Page 4 of Where the Current Takes Him (Mermate #1)

Beau

B y the time Beau and his suitcase had been loaded into the car, his stomach had twisted itself into a knot and his palms were sweating.

This was it. He was on his way to the… his Alpha. Would he greet Beau at the dock? Would he be driving the speedboat? Did Mer even use boats?

Beau filled his lungs, then released the air slowly through his lips.

“Nervous?” the Omega driver asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

Beau found himself incapable of forming words, so he merely nodded.

The driver chuckled. “It’s not as scary as your anti-Mer factions make it out to be.”

“Then why are you here, and not in Paeil?” Beau shot back.

The Mer’s grin faded. “Human Omegas may be in high demand, but Mer Omegas, not so much.”

Beau snapped his jaw shut.

Idiot. The whole reason they came here was to find mates capable of live births.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Beau ventured a question. “So… Omega Mer aren’t having any babies? At all?”

“Of course it happens sometimes. But it’s strongly discouraged. The radiation damage to our genetic code basically thinned the membranes of our eggs and increased risk of birth defects. It’s pretty rare for Mer children to hatch successfully.”

Beau winced. “That’s awful.” He wasn’t exactly a kid person, but his Omega instincts sent a pang of sorrow through him nonetheless.

The other Omega shook his head, as if dislodging a bad memory. “It is what it is.”

The two men lapsed into silence. Beau was just about to work up the nerve to ask something else when his driver spoke again.

“We’re here.”

Beau sat bolt upright and stared out the window.

The sea lapped at silky sand, and the docks wavered gently in the breeze.

Tied to the dock just ahead was a sleek, cobalt blue speedboat, bearing the seal of the Paeil Islands government.

The captain was lounging inside, but sprang up as soon as he spotted Beau’s car.

The man was too far to determine his species, but Beau suspected he was human. More importantly, he was alone—no hulking Alpha waiting to clap his new Omega in chains.

The driver popped the trunk and climbed out of the vehicle. Beau’s arm felt heavy as he unlatched his own door. The boat’s captain was striding toward them with a welcoming smile on his face. Definitely human.

“Beaumont Montgomery I assume?” he called.

“Just Beau.”

“Captain Jaime Rodriguez, at your service.” The older man stuck out a hand for Beau to shake. After a hasty swipe of his palms on his shorts, Beau obliged. The faint breeze ghosted through Jaime’s graying hair, and Beau paused. The sweetish scent was unmistakable.

He’s an Omega. A human Omega.

Jaime gave him a knowing look. “I’m sure you have questions. I’m happy to address them once we’ve set sail.”

As Jaime led him toward the boat, Beau scanned him from head to foot. The older man seemed happy and healthy. No signs of being held captive. After all, he was trusted to man a speedboat from the Mermade Islands to the mainland. Then again, there was always Stockholm Syndrome.

The speedboat’s engine rumbled to life, vibrating the floor beneath Beau’s sandaled feet. Jaime guided the vessel between the creaking docs and into the open water. Only when they were several hundred yards from the docks did Jaime speak.

“So! What do you want to know?” The older man had an easy smile, with faint lines crinkling at the corners. “Ask away.”

“Is it as bad as they say?” Beau blurted out.

Jaime let out a roar of laughter. “Don’t tell me you believe all that nutjob propaganda.”

Beau flushed.

“No,” Jaime answered, grinning. “It’s not that bad. In fact, you couldn’t pay me to move back to the mainland.”

Beau raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Beau, do you have any idea how revered human Omegas are to the Mer? Hell, they flew across galaxies to find us, and even now, people aren’t exactly leaping at the opportunity to meet a nice Alpha and settle down.

” Jaime shook his head. “It’s all that culty group, what were they called? Natural Order something…”

“Natural Order of Humans Opposing Mermated Omegas,” Beau supplied.

“Yeah, them.” Jaime scoffed. “All their Bible-thumping ‘two gender’ nonsense. And no offense, but your dad definitely doesn’t help.”

