Christina’s POV
The sudden pull yanked downward, throwing completely off balance. My body tipped sideways as I began to sink deeper into the diterranean waters.
Instead of plumting endlessly into the depths, I collided with a broad, solid chest. Disoriented, I blinked behind my scuba mask and looked up at the man holding .
I glared at Hudson through my mask, irritation bubbling through . I tried wriggling free, raising my hands to signal that he should release imdiately.
Hudson didn’t comply. He pressed firmly on my shoulder, stopping my movent, and signed with quick, decisive gestures: "Sothing’s wrong. Don’t move."
Even underwater, the weight of his warning hit like a concrete wall. I froze instantly. This wasn’t one of his controlling Alpha moves; he wasn’t joking.
"What is it?" I signed back, my fingers moving urgently through the water.
He didn’t answer. Still holding securely against him, he tilted his head upward.
I followed his gaze. At first, all I saw was the shifting water above us, dancing with the last rays of sunlight filtering through. Then I noticed the ripples—spreading wider, growing stronger, gathering ominous montum.
Hudson’s eyes tracked the disturbance for several seconds. Without warning, he turned and swam deeper, clutching tightly against him.
My heart hamred against my ribcage.
"What the hell is happening?" Akira growled inside my mind, equally alard.
A glance over Hudson’s shoulder provided our answer.
A wall of raging water was bearing down on us.
"Tsunami," I thought, the word exploding in my mind like a bomb.
I usually prided myself on staying cool under pressure, you don’t survive being paired with Niall Granger for four years without developing nerves of steel, but faced with this natural monster, I couldn’t stop the tremor that ran through my entire body.
Hudson’s grip tightened protectively. He pushed my head against his chest, as if trying to shield from the sight of that monstrous surge.
Even here, sowhat protected from the main force, the water around us convulsed violently. The waves weren’t as terrifying as what lood above, but their impact was still brutal.
The first strike hit like being smacked by a giant. The current spun us around in a violent whirl that sent shock waves through my chest. My lungs clenched painfully, my vision flared with spots, and before I could orient myself, Hudson’s arm crushed back against him, locking firmly in place.
The second wave slamd us sideways with even greater force. It felt exactly like being stuffed into a washing machine on spin cycle—tumbled without rcy, my stomach lurching with every disorienting turn. The world blurred into nothing but black water and overwhelming force.
Hudson held on, his arms unyielding around my waist.
I could feel the strain in Hudson’s body. His hands trembled slightly under the relentless current, but he never loosened his grip.
The flashlight had long since been ripped away in the chaos. Darkness closed in around us. Nothing existed but water, wave after wave, swallowing us whole.
My gut twisted violently, nausea rising. But I didn’t dare move.
I knew to survive, we had only one option: endure until the sea spent its fury.
In the blackness, Hudson’s face disappeared from view. All I had was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my forehead.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It pulsed against like a promise, a reminder that I wasn’t alone in this chaos.
That heartbeat beca my anchor, the one thing keeping from completely losing it. Instinctively, I pressed closer, wrapping my arms around his waist, clutching him as tightly as he held .
"Now you’re hugging him?" Akira comnted, but even her snark sounded weak.
I shot back ntally. "It’s survival, not reconciliation."
I had no concept of how much ti passed as we were tossed around in the underwater maelstrom.
Finally, the waves seed to ease slightly. I lifted my head, trying to see what was happening. Even with the oxygen tank, a nagging fear grew that I would run out of air before this nightmare ended.
Just as I shifted position, I felt a faint tickle spread across my back.
Hudson was tracing letters against my skin through the wetsuit: "Don’t be afraid. It will be over soon."
My arms tightened around him. Sohow, those few simple words steadied .
Maybe the force of the water had weakened, or maybe I was just trying not to think about the devastation occurring above us, but my attention drifted to the hands gripping my waist.
Even after Hudson stopped writing, the ghost of that sensation lingered, a tingling that refused to fade.
I bit down harder on my mouthpiece, desperately trying to push the feeling away, equally desperate to escape Hudson’s embrace. Yet until the tsunami passed, escape was impossible. The tornt gnawed at like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
"You’re enjoying this way too much," Akira observed.
"I am not," I snapped back. "I’m terrified."
"Uh-huh. That’s why your heart rate spikes every ti he adjusts his grip."
After what felt like an eternity, the currents finally eased. The dark sea settled back into its original, eerie calm.
I waited a little longer, carefully watching for any signs of residual turbulence, then gently pushed against Hudson’s chest to create so breathing space.
He caught my wrist and tugged upward.
In the lightless depths, we had nothing but our hands to guide each other.
Suddenly, Hudson froze.
I jerked my wrist, confused by his abrupt stillness. After a mont, he shifted direction, pulling to the left before continuing upward.
Ti stretched unbearably. By the ti we broke the surface, it felt like an entire lifeti had passed.
I spat out my mouthpiece and dragged in a breath so sharp it hurt my lungs, just to reassure myself I was still alive.
"Holy shit," I gasped, treading water. "That was insane."
Beside , Hudson’s face looked pale. He didn’t seem relieved. If anything, his expression had grown even grimr.
"What’s wrong?" I asked, scanning his face for clues. "Besides the obvious tsunami we just survived?"
"The boat is gone," he said flatly.
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