Envy

by Katie May

  Dair stared at me strangely but conceded with a nod. “I can have the family doctor check him out. We have five, and at least one always stays here.”

  Five doctors.

  I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around that, having spent years without any medical care at all.

  “You be a good boy for when the doctor comes, okay?” I told Slippy sternly. The little asshole rolled his one eye as if he actually understood me. I gave him a disapproving frown. “I mean it. No fish for you if you misbehave. I’ll feed you the shitty tuna from the marketplace.”

  That seemed to pierce his monster brain. His eye widened slightly, almost imperceptibly, and he wiggled to let me know he wanted down. I dropped him at the edge of the water, and he swam away without a glance back in my direction.

  I feigned sniffles.

  “They grow up so fast.” I punctuated this statement by brushing away an imaginary tear.

  Dair snorted, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me out of the hot room.

  “And you’re fucking weird. Come. Let me introduce you to my mother.”

  DAIR’S MOTHER lived in a tiny, bungalow-style house a few miles off the main shoreline. The white paint looked freshly coated, and a long, wraparound porch held two rocking chairs. Hanging plants adorned the awning overhead; the ground was surprisingly grass instead of sand like I’d expected, freshly manicured, and bedecked in shrubs and what appeared to be tulips. The single tree I noted earlier stood proudly in the waning sunlight, a brilliant collection of green leaves intermixed with a deep burgundy and light orange.

  It was an entire little world condensed onto a small island.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was beautiful, the opulence of the house nearly unmatched. After all, the Mermaid Kingdom was just as wealthy as the Genie one.

  The seductive pulls of Envy couldn’t be ignored, even by Dair’s family.

  I smiled as I took Dair’s offered hand, stepping out of the boat. It was significantly smaller than the one I had ridden with Bash, but it was cute nonetheless with plush leather seats, a canopy overhead, and what Dair had called the captain’s chair.

  My Mermaid mate had driven the boat with a skill and expertise that hinted at his years in the water, both swimming in it and riding overtop of it. His cheeks were still flushed, eyes hooded, from the hour long ride.

  I wobbled the second I touched the grass, my feet and body adjusting to the steadiness of dry land. There wasn’t a part of me that missed the rocking of the boat and the clenching of my stomach seconds before I expelled the contents of my lunch.

  “Seasickness,” Dair had told me.

  “It’s beautiful,” I told Dair now, spinning in a circle. In every direction, I could see waves of water. There were no other islands in sight.

  “Yes, it is,” Dair murmured absently, but his attention was locked on me. He brought a hand up to cup my cheek, his thumb caressing my bottom lip.

  The moment we were inevitably about to have was shattered by an ear-splitting squeal. I immediately went on alert, pushing Dair out of my way and grabbing the dagger I always kept up my sleeve. Was it Aaliyah? Another monster? Tavvy?

  My confusion turned into something akin to jealousy when I spotted Dair running to the water’s edge and wrapping a girl in his arms.

  She was beautiful, I noticed immediately. A sort of ethereal beauty you would read about in storybooks but never see in real life. Her hair was long and black, molten obsidian stones, and cascaded around her porcelain skin.

  I had never seen a female Mermaid before, and I couldn’t help but gawk. Her tail was luminescent, a rich purple that sparkled in the sunlight like thousands of diamonds. Seaweed wrapped up her torso, covering her breasts from view - thank God.

  I saw red, literal red dots obscuring my vision, as she continued to hug Dair. I wanted nothing more than to stomp down there and rip her beautiful black hair from her scalp.

  Muscles trembling in exertion, as if I had run for miles and miles, I glanced down at my dagger. That wouldn’t do.

  I may have hated the girl still hugging and whispering to my mate, but I didn’t want her dead.

  Before I could think rationally, before I could piece together the clues that had been laid out in front of me, I bent down, took off my shoe, and chucked it at her face.

  Not my finest hour.

