Beauty, the Beasts and Other

Chapter 41

Curtis, Winston, Harvey, Damien, and Ezra all looked helplessly as Isa was pushed below the surface in the bubble her kidnapper had made.

Curtis wanted nothing more than to race after them and retrieve his mate, but the other two assailants were still holding Talia as they gave their companion adequate time to swim away.

The snake man clenched his fists tightly as he considered sacrificing the fox female's life for his wife's. He knew he would probably lose her favor for the rest of his life, but at least she would be on land, where she would be safe and comfortable.

Ezra looked at the man and seemed to understand his struggle, as he was experiencing something similar but worse. Even if he wanted to dive in for his mate, he would surely die before he found her. Curtis was the only one out of a lot of them that could do anything in this situation.

Winston, Harvey, and Damien were feeling a similar sense of inadequacy as they stared at the spot where Isa was just a few minutes ago.

Ezra placed a firm hand on Curtis' shoulder, causing the snake to meet his eyes. Ezra shook his head.

"She offered herself in place of Talia, that effort can't be for nothing. Reel it in," he said.

Curtis' muscles tensed and he tore his gaze away from the sabretooth. He knew he was right. Isa would be devasted if she learned of her friend's death.

Ten agonizing minutes passed before the mermen threw Talia to the side and dove underwater. Not wasting a second, Curtis dove after them as the other men went to help Talia out of the water.

It didn't take long for Curtis to catch up to the males, and in a fit of rage, he killed them as soon as he had them in his clutches.

Having lessened his anger a tad, he stilled and tried to lock in on Marissa's location via their shared bond.

The snake frowned as he felt nothing.

What the hell is happening? He thought in confusion.

He felt as though his entire being had been split in two and half of him was lost. He felt empty and lost. His Ari.

He couldn't find his little Ari.

Frustrated with himself, the snake man swam to the location he had known the merfolk tribe to be from his first visit when he had helped their female escape.

Curtis wanted to murder someone when he arrived at the location. What was once a booming merfolk settlement, was now the underwater equivalent of a ghost town.

Curtis felt hopeless, scared for the treatment his wife was being subjected to, and completely and utterly useless.

***

It was well into the night before the red snake resurfaced on the section of the beach his family had occupied.