuck in this so why don’t you just cooperate?”

  “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Linden said roughly. He felt raw and exposed, like his back had been pushed into a corner. His hands curled into fists, but he was also distinctly aware of his own furious arousal. His cock throbbed in his pants, ramrod-straight, and he felt like he was only seconds away from doing something drastic.

  “I know that you’re being dumb!”

  The omega was beautiful when he was angry, his cheekbones so fine when they were livid with color. His hair was tousled by the wind and damp with salt, forming a wavy crust that mimicked the rough waves. His body was slim and slender, and his hips…

  Surprising them both, Linden reached out and placed one hand on the sweet curl of the hip nearest to him. Ash flinched and stiffened, muscles flexing beneath Linden’s hand. The other was so near, his skin so soft… He was so small compared to the alpha that his hand could nearly wrap all the way around his waist.

  Spreading out his fingers, he encountered a soft, round swelling. Ash’s ass. Small and sweet.

  “Dammit,” he growled, breathless. He shuddered, but the wolf had come over him and he couldn’t stop himself. Ash was motionless, so he threw out his other hand to snare the omega completely; pulling at him roughly, Linden yanked the omega into his lap and then grabbed his face in his hands.

  So soft…dammit.

  Ash’s eyes were round and wide as he leaned in close, but in the instant their lips touched, his eyes slid closed.

  He tasted as sweet as he smelled, like flowers and faint cologne. His lips were soft but not womanly, thin but full in all the right places. Linden pressed closer to him, growling in the back of his throat as their lips moved together.

  Ash’s hands ghosted around to his back, stroking towards the front to press back against his shoulders. For a moment, the alpha didn’t understand. Then, he leaned back obediently and released the other from his grip.

  “Sorry,” he said roughly.

  Ash stared up into his eyes, lips parted slightly. Then, a trembling smile formed on those lips. “I think we’re supposed to do other stuff before we jump into the making out.”

  “I don’t care,” Linden growled. He ran one hand down the omega’s side. Ash bit his lip and shuddered, and then he reached down to rest his palm on Linden’s dick.

  The alpha went very still, and it took every ounce of his control to keep from tossing the omega out onto the deck and claiming him until night fell. However, a soft blip on the radar brought his attention back to reality. Then, he did push the omega back, but it was a gentle shove that only sent him back to his feet outside of the bridge.

  “Later,” he said roughly. “We have work to do. Tell Skip to come up here and talk to me himself, would you?”

  “Okay,” Ash said, a little breathlessly. He swallowed hard again, and Linden shuddered as he imagined that gentle suction pulling his cock deeper down the omega’s throat. “But…what about…”

  “Us?” Linden smiled wryly, but he knew it didn’t reach his eyes. He knew that Ash was smart enough to be able to tell that, too. “Talk to me again in two weeks. For now, I’m your boss and you do what I say.”

  The omega squinted unhappily and bit his lip in an extremely kissable gesture, but then he nodded in a decisive manner and snapped into a semi-mocking salute. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he chirped. That sickeningly-sweet voice held a sort of playful threat that Linden found himself looking forward to.

  Then, the omega was gone and Skip replaced him only a few moments later. He spared the beta the gritty details and just told him what was necessary. None of them were very happy about it, b
ut there was nothing to do but find a section of water that seemed favorable and start laying down their pots.

  The start of this season could have gone a lot better, he thought bitterly.

  Chapter 9

  The work was grueling. A week’s worth of sedate practice had left Ash completely unprepared for the reality of life as a crab fisherman.

  Everyone was given these special heavy vests that were supposed to help them in case they fell off the edge of the boat, but Ash had no idea how that was supposed to work when the thing was so damn heavy. Maybe there was something to pull on it that would turn it into a flotation device? Like one of those life-saving rafts that blew up during an avalanche, or a parachute? If so, he’d missed that part of the instructions. Oh well. He had learned his lesson from before and wouldn’t get so close to the edge, that was all. Nothing to worry about.

  Degasi piloted the hydraulic system. The others were in charge of preparing the crab pots, making sure they were in proper shape and loading them with bait.

  Skip’s eyes gleamed as he went below the decks of the ship and came back up with an enormous, foul-smelling box. Ash eyed it warily. “Uh… What the hell is that?”

  “Bait!” Skip said, a mischievous glint in his expression. “Arctic cod, nice and cold and raw!”

  “Gross,” Hank growled.

  Skip chuckled while Matteo watched on, peeling the lid of the box off to show a layer of whole, raw cod on ice. They all watched, one of them with glee and two with twin expressions of bemusement that belied their differences, as Skip produced a dagger from his belt. He slid the sharp blade easily into the stomach of the fish, dragging it down all the way to the tail and then pulled the fish in half the rest of the way with his bare hands. Ash felt his stomach turn as he saw the insides of the fish, the intestines and lungs, and everything else.

  I have to agree with Hank. Gross.

  He expected Skip to open up the cage and toss the bifurcated fish inside, but instead the beta speared a weird, orange organ on the tip of his dagger and held it up. “Who’s brave enough?”