Beneath The Waves (bxb)

14. Their Freedom

There was only one thing I could think of doing to stop him, even though it was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done in my life, second to bringing two mermen into my home. I grabbed Mellac's left arm, the one he was using to hurt Jay, and pulled as hard as I could. At first, he didn't even seem to notice me, but then I was suddenly the one grabbed by the throat.

"M-Mellac?"

He easily lifted my body into the air as he got up, fingers tightening around my windpipe with little effort.

"You are just as bad as him, trying to trick my brother into mating you just to save your pathetic life."

My fingers scrambled against his, but it felt like they were glued to my skin. I began gasping for air after seconds, having not gotten in a breath before being grabbed.

"C... Call... em..."

"Shut up. You are just a worthless human. Don't you dare call for my brother."

Believe me, I don't want to ask one murderous mer to save me from another, either, but I'm kind of out of options here.

I felt my mind beginning to get fuzzy as my oxygen supply dwindled. Nothing seemed to be working, not even the few kicks I'd managed to land on his bare legs. It honestly just felt like kicking a rock. Mellac also ended up tightening his grip, blurring my vision to the point of near darkness... until I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and something rub against the back of my damp shirt.

"Brother, go back inside," Mellac growled in warning.

Callem barked behind me and tightened his hold. I think he was shaking his head, too, because I felt something brushing back and forth against my back.

"He isn't your mate. He's just a useless human. He can never go back to the ocean with you, and he only let you claim him so he wouldn't die."

"Arf!"

Mellac sighed out a growl and refocused his attention on me.

"He will be fine once you and your human friend are dead."

I felt Callem's arms tighten further and would have winced if I wasn't feeling more pain from my lack of oxygen.

"Goodbye, human."

"P-Parker Callem's!"

I was released immediately and fell back into Callem's arms as he sat down, tugging me into his lap. There was absolutely no strength left in me to move so I let him hold me without complaint, honestly just thankful that I could get in big gulps of air now. Callem felt tense beneath me and was obviously paying attention to his brother, because of the angle at which he stared. I couldn't make my head move at all, but I did close my eyes and focus on listening as Mellac began to speak.

"After all of these years, you speak for this... this, human?"

Callem hugged me tighter against his chest and glanced away toward the pool. I knew animal behavior enough to know that he was submitting to his brother, perhaps just so Mellac wouldn't get more upset?

"Callem... why?"

While I was definitely curious about the same thing, I really needed to get Jay's head to stop bleeding. My body felt like jelly, but thankfully it did as told after another minute of deep breathing and moved slowly out of Callem's arms. I was surprised the mer let me go, but he seemed a bit more focused on his brother to mind me going a few feet away.

"I-I... Parker to Callem," he stuttered as I felt Mellac's attention shift to me, but I was too busy pulling off my shirt so I could wrap it around Jay's bleeding head to really pay him any mind right then.