Page 16 of Where the Current Takes Him
What iswrongwith you? You just met him, he is clearly not comfortable around you yet, and this is how you respond? Filthy, uncivilized, whale-cocked—
Loriun cast a furious gaze up at the surface above, where evidence of his misdeeds still floated. With a lash of his tail, Loriun propelled himself to an elegant, seashell button. He rammed it with his fist—his dirty, sinful fist—and watched the pumps filter the contaminated water back out into the ocean, drawing fresh seawater in.
A large bubble issued from Loriun’s mouth as he heaved a sigh. If he was going to make this work, if he was going to have the family he dreamed of, he was going to have to pull himself together. Beau was nervous enough without a mentally unstable Mer to contend with.
He’d likely gone straight up to the second floor and seen the rooms meant for their future children. Based on his limited knowledge of human coupling, humans often panicked at the thought of offspring. At least, they never seemed pleased on TV.
Perhaps he should have stayed to reassure the Omega that he wasn’t expected to bear children until he was ready—that the house was merely arranged to accommodate all scenarios and future plans.
To be fair, he would have stayed if he hadn’t been at risk of breaking the zipper on his slacks. Facing an empty nursery on his first night was probably better than coming face to face with extraterrestrial dick without warning.
Loriun buried his face in his hands. He felt that he had done a decent job at concealing his inner turmoil in Beau’s presence, but had the Omega noticed his new Alpha’s uncontrollable mental careening? Humans often seemed rather astute when it came to reading the emotions of others, but tended to be more accurate with members of their own species.
A sharp trill interrupted Loriun’s stewing. He swam to the surface and reached for the phone still tucked away in his abandoned pants. His scales cast water from his fingers before they even reached the device, though phones had been entirely waterproof since the Mer arrived.
“Loriun Kolhn speaking.”
“Good evening, Mr. Kolhn, this is Tioa Pomio at Poseidon Omega Clinic. My apologies for calling at such a late hour, but I’m sure you understand how last-minute all this has been.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Thank you for returning my call.”
“Certainly. It looks like your Omega’s previous doctor has already scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning at 9:30 a. m.”
Loriun’s brow furrowed. “His previous doctor arranged it?”
“It seems that Mr. Montgomery has extensive medical records, and his previous provider has submitted a request for any further records to be shared. They were quite involved with his care.”
His jaw tightened. A request for his Omega’s personal medical information to be shared?
“Will Poseidon be honoring that request?”
“No,”Tioa replied.“All medical records in Paeil are sealed, unless the patient’s residence is transferred to the mainland.”
“Good.” Now that the flicker of rage had been quelled, the other half of the receptionist’s words sank into him. Anger was quickly replaced with anxiety. “You said he has extensive medical records? Is he ill?”
“I am not at liberty to share that information, Mr. Kolhn.”The voice on the other end of the line was apologetic.“I can, however, tell you that he would not have been acceptedinto the Mermate program if he had a significant health concern.”
Some of the tension in Loriun’s muscles relaxed. “I understand. Thank you, Mr. Pomio.”
“Just Tioa,”he corrected.“We will see you and Mr. Montgomery at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Have a pleasant evening.”
“You as well.”
Loriun lowered the phone, staring unseeingly at the deep blue wall. Now an entirely new worry had overtaken his thoughts. What could be the reason for his Omega’s lengthy medical history?
∞∞∞
Loriun was staring blankly at the enormous display of pastries at his local bakery. He was the only Mer in the building, given that Mer were incapable of digesting several key components of baked goods. The humans eyed him as they collected their morning pastries and placed coffee orders at the counter.
Humans like croissants, right? But… how many do they need for a meal?
He squinted at the rack of buttery crescents. There were several sheets filled with dozens of the same, plain croissants.
Surely,he reasoned,if there are this many available for a single morning, they must require quite a few.
Feeling more confident, he unfolded a large paper bag and began transferring pastries from their sheet. When he felt, spiritually, that the number was sufficient, he replaced the tongsin their holder, and folded the top of the paper bag. The line had thankfully dispersed by the time he was done.
Loriun set the bag on the counter and glanced up at the menu. As he suspected, it was filled with milk-based offerings. He shuddered.
