Nyx's POV-
The days went on the same after the first. Wake up, gather food, try to find a way to get them off the island or someone to come get them, and sleep when it didn't succeed. I had thought of going to the mainland to inform people but I couldn't muster the courage to face that many humans again. One grumpy attractive Marshal I can do, but more than one human is way too much. The Marshal was also too heavy to swim back with the baby as it is a three day swim from the island and we can't just leave the baby alone to swim one back then go get the other. The ocean around this island is also pretty turbulent after exiting the reef area. Now back to the daily fight between me and the Marshal.
"You can just swim to the mainland and tell them to come get us."
"I already said I can't do that."
"You have said that but not why you can't do that."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"That's a stupid answer."
"You said you're a dragon, shift and fly back asshole."
"I can't do that."
"And you haven't said why."
"It's none of your business."
"I argue that that answer is more stupid than mine."
At this point I knew he was going to blow because his face started turning red, so I jumped in the water to go for a swim, hunt, and cool down. I spaced out while swimming and ended up bumping my head on something hard on the ocean floor. I looked up and saw a pretty destroyed spaceship. I explored it for a bit, but there was nothing interesting. I surfaced and realized I had been gone for at least over 2 hours and so I decided to start heading back. When I got back with food, the grump continued to ignore me and cleaned the fish. While I sat with the baby, I smelt his pheromones strengthen as he had accidentally cut himself and got angry over it. I don't know why, but his pheromones smelled really comforting to me.
"I like them. Your pheromones smell like when it rains on the ocean."
He paused what he was doing and stared hard at me. His face shifted to confusion.
" How can you smell my pheromones?"
"I am an omega."
I looked at him with a dead panned look. He instantly started distancing himself from me and his face changed to disgust and stopped releasing pheromones.
"Well that's over reacting and what's the point of suppressing your pheromones now?
"I don't want you to get any ideas of us sleeping together so stay out of heat and away from me."
I was stupified until I released a dry laugh.
"Don't worry never even crossed my mind and it couldn't happen anyways."
"I am SSS, I have never met an omega that didn't fall into heat around me though I give you props as you've lasted longer than any other."
"You must have never encountered an omega with damaged glands then. So stop tweaking and relax. You're stressing the baby out."
He looked at me seriously before moving his eyes to the back of my neck where the glands are located. He must have caught sight of my scar because he finally started to relax.
"With your reaction, you'd think omegas were the plague."
"I have seen enough seduction and schemes to know that omegas and alphas just get pulled along through lust because of pheromones and there's no actual love. Pheromones are just the tool for seduction to climb social ladders."
I truly laughed at this point for being accused of seduction once again in my life.
"Look, I never asked to be an omega and honestly being an omega and dealing with constant pheromone suppression and forced heats because an alpha decides they deserve to try and get with you is way worse than just and omega going into heat because you forgot to reel in your pheromones."
"I never forced heats. They just happen because I have too high of a spiritual level."
We both stopped talking after that. It was awkward for the rest of the day. We were sitting staring at the fire when I watched him go into his storage space. I thought he was grabbing water like he usually did, but instead he pulled out alcohol. He looked at me and hesitantly pulled out more and handed me a few bottles. I had never had alcohol. It didn't taste great, but for some reason I kept taking sips and before I knew it the world was spinning and I was crying.
"Why was I born? Dad's a dirt bag. Stupid omega harem and his wives are dirtbags. I did nothing to them, but let's kick the little illegitimate child. He's the one that had sex behind their backs and impregnated the maid that they killed. Then offer me to his friend's company. Make me feel like I may be free just to be sexually harassed and blamed by his wife for the scumbags cheating. Then I decide to die, but noooooo I had to be a fucking mermaid. And now I'm stuck taking care of a baby with an alpha that thinks keeping his dick in his pants is an omega's responsibility."
"I never said that. I just said omegas have tried to seduce me to climb the social ladder and you can't truly love when there are pheromones involved."
