Page 85 of Selkie AU: Beyond the Storm

I scowled at her. “He might not be angry, but I certainly will be if you talk badly about my mate.”

She waved a hand at me. “Oh, shush. He’s a very good mate, yes. But you can’t deny he looks like he might morph into a red-furred Naninuk at any moment.”

Rowan cleared his throat from the kitchen. “I can hear you.”

My grandmother didn’t seem to care.

I carried Rory over to our nest. I’d made a smaller nest in the middle, filled with Rowan’s and my scents. It was time for him to take a nap.

Rory didn’t like to be put down. Only the scent of his daddies and the dark blue pacifier in his mouth stopped him from cryingas I picked up the seal toy and tucked it in with him. Then I stroked down the short length of his tiny nose, each gentle touch making him close his eyes, and each blink getting longer before he opened them again.

Rowan’s sister was going to be here later today to meet us for the first time. I was feeling uncharacteristically nervous about that, but he’d told me I had nothing to worry about, that she might be “huge, and loud, and give her opinions even when they aren’t wanted,” but it was only because she cared, and she had our best interests at heart and would accept me right away. Still, I wanted his sister, and the rest of his family, to like me.

We hadn’t taken Rory to the colony yet. He wouldn’t be able to swim for a few weeks, and even then it would be in small amounts only, so we probably wouldn’t go back there for at least a couple of months. I was in no rush, though. I still had a lot of tension anytime anyone came near our nest, Rory’s room, or Rory, so it was best not to have curious selkies hovering around us yet. And I was just as comfortable here as I was there, because neitherplacewas home. No,homewas currently in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled delicious as he looked even more so. My perfect mate.

It didn’t take long to get Rory to sleep, then I was joining Rowan in the kitchen, snuggling into his side.

“You should be resting, little hurricane,” he told me.

I smiled. I loved the way he fussed over me. He was so protective. “I’m perfectly capable of standing in the kitchen with you without tiring myself. I’m not that fragile. And am I still little hurricane? I’m not the smallest in our family anymore.”

“You’ll always be little hurricane. And Rory is tiny hurricane.” I huffed, and he continued. “I know you’re not fragile, my love, you’re very strong, but you still need to be resting.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I might not be capable of walking aaaall the way back to our nest, then.”

“So dramatic,” he chuckled, but took the cooking food off the fire so he could scoop me up and carry me back over to our nest. I settled in next to Rory, and yawned, unfortunately proving Rowan’s point.

“Need anything?” he asked, a warm smile on his lips.

“You.”

“Anything else?”

“Mmmm, marshmallows.”

“And seaweed?”

I scrunched my nose up at him. “Gross.”

43

Rowan

Three months later.

My heart was pounding, even though I knew Rory was ready for this. We weren’t very far from the docks, just far enough we could be sure no one was watching us. Milo was already in the water, half shifted and reaching his arms up for Rory. Miki and Sila were in seal form, swimming around them while Panak remained in the boat with me.

I had my selkie coat over my shoulder, ready to dive in if I needed to as well, but I also wanted to stay here beside Rory’s dry blankets in case he decided he didn’t like swimming or he got too cold and I could easily scoop him up and wrap him up safe and warm.

“He’s ready, Rowan. Trust me,” Milo told me, smiling brightly.

I nodded. I did trust him. I always would. Slowly, I lowered our son into the water. His light orange coat darkened, and he spluttered water out of his tiny nostrils as his head submerged. I wanted to pull him back up right away, but Milo’s hands took him from me as his tail kicked and he extended out on his back so that Rory wouldn’t sink far before resting on his stomach.

Rory splashed frantically, panicking, but only for a moment. We’d practiced in the bath with him. This water was much colder, but his instincts kicked in and he started to swim. I exhaled in relief.

Milo smiled, then pulled his coat up the rest of the way, until his seal took over and he swam close beside our baby, keeping him safe.

Rory didn’t want to swim for long, doing a short circle before he made his way back to the boat, swimming faster as my hands dipped into the water to catch him.