Page 71 of Welcome to Seaman’s Cove: Part Two

We leave the football stadium and make the short walk down to the beach as we swap stories and catch up on what’s been going on since we last saw each other.

When we reach the shore, Amalie is already there, sitting on a rock with three mermen and a mermaid as they let their tails dry out. They arrived with Farra and Nero earlier this morning, but opted to secretly explore the water channels of Ocearus rather than come to graduation. They aren’t the first merfolk to come to the mainland, but it’s been a while since the last group.

For their safety, Nero has organized a sort of visa system, so that he knows who is living among humans. My pack and I help them adjust and learn the language when they first get here. We organize jobs or get them admitted into the university if that’s what they want. Nero keeps tabs on them, just because humans don’t know about them yet, and we don’t want anyone getting on the wrong side of a mad scientist or anything, but it’s worked out well for those who’ve come so far. A few have returned to Tythas with a wider understanding of the world. Others have opted to continue living here. There have even been two mermen who found human scent matches. One of those packs is pregnant with twins, who should be born any day now.

That reminds me, tomorrow I should take them the gift basket we put together. It’s a combination of human and merfolk items that we hope will be helpful. No one’s really sure what to expect with these babies, but they’ve brought a lot of hope to Caspian’s people.

“What are you thinking about, starfish?” Caspian whispers as we cross the sand.

“Babies,” I grin up at him, knowing exactly how he’ll react to that statement.

He stumbles, giving me a wide-eyed, panicked look, but there’s desire mixed in with it, too. If I said the word, he’d be dragging me back to our beach house down the road from the university and fucking me raw before I could blink.

I laugh. “Not yet. Down, boy.”

My career has really taken off since finding Ocearus, and I’m nowhere near ready to settle down yet. My mates aren’t either, although I’ve learned a few of them have a bit of a breeding kink, which I happily enjoy.

“What’s so funny?” Phoenix asks.

Nero and Farra have moved ahead of us, walking more quickly to meet up with their people, while my pack and I take our time.

“She’s mean,” Caspian grumbles. “Making me hard when we’re supposed to be in diplomat mode.”

“Making you hard? Were you flaccid?” Nix asks. “Personally, I live with a perpetual boner with you four around all the time.”

“Same,” Hunter grunts.

My laugh turns into a giggle. “Behave.”

“Do we really have to do this now?” Sebastian asks. “Maybe they should come back later.”

“Why?” I bump my shoulder against his as we walk. “So you can take me home to have your way with me?”

“I’m more inclined to watch Caspian fuck you with that ridged mer-cock in the waves right here and now.” Seb casts a heated look toward my merman.

“You did that last night,” Phoenix says, sounding more than a little salty. “And you didn’t invite me.”

“You were already asleep.”

“I wasn’t,” Hunter grumbles.

To be fair, he was working on our latest co-written article for the National Academies of Omega Sciences Journal. He told me I needed a break, and he’d finish up the last edits without me. I don’t think he realized how I would spend that break. He thought I’d sleep, not go for a swim with my beta and my merman.

“Okay, okay, repeat sex on the beach with everyone as soon as we get home,” I say, smiling to myself. There are a lot of benefits to having a house so close to the ocean. Easy access to Caspian’s shifted cock is one of the more exciting ones.

“Deal,” Phoenix slaps my backside playfully. “Dibs on Madi’s ass.”

The guys laugh and start making plans for who’s putting their cock where. I shush them as we get closer to the rock where Amalie and the other merfolk wait. I love this horny, brilliant, ridiculous pack of mine. They’re everything I ever dreamed about, and I’m grateful I can keep them forever. I get to work alongside my mates in the city I fantasized about as a child. I couldn’t ask for a better life than this one.

I’m smiling so wide my cheeks hurt as I walk toward the merfolk. “Hi,” I wave at the small group. “I’m Madi. Welcome to Seaman’s Cove.”

EPILOGUE

It’s done. I’ve graduated. With honors, no less. It’s an accomplishment I still haven’t fully processed. An ending I don’t feel ready for.

As I wander up the steps of the stadium after my graduation, a little black folder symbolizing my diploma in hand, I trip over my gown. I should have hemmed it, rather than letting it sit in the back of my closet untouched for weeks. I didn’t even try it on until this morning. Yeah, I was in some deep denial.

It isn’t that I’m not excited to graduate. I am. Kinda. But I feel untethered. After eight years of higher education, the thought of leaving my familiar routine of classes gives me hives. Literally. I’ve been itchy all morning. My neck is all red and splotchy. I had to use a shit ton of concealer to make it look half-normal. Not that it matters. There’s no one paying all that much attention to me.