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 his 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
