RAFF

Midnight swells swallowed her slender form. Raff could move swifter than the wind, but he hadn't been able to move fast enough to reach her. Paralyzed, he hung over the edge waiting for her to resurface; the fall had not been far and the water, while not calm, was not unusually rough. A strong swimmer would be fine. She would be fine.

Meribella did not surface. With a strangled howl, he shrugged out of his jacket and leapt over the railing. Wishing he could shift into his wolf's warm coat, he stifled the gasp that rose to his lips when the icy ocean claimed him. Gods it was cold, and even if with his supernatural edge, making the first movement was difficult, his muscles seizing in protest.

He scoured the area until his lungs were screaming, and he kicked towards the surface. Down. Up. Down. Up. Over and over again he dove, searching until his frozen mind began to play tricks on him. A bright glow, like an aquatic star, streaked by, and he had to fight the urge to follow it.

Resurfacing, he swam towards the shore, hauling his numb body onto one of the rocks jutting out of the sea. If his enhanced human body was failing, Meribella had no hope. Sleep might have claimed him, but rough hands slipped under his armpits and jerked him upright.

"Stubborn ass," Lincoln grunted, dragging his pack leader away from the public pier and to an area of shadows and scraggly bushes. "Shift."

"Go away," Raff coughed, turning to his side before pushing himself upright.

"Care to explain to me why you decided to take the extreme version of the ice bucket challenge? Should I be preparing for the swim, because I'm going to be honest. Just tell me where to send the check."

"Meribella... she fell in." Did she? Or did she jump? "I had to go in after her, but I couldn't find her."

Lincoln went rigid. "I guess you made your choice then?"

"The universe made the choice for me. There's no way she's still alive."

"How did you not see her? Your eyesight is the best."

"Not in the water. Not without shifting, and I would've been useless trying to swim out there as a wolf. Never in my life have I wished to be a fish shifter."

Lincoln snorted before sobering up. "What should we do? Call someone?"

Raff stepped towards the water's edge. Every part of his being demanded that he go back in and find her. "Call 911. Tell them you saw a jumper."

"What are you going to do?"

"Vivian and Joe know she was supposed to be meeting me tonight," Raff worried. "They weren't pleased. They're going to point fingers at me."

"Do you think they'd risk that? They know what you are, and they're not going to mess with the delicate balance in the supernatural community."

"You're probably right, but Joe seemed especially protective of her." A rush of irrational jealousy swamped him. His wolf raised his hackles and snapped until they both realized it didn't matter who she belonged to before. Now, she belonged to the briny sea. "I'm going to backtrack and show up once the search crew gets here. I've got a change of clothes in the car as usual. I'll put the spare on the car and use a flat as an excuse for being so late. It'll go over better than not showing up at all. I need you to back up to the pier and grab my jacket. I-I dropped it before I went in after her."

Lincoln's face was grave as he studied his leader. Raff's shoulders sagged, and his rugged face was haggard. "Would she have been worth it?"

"I'll never know," Raff said, the words ending in a snarl as he shifted. Lincoln shifted as well, and Raff let his Beta's red wolf run ahead.

The snow was falling in earnest now. Fat flakes clung to his coat, turning the black streak white, but in his animal form, he wasn't bothered by the cold as much. He was more durable- at least his body was; he couldn't say the same for his heart. The steady rhythm that a young, star-eyed woman had revived was stalling once again.

A sharp bark from the shrubs pulled him out of his revelries. With one lingering glance across the beach, he turned to follow his friend, but not without lifting his snout to the sky and releasing a long, forlorn howl. A goodbye to the girl he'd never really had a chance to say hello to.

************************************

MERIBELLA

Light bit through Meribella's closed eyelids, urging them open at the same time forcing her to squinch them tighter. Stones and sticks poked her sensitive skin, but beyond the sensation of feeling bruised, she didn't think she had any injuries. The bruises were from spending a night sleeping on the ground.

Admitting to herself that sleep had fled, she sat up and tried to work some moisture into her mouth as she squinted at her surroundings. She'd managed to walk a mile or two up the beach before fatigue forced her to find shelter and rest. A brief moment to catch her breath turned into a deep sleep. Thankfully, she'd passed out far away from any of the public access points for the beach because being discovered would destroy all of her plans.

Rising to her feet, she tried to tug her skirt down, but the salt stiff material refused to cooperate. What did it matter anyways? She released the material and started to make her way towards the road, keeping to the treeline so that no one would see her.

Her destination was Joe's pub. This early in the day, no one would be there but Joe and maybe Vivian. The plan formulating required assistance from someone, and they were the only two people in this town, on this side of the country, that she could trust.

Every step caused pain, and after the first thirty minutes of walking, her fevered brain began to liken her to the little mermaid, the version where she couldn't walk without drawing blood from the soles of her feet. A strong gust of frigid air nearly toppled her, but it did nothing to soothe the unnatural heat searing her brittle bones.

Stumbling, she wondered what Joe and Vivian were going to say when she showed up. By now, word would have spread that she'd drowned. A frown creased her face. The emergency responders had called her a jumper, and while she'd been considering a swim, she would've never tried to end her life. She'd be dry and warm right now if it wasn't for him. Though, she would be ignorant of his true nature too.

Last night's events coursed through her mind. The shock of the water, the joy as the sea surged in her blood and filled her with power, the brilliant shine of her body nearly blinding her. And then the realization that he hadn't actually stood her up. A realization that nearly made her more giddy than being cocooned in ocean. A realization that scared the shit out of her.

With no recollection of how long she'd been submerged (only in saltwater could she hold her breath for an extended length of time), she started to kick towards the surface when another shape torpedoed into the waves. Terrified of being seen in her current state, she'd hidden behind one of the pier's posts and watched as Raff searched for her.