"I didn't seduce anyone. I just wanted to be free. I just wanted to belong to myself. But omegas are only meant for breeding. Now I can't even do that so I truly am just useless trash. I used to believe that it didn't matter their gender, but a person's achievements relied on their own strength and had nothing to do with genders. I made a name for myself. I inspired others and then I was reminded I was an omega and that wasn't allowed for me to do. "
"I agree. I don't hate omegas. Well I do, but only because of what most of them have to do to survive in this society. My mother used me to get my fathers attention from his other omegas. Even if that meant harming me to do it and making me a dragon that can't fly. God what am I talking about… that's enough alcohol. For both of us."
He took the alcohol and we both reeled in what we just learned about each other. The day after we pretended like nothing changed, but we started getting along more. He stopped asking me to swim to town and I stopped telling him to fly.
Theo's POV-
Although these days it is nice to be getting along more with Nyx, I really needed to get off this island.
"If only I hadn't crashed in the ocean."
I was mumbling to myself, but Nyx next to me froze.
"You crashed in the ocean? Possibly in a small aircraft with the whole back blown off?"
I stared at her for a second before I processed what this meant.
"You've seen my aircraft?"
"It's only a 2 hour swim from here."
I was so excited I hugged her out of nowhere. When I realized what I was doing, I released her instantly and gave an awkward cough.
"Can you bring me there?"
"It's at a deep point in the ocean. You'd never be able to hold your breath long enough to see it and the baby would be alone for 4 hours if not more."
"Dammit. My communicator is in the locked drawer. If I could get it then I could get help."
"Can't I just bust the drawer open?"
"No. It's a secure drawer supposed to withstand explosions and fingerprint locked."
We sat there silent for a while. I noticed Nyx shifting uncomfortably next to me.
"What is it?"
"If we can secure the baby for 4 hours, I know one way that you could be able to get to your ship."
"I thought you said it was deep and I wouldn't be able to hold my breath?"
"I did and it is, but I can."
"That doesn't help me hold my breath."
"Well it does because I could feed you air."
"How would you do that?"
She didn't reply. She just looked down at my lips. It took me a second before I understood what she meant. Subconsciously my eyes also traveled to her lips and even though her gold tail wasn't out, I got the sudden urge to hoard again. We stayed silent and I tried brainstorming other ways, but in reality we were already at our last option. We started making plans for how we were going to go about securing the baby. After working out a plan we slept for the night and waited to go the next day. While we were laying next to the baby, I subconsciously looked at her lips again while she was sleeping. For some reason I wasn't fully against having to kiss her. I hate omegas, but she is so different from the ones I have met that I tend to forget she is one. The ones I know are weak and use unhanded means to do their bidding for them, but she is strong and works hard to do things herself. I guess with her it might be ok.
The next morning came too quickly. The baby was still sleeping when we woke, and we moved carefully to avoid disturbing him. Nyx had fashioned a makeshift nest of soft leaves and my jacket in the shelter's corner—the safest spot we could manage. She checked on him three times before we left, her fingers gentle against his small forehead.
"He'll be fine," I said, though I wasn't sure if I was reassuring her or myself.
She nodded but didn't look convinced. "Two hours there, however long it takes, two hours back. We need to be quick."
The ocean was calmer today, the surface glittering under the morning sun like scattered diamonds. Nyx waded in first, and I watched as her legs shimmered and merged, golden scales catching the light as her tail formed. Even after seeing it multiple times, the transformation still made my dragon instincts stir—that irrational need to possess something so rare and beautiful.
I pushed the thought away and dove in after her.
The water was cold enough to shock my system awake. Nyx moved ahead with effortless grace, her tail propelling her forward in smooth, powerful strokes. I had to work harder to keep pace, my human form clumsy in comparison. She glanced back occasionally, adjusting her speed so I wouldn't fall too far behind.
As we descended deeper, the world transformed. Sunlight filtered through the water in shifting columns of blue-green light. Schools of silver fish darted past us like living ribbons. Coral formations rose from the ocean floor in twisted sculptures of purple and orange, and strange bioluminescent creatures drifted by, pulsing with soft light.
It was beautiful. It was also deadly.
My lungs began to burn after the first twenty minutes. Nyx sensed it immediately—she must have been watching me closely—and circled back. She pointed upward, but I shook my head and pointed forward. We couldn't waste time surfacing when we'd barely covered half the distance.
