The Mermaid's Return_A Reverse Harem Romance

by Kellie McAllen

  I don’t know the word, but I get the meaning by the images in his head. “No. Well, I felt like I wanted to have nausea a few times, but nothing came out.”

  Liam frowns and stares at me for a moment. “Coral, when was your last period?”

  The other guys gasp at the question, and suddenly their minds are filled with images of me with a giant belly. Avery squeezes my hand when I tense. I glance from them to Liam, trying to focus on his question.

  “Umm, I’m not sure. I think it’s been a while.” I never had to worry about periods when I lived in the sea, so I have trouble remembering to keep up with them.

  Liam jumps up and grabs his car keys from the bowl on the table. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Where’s he going?” Jude stares after him.

  “To the grocery store,” I say since that’s what was on his mind when he left.

  Jude wrinkles his nose. “What, all of a sudden he needs a snack? We’ve got a pantry full of munchies.”

  Gio snarls at Jude, pounding his clenched fists on his knees. I flinch at his sudden anger. “He’s going to get a pregnancy test, dipshit. Now which one of you asswipes dipped your wick without protection?”

  Jude sticks his hands up in the air. “No way. I may be the dumb one around here, but I’m not that big of an idiot.”

  Gio turns his glare towards Avery. Avery shakes his head at him.

  “Must’ve been Liam.” Bella strolls out of the kitchen munching on some chips. Gio flinches, uncomfortable with her hearing the conversation.

  Jude waves it off. “Nah, his nuts are duds.”

  Bella cringes then sits down on the sofa. “TMI, Jude. I guess she’s probably not pregnant, then.”

  Gio stares at her for a moment, dreading what he feels obligated to say and thinking that parenting his little sister is kind of awkward sometimes. “Condoms don’t always work, Bella. The pill is a little more reliable.”

  Bella stares at him, holding the chip in her hand halfway to her mouth. “Is Coral on the pill?”

  Gio sighs and plops down on the couch, rubbing his face with his hands. “No, but she probably should be. Liam wasn’t sure how the hormones would affect her.”

  Everyone is silent for a long moment while we all contemplate the possibility. Mermaids don’t use any kind of birth control like humans do. We have no reason to. Our kind is rare enough that a merling is always a blessing. I’ve never quite understood the guys’ hesitation about it, but I respected their desire to wait till they were ready.

  We haven’t talked about it in a while, but I can’t think of any good reason why now isn’t a good time, though. We have more than most merfolk ever have — an enormous home with plenty of space, a fortune in the bank, four wonderful fathers, an aunt, and a healthy mother to care for a merling. My cheeks warm just thinking about holding a tiny bundle in my arms. How could the others be anything but happy?

  I listen to their thoughts for a moment, feeling relieved the longer they think about it. It seems like they’re realizing the same thing.

  Avery rubs my hand between his. “It’s okay, Coral. We’re not mad. We’re just a little surprised is all.” The others mumble their agreement.

  By the time Liam gets back, we’re all huddled together, smiling and talking about what life with a merling would be like. His serious face softens at the sight of us. “I got a pregnancy test. Two of them, actually. Just to be sure.”

  He pulls a couple small boxes out of a bag. “Let’s go in the bathroom, Coral.”

  He takes my hand and leads me down the hallway. When we get to the bathroom, he opens both of the boxes and pulls out white sticks with blue caps. He takes off the caps and hands the sticks to me. “Sit on the toilet and hold these in your urine stream.”

  I blush but do what he says then hand the sticks to Liam. He lays them on the counter then sets a timer on his phone. “Now we just wait a few minutes.”

  Liam leans against the counter and stares at his feet, arms crossed, thinking, while I keep myself busy washing my hands and face and running my fingers nervously through my hair. As soon as I hear the thoughts in his head, though, I stop and turn to him, putting a hand on his arm.

  “Don’t think like that, Liam. If I have a merling, she’ll have four dads. It doesn’t matter which one of you is the father.”

  His frown softens a bit as he looks at me, then he uncrosses his arms and strokes a hand down my cheek. “It’s just disappointing to think that I’ll never be able to pass on my genes. And I’m an only child, so I’m the end of my family’s line.”

  I nuzzle up to him, and he wraps his arms around me and sighs into my hair. I don’t have any words to say to make it better, so I try to comfort him the only way I know how.

  When the timer buzzes, my heart starts beating wildly, and my stomach floats up to my throat. Both of us jump and turn to look at the pregnancy tests. A small window on each of them is filled with the word pregnant.

  The fish in my belly flops in celebration, and I can’t help the wide smile that takes over my face. I peek up at Liam to see that he’s smiling, too. I grab hold of him, squeezing hard enough to make him grunt, and try to stifle my smile against his chest.

  “Congratulations, little momma,” he whispers into my hair.

