He ran as fast as he could, barreling through the trees and underbrush, not caring how much noise he was making, or if anyone else was around. It didn’t matter. None of that mattered. He had to get to that beach…now. He cursed himself that he hadn’t gone to Marina Bay sooner. That he hadn’t gone to Co-Bieasah sooner and warned him and his mate of the imminent danger they were in.

It was his pride. His stupid, wounded pride that had made him wait. The minute he’d overheard that conversation at the bar back in Angeles, when he’d seen that filthy bird who’d deceived and used him talking to that old man, he should have left right then and there and found a way to reach out to the demigod Prince. But no…he was still too angry and ashamed of himself for what he’d done. He was still too bitter about the punishment he’d received.

You arrogant, idiotic fool! People will die now because of you!

He gritted his sharp teeth, ducking just as a tree branch skimmed over the two scars on the side of his head. The scent he was tracking was getting stronger, the feeling of the ocean air colder on his face. 

Almost there…

He came to a sudden halt at the edge of the woods, suddenly aware that the sounds of revelry he’d heard a minute ago had gone silent. His heart stopped, panic gripping his chest as he searched about frantically for those people he knew should be nearby. He knew they weren’t far, and the trail he was following was leading him in the right direction, but the beaches in this area were large, and if he came out on the wrong one…

A sound to his left caught his attention, a sound that made him freeze with fear.

Gunshots. 

Followed very shortly after by screaming.

FUCK!

Sy-Ohna began running once more, leaping over an embankment, praying to every god he could think of that he wouldn’t be too late.

**

They’d come out of nowhere, firing into the crowd with chaotic precision unlike anything Jin had witnessed before. They weren’t aiming for just anyone, he noticed; they were aiming for the Sarathian’s. 

“Get to the water!” he bellowed. Even though several of his people were already making their way in, others were too frightened to think straight, running into one another, tripping and falling, some of them getting shot when they got too far separated from the rest. The splashing of salty ocean water mingled with the shouts, crying, and screams that filled the air, making it difficult for anyone to be heard clearly. 

Jin swore, pushing his way forward through the panicked crowd, Hemi at his heels, Gema and Alise heading to the right to get the wounded off the beach as quickly as they could. He’d seen Ash and Coby run headlong toward the source of the gunfire, Coby ablaze, and Ash a glowing blue-green blur at his side. It was only a moment later when the familiar buzz of energy and the tangy scent of blood filled the air that Jin realized it wasn’t just his friends that had found the ambushers, but several other people were fighting back as well.

Including his own people.

Their primary targets.

He finally caught up to the others and his stomach turned to lead. “Oh, fuck me,” he declared, his blue eyes wide with shock. 

“Pass,” Hemi said automatically, his own astonishment rooting him in place momentarily as they watched dozens of humans swarm the beach with guns, rifles, nets, and large poles that shocked people so badly, they fell down in a convulsing heap and foaming at the mouth. 

Cattle prods, that’s what Ash had called them. And these bastards were using them on Jin and Hemi’s own people like they were nothing more than livestock getting rounded up for market. Even more sickening, they were laughing, crowing, and cheering when they “made a catch.”

“Sick fucks,” Hemi growled, surprising Jin. The big warrior never swore. He glanced down at the stunned merman, eyes blazing. “Let’s go.”

“Tally ho, motherfucker!” Jin laughed, loading energy into his fists and slamming one directly into the center of the face of the first human that got in his way.

Alise darted behind him, separating herself from Gema to rush as many people off the beach as fast as she could, scooping up crying children and handing them to their frightened parents, all while keeping an eye out for the Turner family. They’d been nearby when the shooting began, but she’d lost sight of them in the rush of the crowd.

“Sheriff!” she called out over the din. “Sheriff! Alice! Lynn, where are you?!” Her heart flipped when she noticed a group of people heading away from the beach toward the town, Rhett and Fiona among them, their kids in hand.

No…they only had the baby and the little boy. Where was Callie? And she still couldn’t see Lynn, Sophie, or the Sheriff and Alice. 

Alise weaved her way through the fleeing merfolk heading toward the sea, calling out for the children, hoping maybe the Sheriff and his family had managed to escape and she wouldn’t find them. She threw up a shield just as a geyser of sand shot up in front of her from a wayward energy blast. She skirted around it…

And froze.

She wasn’t seeing this…he wasn’t there…there was no way he would be. The chaos around her was making her hallucinate, that’s what had to be happening right now. Especially when she saw the second man appear from behind him, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Colin put his arm around Scott’s waist and pulled him in, both of them watching the scene before them with confidence, their victory already assured in their minds. 

And then he saw her…Scott saw her. He locked eyes with her, and that grin on his face…

She gulped, the blood rushing in her ears as she watched his hand move to the side of Colin’s neck behind him, tilting his head to bring Colin’s ear close to his lips. She watched his jaw move as he said something to the taller man, and then felt a lance of pain shoot through her chest as Colin looked up, both of them eyeing her with malicious glee.

No…this isn’t happening…I’m not seeing this…Colin wouldn’t…he wouldn’t!

Colin took Scott’s face in his beautiful dark hands, hands that had caressed her skin, slid through her hair, made her feel beautiful and loved, and took Scott’s mouth in a deep kiss, their lips parting just enough for her to watch the obscene display of their tongues moving together before they disappeared in a slow, deliberate kiss, one she had never received.

His dark eyes opened and they both looked at her again, their lips moving, smirks on their faces. Colin’s lips moved again, and her knees almost gave out again.

