Page 24 of Seas the Day
Kaelen shot him a sidelong glance, his Beta’s sharp eyes missing nothing. Thalric ignored him, his jaw clenched tight enough to ache.
They soon arrived at the training facility, a structure of pale stone built into a cliffside overlooking a sheltered cove. Thalric exited the vehicle first, the Alpha leading and establishing order. He rushed to the front entrance and held the heavy door open, a gesture of courtesy that felt loaded. Navira brushed past him without a word, her shoulder almost grazing his chest, and the electric jolt of her proximity shot straight to his core.
He forced himself to keep a respectful three paces behind her as they entered the humid, chlorinated air. The scent of water and sea wolf—musky and wild—filled the space. Twenty of hiswarriors waited, already in swim gear, their postures a mix of curiosity and thinly veiled skepticism.
All conversation died as Thalric stepped forward. He felt the weight of their collective gaze, the perpetual, unspoken evaluation.
The chosen one. The adopted son. Prove your worth.
Thalric cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “You’re here because our territory faces a new kind of threat,” Thalric began, his voice carrying effortlessly. He kept his tone neutral, factual. “Graven Tideborn and his pirates aren’t just raiders. They’re aquatic predators with tactics we haven’t faced before. Complacency will get you killed.”
A burly warrior with a scar across his shoulder crossed his arms. “And Kaelen and Sylar can’t prepare us for that?”
“They will continue to.” Thalric didn’t blink. “But when you face an enemy who lives and breathes in the water with a different instinct, a different biology, you need every advantage. A new perspective.” He gestured to Navira, who stood beside him, her chin lifted. “This is Navira Amaryllis. She is a former Olympic champion from Earth, a master of human aquatic technique, speed, and endurance. She will be leading your training for the next month.”
The skepticism in the room didn’t dissipate; it shifted, morphing into blatant confusion.
Navira stepped forward then, and Thalric felt a surge of fierce pride. She didn’t wait for his permission or his cue. She simply took the space, her blue eyes sweeping over the sea wolves with a coach’s assessing gaze.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Navira said, her voice sure and steady. “You’re born to the water. You shift. You’re stronger, faster. What can I possibly teach you?” She gave a small, challenging smile. “I can teach you efficiency. I can teach you how to move through water like it’s air when you’re in yourhuman form, to conserve energy for the fight. I can teach you pacing, breath control under duress, and how to use currents as weapons. Your power is innate. My job is to give it precision.”
She listed her credentials then—gold medals, world records, years of coaching elite athletes. Thalric watched as her words began to land. The pack’s expressions softened from confusion to consideration, then to a dawning respect. They saw her competence, her confidence. They saw what he saw.
The tight knot in his chest loosened, just a fraction.
“She is here as an expert,” Thalric announced, reclaiming the moment. “You will give her the same respect you give Kaelen and Sylar. Her methods will become part of our defense.” He paused, letting his gaze sweep over every face, Alpha authority radiating from him. “I will observe today to ensure a smooth start. After this, the training is hers. You follow her lead.”
He took a deliberate step back, putting physical distance between himself and Navira, surrendering the floor to her fully. The gesture was pointed, for her and for the pack.
“They’re all yours,” he said to her, his voice low but carrying.
He moved to a bench against the far wall, a position of observation, of released control. Every cell in his body protested the distance from their mate and the surrender of control. But he sat, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes fixed on her as she turned to face her new students, a spark of fire finally lighting in her gaze.
As the minutes passed, Thalric observed a masterclass in controlled chaos. The humid air vibrated with the slosh of water, the slap of feet on wet tile, and the sharp cadence of one woman’s voice cutting through it all.
Navira stood at the pool’s edge, a silhouette of focused energy against the bright blue water. The sleek black swimsuit she wore was a second skin, a stark contrast to her pale, toned form that showcased every muscle earned through a lifetimeof discipline. She wasn’t just breathtaking; she was a force of nature harnessed into human shape.
“Group one, you’re with Sylar on deck—resistance band sprints, ten-second bursts, thirty seconds rest. I want to see your hamstrings scream. Group two, you’re in lane one—underwater dolphin kick the length of the pool on a single breath. Time yourselves. Kaelen has the clock.”
SIXTEEN
THALRIC
Her commands were crisp, leaving no room for debate. She had split his twenty warriors into four rotating squads with a strategist’s eye, pairing brute strength drills on land with agonizing precision work in the water. Thalric watched, his Alpha’s mind dissecting her methodology even as his mate’s heart swelled with a pride so fierce it stole his breath.
On the deck, Sylar barked at a group straining against thick elastic bands, their powerful legs driving them forward in explosive, short-range lunges. In the pool, another group surged beneath the surface, powerful bodies contorting into fluid undulations, their speed remarkable even for sea wolves. A third group practiced rapid-fire flip turns at the wall under Navira’s direct critique, her hands sketching corrections in the air.
“Don’t just touch and push—plant and pivot! Your enemy won’t give you a gentle wall to bounce off of!”
They listened. Not just to her words, but to the undeniable authority in her posture and the keen intelligence in her eyes as she tracked every movement. The initial skepticism had evaporated, replaced by the focused grimace of athletes being pushed to a limit they hadn’t known existed.
She’s not just teaching them to swim,Thalric thought, his eyes fixed on her.She’s teaching them to think in the water. To weaponize their own motion.
He’d always trained his pack for power and pack cohesion. Navira was drilling into them the concepts of economy, of reducing drag, of converting raw strength into directed velocity. It was a perspective born of a world without shifting, where every fraction of a second and every saved calorie meant victory. It was brilliant. It washer.
A deep, resonant certainty settled in his bones, quieting the restless wolf for a moment. This woman, this hurricane of competence and passion, could not leave. She wasn’t just a mate to be protected; she was a partner who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Her instinct for the water complemented his strategic control like the tide to the moon. His pack would not just accept her; they would thrive under her influence. She would bring stability, yes, but also a vital, challenging fire.
She needs to choose me.