  “I’ve never seen a merling being born before, so I’m not sure how long it takes. Do you think one oxygen tank will last long enough?” I let my random thoughts come out of my mouth as I stare at the placid water through the kitchen window, rubbing my giant belly. When no one says anything, I turn to see Jude and Avery staring at me like I’ve gone crazy.

  “You’re not making any sense, Princess. Why would we need oxygen tanks?” Jude chuckles, setting down a bag of groceries he’s carrying.

  “I want you all to be there when I have the baby.” More blank stares.

  “You mean underwater?” Avery starts taking out the groceries.

  “Of course. Where else would I have it?”

  “Uh, how about the hospital?” Jude opens the fridge door to put some of the food away, and the rush of cold air makes me cringe, reminding me of the cold, scary feeling of that place.

  “The hospital?”

  Avery takes over putting away the food, so Jude heads back out to the car for more groceries. I follow, but I don’t bother trying to help. The guys haven’t let me lift anything heavier than a pillow in weeks.

  “Yeah, that’s where most people have their babies.” He grabs a few more bags and heads back to the kitchen, so I trail behind him.

  “Why?”

  Liam walks into the kitchen and joins in the conversation like he’s been listening. “It’s safer. There’s a doctor to monitor your vitals and dispense medicine to reduce the pain.”

  “The pain?” I wrap my arms across my belly.

  Jude drops a heavy bag down on the counter with a snort, making me jump. “Uh, yeah. Hurts like a bitch from what I’ve heard.”

  I gape at Jude, and Avery scowls at him. “Don’t scare her.”

  I don’t know that much about childbirth, but I never thought it was painful. The few times I’ve seen other sea creatures give birth, it seemed easy and painless.

  Gio tromps in, scowling. “What are you scaring Coral about?”

  “Having a kid. Although I don’t know how she could have not known that it hurts. I mean just the logistics of it — big baby, tiny hole.” Jude digs out a melon and a grape from the bag to emphasize his point. My eyes get as big as the melon.

  Liam shakes his head. “Childbirth isn’t nearly as traumatic for marine life as it is for humans. Maybe it’s not painful for mermaids.”

  “Then I definitely want to have the baby in the water.”

  Avery frowns and wraps his arm around my waist. “Coral, what if something goes wrong? You should be in a hospital where a doctor can take care of you.”

  “Liam can take care of me. Right?” I glance at him, suddenly worried about things I never considered.

&n
bsp; Liam winces and takes my hand, massaging it. “I’m not a doctor yet, Coral. I’ve never assisted with a human birth, let alone a mermaid one.”

  “Wait a minute. How do we know the baby is going to come out… human?” Everyone swivels their head towards Gio.

  Liam’s grip tightens on my hand. “Gio’s right. I guess I assumed if you had the baby while you were human, it would be born human. But we really have no idea. I think we might have to deliver the baby at home.”

  Avery tenses and pulls me tighter. “With no pain medicine?”

  Liam picks up a glass of water off the counter and stares at it. “You know, water births are quite popular. And maybe it will be easier on Coral to have the baby in her mermaid form.”

  “So what are we gonna do, suit up in scuba gear and deliver the baby in the ocean?” Jude gestures to the dock out back, laughing as he imagines the four of them under the water with me. They all cringe at the thought of it.

  Liam shakes his head. “No, that’s too… uncontrollable. Water births usually take place in a bathtub or a kiddie pool.”

  “But I need ocean water.”

  The guys glance at each other for a moment, trying to think of a solution, then Gio grins. “No problem, Princess. I just need to make a trip to the hardware store.”

  A few weeks later, the guys are standing around a large, inflatable swimming pool, watching as a pump fills it with water from the ocean.

  My stomach clenches, and my knees bend in response. I cling to the outside of the pool to balance myself. “I think it’s time,” I moan as another contraction seizes me. I squint when sweat drips down my forehead and into my eyes.

  Liam abandons the cart of medical supplies he’s organizing and rushes over to me, wrapping his arms around me. “Okay, Princess, let’s get you in the water.”

  He scoops me up and lifts me over the side of the pool then pulls my dress over my head so it’s not in the way. My tail immediately unfurls. Liam grins and strokes it. No matter how many times he’s seen it, he’s still fascinated by the transformation. I sigh as the cool water soothes some of my edginess. I dip my head under the water then swim in a tight circle. The large pool feels like a tiny cage.

  I feel the urge to flex my body, to undulate my hips in a natural swimming rhythm to help the baby move down the birth canal, but there’s no room for that here. Instead, I lay on my side and curl inward, wrapping my arms around my belly.

  Bella and the guys stand in a circle around the pool, stroking my hair, my arm, my hip. I’m sure one of them would be holding my hand if I wasn’t clutching it against my stomach. A plastic band around my wrist monitors my heart rate, and Liam lifts my arm to look at it every few minutes.