  The girl squeaked, batting at the air, and Dair released her, stepping back. His eyes were comically wide in his face as he stared back at me.

  “I didn’t even think to do introductions,” he murmured to himself. His blond, golden hair fell over one eye, and he brushed it away impatiently. “What with the mating bond still so new...” He took another deep breath, eyes flickering from the girl rubbing at her head and then back to me. “Z, this is Angelica, my sister.” He stressed sister in a way that made me feel like an idiot.

  My face flamed like there was a fire burning beneath the surface. My first time meeting a boyfriend’s family, and I already fucked it up.

  Note to self: don’t throw things at females until you get the whole story.

  I had a feeling I would be breaking that rule more often than not. At least it hadn’t been my dagger...

  ...that was still held in one of my hands, blade unintentionally pointed at the beautiful female. Angelica. Dair’s sister.

  I scrambled to shove it back in my sleeve, accidentally nicking my skin in the process.

  “Angelica,” Dair turned towards the ravishing female, “this is Z, my mate.”

  The girl’s eyes widened slightly, and before I realized what was happening, she was scrambling to her feet, butt naked. In the next second, she had her arms wrapped tightly around me.

  She looked a few years older than Dair, a sort of elegance in her face that couldn’t be found on a child. Full, pouty lips and a Roman nose befitting a princess.

  But she wasn’t a princess, I recalled. She was the daughter of Dair’s mother and her mate, a commoner.

  “It’s so good to finally meet you,” Angelica squealed, practically breaking my rib cage. I awkwardly patted her back.

  “I’m sorry for throwing a shoe at you,” I blurted. “I just saw you hugging him and-“

  “No worries.” She pulled back with a slight smile. “The first few years after you meet your mate are always the worst. Jealousy and all that shit.” She waved a hand dismissively, that smile never leaving her beautiful face. “Dair would be just as bad if another man touched you who wasn’t your mate. Isn’t that right, little brother?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at Dair the same time I did. His face had been soft as he watched me with his sister, but at her words, his expression hardened, eyes narrowing.

  “No other man is allowed to touch you,” he said coldly to me.

  His possessiveness should’ve made me mad, but it only served to do the opposite. Liquid heat settled in my core, and I wanted to squirm.

  Something that would be quite awkward with his naked sister’s arms still around me.

  Angelica pulled away with a devilish smile. I wondered where she had gotten her sense of humor from. Dair, though not cold, was one of my more serious mates. Kind, calm, collected. Those were just a few words in my arsenal to describe Dair Mermaid.

  Dair strode briskly back towards me, as if he couldn’t stand the distance that separated us, and interlocked our fingers. Or…

  As if he was jealous of his sister hugging me and me hugging her back.

  There was a soft noise from the front of the house - a nearly inaudible whimper - and I whipped my head in that direction.

  A petite older woman stood in the doorway, hand clenched around one of the many white pillars holding up the awning. She was beautiful with honey-toned blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Gray speared the roots of her hair, the only indication of her age. Her wide, petrified eyes surveyed everything and nothing all at once.

  “Why is she here?” the woman asked harshly.

  Dair held up hi
s hands placatingly. “Mother, this is my mate, Z. We came here to see you.”

  He took a step closer, and she flinched. I recognized the reaction...the reaction of a woman who had been beaten and hit one too many times. Disgust and anger battled for dominance. I had no doubt in my mind who had been behind her skittish reaction.

  The Mermaid King.

  “It’s safe, Mom. You can trust her.” He met my stare pointedly, but I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.

  “Juliet, you’re safe,” a different voice said. An older man stepped out of the house and placed his hands on her shoulders.

  He had the same dark hair and blue eyes as Angelica. A soft smile graced his lips when he caught sight of Dair.

  “Dair, my son, how are you?”

  Dair smiled back at the man with love and warmth. It was the sort of look you would give to your dad...

  Wait.

