"And now?"
"Now I'm wondering if it's been studying me too." She turned to find his eyes already on her. "If what you're saying is true—that I somehow caused that wave—then everything I thought I knew about my relationship with the ocean just changed."
He reached across the console, his hand enveloping hers. "Not changed. Deepened."
His touch sent another jolt through her system like electricity seeking ground. The ocean beside them seemed to pulse in response, a small wave crashing higher on the shore than its neighbors.
"You felt that too," he said. Not a question.
She pulled her hand back, curling her fingers into her palm to preserve the warmth of his touch. "I don't know what I feel anymore."
"That's normal. But you will."
"How?" She shot him a sideways glance. "How am I supposed to control something I don't understand?"
"The same way you learned to swim." His voice rumbled through the cab of the truck. "One stroke at a time and instinct."
The truck turned off the coastal road, onto a narrower lane. The road wound around, through a small forest, and then Isolde let out a small gasp. There, rising against the starlit sky like something from a fantasy novel, stood a massive stone castle. The moonlight washed over its granite walls and towers, giving them an ethereal glow against the backdrop of the dark ocean behind it.
"That can't be your house," she whispered, pressing her face closer to the window.
"Home," Nereus corrected, a hint of pride in his deep voice.
He drove through an ornate iron gate and up a winding driveway. As they approached, Isolde noticed smaller homesnearby—still impressive by normal standards—dotting the expansive property.
"Your... pack lives here?" The word felt strange on her tongue like speaking a language she had never learned.
"The inner circle does. The rest live throughout the territory." Nereus parked the truck but made no move to exit. "You still don't believe me."
She started playing with her hair, still damp from the ocean. "I believe something extraordinary happened tonight. I believe you saved my life." She turned to face him fully. "But a man who turns into a wolf? Powers connected to the ocean? It sounds?—"
"Preposterous?" His mouth quirked into that half-smile that made her stomach flip.
"I was going to say 'impossible,' but, yeah." She glanced at the castle again. "Maybe I hit my head. Maybe I'm still unconscious, floating in the ocean, hallucinating all of this."
"Would you like some proof?" His voice had dropped lower, a challenge in his tone.
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
He stepped out of the truck, circled around to her side, and opened her door. He extended his hand, and she took it, trying to ignore the electric current that shot up her arm at his touch. He led her to an open area beside the driveway bathed in moonlight.
"Don't be afraid," he said, stepping back.
"I'm not afraid," she replied, surprised to find it was true. Despite everything, she felt strangely safe with him.
Nereus held her gaze for one intense moment, then began to change. It happened quickly—his body shimmering, bones shifting, skin giving way to fur. Where the imposing man had stood moments before, a massive wolf now watched her with startlingly bright turquoise eyes. His coat was primarily white with gray markings, gleaming silver in the moonlight.
A gasp escaped her lips, but it wasn't from fear. The wolf—Nereus—was breathtaking. Powerful muscles rippled beneath his thick fur as he took a step toward her. He was easily twice the size of any wolf she had studied in her biology courses.
"It was you," she breathed, recognition dawning. "On the beach. Those eyes..."
The wolf inclined his head in affirmation.
Without thinking, she reached out, her fingers hovering just above his head. "May I?"
The wolf dipped his muzzle in what could only be permission. Her fingertips sank into his thick fur, warm and soft despite having been in the ocean hours earlier. As she touched him, something stirred within her—a connection that seemed to resonate with the gentle lapping of waves against the nearby shore.
"You're magnificent," she whispered.
