The Alpha's Bride

"Are you going down there?", Talia asked when she saw that Tatiana was taking deep breaths.

"Yes." Tatiana didn't know why, but she was uneasy and she needed to check on Kalina.

"What if they are not there? What if they come out?", Talia tried to reason with Tatiana.

"If they are not there, then I'm worrying for naught. But just in case…" Tatiana's brows furrowed. "You wait here. If they come out, tell them not to go down until I come back. I want to scold Lina for being so carefree. Doesn't she know that I worry sick about her? She can try any stunt she wants when I'm not around, but in my presence, I need her safe."

"What if they are fine?", Talia asked.

"Then I will dive in for no reason.", Tatiana said. "She is my baby sister and I'm restless. I need to do this."

Talia could see Tatiana's determination. "Alright. Be careful."

After Tatiana disappeared underwater, everything became peaceful.

With nothing else to do, Talia looked toward the beach and she realized how far they went. She didn't notice that they swam that far, and she was not tired, not even a little bit. Was that because of her wolf?

Eventually, Talia flipped on her back and relaxed in the water.

Talia was not sure how much time passed when two splashing sounds were heard nearby one after another.

Kalina and Maya.

Both of them gasped for air and had cheery expressions.

"Was that your limit?", Maya asked smugly.

"I could go at least ten more minutes.", Kalina responded like it's not a big deal.

Maya didn't believe it. She could stay underwater for another minute or two, but ten was exaggerated and she didn't want to admit that Kalina could hold her breath longer, but how can she prove it? "No way."

"Yes way!"

Talia cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Eh? Talia?", Maya asked while blinking the lake water from her eyes.

Both Maya and Kalina started swimming toward Talia and Maya asked, "Why are you here?"

"Waiting for you and Tanya.", Talia said.

"Tanya?", Kalina asked. "Is she coming here?"

"She got worried about you and went to find you.", Talia said.

Kalina didn't get it. "Why would she be worried?"

"When Caden said that you went diving with Maya, Tanya assumed that you went mermaid hunting."

"Not hunting. Searching.", Kalina corrected Talia.

Talia couldn't believe this. Tatiana was right! "So, you went all the way down?"

Kalina responded with a stiff smile. They didn't go all the way down, because the deeper they went, the visibility was lower, and then there was mud and kelp forest and currents, and it was getting tricky to navigate.

Thinking about how dangerous it was down there, Kalina was worried. "How long is Tanya down there?"

Talia shrugged. How was she supposed to tell time? She could only answer with, "Less than you."

"Do you want to search for Tanya?", Maya asked.

"No, no.", Talia said quickly. "The last thing I need is you two going back down and then Tanya comes up and she goes after you and… when will it end?"

Kalina understood Talia's reasoning, but… "I need to find Tanya. Knowing her, she won't give up until she finds me. Neither of us trained physically. I got a boost in strength after Tony marked me and part of why I went down was to test my limits. I didn't separate from Maya, but Tanya is on her own."

"She didn't train, but she is still a she-wolf.", Talia said. "She won't die from drowning." At most, she will pass out and her body will float up. Maybe. "Besides, she is not down there for long. Give her some time."

Kalina puffed her cheeks. "What you said is reasonable, but I hate that she got entangled in something like this because of me. If she breaks a nail or gets mud in her hair, I won't hear the end of it."

Tatiana was always a clean freak and Kalina knew that her sister wouldn't just go into the murky depths unless she was really worried about Kalina.

…

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Tatiana dove deeper with every stroke.

She was upset.

She wanted to scold Kalina for being reckless. Why the heck would she go looking for mermaids when there were obviously none?

Mermaids should be in the depths of the ocean, and not at the bottom of some dingy lake in the middle of a werewolf territory!

The sunlight was getting scarcer, but Tatiana didn't have issues seeing in the darkness with her werewolf sight. However, there was nothing to see. Wherever she looked it was just water, and it was getting blurrier the further she went.

Great. How was she supposed to find Kalina when the visibility was lowering?

If they were part of a regular pack, they would have a mind-link, but their family is special. Their parents told them that without a pack to tie them down, they will have the freedom to choose for themselves. After all, in a pack, roles are strictly enforced. Omegas serve, warriors fight, Alphas rule. It's simple, and Tatiana was always proud of the fact that they were different, independent… but now she really wished for a way to contact her sister!

Ah! Something touched her leg.

Tatiana looked behind and she couldn't believe that she touched a plant. Is she at the bottom already?

At the second glance, Tatiana confirmed that's kelp. She remembered Maya talking about a kelp forest.

From the back of Tatiana's mind came a biology lesson where she learned some facts about kelp. Kelp has a tough and flexible stem that can grow beyond 50 meters high. That meant Tatiana was not necessarily near the bottom of the lake. How deep was this thing anyway?

Tatiana panicked when a sudden current threw her to the side, and she grabbed one kelp in an attempt to steady herself. The plant was slimy and not easy to hold onto, but there were few of them so Tatiana grabbed with both hands.

Just as Tatiana caught her bearings, another current threw her deeper among kelp and when Tatiana abruptly stopped, she realized that one kelp was wrapped around her ankle.

Tatiana looked around and her eyes widened. There was kelp everywhere!

She was prying her leg out, and her heart shook when she realized that's not an easy feat. The blasted plant was swaying with the currents and tightening its grip!

Tatiana looked up to see the darkness. She was so deep that sunlight didn't come through, not even a little bit, and everywhere she looked, she could see kelp.

Before she knew it, Tatiana's other leg was tightly wrapped in kelp also!

Now what?

She tried moving her legs gently, forcefully… it didn't work. Ripping kelp with her hands didn't work either because it was super-slimy and slippery, and she confirmed that it's very tough.

Tatiana remembered Maya's words about how if something strange happens, she shouldn't panic, and she should let it happen because it's the mermaids. Well, if there were any mermaids at the bottom of this lake, now it would be a great time for them to show up!

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