  Understanding dawned as I flickered my eyes from Angelica, now fully dressed, to Juliet leaning against the man, and then to Dair.

  This man was Juliet’s mate, I realized. The father of Angelica. And, apparently, the pseudo-father to Dair.

  No wonder Juliet was so nervous to see me, a stranger, on her island. The secrets held here were capable of killing them all. The Mermaid King was ruthless, volatile. If he discovered his wife was still seeing her mate, living with him, he would not hesitate to kill them all.

  “I’m Z,” I introduced, moving to stand beside Dair. My mate gave me another long, beseeching look, but once more, I couldn’t comprehend it. “Dair’s mate.”

  Juliet stared at me for a long moment before tears pricked her eyes, and her hand rose to her mouth. I had only a second to fear I said something wrong before she was pulling me into her arms with a soft sob.

  “My dear girl,” she whispered, rubbing a hand up and down my back. “I’m so happy he has you.”

  One glance to the side showed that Dair seemed just as stunned by his mother’s reaction as me. I tentatively patted at the woman’s blonde hair, resisting the urge to whisper “there, there” as I would to a crying toddler.

  When she finally pulled away, her face was blotchy and swollen. She sniffled once.

  From somewhere in the house, a baby began to cry. I stiffened.

  A baby?

  As the man kissed his lover’s cheek and rushed back inside, I realized they were hiding more than just a hidden relationship.

  If the King caught wind of this...

  No, I decided resolutely. He never would. I would make sure of it.

  “Come, my dear children,” Juliet said, linking her arm with mine and pulling me inside. When Dair remained standing on the front porch, a dumb-struck look on his face, I pulled his arm and tugged him in after us. “Let’s have dinner.”

  “And you can tell us all about how you met,” Angelica added wickedly.

  And so it began.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  JAX

  Light penetrated the darkness I had found myself in.

  “Z?” I whispered desperately. I scrambled to my feet and placed one hand against the blood-soaked walls. Even after all this time, they continued to bleed. And bleed. And bleed. And bleed. The enticing scent of copper permeated the air. I wanted nothing more than to press my tongue to the wall...

  No! I told myself I would never feast on blood again no matter how hungry I got.

  And I was famished.

  My stomach growled painfully, almost a reminder and confirmation all at once. Pain. It was all I ever knew. Normally, I could ignore it. Shove it under the rug and pretend it didn’t exist.

  This time, my need very nearly consumed me. It pelted me repeatedly in the face until I was dizzy with the madness of it all.

  Thirsty.

  Bleeding walls.

  Drip. Drip. Drip.

  The light was abruptly snatched away, and the darkness returned.

  With a dizzying clarity, I realized I was all alone. Trapped in my own mind.

  Trapped.

  Blood.

  Drip. Drip. Drip.

  I curled into a ball and began to rock, whispering nonsense to myself in an attempt to calm my racing heart.

  She had done it. She had left me, and she wasn’t planning on returning. She had taken my brothers with her, finally relieving them of the thankless task of watching over the crazed, eccentric Vampire.

  Alone.

  So, so alone.

  I called her name, but she never answered. It was only then that realization pierced me, a killing blow.

  She wasn’t coming back.

  For the first time in my life, I was really, truly alone. Emotion clogged my throat, and I released a whimpering sob.

  The walls continued to drip blood, taunting me. The urge to feed was nearly overwhelming.

  Alone.

  You deserve it, I whispered to myself. Images of Sasha flashed through my mind, one after another. I hugged my knees tighter to my chest in a desperate attempt to tame the rising storm inside of me.

  Alone.

  And so I waited, with bated breath, for death to finally claim me.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  Z

  “I like your family,” I said as the boat sliced cleanly through the water. “They’re...homey.”

  Dinner hadn’t been as bad as I had expected. After being peppered with rather embarrassing questions, we had sat together around the table for a home cooked meal of fish and clams. It struck me as odd that they were eating their brethren, but I didn’t complain. The food was delicious.

