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She swam backward, smiling at the humpback until he made a slow, ponderous turn and headed out to more open waters. Only then did she turn away as well, heading for the dock that led to her pub, to home.
She hadn’t even shed her sea form for her human legs when she sensed Donner approaching. Sighing, she stroked a hand down the slick surface of her lower body, the scales glittering blue-black in the faint moonlight before dissolving, like they were melting into her skin.
Rising, she turned to face her second, the man who she’d one day ask to care for this beloved stretch of land. She hoped he’d say yes. Hoped he wouldn’t ask to leave and return to his family in the Pacific.
“Here.” Donner peeled off the faded workshirt he wore over a T with Have a Mermaid Orgasm emblazoned across the chest, holding it out for her.
Her lips twitched at the sight and she shook her head. She’d never let him get her drunk again. Accepting the offer of the shirt, she pulled it on quickly, fingers skipping along the buttons as she took in her second’s taut jawline.
“Problem?” she asked.
He inclined his head. “Depends on how you view it. Whelan called, looking to talk to you.”
“Did he?” Going cold inside, she braced her hands on her hips and waited.
“Yeah. I started to tell him to get fucked, but figured your father wouldn’t appreciate it. Asked him if it was regarding the action against a particular Therian male and he said no.” Donner’s eyes went black, a violent sort of humor flashing over his face. “He didn’t seem ready to elaborate, so I pointed out that unless it was urgent, I’d pencil him in for a consult with you in a couple of weeks.”
“Donner, I adore you.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
He rubbed his against hers in a show of affection. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, he finally got the point that I wasn’t dancing to whatever tune he was playing so he told me he was traveling north and wanted to clear his presence with you, as the Alpha of the region.”
“Now that is interesting.” Senses going on alert, Meridia pursed her lips and considered it.
Donner, clearly, had already done it. “Can’t we just ban every damn Therian from this part of the cape? If you explain the issue to the Prime, he’ll understand. He adores Zee.”
“He does. But he is a leader above all else.” She grimaced and ran a hand down her hair. “I’ll call the Therian asshole, find out just why he wants to muddy our waters with his miserable self.”
Donner took her hand and squeezed. “And what if he decides he’s taking her back to his territory? What then? She’s... ” He hesitated. “She’s not who she once was. It’s... Meri, I think she’s dying inside.”
“That might be the only reason I’d let him even speak to her,” Meridia said, meeting the other Atargarian’s eye. “We can’t fix her, Donner. But if something doesn’t give soon, she’s lost anyway.”
A savageness tightened Donner’s frame and he turned his head to stare at the water. “You know the things he said. Better than I do.”
“Yes.” Zee had broken down one night, told her everything. Most of the bullshit flying around was little more than assumption, with a few outright lies thrown in, in Meridia’s opinion.
“We should try taking her to Mount Greylock again. It’s been—”
“No,” she said, cutting him off. “She knew nothing but nightmares there.”
“She has people there who love her.” Donner’s jaw locked with stubborn aggression.
“Not enough.” Meridia’s anger at the Wolves of Greylock was an ugly, icy thing. “None of them cared enough, loved her enough to stand for her ten years ago. Fuck, some of them were old enough to fight for both her and Phoenix, her other brothers and the other children when they were being abused, but they didn’t. They won’t love her enough to help her through this either.”
Eyes still glittering black in the darkness, he stared at her.
“Donner.” She touched his cheek. “You, out of all of us, should understand how broken a family can be... even with the bonds of love.”
When he said nothing, she cut around him and strode for the sprawling beach house perched on the edge of the sea.
As she’d expected, Donner had forwarded both Whelan’s number and the entire video exchange between the two males.
Meridia took some devilish pleasure in how Nikolai Whelan’s eyes narrowed just a fraction when Donner offered to pencil him in, but other than that faint reaction, the Prime’s control was flawless.
He displayed nothing but the expected courtesy—and control—when speaking to a chosen representative of another race.
Some of the older Primes still treated the men and women like Donner as beneath them, servants who should kiss their boots.
She didn’t like the fact that Whelan, apparently, was one of the wiser ones.
