Page 90 of Where the Current Takes Him
Automatically, Loriun rose to help Beau to his feet. Ileana rested a skeletal hand on her son’s abdomen. Her thin face brightened at the feeling of movement. Their nymph was always moving now, as if they were eager to escape. Beau complained about it constantly, but Loriun couldn’t keep his hands off. He would never grow tired of feeling his child move.
“He’s strong,” she said, her voice hardly more than a whisper.
He?
“Yeah.” Beau touched his belly. “The kicking is nonstop nowadays. Feels like I haven’t slept in weeks.”
“Could have fooled me. You look so beautiful,mijo.” Ileana’s free hand took hold of her son’s. “I know you’re waiting to find out the gender, but I’m certain you’ve got a big, healthy boy in there.”
The corners of Loriun’s mouth turned up. He hadn’t said anything to Beau, but he agreed with Ileana—he was sure he was having a son. An Alpha son, if Beau’s size was anything to go by.
“Have you decided on a name yet?” Ileana asked.
Beau looked over at Loriun, an expression of true happiness breaking through the mask he always wore in front of his mother.
“We have,” Loriun answered. “One for each gender. Irye for a girl, and Makai for a boy.”
“Makai… Something I can pronounce.” Ileana’s feeble laugh turned into a cough. Ashford poured a small cup of water and helped his wife sip it.
“Grasias, mi amor,”she said, sitting back in her hospital bed. “Do the names have any meaning?”
“Yeah,” Beau answered. “Irye means a field of seagrass, and Makai means the expanse of sky over the sea.”
Ileana sighed. “Such a poetic language your people have, Loriun.”
“All languages are poetic to foreign ears,” he replied. “Except for German. There is something wrong with that language.”
Beau started laughing so hard, Loriun had to wrap an arm around him so he wouldn’t fall over. Even Ashford chuckled.
The comment had not been intended as a joke, but Loriun was pleased with himself all the same. Perhaps he was getting the hang of humor.
“Mamá,look.”Beau reached into his tote bag, abandoned on his chair, and held a small photo album out to his mother. “We did a paternity shoot. I thought you’d like having some professional photos. You know, to commemorate the first grandchild.”
Ileana gasped, and for a moment, Loriun saw her as she once was—full of life, love, and joy.
“¡Que hermoso, mijo!”Ileana leafed through the pages, lingering on each photo.
They’d done the photoshoot a few days prior, and it had actually been Loriun’sriuewho convinced Beau to do it.
“Your mother is missing out on so much of your life,”she’d said.“It must be difficult, not being there for your only child’s pregnancy. I assure you that those photos would be a precious gift.”
With much grumbling and camera shyness, Beau had acquiesced. The photographer was a human Omega, as paternity photos were a human practice merely adopted by more modernized Mer. He’d dressed Beau in a pair of soft, flowingwrap pants, tied low to accommodate the curve of his abdomen. Loriun wore a similar pair, in a shade more complimentary to his scales, and modified for a Mer tail.
When he realized he was to remain shirtless, Beau protested with flaming cheeks. His chest, though distinctly male, was now slightly more rounded with duskier, more prominent nipples. Loriun knew his mate was embarrassed by these changes, despite lacking the cultural conditioning to truly understand.
He could imagine no reason anyone would be ashamed of a body creating life. Regardless, Loriun worked with the photographer to invent a solution. In each photo, Loriun’s arms, fins, or tail artfully concealed his Omega’s chest, leaving his belly on display.
When they received the final images from their photographer, even Beau admitted they were stunning. Now, his mother was clearly in agreement. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and a smile trembled on her lips.
Just over her shoulder, her husband peered down at the photos too. A chill shivered through Loriun’s body. Ashford was not looking at the album with joy, fondness, or even neutrality. Rather, his face was twisted with disgust, yet something akin to victory burned in his dark eyes.
Instinctively, Loriun stepped closer to his mate, snaking an arm around his waist. Beau weaved his arm behind his Alpha in response, but his gaze did not leave his mother’s face.
He had not seen his father.
Loriun cleared his throat. “The photographer is quite skilled, is he not, Ashford?”
As he’d hoped, Ashford’s mask slammed back into place and an artificial smile curled his mouth. “Oh yes, very skilled indeed.”