His movements were frantic, and he remained in the cold water far longer than she expected; however, the lower temperatures were taking their toll: on him and her. When she couldn't suppress her trembling, she resurfaced to fill her lungs with oxygen before diving deep and heading towards the shore. There was a brief moment she thought he might have seen her, but he didn't investigate. By the time she pulled herself out of the water, he'd abandoned his rescue mission and gone to shore as well.

Meribella almost went to him when he collapsed on a large rock, but another man approached. Shorter and stockier than Raff, he displayed impressive strength when he hauled the larger man to safety. As soon as she was dry and shine free, she'd go to him. Explain what had happened.

A flutter of nerves filled her stomach. He'd be furious and try to be overprotective again. She might let him get away with it for a minute or two. Afterall, he'd risked his life to save hers.

Rubbing her arms frantically, she watched as the full body glow faded to star-pricks of light where droplets of water still sat on her skin. Never before had she wished for that light to disappear, but each moment was a moment she was leaving him thinking she'd perished beneath the waves.

When the last sparkle faded, she started to pick her way across the pebbled shore. Her eyes were pinned on Raff. He'd managed to get to his feet, and though he was talking to the other man, his eyes never left the churning ocean. Heart in her throat, she opened her mouth to call out and closed it in a gasp.

A wolf, identical to the one in her dream, had taken his place. The animal didn't move for several minutes. Just stood in the falling snow, ears upright, and eyes glued to the horizon. The howl he released, a wailing lament that tugged at something inside of her, echoed into the evening before he turned and disappeared into the black.

Shock rooted her in place until sirens and flashing lights jolted her into action. She stayed long enough to ascertain they were indeed searching for her, that they assumed she'd committed suicide, and she scurried in the opposite direction Raff had taken. She might be aware of the supernatural world, hell she was supernatural, but she'd never been actively involved in that community. And Raff wasn't just any shifter. He was a werewolf.

All of his bossy tendencies made sense. He was likely the leader, the Alpha male, of his pack, and he was used to protecting those he viewed as weaker. She tried to recall everything she knew about werewolves, but Kai only cared about Selkie legends and her progeny. Lessons about anything else were on an as needed basis. Werewolves didn't qualify.

The pub finally appeared, the parking lot empty save for thin layer of snow glittering beneath the morning light. Mustering up the last bit of energy she had left, she darted to the front door. Indeed, just like the little mermaid, scarlett splotches stained the white powder, but her feet had grown too numb for her to feel the pain anymore.

"Hello," she called, sagging against the bar as the warm interior of the pub made her body vibrate and prickle as blood started to flow again. "Hello."

"Good lord. Joe! Joe!"

A heavy blanket was draped over her shoulders and someone guided her to a ladderback chair. Coffee was shoved between her hands, and the rich aroma of chicory and cream curling up her nostrils cleared some of the haze from her mind. The first sip scalded her tongue, but she moaned as the hot drink spread caffeine throughout her system.

They waited until she finished her drink, topping it off and adding a generous splash of milk, before they pelted her with questions.

"Bella, what the hell happened?" Joe demanded. If she wasn't mistaken tears choked his gruff voice.

"I need help," she replied, unwilling to go into all the details. "Raff Wellington is a werewolf, and I want to get far, far away from him." Her boss shared a pregnant look with Vivian before the waitress threw up her hands. "You believe me?"

Vivian reached up to tighten the blanket around her shoulders, the action reminding Meribella strongly of Raff. She shoved away the longing that tried to worm past the terror.

"Oh honey. We know. We've always known."

"Wait, what?" Meribella spluttered, the mouthful of coffee she'd just swallowed lodging in her throat.

"Camden is kind of a hotbed for our kind," the waitress continued.

"Your kind?"

"Vivian is a witch. I'm a bear shifter."

"Calm down. I can sense your terror," Vivian soothed. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we're just the people you need if you really want to get away from Raff."

Joe crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew we should've done something the night he started the fight."

"Do you really want to the wrath of the Orion pack focused on you?"

Meribella pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. There was no doubt that she had a fever, but it wasn't high enough for her to be hallucinating. How had she managed to live in the area for months and escape notice? But the longer the two bickered before her, the more calm she felt. They could've hurt her anytime they wanted, but they hadn't. Neither has he. So why are you running?

"So, you're going to help me, right?"

Vivian nodded. "Raff thinks your dead now, but if he catches wind of your scent, he'll be on the prowl for you. I have a potion that will mask your scent long enough to get you off of his territory. It means you'll have to go quite a bit further north, but it won't be for forever."

She thought of her map and all the places she still needed to check. But none of it would matter if she was held prisoner by some insane Alpha male. "What's going to keep him from following me if he finds out I'm alive. He seems pretty resourceful."

"He won't be able to go where we're sending you," Joe explained. "If he crosses into the territory of the Starless pack, he'll be asking for war, and things are already tense between the two packs."

"So you're sending me to more werewolves?"

"Child, you've been around them for this long without knowing. What makes you think it's any worse to go up there?"

A shudder wracked her body, and she clutched her drink tighter. "Guess it's just my luck lately."

"You can take my extra vehicle, and I'll send Vivian to your house to get your things. I doubt anyone has been by there yet."

"Thank you so much," Meribella said with tears in her eyes.

Joe enveloped her in a hug. At first, she was stiff, unused to such affection, but after a few seconds, she returned the embrace. A new kind of warmth surged through her, and the feeling was not unpleasant.

"I couldn't save my girl," the bear shifter told her, "but I will save you. That's a promise."