He hated that house.
∞∞∞
“Look!” Zasia jammed her phone beneath Keld’s nose.
“What?” He snatched the phone from her and stared down at the photo. It was an email attachment from their boss, Loriun. It showed a pudgy, wrinkled nymph with champagne-colored scales and pale pink fins. The infant’s eyes appeared to be a human brown, though the lids were screwed up in a wail.
“Isn’t he cute?” Zasia rested her chin on the cubicle wall. “He’s a little Alpha.”
Keld shrugged. “Sure. Cute.” He handed the phone back over.
Zasia rolled her eyes, sweeping a twisted braid of dark emerald hair from her shoulder. “Not a kid person, huh?”
Keld grimaced. “Not exactly.”
“I’m sure the Paeil repopulation program is thrilled with you.”
“I’m their favorite.”
Zasia smacked him on the back. “Get up. Lunch break. Let’s go fishing.”
A groan nearly slipped free at the mere thought of relaxing his contracted tail. Keld followed the female Alpha to the shoreline bordering their office. Without hesitation, Zasia shucked her blouse and pencil skirt. Seafoam green scalescaught the Miami sun, accented by the bright silver at her fingertips and stomach. Her fins were a deep green that matched her hair.
Keld could understand why male Omegas threw themselves at her feet. He folded his own clothes and laid them out with Zasia’s, appreciating the stretch in his tail and spine.
“Ah, that’s so much better.” Zasia swept her tail across the sand. “I swear it’s going to atrophy if the office dress code doesn’t change.”
Keld grunted in agreement.
The pair jogged into the shallows and dove headlong into cool water. The liquid rushed over Keld’s disused gills, rehydrating them after long hours in a human office. Zasia flipped herself over in a series of barrel rolls, like an aquatic rotisserie chicken.
Keld chuckled and drove himself deeper, where colder water rested at the bottom. The pressure of the ocean soothed his nerves, allowing tranquility to filter in. The sea bed was one of the only places he truly felt at peace.
“Come on,” Zasia called overhead. “I think I see some grouper.”
Chapter 7
Grayson
“Do not just stand there, do something!”
Grayson couldn’t help flinching away. This Alpha was terrifying—his teeth were bared in sharp points, and his fins were punctuated with bony spikes. His eyes were nearly solid black, and bioluminescent markings disturbed the inky hue of his scales.
“Sir, we’re doing everything we—” Grayson began, trying and failing to keep the tremor from his voice.
“It’s fine, Ukio.” The Mer’s Omega was a tall, human woman, currently gritting her teeth through a contraction. “Live births suck. Nothing the nice nurse can do about it.”
Ukio ran his fingers through corded, ebony hair. “Yes. Yes, you are right,luae. I am sorry,” he added to Grayson. “It is difficult… Seeing my mate in pain.”
Grayson attempted a smile. “I understand.”
The suite door slid open behind him.
“How are we doing, Leigh?” Dr. Obian rested a light hand on Grayson’s shoulder. “Nurse Miller, could you do a brief checkup on the newborn and his father in room three?”
“Of course.” Grayson bolted from the room, heart still racing in his chest. Dr. Obian was an Omega, and was not nearly as intimidating as an Alpha, but even she made Grayson nervous. He was starting to wonder if he’d ever get used to living alongside the Mer.
Grayson sighed and gave the door to room three a gentle warning knock. He slipped inside without waiting for a response.
