Page 45 of Heatwaves

Seriously?

I came here so I wouldn’t have to think about them, and yet,here they are.

I should swim away, but belugas aren’t exactly fast swimmers. Aidan would have no issues catching up in his walrus form. Carter’s and Oliver’s whales can travel faster than mine—at least in short bursts. The only one who wouldn’t stand a chance of catching me would be Ty. Narwhals are even slower than belugas.

There’s just no point in trying to run—or, in this case, swim—away.

Swimming backward, I move at a leisurely pace as I wait for them to catch up. I tense—as much as I can as a beluga—waiting for them to speak inside my mind as they surround me.

Instead, Oliver’s humpback nudges me until I turn around and start swimming once more.

No one says anything as we swim, rising in and out of the water when we need to, and it’s a beautiful thing. I’m pleasantly surprised that none of them try to speak via the mind link all aquatic shifters share when they’re shifted.

We swim for hours. I don’t want it to end.

The peace I feel swimming among them is something I’ve never felt before.

This is what we could’ve had.

What we should’ve had.

They were meant to be my pod, and we should’ve spent the last ten years swimming as one. Instead, I was left here alone.

We should’ve had forever together. Even with as little time as I spent with them after my first heat, I’d known it in my heart. They were supposed to be my mates.

Then they left me without a word—abandoned me.

Pain ratchets through my chest, and I jerk up to the surface. Seeing that we’re almost back to where I left my car, I dive back down and swim like a dolphin possessed.

I shouldn’t be out here with them. I shouldn’t feel comfortable with them.

They left me and broke my heart.

What the hell am I doing?

When the water becomes too shallow for my beluga, I shift back. Stalking out of the water, I head for where I left my clothes.

Beside them are four other sets of clothes. I don’t have to guess whose they are as Aidan, Ty, Oliver, and Carter climb out of the water behind me.

Tears fill my eyes as the wrenching pain in my chest grows sharper. I try to blink them away, not wanting them to see how much they affectme, but I can’t seem to stop them as they spill down my cheeks.

“Lila,” Ty murmurs softly, stopping behind me but not touching me. “Please don’t cry.”

Reaching down to grab my dress, I pull it over my head before turning to face them as they pull on their own clothes.

Ty is holding his pants but hasn’t tried to put them on yet. His eyes lock on me, the pain in them crystal clear as he begs me to hear him out.

My hand lifts as if to grab at my chest as the pain worsens, but I jerk it to a stop.

I might not be able to hide my tears from them, but I can hide just how much seeing them hurts me.

How much seeing Ty in pain affects me.

“We just want to talk.” Aidan’s voice is soft as he approaches me, but I step back and shake my head. He runs a hand down his chest, still shirtless, as he shakes his head.

“No.” My hands close into fists. “I don’t have to listen to you or your excuses. Just because you want to talk doesn’t mean I want to talk to you. Whatever you have to say? I’m not ready to hear it, and you need to respect that.”

Ty nods slowly, a tear slipping down his cheek. “You’re right. We do. I’m sorry.”

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