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  Bonded by the Sea

  Lord of the High Seas

  A Reverse Harem Fantasy Series

  Copyright © 2019 Victoria Mercier

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to being stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, groups, businesses, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  WARNING: This book contains sexual situations and adult themes. Recommended for 18 and above.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Author’s Note

  SNEAK PEAK: BLOOD OF DRAGONS (THE DRAGONS ACADEMY)

  More books by Victoria Mercier

  About the Author

  Lord of the High Seas: Bonded by the Sea

  Chapter 1

  Ines

  The winds from the east brought this cold weather again. It’s happened twice this year. Ines shivered as the naked skin of her arms touched a chilly air. This world was coming to an end. Even if not by the hand of the mysterious wind, then by the working of Karu’s fate.

  In three days, Ines would turn twenty-one, and she will die.

  This was the dark destiny of every Karu.

  Ines shivered thinking of all the wonders she’ll have to leave behind. While the day of the twenty-first birthday equalized everyone’s gender, wealth or appearance, it also has been taking people’s lives; their experiences, stories, their future.

  And though, there had been a time when Ines longed to join her ancestors in the Northern Grave, she had left this inclination behind. She wished to live.

  I wish to have children like other women.

  For some unknown reason, the gods conspired against her and had made Ines barren. It cost her everything she had held dear because in the Karu culture giving birth to another generation meant the absolute priority. Without it, Karu would die off.

  Ines has never complained about the lack of candidates to become the father of her first child, but for Ines, only one man existed who was worthy of being her mate.

  Marus.

  Their love didn’t survive infertility and he, too, drove a stake into her heart. Ines has been abandoned and ostracized, but in the last two years she’s spent alone, Ines found a new will to live. Only her will would mean nothing in three days.

  I want to live…

  She knew these thoughts were contradictory to the teaching of the Karu ancestors. By now, Ines should be at peace with her impending death.

  She wasn’t.

  No matter how hard Ines tried to shove the fate out of her mind, it remained at the periphery of her consciousness. It wasn’t all. By abandoning the teaching of Karu ancestors she’s acquired a rebellious nature, which hadn’t shown before.

  How can people accept our fate? Why does no one question it?

  Once these thoughts had crossed her mind, the emotional assault brought anger that boiled inside her like a pool of hot mud. It was not fair to die without watching our children grow! It made no difference to her that she hasn’t had children of her own. She’d spent years crying after her parents who had died when she was three.

  But how would Karu react to anyone who survived the Last Birthday? Their records didn’t mention a single person older than twenty-one. There were rumors about rebellion in the South, though Marus had once described them as made up stories. None the less, the true question remained – was it even possible to live past twenty-one?

  Ines embraced her legs. The temperature of the white sand seemed lower than the air. She stared at the wind-tousled sea. Was there really nothing in the east? Just the endless ocean as the teaching of ancestors claimed?

  One of the hundred questions cramping inside her head. No one on this island knew the answer to any of them. Why were Karu people forbidden to travel beyond the Northern Grave, for example? Because she already had violated this prohibition during her two-year exclusion and found a disturbing thing out there.

  A silver gleaming cylinder structure without windows or doors. It was wider and higher than anything she has seen on Karu island. None of her ancestors had mentioned its existence, so why was it there? Or maybe even they hadn’t known? No matter. Something needed to be done about it. But she had only three days to figure out the mystery. And there was one more thing she had stumbled upon recently. A large boat, hidden farther to the South where coastline possessed a mix of rocky formations and bushes. Naturally, she hadn’t told anybody about her discovery because she didn’t meet anyone since leaving the Inherited City. Karu didn’t travel, except in emergencies.

  The chill of the sand seeped through her body stealing her strength. It must have numbed her brain because she naively thought of having a quick nap here. If she’d followed the treacherous urge, her death would arrive three days earlier. None the less, this was another oddity. The eastern beaches hadn’t ever been this cold.

  Footsteps behind roused her out of apathy. Ines jumped to her feet, twisted bringing out her two hunter knives. Karu might stay in the Inherited City, but predators were common in the wild parts of the island.

  “Be at ease, Ines,” Marus raised his hands in the sign of peace. “I only came to take you back to the Inherited City. To home.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Listen, it was damn hard to track you down. I’d been following your tracks for the last five months. You should be grateful.”

  Ines’ muscles further tensed. Before his eighteenth birthday, such a reaction would not come to her mind, but then he’d betrayed her and… and everything fell apart.

  “Don’t come closer or I will stick one of those,” she shook her knives, keeping her eyes glued on him. “In your heart.”

  Had the Inherited Council thought they played their trump card by sending Marus after her? Did they understand how much loathing flowed in her blood? Perhaps not, though there was more to him than their history. Marus was the strongest and most capable warrior in Karu. It seemed he turned out to be an exceptional hunter as well.

