Page 45 of Kraken the Seal

That answer made anxiety swell up in me. “I need to get her back!”

Feeling close to panicking, I got up and frantically pulled off my clothes. The need to get into the water to draw my seal back out was excruciating.

Delmar stood up and grabbed my hands. “Hey, slow down. Tell me what you're thinking.”

“I don't feel right,” I said. Tears were gathering in my eyes. “If I get into the water, she'll come back. I know it.”

I tried to tug my hands free of Delmar’s, but he tightened his grip. “Nina, I thought you wanted her gone.”

“I did,” I said, the tears overspilling my eyes and running down my cheeks. “But I…I…”

“You want to keep her?” Delmar asked.

“I don't want to lose her. This emptiness is horrible!” I pulled a hand free from Delmar's grip to rub my chest, as if that would relieve the pain. “Delmar, I need her back! Let me get into the water.”

“I'll take you into the water,” he said. “Try not to panic, Nina. That’ll make it harder to talk to your animal.”

I knew he was right, but I couldn’t rein in my fear that she was gone forever. In only a few short days, she'd become an integral part of me. I couldn't live without her.

Delmar's tentacles lifted me up and climbed us over the side of the boat to slip into the water.

I was still cradled in Delmar's appendages, and they lowered me until only my head and neck were above the water. I didn’t even notice the cold.

“I should be shifting. Why aren’t I shifting?”

“Invite your seal back,” Delmar murmured. “Don't demand. Don't order. I'm sure she's still there. If she'd left, there'd probably be a flash of magic or something. Sometimes our animals can pull so far into us that they're hidden, even from our human side. It's a defense mechanism usually for when we'refaced with some kind of powerful magical creature that likes to eat us.”

I'd have questions about things that might want to eat me later, for now I focused on my seal.

“Talk to her,” Delmar encouraged.

Seal? Where are you? Please come back. I'll agree to eat all the mackerel you want. I'll never wish you weren't inside me again. I'm sorry!

Nothing happened, and I grabbed around Delmar's neck, barely keeping back my sobs. His appendages held me, and his gentle voice murmured soft words of comfort.

Then my arms wouldn't bend correctly, my eyesight changed, and my sense of smell changed.

I pulled back, opened my mouth to let out a startled exclamation, and barked instead. Delmar's grinning face filled my vision.

“Hello to the most adorable harbor seal to ever exist,” he said.

My seal preened under Delmar's loving gaze and adoring words. I gave her complete control, and she wiggled close, nosing his head and mouthing at his neck. It was how she showed affection, and I was all in.

I opened myself to her.

She let me share every feeling, impulse, and sensation. This wasn't like the swims before. There was so much more here. A depth of understanding I'd refused to accept.

This was beautiful. I could sense things in ways I'd never imagined. The water around me was inky black, but it didn't matter, I simply knew where things were. There was no fear, not because Delmar was there, but because this was our element.

This was our world, and it was amazing.

Yes, our world, my seal agreed.Ours.

I'm sorry I didn't understand earlier. I can feel it now.

That was the best way for me to describe it. All the things I'd pushed away or refused to acknowledge before were hitting me at once. I wasn't overwhelmed; I was joyful.

We dived and swam between Delmar's human legs and then grabbed one of his searching appendages in our mouth and tugged playfully. Delmar's legs disappeared, and his kraken form appeared.