  “Does it hurt?” Avery bites his lip and wrinkles his forehead when I groan. I know he’s just worried about me, but right now his concern irritates me.

  “No, it feels great,” I snarl, smacking his hand away from my forehead.

  Avery pulls back, frowning.

  “I’m sorry. It’s not too bad, just uncomfortable.” I exhale slowly through gritted teeth.

  “It’s okay, Coral. Go ahead and take your frustrations out… on Avery.” Jude hides behind Avery and peeks around his shoulder, grinning.

  Another contraction hits me then. I tense up, scrunching my face and flopping around in the pool, trying to find a better position. Eventually, I prop myself up in a sitting position with my arms stretched out across the top of the pool on one side and my fin flapping against the edge on the other side.

  Bella winces and shivers then turns to walk away. “I’m not sure I want to watch this.”

  Gio grabs her arm. “Stay. I think you should see this. You want that to be you, writhing in agony? This is why you don’t need to have sex till you’re 30.”

  “You’re not helping.” Avery scowls at him, but Gio’s comment makes me chuckle, taking my mind off the pain for a moment, until another contraction assaults me. I cry out this time as pain surges through my body.

  “Focus on your breathing.” Liam demonstrates the patterned breathing he taught me until I do it with him. It does help some, but eventually the contractions are too intense and close together for me to focus on anything but pushing.

  “It’s coming!” I groan when I feel the baby’s head pushing out. I quickly curl up on my side again, breathing in deep gill-fulls of water and letting it out in a cloud of bubbles.

  Their voices are muffled by the water, but I can hear the guys oohing and ahhing as they watch our baby make her appearance. Their excited faces ripple above me.

  “One more push, Princess, and it’ll all be over.” Liam’s hands reach behind me to cradle the baby’s head.

  I take a deep breath and force it out of me, bearing down till I feel the baby slide out.

  Liam catches the tiny merling and holds it up for the others to see, a giant smile on his face. I quickly pull myself upright and reach out, and Liam hands the baby to me. Tears pour from my eyes as I press her warm, slippery body against my chest. Her soft, little fin spreads open and flaps gently against my arm. Emotions well up in me, threatening to drown me in overwhelming love and happiness.

  “You have a new princess to spoil, boys. Say hello to your daughter.” My lip quivers as I smile at them. They’re gazing at her in awe, their faces filled with the same love I feel, the same love they have for me.

  I jump but giggle when Jude vaults over the side of the pool and lands next to me, grinning. “Jude, it’s gross in here.” The water is cloudy and tinged red.

  He nuzzles my neck then kisses the baby. “I don’t care. I want to be with you. You did amazing, Princess.”

  He runs his fingers through her curly, brown hair then gapes up at me. “She has my curls!”

  “And your physique, too. Look at that chubby belly!” Bella chuckles.

  “Her hair is dark, though, like mine.” Gio bends over to stroke her head.

  Avery leans closer and tilts his head. “But she has blue eyes, like me and Coral. Aren’t blue eyes a recessive trait?”

  Liam shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean anything. Most babies are born with blue eyes. They’ll probably change color later.”

  Avery frowns at him.

  “Guys, stop. She belongs to all of you, remember? It doesn’t matter who she looks like.” I scold them. They promised they wouldn’t try to figure out who her biological father is. They quickly stop talking and offer regretful looks to each other.

  “What are we going to call her, Coral?” Avery changes the subject to something just as controversial. It’s a question we’ve been discussing for months now, and all of them have offered suggestions, but I’ve purposely avoided making a decision. I have my reasons.

  I look at Liam and hold the baby out to him. He raises an eyebrow but takes her, cradling her to his chest. My heart fills to overflowing at the sight of him holding her. He’s going to make such a good father. All of them are. This baby will have the best of all of them. But she’ll have something very special from him.

  “I want you to name her, Liam.”

  Liam’s eyes pinch and his lips quiver as he shifts his gaze from the baby to me.

  “Really?” His voice wobbles.

  I glance at the others and nod. Their thoughts tell me they understand.

  “Lorelei,” he says confidently, lifting her up. She smiles down at him and flaps her tail. “It means siren.”

  “It’s perfect,” we say in unison.

  Then Lorelei opens her mouth and cries, mesmerizing all of us.

  The End.

  Enjoyed this series?

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  Dear Reader,

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  Thanks so much for reading,

  Kellie

  Kellie McAllen is a USA Today bestselling author who loves contemporary and paranormal romance stories with relatable characters, swoon-worthy romance, and happily ever after endings.

  She also likes to guest judge on DWTS (from her living room), watch cat videos with her two kitties, and eat chocolate after every meal.

  She lives in North Carolina with her hubby and a teenage kiddo.

  www.kelliemcallen.com

  kellie@kelliemcallen.com