Making Waves (Mythological Lovers)

by Vivienne Savage

  “I don’t want to leave,” Dante confessed. “I don’t want to rip Phoebe away from her mother and leave you here alone.”

  “I can make it alone, Dante, but they can’t make it without you. Look. Look at me,” I told him, touching his face. “There’s a hundred horses out there counting on you right now. On you, baby. I don’t want to separate from you... I don’t want to watch you both swim away, but we knew this day was coming.”

  He kissed me hard, lips demanding and desperate against my mouth. At the end, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

  “I’ll miss you both every day. Not one day will pass without you in my thoughts.”

  “And I won’t go one night without you in my dreams,” Dante replied.

  “What if I offered another solution?” Teo’s regal baritone announced behind us. I turned my face from Dante’s shoulder to see the immaculate overlord of our island in his human guise crossing the beach.

  “Another solution?” I asked, curious.

  “What if we made a home for the hippocampus herd here? A permanent home of their own to dwell year-round, without an unnecessary migration.”

  “There wouldn’t be enough food to sustain us, Teo. We migrate to allow the underwater flora a chance to recover, or we risk overgrazing—”

  “I’m aware,” Teo said. He wore a mysterious smile on his handsome face, piquing my curiosity. “But are you aware of my gift?”

  “Gift?”

  “Each of us dragons has a gift, a magical talent so to speak. I commune with animals and control the growth of plant life. Kekoa and I have recently found a trio of islands to cultivate, the distance no more than two hours by water.”

  “You can make a permanent home for us?” Awestruck, Dante stared at our mutual friend in disbelief. “If that’s true, it’ll put an end to our migration route and the risk to the herd.”

  “But why now?” I asked. “Why has this idea never come up before?”

  “It was mentioned. Once. Adon, however, was not a trusting horse. He felt beholden to me for the time your herd stayed. Plus, I think memories kept him going back to Greece.”

  “My mother,” Dante said in a low, thick voice.

  “Indeed,” Teo replied. “Of course, it will take some time for your new home to flourish, and for that, I apologize.”

  “One more migration.” Dante’s gaze returned to the water. “Thank you for this, Teo. I only need to keep them safe one more time.”

  “About that...” Teo’s grin widened. “I have asked a favor of a dear friend from Japan. His daughter is en route as we speak to escort your herd to the Mediterranean islands. No shark or orca will dare to tangle with an Asian water dragon.”

  Dante’s eyes bulged from his face. “A water dragon?”

  “Yes. Thus eliminating the need for the rear guard. No more hippocampi will die needlessly. Your numbers have diminished enough.”

  I couldn’t stop crying and I couldn’t stop hugging Teo. I don’t remember running over to him, but suddenly I was clinging to him and sobbing into his shoulder.

  “Thank you!”

  “How could I call myself a conservationist if I stood idly by? The hippocampi didn’t naturally diminish. The blame for their suffering lies at the feet of mankind, and I have spent decades fighting this injustice with human money,” the dragon said.

  “When will your friend arrive?” Dante asked.

  “Otohime shall arrive tomorrow, ready to travel alongside your group.”

  “Thank you. Thank you,” I told him again as I kissed his cheek.

  “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate this,” Dante said, appearing to be in shock. “You’ll have our gratitude, Teo. This is...” My husband inhaled a deep breath, moved beyond the ability to find words.

  “Return to us in the spring and live happy, peaceful lives,” Teo replied. “Such is enough thanks for me.”

  ***

  They left at dawn two days later. From the privacy of Teo’s personal island, I was treated to the awe-inspiring sight of a hundred equine heads bobbing on the surface. Dante faced me in silence, while I cradled Phoebe in my arms.

  “I’ll think of you both every single day,” I whispered.

  “You will always be in our thoughts. We’ll come back to you, Alessa, safe and whole. I promise.”

  We shared a tender farewell kiss then I hugged my daughter tight against me. Phoebe grinned and patted my cheeks with her tiny palms. She appeared too small and helpless, too young to be going out to sea, but I knew better. She was a natural in the water, her hippocampus form sleek and energetic.