  Marus grimaced, then looked away. He belonged to the tallest among Karu. A few strands of dreadlocks flanked his squarish face, while the rest was carelessly bound behind. His broad tanned chest was tattooed.

  Broken Suns. A symbol of his family. One of six houses in Karu that have inherited rights to a seat in the council. A long scar from the rig
ht side of his waist to the left armpit made him the only survivor of a meeting with a black-eyed tiger.

  His bronze eyes once held her entire universe, now only the deepest well of Ines’ despair dwelled inside them, flicked at her, then shied away, once more. Regardless of her hatred, she couldn’t deny his handsomeness. A dark tanned skin, which Karu people beloved, was scarcely covered. Marus had never been one to wear much. Though he shuddered when the cold wind huffed at him, he made no move to put a shirt.

  “You have no choice, Ines,” he said unbothered by her threat. “It’s the Inherited Law.”

  “I’m no longer part of your precious community,” Ines hissed readying herself to launch an attack.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It doesn’t feel right to die… without a reason. Don’t you think? Something is wrong with this world.”

  Marus spread his arms as if he wanted to encompass the world. Did he attempt to patronize her? He’ll regret doing this.

  “That’s what comes from not following the teachings. You’re feeling lost and—”

  “Spare your nonsense for the girls, which you’ve tricked to enter your bed,” Ines snapped. “You’re a monster.”

  “So, now it is a marital quarrel?” he asked amused, then a fucking smug left his face and he added. “Ines, I’m on your side.”

  “Good. Leave me then, and never return.”

  How could she crave this man’s love, touch, a child? From the perspective of the last years, it seemed ridicules.

  “Ines, please,” Marus’ voice sounded calm, but beneath the façade, he was getting angry. She knew this was giving him a hard time.

  “If I am to die, at least, I wish to part with this world staring at the sea. Not hateful gazes of Karu.”

  The day barely passed the noon mark, but the temperature reached a critical point that alarmed her instincts. I should wear something warmer than a skirt and short-sleeved shirt, she thought as Marus made his move.

  Her knives slashed at the places where his thighs should be. She hoped to sever his tendons. But the large warrior showed her unbelievable agility. He dodged, then slammed the inner part of his palm against her forehead. The sheer force sent her flying back.

  “Please return with me,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to fight you.”

  “It’s no longer about us,” Ines sighed lifting herself up. A quick glance told Ines that the knives were out of her reach. She stood no chance in a brawl without her hunter knives.

  Another gust of wind, colder than anything before hit the beach. Suddenly, she felt so lonely, as if strength was carried away by it. Ines wanted to cry, she could no longer live… out of blue, Marus was by her. She didn’t fight him. There was no will left in her. Was this the wind? A thought had flickered in the periphery of her mind and died.

  “Come to me, baby,” Marus shuddered as his muscular arms embraced Ines. “It’s so cold out here. Let’s find a shelter.”

  Her resistance melted further as she inhaled the earthy scents of Marus’ skin and she didn’t refuse when he kissed her. Their mouths broke apart only to give room to their tongues that began a dance of lust.

  They fell on the sand ignoring the biting of coldness because their bodies were heated by a mating call of stirred by their instincts. She hated him, but somehow it didn’t matter now. Ines seemed like a speck in Marus’ embrace. He encompassed her world at this moment, and she despised herself for letting him do this. That wind… that cursed…

  Marus’ rock-hard cock found its way between her thighs without a need to strip their clothes. They were about to fuck. Women past their twentieth birthday were forbidden to have sex. She alone was exemption of the rule. Ines wouldn’t get pregnant. She was barren.

  Emotions swirled in her head. Memories flooded her mind, but still, she found no will to stop Marus. He thrust his penis into her with a wild roughness of a thirsty man. His desires flashed in her head. He’s waited, dreamed, craved, this moment since her departure.

  A shock harmonized with the Marus’ orgasm, which came sooner than she expected. His bed skills have deteriorated.

  Ines didn’t care. The winds… the winds were too cold.

  Chapter 2

  Pace

  THE NAVY NEEDS YOU!

  WE ARE RECRUIT NOW!

  WE ACCEPT EVERYONE!

  The sign above the door of the recruitment office was very clear, and still, the burly master sergeant had his doubts. Did Pace’s outfit spook him or something? Wearing only short in the place as hot as the Wild Peaks was not unheard of. After all, Pace possessed an athletic body with nicely toned muscles. There was no reason to hide his attributes. Local girls lusted after him, or so he thought.

  He was nineteen, a year older than he planned to join the ranks of the Navy, but that couldn’t be it, could it? No, of course, this wasn’t it. Then, no point dragging this boring interview. All other candidates hadn’t received even a glance from the master sergeant, what made Pace so special, then?

