Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Us (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free

even just dipped my toes in the wet sand. Maybe only my toes would shift. Maybe nothing would happen, but I never took the chance. I should have just stayed away from water all together.
    But I couldn't.
    Something about the water always called to me.
    I'd looked up different lore about what I could be. There were the obvious mermaid thoughts, but my tail wasn’t scaly like a mermaid. It was smooth, slick, and gray like the seals at Sea World. At first, I thought maybe I was a selkie but they were born in the water and women came to land and shed their pelts. They didn't shift like I did.
    Everything I looked up about shifters usually had the person's entire body shift into an animal and it revolved around the full moon or something.
    I wanted to know more about myself. What I was. But anyone else I found online who claimed to be a shifter was usually a.) Crazy or b.) Someone who was really into some kinky stuff dressing up as an animal.
    It was one of the many times I wished my mother was around to talk to. Then again, I didn't know if she knew what I was either.
    Then of course, there was my father. The man I'd never met. The man who I was told abandoned us.
    Maybe the water called to him too. I tried not to think too hard about it, but it was difficult not to. Strolling along the boardwalk, I watched the waves roll in, crashing onto the sand. Taking a deep breath, I let the sea air fill my lungs. This was home. This was where I always felt like I belonged. But there was something off tonight.
    A change.
    A shift in the air.
    I couldn't put my finger on it until I looked to the sand and saw a man standing near the water's edge.
    At first I thought he was just gazing upon the water like I was, but then I saw his familiar limp and immediately recognized the back of Calder's head. And Calder wasn't just taking a stroll.
    His arms were out and he walked further into the water like it was taking him home.
    "Shit," I muttered, watching the rising tide before the waves crashed over Calder.
    I held my breath, waiting for his head to rise above the waves.
    But he didn't come up.
    Without even thinking, I jumped over the rail of the pier and ran toward the water, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
    I didn't stop until the cold water hit my legs and my body tensed up. An overwhelming tingling sensation, like my entire body was on fire, fell over me before I felt my tail flap against the water.
    I dove under, knowing I could hold my breath for a few minutes at least and hopefully that was all I needed to find him.
    Swimming as fast as my tail could take me, I dove deeper, following the dark water farther out to sea.
    That was when I saw him.
    His face was empty. Eyes and mouth closed with his arms floating above him.
    Calder may have been bigger than me but I knew I had the water on my side to carry him.
    Quickly, I grabbed his limp body and pressed my face to his chest. He had a heartbeat. At least that was one good thing.
    Pulling him to the surface, I crested over the water, looking toward the beach. It was more than a hundred yards away and there wasn't any sign of life against the white sand.
    I moved as quickly as my tail could take me and pulled Calder along.
    He didn't make a sound. His body dead weight against mine, but I wasn't going to give up.
    When we finally got to the edge of the water, the tide pushed us forward until we were back on the sand. Quickly I positioned myself next to him, flailing slightly with my damn tail. I knew it would shift back soon, I just didn't know how long.
    I needed to call for help. Shit.
    In my haste, I threw my purse somewhere and had no idea where the hell my phone was. And even worse, as my body slowly shifted back to human form, my pants and underwear were gone.
    But I had more important things to worry about than being modest.
    With my human legs back, I positioned myself to the side of Calder and tipped his head back before I started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
    It wasn't until my