Page 20 of Where the Current Takes Him (Mermate #1)

Beau

T he Mer’s thick tail acted as a propeller to push him through the knee-deep water. He seemed to be an Omega, with his small ear fins and muted russet scales. Pale, silvery blue fins ran the length of his forearms and fanned out from his tail.

Beau was sure he’d never met the Mer, but somehow, he looked familiar…

“Good morning, Jaei ,” Loriun said. The greeting had a nervous edge to it.

“Good morning to you, noa’yasi ,” the Omega said with a fond smile.

Beau’s eyes flicked between the two. An anxiety-riddled voice in his head was howling that this was a former lover, while his more rational, even-keeled inner voice bellowed at it to shut up.

Loriun cleared his throat. “ Jaei, this is Beau. Beau, this is Fauos Valhn, my father.”

Beau felt his eyebrows shoot for his hairline before he managed to get his face under control. He’d never realized how difficult it was to tell a Mer’s age.

“Oh.” He hastily took Fauos’s outstretched hand. “It’s… It’s nice to meet you.”

What the hell do you call your alien mate’s Omega dad? Mr. Valhn? Fauos? Sir? Something in Loaish?

Loriun’s father seemed to notice Beau’s panic and kindly put him out of his misery. “You can just call me Fauos,” he said, giving Beau’s hand one last squeeze. “My mate and I have been looking forward to meeting you, though I did not expect to run into you here.”

Fauos glanced up at his son. “Since when did you become the morning market type?”

Loriun’s ear fins flattened ever so slightly. What emotion was that, Beau wondered.

“I thought Beau would enjoy it,” he muttered.

“I am enjoying it,” Beau said quickly. “It’s really interesting to see an interspecies market.”

Fauos smiled. “I agree. I come here every week, both for the fresh fish and for that vegan bakery stand over there.” He gestured toward a large table stacked with cookies, cakes, pies, and loaves of bread.

“Vegan?” Beau asked, confused.

“No dairy,” Loriun supplied. “Vegan human food is the most Mer-safe.”

“And their brownies are excellent,” Fauos added. “I have tried to figure out the recipe at home, but it is never quite right.”

“We’ll have to get some then.” Despite the initial terror of running into his new father-in-law, Beau could feel some of the tension leaving his body. The other Omega was a calming presence with an easy smile.

“Loriun, when will you and Beau be able to visit us? We would be happy to cook for you sometime.”

Loriun peeked down at Beau. “Well, Beau is still settling in, but I’m sure we can come for dinner soon. I will call you and Riue later today to let you know.”

Fauos brightened. “Wonderful. Well, I am just finishing up here, so I will let you both continue to enjoy the market. It was lovely to meet you, Beau. I hope to see you soon.”

With a flare of his bluish facial fins, the Omega glided off toward dry land.

Beau let out a breath. “That was terrifying.”

Loriun cringed and placed a hand on Beau’s back, guiding him deeper into the market. “I am sorry. I forgot that my father frequents this market.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Beau shook his head. “It’s just that everything is going so fast, and now I’m meeting your parents.”

“I understand. It must be quite overwhelming to be surrounded by members of another species.”

Beau paused. “That’s not why I was nervous.”

Loriun tilted his head. “Is it not?”

“The fact that your dad is a Mer doesn’t scare me. It’s because he’s your dad.” Beau couldn’t believe he had to explain this. “Isn’t it a big deal to meet your partner’s parents in Mer culture?”

“Why would it be?”

“Because…” Beau was very suddenly confronted by the fact that he didn’t actually know why it was a major step in human relationships either. “I mean… What if they don’t like me?”

Loriun laughed. “They will like you because I like you. Why would they not?”

“Okay, well, humans aren’t like that.” Beau imagined introducing Loriun to his parents and winced.

Of course, his dad had likely met Loriun already, and he would have his best politician’s mask in place, but his father didn’t like the Mer, and certainly didn’t like having an Omega for a son.

Sure, he’d facilitated this entire relationship, but that didn’t mean he’d enjoy having to actually witness it.

His mother… The corners of Beau’s mouth turned down. It was hard to predict what his mother would think. She wanted him to be happy, but it couldn’t be easy to watch your son fall in love with an alien.

Woah, love? Slow down there, Beau.

“Uh, so, you have an Omega dad.” He hadn’t considered what kind of family his new mate came from. Not that he’d really had the time. It was hard to believe this was only his fifth day in Miami. “And what was that you called him?”

“ Jaei. It is the Loaish word for an Omega father. I find human terms to be lacking.”

“ Jaei ,” Beau repeated. “So riue is an Alpha father?”

Loriun shook his head. The magnificent strands of his fiery hair glinted in the sunlight. “ Riue is an alpha mother.”