She hesitated, then moved closer. Her hands came up to cup my face, and for a moment we just floated there, suspended in the blue. Her eyes were impossibly large underwater, reflecting the filtered sunlight. Then she leaned in.
The kiss was clinical at first—just a transfer of air, mouth to mouth. But the moment her lips touched mine, something shifted. The air she breathed into me was warm, tasting faintly of salt and something sweeter I couldn't name. My hands found her waist instinctively, steadying us both as the current tried to pull us apart. Her tail wrapped partially around my legs, anchoring us together.
When she pulled back, my lungs were full but my head was spinning for entirely different reasons.
We continued swimming. The ocean floor dropped away beneath us, the water growing darker and colder. Strange shapes moved in the periphery of my vision—things I didn't want to examine too closely. Nyx stayed close now, her presence a comfort in the increasing gloom.
The second time I needed air, she was ready before I even signaled. This time when she kissed me, her hands slid from my face to my shoulders, pulling us closer. The air transfer lasted longer than necessary. When we broke apart, she looked as confused as I felt.
Finally, the wreckage came into view.
My ship was barely recognizable. The sleek military craft had been torn apart by the impact and the ocean's relentless pressure. Twisted metal jutted out at odd angles, covered in a thin layer of algae and barnacles. Part of the hull had collapsed inward, and several panels had been ripped away entirely, exposing the dark interior.
Nyx pointed to a gaping hole in the side—our entry point. I nodded and followed her in.
Inside was worse. Everything was destroyed. Equipment floated in the water or lay scattered across the tilted floor. My navigation console was shattered, wires hanging loose like entrails. The emergency supplies I'd hoped might still be intact were waterlogged and useless.
But the secure drawer—that was built into the ship's frame itself, designed to survive crashes. I swam toward the cockpit area, running my hands along the wall until I found it. The fingerprint lock was still intact, its small light blinking red in the darkness.
I turned to find Nyx and saw her by a cabinet in the ship. She turned, holding something—a waterproof photo frame. Even through the murky water, I could see it clearly. It was from two years ago, taken after we'd successfully defended the Outer Rim from a Zerg incursion. James had insisted on the photo, gathering everyone together despite my protests.
There I was in the center, James to my right with his arm slung over my shoulder and that ridiculous grin on his face. Lieutenant Chen on my left, always serious. Behind us, the rest of my unit—Marcus, Yuki, David, and...
Nyx was studying the photo intently, her finger tracing over the faces. Something about the way she looked at it made my chest tighten uncomfortably. Was she looking at James? A lot of omegas found him attractive with his easy smile and friendly demeanor. Or maybe Marcus, with his classic Alpha features?
The thought made something hot and possessive flare in my chest. My dragon instincts surged—mine, mine, mine—and before I could think it through, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me.
Her eyes widened in surprise as I cupped the back of her head and kissed her.
This wasn't about air. My lungs were still half-full from the last exchange. This was something else entirely—something primal and irrational that I didn't want to examine. Her lips were soft and she tasted like the ocean and I wanted to keep kissing her until that strange tight feeling in my chest went away.
She responded after a moment of shock, her free hand coming up to grip my shoulder. The photo drifted from her other hand, forgotten. Her tail wrapped around my legs again, pulling us flush together. The kiss deepened, and I forgot we were underwater, forgot about the mission, forgot about everything except the feeling of her in my arms.
When we finally broke apart. What the hell was that? Why did I do that? I didn't need air. I just... saw her looking at that photo and something in me snapped. Was that jealousy? No. That's ridiculous. I don't get jealous over omegas. I don't get jealous over anyone.
But if it wasn't jealousy, what was it?
Nyx retrieved the floating photo, tucking it carefully into the pocket of my shirt. Then she pointed firmly at the secure drawer. Right. The mission. Focus.
I swam back to the cockpit and pressed my thumb against the scanner. It took three tries—the salt water had corroded some of the sensors—but finally the light blinked green and the drawer clicked open.
The communicator was there, nestled in its protective foam. I grabbed it quickly, but my heart sank as I pulled it out. A crack ran across the screen, and one corner was dented where something had struck it during the crash. I pressed the power button. Nothing happened.