  “Be a brave girl for mama,” I told her as I kissed her cheeks. Dante scooped her up when I was done.

  “I will take the best care of her, Alessa. I promise she’ll come to no harm,” Dante said. “I swear on my life.”

  “I know. I’ll be here, waiting for you. For all of you.”

  Dante carried Phoebe into the water. As a human child, she hadn’t mastered walking, but oh how she could swim. Tears blurred my vision as I stood vigil, watching my loved ones disappear into the ocean.

  The enormous water dragon made her appearance, a majestic creature in varying shades of blue. In the blooming sunlight, her enormous eyes shined like gemstones. Her skin resembled lapis lazuli, a field of blue with a pattern of golden lines. As quickly as she broke surface, the serpentine monster disappeared beneath the sparkling waves and faded completely from view.

  “She will protect them, Alessa. Have no fear of that,” Teo said quietly.

  “I know, it’s just...” I will not cry. I won’t let their last sight of me be with tears running down my face.

  Marcy, sensing my inner turmoil, stepped up and wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

  One by one, members of the herd blinked out of sight. I watched Hyrum and Lycus race one another, mimicking dolphins as their long bodies skipped like stones into the horizon. The last hippocampus to dip below the surface gleamed midnight beneath the dawn sky. He gazed at me with love in his gentle eyes, then sank into the eternal blue.

  I bottled my pain inside and refused to allow a single tear to fall until my husband was out of sight and oblivious to my heartbreak. One single thought helped me steel myself against the wrenching pain.

  If all went well, the herd would never have to leave again.

  Epilogue

  February

  ~Alessa~

  With Phoebe’s first birthday approaching, I fell into the deepest, blackest depression I’d ever felt. Teo gave me time off from my work to pull my thoughts together, but nothing brought me joy.

  Had they survived their journey?

  Were they well?

  Did my baby remember me the way I remembered her? I could have molded Phoebe’s likeness into clay, every feature of her angelic face burned into my memory. Would I be a stranger to her?

  Mom struggled to reach out to me, and eventually, she and my grandmother surprised me with a New Year’s visit, courtesy of a meddling dragon and his wife. We had plenty of time to spend together while the resort was closed for the winter, our family bonding interrupted only by my duties to the aquatics center as the manager.

  Of course they asked about Dante and Phoebe and I couldn’t lie to them. Sobbing, I told them everything and shared the precious photographs I kept in a locked safe. Grandma perused my photos in silence as I babbled, and at the end, she turned her misty gray eyes up to me. “Your family is very beautiful, Alessa. They will return soon. Very soon.”

  “I can’t believe these stories are true,” Mom whispered. She raised her eyes to my grandmother. “Everything you told me as a child. All of those stories are real.”

  “It’s all true, Mom. Dragons and genies, too. We even have a shark shifter.” I embraced the truth, experiencing a strange sense of catharsis in revealing my pain to them without more excuses and lies.

  “My people in Greece claim to have mermaid blood in their families,” Grandmother said as
she took our hands. In hindsight, it made a strange sort of sense — her hair had never lost its ruby red hue or brilliant shine. Her features were surprisingly unmarred by wrinkles and signs of age. The three of us could pass for sisters. “But it’s always been true for us. My mother was born from a mermaid.”

  I laughed and sniffled at the same time. “Dante said mermaids are frightening creatures.”

  “She could be very frightening,” Grandma agreed with a fond smile on her face. “But she loved me very much. She would be proud of you.”

  Their visit pulled me back from the abyss, but after their departure my upbeat mood diminished, and the despair sank its claws into me again.

  Teo explained that the soul bond was both a gift and a curse. By accepting Dante, he had gifted me a part of his soul, and in return, I’d given him part of mine. That bond was how I had found him during the attack, and our prolonged separation placed strain on the link.

  Sometimes I cried at night, and no amount of reminiscing over digital videos or memories could soothe me. I told myself they were alive and well, that the feeling of warmth creeping into my heart was a sure sign Dante and our child were happy somewhere. I took up hobbies, met with friends, and eventually, like dark clouds obliterated by the return of the sun, the dismal mood drifted away.

