“Step into the water together,” the one alt female on the beach instructed. She had dark hair and tan skin, and was both tall and strong, like the human women who had been taken.

She’d told the last three groups the same thing, and we had seen the whole process.

The group of human women always stepped into the ocean, then stepped out a few seconds later when she told them to.

I didn’t know how many humans the alt in charge had already claimed, if any, but I hadn’t seen him take anyone from the groups ahead of us. They’d all been free to go home. Hopefully the same would be true for everyone in our group.

Though, I had a feeling the stubborn woman behind me was going to get picked. She had the same build as the women who were taken, and seemed like she would survive it well based on her personality.

My group stepped toward the ocean. My bare toes met the saltwater, and a shiver rolled down my spine.

It was ice cold.

I started to take a step backward, but the woman spoke again. Quickly.

“Stay where you are.”

Shit.

My heartbeat picked up.

I heard the women around me start breathing a little faster, too.

“All of you, take three large steps forward,” the woman commanded.

My throat swelled.

This was bad.

Very bad.

Please let the alt dude want the sassy woman from earlier.

I stepped forward, and wet sand squished between my toes.

Another shiver moved over my skin, sending goosebumps over my legs.

I took another step.

The cold was unreal. Every instinct I had screamed for me to get out of the water.

Instead, I took my final step forward. A wave rolled over my calves, and I let out a shaky breath.

The movement had separated me from the rest of the women. Our legs were different lengths, and our definitions of a large step were our own. The space between each of us was definitely more than the size of one person now.

“Stay where you are,” the woman repeated. “A man will emerge from the water. Do not acknowledge him unless he speaks to you.”

What the hell?

My eyes scanned the surface of the small wave rolling toward us, then went out further. They widened when his figure slowly rose from the ocean ahead of us.

As he moved closer, he rose higher.

And higher.

He was huge. Definitely the biggest alt I’d ever seen. Then again, I hadn’t ever actually seen an alt up close.

He approached smoothly, and my eyes widened further as he stepped between rows of women without so much as a glance at them. His gaze was focused on something near me.

I assumed it was on the determined woman from earlier, because she was next to me.