Triton's Oath - His Hybrid Princess

9 - Let's find the locket

Triton

“Triton,” Ava holds her hands up in surrender. “Please, calm down.”

I blink, cursing myself for almost losing my temper in front of my mate. After everything I’ve confessed and Ava took in, I’m surprised she isn’t screaming and calling me a liar. But she isn’t. Ava is just trying to calm me down.

“Ava,” I take a step closer to her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Ava chuckles, which confuses me. “You didn’t scare me, Triton. Though I was confused how you could know what happened to me.”

I take a deep breath. “I went to Lykos to find you. It was time to open the locket and give you back your memories and the mate bond. I’m free now, and I have waited long enough to be with you.

“While there, the King’s eldest son brought a young woman to the Castle. She explained what had happened to you because she sensed it from those who harmed.”

Ava narrows her eyes, which widen just as fast. “Elle?”

I nod. “That girl cares a great deal about you. I could sense it. She went straight to Sebastian, who had those who hurt you arrested. I wanted to kill them!”

“You killed them?”

I shake my head. “I wanted to, but I would not take that honor from you, Ava.” She nods in thought. “I’m so sorry they did that to you.”

“Triton, what they did to me was awful. I’ll never forgive them for it, nor will I allow them to live. But they didn’t have penetrative se.x with me. Not down there, at least. I just want you to know that.” Ava looks down at her feet and wipes a tear from her eye.

Rage fills me for what those bastards put Ava through. But I cannot allow it to consume me. Ava needs me.

“Ava,”

She looks at me and smiles with tears in her eyes. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry because of them again. But I’m angry, Triton. I have never been with a man before because I was saving myself for my mate, for you. No matter how long it took, I would wait. But they took things from me that I can never get back.”

What is this feeling inside of me?

I have never felt hurt like this. I hurt for this beautiful woman before me. She holds my heart, and when she feels pain, I feel it also. I do because I love her like no other. I love her more now that she’s here than I did before.

“I’m not going to ask if you still want me, even after what they did to me because I can see that you do.”

“I will always want you, Ava. Nothing could ever change that.”

Ava blinks slowly and smiles at me. “Good. I want you, too.” She giggles.

Am I dreaming?

After everything I’ve said, Ava still wants me?

Not that I’m complaining, but it seems too good to be true. We don’t have the locket yet. But once we do and it’s opened, Ava will remember all of those terrible things I did. She may change her mind about me once she does.

I move closer until I’m standing in front of her.

She looks up at me, and we both laugh because of the height difference. Her laughter is like a soothing balm to my heart.

“I want to face Philip and Yolanda… Erm, the people who assaulted me.” I nod because I know who she’s talking about. “I want my locket back, and then I want them to suffer. But I…”

“What is it, my love?”

Ava’s eyes shine with happiness as she looks at me, starkly contrasting the pain inside.

“With you come with me? Please?”

My heart swells with joy! I wouldn’t have let her go without me, but it means a lot that she would ask me to accompany her.

“I would go anywhere with you, Ava.”

She smiles wide. “I don’t need protecting, and I can handle Philip and Yolanda. But I would like you to be there as my mate.”

I am utterly stunned by her words. Ava is so trusting of me. Of course, I’m glad, but believing anyone blindly is never a good thing, even if they are truthful. That could become a problem in the future. I must teach Ava not to trust anyone so easily.

“You believe what I told you?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t believe you, Triton?” Ava fires back.

My mate is a feisty little thing. I can see Ava won’t be afraid to challenge me, and I have never liked the idea more!

“I told you the truth, Ava. However, you seem to have accepted everything so easily.”

Ava nods. “As crazy as your story sounded, it also didn’t at the same time. I know you’re the Merman I’ve been dreaming about since I was sixteen. You may have taken my memories of you, but somehow, in my dreams, I remembered you. I think I missed you and that’s why I was seeing you so often. While you were imprisoned, did you ever call my name?”

More times than Ava could imagine. She would have been eighteen or so when I first called her name passionately. I called her name each time I pleasured myself. Oh, come on! I’m a male; we’re always pleasuring ourselves! I called Ava’s name when I was frustrated or just wishing she was with me.

I nod in answer to her question.

Ava bites her bottom lip and laughs. “It was your voice I heard. Wasn’t it?”

“I believe so,”

Ava squeals excitedly, bouncing from foot to foot while clapping her hands. She’s a strange little thing. “Wow! This is so exciting!”

“It is?”