Beau felt his jaw drop. He’d never heard of a Mer having both a mother and a father, let alone an Alpha mother and Omega father. As far as he knew, Mer stuck to their own gender when looking for a mate.

“Yes, it’s quite controversial,” Loriun agreed with the look on his Omega’s face. “Old-fashioned Mer still campaign against opposite-gender relationships, claiming it will negatively affect children.”

“Negatively affect them how?” Beau asked, startled. “It’s the opposite here. ‘Children need a mother and a father’ and all that.”

Loriun laughed. “Traditionalists claim that children will become confused regarding their sex or gender. They say the only proper home is one with an Alpha and an Omega of the same gender.”

“How would that confuse the kids?”

“Well, two males will only produce male children and two females will only produce female children.”

Beau’s head jerked back. That was new information.

“But I’ve seen interspecies families with both sons and daughters,” he argued.

Loriun nodded. “Human genetics are different. Hybrid children can be any combination. Of course, the traditionalists are furious about that too. But not many of them made the journey from our home planet, and the ones that did will die out soon enough.”

Beau leaned over a pool filled with unnaturally large lobsters. “So, do you think you were confused growing up?”

Loriun grinned. “Can’t say I was. I have never been able to resist a pretty Omega boy.”

“Oh is that so?” Beau teased. “You don’t have any secret kids running around out there I need to know about, right? No jaded exes?”

“Perhaps if Mer children were not so rare, it would be a concern.” Loriun’s smile became slightly pained. “I believe only fifty eggs have successfully hatched in my lifetime, however.”

“Shit,” Beau muttered. “I’m sorry, that was a bad joke.”

Loriun shook his head. “No apologies needed.”

Beau turned at the alligator enclosure and made his way toward the boardwalk. “Do you have any siblings?”

“I have one younger sister, Oiwen. She is also an Alpha. My poor father had his hands full raising two full-Mer, Alpha children.”

“So your sister was one of those fifty eggs that hatched?”

“Yes, she was. My parents could hardly believe it when I hatched out, and they didn’t dare to hope another egg would be viable.

” Loriun’s expression turned devilish. “It seems that non-traditional families, like my own, have a much higher hatch rate, you know.

Around seventy-five percent of successfully hatched Mer children are the product of an opposite-gender relationship.

Beau smirked. “Bet all those traditionalists hate that.”

“Very much so.”

The pair lapsed into silence. While Beau had to admit that he enjoyed Loriun’s company, and got little tingly feelings at the idea of having a mate, none of it negated the fact that he’d only known the Mer for a few days.

On the human side of the market, Beau managed to accumulate several bags of items, from fresh bread to handmade candles. He’d even snagged a few of the vegan brownies Fauos had recommended. He doubted Fauos would ask about them the next time they met, but Beau figured it couldn’t hurt.

It wasn’t until they were nearing the end of the boardwalk that Beau stopped dead in his tracks. An unmistakable scent was floating through the air from a small stand, decorated with strings of colorful flags.

“Cuban sandwiches," he gasped. Before Loriun could react, Beau darted through the thinning crowd and slammed his palms on the counter.

The man behind the counter jumped.

“Sorry,” Beau panted. “You have Cuban sandwiches?”

The man let out a chuckle. “ Sí , I do. And they’re authentic, I can assure you.”

“I’ll take four.” Beau hesitated. “Uh. Actually, do you have a Mer-safe version?”

“Of course.” The man wiped his sun-darkened brow with a rag. “How many?”

“Two original, two Mer-safe. You’re going to love this,” Beau added to Loriun, who’d just managed to catch up.

“What am I going to love?” the Alpha asked. He handed his card over without waiting for the answer.

“Just wait.” Beau grinned up at him.

When the food was ready, Beau and Loriun strolled across a little stretch of grass beyond the market, where a series of picnic tables had been arranged.

“My mamá used to make these for me all the time when I was a kid,” Beau said, sliding onto a bench. He pulled out two of the hot, paper-wrapped sandwiches as Loriun arranged their many bags on the unused side of the table.

“They smell good,” Loriun said, accepting one. “But human food does not always align with Mer tastes.”

“Well, not liking Cuban sandwiches is unacceptable, so figure it out.” Beau unwrapped his and took a massive bite. The moan that left his throat was indecent, but at this moment, he didn’t care. “This is incredible.”

Loriun scanned the sandwich components, looking apprehensive. “If I do not like this, you will be upset?”

“Very.”

Loriun sighed and took a bite. All at once, his scarlet fins flared and his eyes went perfectly round. The second mouthful was much larger than the first.

Beau smirked. “Good, right?”

“Delicious,” the Mer mumbled. He swallowed. “I am always somewhat fearful of trying human food. First of all, because it may contain something harmful to me, but also because I never know what to expect. But now that you are here, I expect I will be trying many more human meals to come.”

“Oh, you can count on that.”