  Dair’s youngest sister, only a year old, was named Shelly, after the seashells she had immediately grabbed to play with after she was born. Juliet had apparently kept up her relationship with her mate even after marrying the Mermaid King, unbeknownst to him. This was a crime punishable by death.

  I discovered through our conversations that Juliet’s mate’s name was Pearce. I also discovered that they had a second home at the very bottom of the water.

  A wistful part of me wanted to see the castle in the water - something that sounded like it came out of a fantasy book - and Dair assured me he would find a way.

  After hours of senseless chatting and another hour of them in their Mermaid form, we left with our bellies full and chaste kisses to our cheeks.

  “Homey.” Dair snorted at my description of his family. “I never heard that one before.”

  “Your mother and father really love each other,” I mused, and that was what Juliet and Pearce were to him. His parents. Pearce may not have been blood, but I could see the familial love between the two of them. Dair thought the world of the man with the boisterous laugh and sharp-witted tongue.

  He needed that. Dair needed a father-figure who looked out for him, who loved him unconditionally, who remembered silly aspects of his life such as his favorite dessert (clam cake).

  “You were glorious with them,” Dair whispered. He moved away from the steering wheel to stand directly in front of me. His hot breath fanned my face. “Shelly adored you. I had never seen her laugh so much before. Angelica and Pearce loved you as well. I had never seen my mother so taken with a stranger before.”

  “Do you bring a lot of strangers to your house?” I asked, only half-joking. The thought of him introducing another girl to his parents filled me with unease.

  “No.”

  And then he was kissing me, or I was kissing him. At that point, it didn’t matter. We were devouring each other, telling a story with our lips alone. My soft, supple body fit perfectly against his hard one, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “You’re mine now,” he whispered roughly. Before I could comment, could agree, he snaked his hands beneath my ass and hoisted me up. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he held me. “Because now that you’re mine, I’m never letting you go.”

  With those words, I was crushed tighter in his arms, our lips once more chasing each other in an endless race. My body melted against his.

  He m
oved forward until my back hit one of the leather benches. With a gentleness that belied the euphoric energy in the air, he pressed me down, immediately covering me with his long body.

  I tore my lips away from his only long enough to breathless say, “The ship...”

  “It’ll be fine.”

  And then he was kissing me once more. Our tongues tangled together, hands desperately grabbing at any bare skin they could find. One of mine caught the edge of his shirt, pulling it up so I could lay my palm flat against his abdomen. His muscles were hard beneath my hand, flexing. My other hand touched his corded bicep.

  “My love...” he whispered into my ear. His teeth grazed my earlobe before lowering. His tongue brushed the sensitive skin of my neck, my jaw, before claiming my lips once more.

  And they were his to claim. There was no doubt in my mind.

  His. Theirs.

  Mine.

  Dair pulled back suddenly, balancing over me on his elbows. His tender eyes traced my features reverently.

  “Tomorrow, things are going to be different,” he told me. “I’m going to be different. But my feelings for you are not going to change, do you understand?”

  His words brought more confusion than understanding, but I nodded anyways. His lips twitched slightly, but my answer was apparently sufficient enough. Or his need matched my own.

  His look of amusement was replaced by one of veneration.

  With a desperate gasp, he pulled my lips into a bruising, possessive kiss. I rivaled his own neediness by ripping at his shirt so I could touch more of his skin.

  Each of his muscles was defined, a delicious trail of golden hair leading into the waistband of his pants.

  Movements jerky, he helped me out of my shirt and bra, sitting back for a moment to admire me. My stomach fluttered at the heated look in his eyes, and any self-consciousness dissipated in that moment.

  He was mine, as surely as I was his.

  “You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered in awe. His tongue took its time memorizing each crook and crevice of my body. My back arched when he sucked on my nipple, his hand leaving my hips to knead my neglected breast.