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“You good?” I ask without turning around.
He doesn’t answer. When I turn around, the look on his face... I want to race past him.
“Belle?” I hear the panic in my voice.
“She’s fine, good even.”
I look between him and the pod room beyond. “If she’s so fucking good, why do you look like that?” I steel my jaw. “You’ve gotten the message that the governors—”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I talked to Annabelle. We want you to mate with her.”
My eye ticks. “What do you mean? I can’t mate with her. It will ruin her reputation.”
“She’s not Dorian. And you not being mated to her is hurting her. I can see. I would think that you could too.”
“I... I know how it hurts me.”
“Right, well, you will mate her.” Nico’s firm tone implies the decision has been made. But he’s right, I’m a bit of an empath. This isn’t a clear-cut case of me getting what I want. Of Belle getting what she wants.
“No.” I want her. But she will learn in time. “I’m not going to do it.”
Nico’s cheek twitches. He’s not used to being told no. Muster and Alder certainly never did. “No?” His eyebrows rise, and he crosses his arms over his chest.
“That’s what I said. I’m not going to hurt her reputation.” I mimic Nico’s stance. Arms crossed, feet spread wide.
He drops his arms and shakes his head. “Mating her will keep her alive. She’s too good for our people. I want her to be happy, not living in some hole in the ground.”
“She likes living down here. She has her sharks.”
“Sharks. Sharks aren’t friends. It isn’t a research lab. I made a fucking mistake, Holter. I should never have changed her. She’s too good for us. For this place.”
“She’s fucking perfect.”
“Yes.” Nico pinches his nose and shakes his head.
“Is this a case of you can’t have her, so you don’t want anyone to have her?” I step into him.
“No,” he whispers. “No, brother, this isn’t about me.” He shakes his head back and forth. “It’s about me in that I’m the one who took the steps to change her. I was selfish and hurtful. And I made a mistake.”
“And mating me . . . I’m the one who will fix it?”
He growls. “Yes, you’re always the one who fixes things. Castor messaged me. He got word from Nole. They aren’t going to help me.”
“Fuck.” I look to the pod room and back. He’s right. Shrimp shells, he’s right. She didn’t make the choice to live here, to give up the sky and the night breeze, to leave her research. I do love her. I love her so much it hurts. And I can give her back her world. A much better gift. I nod.
Nico slaps my arm. But when he steps away, I can see he’s crying. “I’m sorry, brother. I should never have asked you to do this.”
“It’s the right thing.” I pull Nico into a hug. His embrace is tight, but mine is tighter. “I love you too.”
“She’s not the only one who is too good for this place.” He slaps my back, but I hold on for an extra second.
Fuck, I want to go with her. But Alder . . . He’ll have lost a son, mates, and his mermaid. I can’t go too. Muster is no lifeline. I can’t leave the male who has given me everything. The male who made me who I am. “Thank you.”
“You could go. Alder would understand.” Nico grips my hands on his shoulders.