Stupid useless bitch.

They laughed…Scott’s arm snaked around Colin’s neck…he kissed Colin’s throat…no, not kissed…bit. A small trickle of blood ran down Colin’s ebony skin, glistening in the moonlight, just before Scott’s sharp red tongue licked it away.

Someone grabbed her arm, and everything went dark as she felt herself getting pulled against something solid and warm, the world around her going silent as a cocoon of heat enveloped her.

“Don’t look at him.”

Alise’s knees did give out then. “Jin,” she gasped, the hand over her eyes pressing just a little harder as tears of pain rushed forth, raining freely down her cheeks and around Jin’s strong, steady fingers. She fell to the ground, Jin going with her, curling over her, holding her, protecting her, his orb of fire and swirling magma stopping every bullet, deadening all screams, forcing her to only hear the pounding of her own heart, and feel the steady beat of his against her back, even through the thickness of her coat.

“I can’t kill him,” Jin said, his voice rough, low, and deadly. She felt her energy shift within her, demanding she curl deeper into him, to take hold of his energy and consume it. It was the only way she was going to survive…the only way she was going to forget.

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Why?” she said, the word a puff of air.

“Someone else has dibs.” His hand went from her arm to her midsection, his arm wrapping around her, his lips so close to her ear, she could feel his breath tickle the sharp point. “You know what I’ve done.”

She nodded. “Gema told me.”

He paused. “Does that scare you?”

“No,” she breathed, biting her lip as hot tears fell from her chin.

Somehow he managed to pull her in even further. “Tell me what you want.”

Alise hesitated, the vision of Colin’s hands on Scott burning behind her eyelids. How many times had he touched her after touching him? Had he been thinking of Scott when he fucked her? Had he fucked her after he’d been with that beast? Her chin quivered, heart aching. It made so much sense now…why he barely touched her, why he started using condoms more and more frequently, and that was even if he was in the mood to begin with.

And that look in his eye when Scott appeared at his side. He’d never, in the three years they’d been together, looked at her like that. He had told Alise he loved her, showed it in many ways, but that look…she’d never once seen it until now…when he gave it to that disgusting creature at his side. 

She took a shuddering breath, holding his forearm with shaking hands, feeling his warmth through his jacket, and told him exactly what she wanted him to do.

She felt a puff of air ruffle her thick wavy black hair, the smell of burning embers exciting her senses, and knew he was grinning. “Careful, angel,” he chuckled, his hold around her tightening. “You might just turn me on saying things like that.”

The hand over her eyes slid away and she turned her head to look at him. There was a hint of mania behind his thinly curved pupils, his sharp teeth glistening in the glow of his own barrier. She also noticed for the first time a faint sheen over his skin.

Shadow scales. 

His hand may be warm, smooth, comforting against her skin, but he wasn’t truly touching her. 

His grin faded and his features shifted back to normal, his blue eyes glowing under a billowing mass of black hair. “Go with the Turners,” he commanded gently. 

“I don’t know where they are,” she said weakly. 

Without looking up from her face, he nodded once over her shoulder. A window in the orb opened up as she turned to see the Turner family making their way down the beach, Abel doing his best to cover them with his department issued weapon, his deputy at his side, shouting at people to run, to get off the beach as fast as possible.

“Keep them safe,” Jin said in that same low voice that thrummed through her blood, churning up her energy in ways she’d never experienced before, exciting her soul. “I’ll come back for you as soon as I can.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. “You need to go with them,” she said, referring to the Sarathian’s.

“Yes,” he replied, almost apologetically. “They’re my people, Lise, I need to protect them.”

She nodded slowly, and, without knowing why she was doing it, let her head fall to his chest, her fingers curling around the lapels of his jacket. He stiffened but didn’t let go.

“Don’t take too long,” she whispered. She swallowed hard, her hands shaking around the rough fabric. “You have a promise to keep.”

She felt the side of his face slide against her hair, his hand moving to the side of her neck. “Get out of here,” he said, his voice hoarse. “And don’t, for one moment, look back.”

She raised her head, aware of how close his face was to hers. His throat worked, Adam’s Apple bobbing as his steel blue eyes danced over her face. For a brief moment, one of many she’d had over the last few weeks, she could have sworn he was going to kiss her. Not for the first time, she wished he would.

Do it… she pleaded silently. Kiss me, Jin…

But he didn’t. His gaze dropped and his hand slid from her neck.

He helped her to her feet, the protective magma ball falling away, took a few steps backward, then turned, running back into the thinning crowd. After a brief pause, she turned in the opposite direction, running as fast as possible toward the Turner family, relieved to see every last one of them was together.

She scooped up Callie and held her close. “Stay with me,” she ordered, creating a barrier orb of her own to protect them as they ran far away from the carnage at their backs. 

Hurry back to me, you crazy bastard.

She swiped at a tear before it landed in the little girl’s hair.

My Jin…

On the other side of the beach, running with the remaining Sarathian’s toward the water, encouraging them to hurry before they were next to be dragged away or killed, Jin stopped and glanced back once at Colin James, still standing smugly at Scott Tulle’s side.

“You hurt my woman, you son of a bitch,” he growled, clenching his fists. “I’ll make sure you feel every ounce of it when I come back for you.”

He threw off his jacket, kicked off his shoes, and dove into the water, swimming away to safety with his people, hoping that not only was Alise safe, but so were Ash and Coby who had disappeared moments after Sy-Ohna had shown up to help them.

**