Nyx appeared beside me, examining the damage. She pointed upward urgently—we'd been down here too long. I nodded, clutching the communicator tightly as we swam back out of the wreckage.
The return journey was harder. My muscles were exhausted from fighting the current, and the cold had seeped deep into my bones. Nyx had to give me air three more times. Each kiss was becoming dangerously familiar, dangerously comfortable. By the last one, her hands were tangled in my hair and mine had slid down to her waist, pulling her closer than strictly necessary for air transfer.
We broke the surface near the island gasping. The sun was past its peak—we'd been gone nearly five hours. Nyx transformed back to legs as we reached the shallows, and we stumbled onto the beach together, exhausted.
The baby was crying. We could hear him from the shelter.
"I'll get him," Nyx said, already running despite her exhaustion.
I followed more slowly, the communicator clutched in my hand. Inside the shelter, Nyx had the baby against her shoulder, rocking him gently. He calmed almost immediately when he saw me, reaching out with one small hand.
"He's fine," she said softly. "Just missed us."
I sat down heavily, my legs finally giving out. Nyx settled beside me with the baby between us, and for a moment we just breathed.
Then I held up the communicator. "It's damaged."
"Can you fix it?"
"Maybe." I activated my storage space—a small dimensional pocket that all high-level spiritual warriors could access—and pulled out my emergency toolkit. The tools materialized in my hands: micro-screwdrivers, wire strippers, a small soldering iron with a spiritual energy power source, diagnostic scanner.
I carefully pried open the communicator's casing. Water had gotten inside despite the protective housing, and several components were corroded. The crack in the screen had damaged the display circuit, and the power cell was completely dead.
"I can fix this," I said slowly, examining each component. "But it's going to take time. I need to clean the corrosion, replace the power cell, repair the display circuit... at least a day, maybe two."
Nyx nodded, then pulled out the photo from her pocket. The waterproof frame had protected it perfectly. She studied it again, her brow furrowed.
"What?" I asked, trying not to sound as irritated as I felt. Why did she keep looking at that photo?
"This person," she said, pointing to someone in the back row. "Behind Lieutenant Chen."
I leaned closer. It was David, one of my communications officers. Young, eager, always volunteering for extra shifts. "What about him?"
"His uniform," Nyx said slowly. "Look at the small burn patches. His whole uniform looks the tidiest out of everyone even you and yet he still allows parts to have small burns. I just feel weird about it for some reason"
I looked closer. David's rank insignia was clearly visible on his collar—three silver bars indicating a junior officer. But Nyx was pointing to something else: a small burned area on his chest, partially hidden by James's shoulder in the photo.
"That's a burn caused by leaning over the energy reserve of a ship when it's running. Something you only do in a rush as it's super dangerous."
David had been on my ship. David had access to all our communications systems. David had been in the perfect position to sabotage my ship's navigation and make it look like a malfunction.
"He could have been a plant and the reason I crashed," I said, my voice hard. "The royals probably put him on my crew to spy on me. And when they decided I was too dangerous to let return to the capital..."
"He sabotaged your ship," Nyx finished.
I looked down at the broken communicator in my hands. Suddenly fixing it seemed a lot more complicated. Because once I called for help, I'd be letting the royals know exactly where I was. And if they'd tried to kill me once, they'd certainly try again.
But I'd also know who to watch for. Who to investigate. David might have thought he'd succeeded in killing me, but he'd made one mistake: not seeing the job done thoroughly.
Either way, it was the clue I needed.
"We fix the communicator," I said firmly. "But we're careful about who we contact. James first—I trust him completely. We'll need allies before we make any moves against the royals."
Nyx nodded, then carefully tucked the photo away again. The baby had fallen asleep between us, his small hand clutching my finger.
I picked up the micro-screwdriver and got to work. Beside me, Nyx watched quietly, occasionally handing me tools before I even asked for them. The shelter was peaceful, filled only with the sound of the ocean and my careful work on the delicate electronics.
But my mind kept drifting back to those underwater kisses. To the way her tail had wrapped around me. To that irrational surge of possessiveness when I'd seen her looking at the photo.
I didn't understand it. I didn't want to understand it.
But I couldn't stop thinking about it either.