“Yes! Don’t you see? I’m not crazy, Triton. For seven years, I believed there was something wrong with me, seeing and hearing things no one else could. But I was seeing and hearing you. Don’t you see, you’ve always been with me, even when you weren’t.”

My eyes widen as Ava lays her hand on my chest. Sparks fly through my body as her fingers flex against my muscles.

“Oh, wow.” She clears her throat. “Damn, you’re big.”

I smirk in amusement. “Having fun?”

Ava licks her lips, looks into my eyes, and nods. “I can’t wait to see you out of these clothes.”

My eyebrows shoot up in shock. My little mate is not shy at all. I was not expecting her to be this open.

“I’m sorry. I’m too forward for my own good sometimes.”

Her hand slips from my chest, but I grab it and hold it against my chest. Her fingers flex as she looks into my eyes.

“There is no such thing as too forward with me, Ava. I am yours, and you have the right to touch me whenever you want.” She smiles. “You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met. After everything I have told you, you believed me. You touch me without fear.”

“I don’t fear you, and I most certainly don’t fear touching you.” She chuckles. “I might not feel the mate bond, but I know you’re not lying, Triton. Both my Wolf and Dragon believe you’re our mate. Now,” Ava smiles. “Let’s go find the locket so I can feel the mate bond. Then we can really get to know one another properly.” She winks.

I repress a growl. Damn, she’s a little minx, teasing me like this. I want to kiss her so badly. I want to take her in my arms and never let go. Soon, once we have the locket, nothing will stop me from ultimately making Ava mine.

“I made you blush.” She giggles.

I smirk but say nothing in response.

“I will go with you, Ava. But I want you to be aware that your family won’t be pleased to see me back. They don’t exactly like me for obvious reasons.”

Ava shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter what my family thinks, Triton. You’re my mate, and they will show you respect. I would hope they would want me to leave knowing they love me enough to be civil to my mate, regardless of what you may have done in the past.”

Ava’s father will probably want me dead once his daughter is home safely. I will do my utmost to ignore the disrespect. It will take a lot of work, but I will do it for Ava. Of course, if anyone should upset my mate, I’ll kill them! I won’t. I would never hurt Ava like that. But I won’t keep my mouth shut either.

“Thank you.” I hold Ava’s hand tighter to my chest. I just want to keep feeling these sparks.

“For what?”

“For believing in me, Ava. If I’m being honest, I thought it would be much harder than this, especially without the locket. You leave your heart and mind open to me, even after all you have been through.”

My beautiful mate smiles. “I’m just me. Oh, but I do like tea in the morning.” She winks, making me laugh. “You do want me to return here with you?”

“That’s all I’ve wanted for years, Ava.”

“Good.” She nods. “Would you be okay with maybe staying in Lykos for a few days? It might not take that long. But after dealing with Philip and Yolanda, we need to find the locket. Then there’s my family. They’ll want to spend time with me before I leave.

“Will I be able to visit them sometimes? Will I even be able to leave your palace? How will I breathe underwater? When you mark me, will I get a tail like yours?”

“Wow.” I shake my head because she didn’t even take a breath!

I lay my hand on Ava’s face. She closes her eyes and leans into my touch.

She opens her eyes and looks at me once more. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fire so many questions at you all at once.”

I smile. I understand why Ava asked so many questions. But if I hadn’t spoken when I did, the questions may have continued until I was buried in them.

“Yes. If you want me to stay with you in Lykos for a few days, I would be okay with that. Yes, you can visit your family anytime you wish. They may even come here to see you. My palace will never be a prison, Ava, not for you. You may come and go as you wish.

“Once we’re mates, you will gain my powers and will be able to leave without my help. Until then, I will take you anywhere you want to go. You’ll be able to breathe out in the water because I will make it so. You will become just like me when I leave my mark on you. You will be a Princess of Merfolk, so yes, you will have a tail whenever you’re in the sea.”

“Okay.” My hand falls away from Ava’s face when she stands straight and moves her hand from my chest. “Thank you. Now, let your parents know that we’ll be gone for a few days. I don’t want them to worry about you.”

I smile in amusement. My parents won’t worry about me. I’ve been locked in this place too long to stay, and they know that. However, I quickly call my mother telepathically and tell her where I’m going and why. Mother now knows the locket is not in Olympus, so she and Father will return to Atlantis.

“Let’s go retrieve that locket.”

“Maybe change my clothes first?”

I smirk, wave my hand, and dress Ava in the finest garments I can muster. However, she laughs and asks for something called jeans. Odd, but I give her what she wants.

I just hope that once Ava’s memories return and she realizes I have not always been a good man, she doesn’t hate me too much.

I hope…