“Now that , I know all about.” Beau’s father couldn’t be an outright bigot, given his position, but he certainly didn’t silence the dissenters.

And Beau knew for a fact that St. Marina’s wasn’t researching Omega biology to improve healthcare.

He was fairly certain they were looking for a “cure.” As if there was something wrong with the way he and all the other Omegas were.

To imagine a world where his body was not only accepted, but revered… He didn’t dare believe it. Beau had never been anything more than an embarrassment and a pawn to his father. His mother… She loved him, but she also loved his father, which blinded her to his wrongdoings.

“Beau, please, just attend the election gala,” his mother pleaded. Her wide brown eyes shone under furrowed brows, all set into a gentle, heart-shaped face.

“But Mamá, I don’t—”

“Honey, I know. But your father needs his family there, and it’s just one evening, right?”

Except it was never just one evening.

Beau cleared his throat, trying to shove the painful memories back down where they belonged. “How long have you lived on the Mer—Paeil Islands?”

“Oh, it’s been years,” Jaime reminisced. “Twenty years now, I guess.”

Beau’s eyes widened. “You were part of the first Omega integration initiative?”

The first group of Omegas to be transported en masse to the Mermade Islands was comprised of volunteers who had been born Omega. Though humanity had begun experiencing changes ever since the arrival of the Mer, there was only so much their pheromones could do to an existing genome.

“Sure was.”

“But why? How? I mean—”

“Easy kid.” Jaime laughed. “My story’s pretty simple. I fell in love.”

Beau yelped at a loud splash to the right of the boat. He spun around just in time to see a deep green, ribbon-like tail vanish below the waves.

“Don’t worry,” Jaime said, patting his shoulder. “That’s just Vuos, my mate. He usually tags along when I’m making my runs, the overprotective porpoise.”

“Your—”

With another rush of seawater, an enormous Mer launched himself from the depths.

His face was fairly human, ruggedly handsome of course, but accented by a pair of large fins on either side of his head and thick, luxurious strands of ebony hair.

Heavily muscled arms ended in human-adjacent hands, though with delicate, translucent webbing between the fingers.

A long dorsal fin ran the length of his back and onto the long, streaming tail.

It was the length of his body and flat, made to whip from side to side.

The legs were probably the most alien, overlooking the tail. Though they bent at all the same joints as a human, they were corded with muscle and streamlined with fins along the thigh and calf, and ended in a long, clawed, webbed foot.

And of course, there was the fact that most of his body was covered in deep, emerald green scales, fading to a pale cream on his face, chest, and stomach. Jet black fins and dappled spots along his back formed a stark contrast to his pale underbelly.

“Holy shit,” Beau whispered as gravity reclaimed the Alpha.

“You’re telling me,” Jaime said fondly. “Just as stunning as the day I met him. Then there’s me.” He patted his belly with a laugh. “Four kids later and somehow, he’s still starry-eyed.”

Beau knew he shouldn’t be shocked by that statement.

Of course an Omega who had chosen to live on the Mermade Islands would have children, especially if he’d been there for two decades.

Yet, Beau couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the idea—the man sitting before him had carried and birthed four interspecies children.

A tiny flicker of hope sparked in Beau’s chest. Maybe his father hadn’t sold him into captivity. Maybe he’d accidentally sold him into freedom.

“Why is Vuos swimming? Why not join you in the boat?”

“You’ve never had a proper conversation with a Mer have you? They’d never be caught dead in a boat. So embarrassing.”

Beau felt a bubble of laughter rising inside of him, fueled by the nervous energy, and the mental image of a ten-foot-long Mer cramming himself into a speedboat. Beau doubled over laughing. Jaime looked on with amusement until Beau was able to compose himself.

“Sorry,” he wheezed. “I’m just so nervous, and thinking about a Mer in a boat—”

“No apologies needed.” Jaime reached for the boat’s controls. “If you’re all out of questions, I’ll kick this thing into gear and get us to Miami. It’ll take about two hours, so settle in.”