  “Seriously,” Pace murmured softly, not exactly trying to sound like an asshole, but he was one. “Just get on with it, man.”

  The master sergeant let the birth certificate fall on his desk. His hands remained in the position, but he looked up, his brownish eyes narrowed.

  Oho, somehow, I’ve crossed a line again, Pace thought. A smile, he employed to soothe the large marine had a zero effect. No surprise there. It’s never worked on anyone. It looked too devilish, as he was about to commit mischief.

  “I don’t like the aura about you, kiddo,” the master sergeant said flatly, then he looked away. Pace was cocky, but not stupid. This man hid something from him.

  “What’s wrong, man?” he asked. He, perhaps, should drop this ‘man’, but for some reason, it suited the old marine. “I’ve never been charged. My conscience is as clean as the water from my father’s well. I’m honest…”

  “Hush, kiddo,” the master sergeant waved him into silence. “Your voice grates on my nerves. For this, I need a clear mind.”

  Pace leaned on the chair. A hard and uncomfortable piece of junk. Though, he didn’t expect they actually would let him sit on this. Marines were stiff and all about the strict rules. In his soul, Pace smirked. The Navy would thank him for a bit fresh atmosphere, once he joined. Hell, even the other recruits looked as they waited for a death sentence. It didn’t matter. He knew some of them. They were weaklings from nearby towns. The Wild Peaks was a small island, after all. Rumors spread faster than wildfires.

  As the face-tattooed master sergeant brooded something under his nose, Pace took a good look at him. A burly, but an imposing silhouette, deeply socketed eyes that gave off an aura of immateriality. Why would anyone think putting some crooked letters on one’s face was a good idea?

  “Do you want to join the Navy, then?” His ink-stained finger jabbed Pace’s birth certificate. “Because to me, it looks as if you’re searching a thrill, kiddo.”

  Who’s grating on whose nerves now, Pace thought, though he felt no resentment. Geezers had their quirks.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  What kind of question was that? “I thought that you needed everyone.”

  The next thing happened in the flash. The master sergeant slammed his hand against the sturdy desk. It cracked then snapped in half.

  For god’s sake what was wrong this man’s strength? Pace’s eyes widened in amazement. Did the Navy teach him that? A neat trick. How strong they could make Pace, then?

  “Ah, fuck, the fourth this week,” the master sergeant grumbled, wrinkling his nose. “Anyway, let me give you advice. Before I kick you out, that is.”

  Pace stood up. His hands reached forth in a defensive manner, but he read the old man’s moves well enough to know that no attack would come. “Man, chill out.”

  A rumbling laugh came out of the master sergeant.

  “You have no idea what’s there, kiddo.”

  “Pirates, big deal,” Pace murmured, thou
gh the display of might put some new perspective in his head. The Wild Peaks had its share of bandits, but they weren’t near the master sergeant’s level.

  The big marine chuckled. It sounded rather ominous

  “What’s there would make a cub as you pee.”

  The serious note in the man’s voice fascinated him. I’d love to see something that could make me pee. I guess, this grizzly old man won’t strip naked and dance for me. And then, he realized something. He imagined all those poor fellas, who had visited the recruitment office before him, seeing what’s there. If he supposed to pee himself, what about them?

  Pace smiled.

  “Get your ass out of here, kiddo. The Navy is not for—”

  A hand fell on Pace’s shoulder. It scared the shit out of him, and he’d jump if not the iron grip that held him in place.

  “I’ll take it from here, Club,” a gentle voice behind Pace said.

  The grip relented and the mysterious man stepped in front of Pace. He wore a blue-white Navy coat with strange insignia.

  “Why seeing you here makes my skin crawl?” master sergeant Club asked, his face soured. Now, how could anything make this man twitch? And this young marine did it. Fucking hell, this disheveled ebony-haired teenager made the geezer shudder.

  “No worries, master sergeant. This visit isn’t official. Vacation of sorts.”

  Strangely, Pace liked him from the first sight. There was an aura of reliability and danger about him. An odd combination, but hell would freeze if Pace wasn’t a curious one.

  “Somehow, it doesn’t much to reassure me, Pembroke.”

  Pembroke turned to Pace, surprised that the young to-be-marine still stood in the office. “What are you waiting for? Pick up your papers and go get your things.”

  Pace blinked. Shocked, didn’t portray the true extent of his mental state. Pembroke wasn’t one to wait, he picked the papers from the floor, where they ended after the desk had broken, then shoved Pace outside.

  *

  Pembroke

  “I truly hoped to not see you… at least for another decade,” Club growled warmly.

  “Everyone deserves time off,” Pembroke answered with a smug, which made the master sergeant Club’s skin crawl. Their relationship wasn’t profound or anything. They just had ended up on the same ship five years ago and sailed for a year. Not a thing Club had any say in, but he shed a tear on their departure at Moonfall. That counted for something.