“Nowthat, 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 beenborn 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.”
Chapter 5
Loriun