  Five days before Phoebe’s birthday, I awakened truly happy for the first time in weeks. I showered, brushed my teeth, and I visited the beachfront spa for a full body treatment.

  I even gifted myself cheesecake without guilt and spent the evening with Abuelo, helping him serve food to his customers.

  “I’m glad to see you on your feet again, Alessa. I worried for you.” He smiled at me from behind the counter.

  “It feels good to be up again,” I admitted to him. “I don’t know why... I just felt really great today.”

  My sunny mood continued, lasting into the next few days. I took up jogging to burn the excess energy coursing through me, and I returned to our aquarium, as eager to hang out with Pam and Julia as I was to resume working full time.

  The influx of new employees kept me busy. The summer before had been so hectic that both Pam and Julia had both helped out, but this year I really needed to choose a new assistant manager. When I couldn’t decide, the girls drew straws to tease me. I remained stumped until Teo phoned me, laughing, and said to promote both. With the shadow of the doctor finally dissipated, our workplace thrived.

  Ultimately, I decided to wait until his return before sharing our greatest secret with Pam and Julia. As far as our friends knew, my husband had gone home to Sicily for his father’s funeral and I’d grudgingly allowed him to take Phoebe along to meet her extended family.

  “We know there’s more to it than that, chica,” Julia had said gently. “And when you’re ready to tell us, you’ll tell us.”

  “Thanks, girls. I mean it.”

  I hugged the two women and stepped outside onto the residential path. The setting sun cast golden colors over the blue water, reminding me of the first night I invited Dante to my bed.

  Kekoa stumbled onto my porch as I pulled my house keys from my purse. I’d never seen the shark less than graceful before. Or naked. Both realizations shocked me.

  “They’re back,” he gasped out, winded. “I swam as quickly as I could and rushed to meet you. He’s leading the herd to their new home now.”

  “So soon? How long before they’re here?”

  “Thirty minutes at the most. Perhaps an hour. The water dragon has many talents, it seems, and hasty travel is one of them.”

  While the five months apart had felt like years, each minute dragged for an eternity. I waited barefoot at the edge of the shoreline with my eyes on the twilit water.

  Two equine heads broke the surface, one black as midnight skies, the other copper-red like autumn leaves. Like the sun I had admired during my walk home.

  “She grew!” With a couple inches on her body, and at least a few pounds, a toddler hippocampus foal slid from the water with the tide. She transformed on the damp sand, running on two chubby legs toward me. I fell to my knees and swooped her into my arms.

  “Mama. Maaa.”

  “She remembers me!” My laughter was thick with uncontrollable tears. Phoebe patted my slick cheek with her hands and gazed up at me as I hugged her tight.

  “Mamaaa.”

  “Yes, baby. I’m your Mama. And I love you so, so much.”

  I turned my tearful eyes to Dante as he moved toward me on two legs. Nothing about him had changed, his every inch still wondrously sexy and all mine. “She remembers me,” I repeated again, overcome with emotion.

  “I told her about you every day,” Dante whispered. He crouched down beside us in the sand and wrapped us both in his embrace. He was warm against me, my body remembering all of his chiseled angles as if he’d only left yesterday.

  “You came home early.”

  “I couldn’t let you miss Phoebe’s first birthday. I know there will be many more together, but we both wanted to be here for this. For you.”

  For the first time in months, tears of joy flowed down my cheeks, contrasting the anguish that sought to drown me during their absence. My family was home in my arms where they belonged.

  And thanks to Teo, we’d never be separated again.

  The End

  Thank you for buying my brand new mythological creature romance. Dante and Alessa’s story will be the first in a series of smoking hot romantic encounters between magical beings and the people they love. These will all be standalone stories to be read in any order. Expect the next around Christmas! If you loved this story, please consider doing a great favor for me by leaving a review.

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  Other Books by Vivienne

  The Right to Bear Arms

  Let Us Prey

  Training the Alpha

  Saved by the Dragon

  Mated by the Dragon