Page 18 of Taken By the Alien Merrow King

Gunnar snorted, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the narrow hall.

“As you may have realized, love, I’m not one for formalities,” Des said. “More like my mother in that way. All that bowing and scraping makes me itchy.” He shuddered and offered her his hand.

Without a second thought, she took it, enjoying how his much larger hand engulfed hers.

“But my father and brother were traditionalists, and you’ll soon find there are quite a few members of the court who hold fast to the old ways.” He leaned over as if telling her a secret. “But I’ll continue to wear away at them, like water over a stone, and bring them around to my way of thinking.”

She snorted. “Of course you will.”

His lips grazed the back of her hand and she lifted a brow. “What?” He looked around. “We’re not in public. It’s just Gunnar in the hall with us and he’s family.”

“I’ll allow it,” she said, inclining her head.

“I thank you for your graciousness, my beloved.” He snuck in another kiss, this time on her cheek. “Now. Are you ready?” He paused next to a hand-stitched banner of Merrow dancing on glittering waves.

“Ready for what?”

But he merely flashed her a grin and pushed on a slightly worn spot on the wall, revealing a hidden door. He squeezed her hand and tugged her along behind him.

They emerged in a large room with dark burled wood paneling, illuminated by the warm glow of deliberately placed sconces. The high ceiling was painted with a mural of an underwater scene with a treasure chest, Merrow and sealsfrolicking through long, waving fronds of seaweed. On the far end stood a large, high-backed chair on a platform, empty. It was the only seating in the space, forcing the suit-clad, serious-looking people populating the room to stand.

“Is this your throne room?” she whispered, her entire body flushing with heat.

But her voice carried farther than she expected and everyone turned to look at them.

She tried to duck behind Des, but he pulled her to his side and very deliberately settled her hand in the crook of his arm. “Council members,” he said, his voice booming through the space. “I would like to introduce you to my true mate and future queen of the Merrow Isles and the Storming Seas: Astra Jakobson.”

The jaws of several people dropped while others gave her low bows. The room erupted into chatter as Astra attempted to disentangle her from the blasted royal holding her fast.

“Hang on, my love,” Des whispered into her ear. “The best is yet to come.”

“What are you doing, Des?” she growled back, trying to tug free so she could run out through the secret door they came in and keep running until she made it back to the generation ship. Fleeing was an instinctual response, but at the same time, her heart felt so full, she thought it might explode with happiness. He’d declared her his mate in front of all these important people. The foolish man. He really did love her and plan to keep her. She only wished she had something better to wear for the occasion than her freshly repaired, too-tight uniform.

“Oh, my darling, delightfully cynical mate. I’m doing this to give you rock-hard evidence of my commitment to us,” he said, before raising his voice again, calling for quiet. “One more announcement, so hold on to your tails. As your king, I officially declare that the Merrow Isles will allow a contingent of humansto settle on our land. I expect you and all our people to welcome them and treat them as our own.”

The very few cries of outrage were drowned out by loud applause.

Des held up a hand, the room falling silent. “I firmly believe that having humans live among us will be of significant benefit not only to the Isles, but to Merrowkind as a whole.”

Her hand tightened on his forearm. She was at a loss for words. He’d really gone ahead and made it official, hadn’t he? And all for her.

“Now, give me a moment with my mate,” Des said, turning his back on the shouted questions and leading her back out the secret door.

The silence of the empty hall shocked her back to reality. “You’re absolutely ridiculous, Des. You know that, don’t you?”

“You think so, do you?” He harrumphed. “Except now you know for certain your people have a home, and everyone knows you’re mine.”

“Des,” she said. She placed her hand above his heart and looked up at him. “Thank you. Thank you for your kindness and your caring. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“I am an original,” he said, puffing his chest out. “And you’re welcome. I hope you know I’d do anything for you, Astra. I love you.”

She popped up on her tip-toes and brushed her lips over his. “I love you, too, Des.”

With a wild whoop, he grabbed her around the waist and danced her down the hallway. “Do you, truly?”

Laughing at his spontaneous dance, she nodded. “How could I not? Especially after that ridiculous declaration of yours. Do you really think I’d make a good queen for your people?”

“The best. No question,” he said, dipping her low, the end of her hair sweeping the polished stone floor. “How could my mate be anything less?”

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