Page 55 of Where the Current Takes Him
Maybe I should spend less time sitting on my tail in the office.
The muscles in his back and tail burned with exertion. He watched Vuos breach the surface and sail into the air before gliding back into the water.
“How do you have the energy to do that?” Loriun wheezed. His underwater voice did not require air, but did need significantly more force from his vocal chords.
Vuos glanced back. “I’ve been making this trip nearly every day for the last five years. Better than any strength training program.”
“In that case, I think I might need to purchase Beau a speedboat.” Loriun sucked in another lungful of water. “I feel like a nymph, fresh out of the egg.”
“You’re always welcome to join me and my mate.” Vuos flipped over onto his back in what Loriun felt was an unnecessary show of athleticism. “I bet I can have you in prime condition in a month flat.”
Loriun hauled another pull of seawater into his burning gills. “I may just take you up on that.”
It would be helpful in fleeing after knocking his mate’s father on his ass.
∞∞∞
Loriun had never seen a human near death. He assumed they would resemble aged Mer—scarred, missing scales, tattered fins, but proud and strong nonetheless.
Ileana Montgomery was neither of those things.
She lay in a hospital bed, poorly concealed by the comforts of home. A small team of hospice nurses attended to her, and her husband was never more than a call away. Yet her once-bronze skin had taken on a grayish tinge, and her thin, human bones protruded through even thinner skin. A magnificent silk scarf was wrapped tightly around her head, likely shielding a bald head from prying eyes.
“Mamá,” Beau choked. He rushed toward her, gathering her frail frame into his arms. Ileana’s eyes squeezed shut over her son’s shoulder.
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much,mijo.”
Despite the decline of her body, her gaze was sharp as it landed on Loriun. He instinctively contracted his fins even closer, trying to appear as human as possible.
“And this must be Loriun.”
Beau took a step back and tugged Loriun forward. “Yes,Mamá, this is my Alpha, Loriun.”
At the sound of the words “my Alpha,” a flood of warmth eased its way through his tense muscles. Beau sounded… proud.Proud to be mated to Loriun, not that his parents knew that little detail just yet.
“Loriun.” Ileana’s accent carried a trill. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” She stretched her skeletal hands toward him.
He bent down, allowing the woman to embrace him. “It is wonderful to meet you as well.” Loriun returned the squeeze as gently as he could. It felt as though one wrong move might shatter her.
Ileana planted her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back, looking over his features with a mother’s keen eye.
“You’ve made a good choice, Beau. Such a handsome Mer.”
Loriun’s mouth curved into a soft smile.
“I think so too,” Beau said, turning bright eyes on his Alpha.
The sound of the door handle caught everyone’s attention, and Ashford Montgomery stepped through. A minute coal of anger began to burn in Loriun’s stomach. Ashford beamed at his wife, as if she were the same beautiful, vivacious woman he’d known before the cancer claimed her.
“Mi amor,”he said, sweeping in and dropping a kiss on her cheek.“¿Cómo te sientes?”
“Todo está bien,”she replied, holding a hand to his face. “Say hello to our guest.”
Ashford turned, as if just noticing Loriun and Beau at his wife’s bedside. “Ah, Loriun, isn’t it?”
“Um—”
“It’s good to finally meet my son’s partner in person,” Ashford said, sticking out a hand. His voice was jovial, but his cold eyes told another story. So he was playing it this way. Some basal part of Loriun wanted to drag the man to the depths of the sea, like a siren from the old human legends. Fortunately, his species had evolved beyond that. Barely.
