Shocked I didn't dare to move. I stood there with wide eyes as the man who was supposed to be my mate kissed me. It was only a small kiss on my lips and before separating his lips from mine, he licked it.

Even after the kiss, I was too shocked to do anything, so when Cadfael went to talk to my parents, I followed him since his arm was around my waist.

"Do not worry, he is in good hand and of course he will come to visit once in a while," said Cadfael with the same smile of his.

"Well, then... At least we know Llyr is safe with you," softly said my mother with a hand on her cheek. Then she looked at me, and I could still see the hesitation in them, but she came to give me a small hug. "Take care and come visit us okay?"

I nodded as dad came to hug me too, but he only wished me the best. As Cadfael lead me outside of the house where two enormous seahorses were waiting for us.

"My Prince?" I asked unsurely how to call him.

"Call me Cadfael, beautiful," he said as he looked at me.

"Cadfael," I tried it once before saying it again. "May I take Hiro with me?" I asked hopefully.

"Who's Hiro?"

"My seahorse pet," I answered hoping he would say yes as Hiro appeared as he heard his name.

The Prince looked at him before letting my waist go to pet him. "You may," he said with a smile.

I was so happy to hear him say that and as I couldn’t control myself, I hugged him. He became tensed under my touch, and that made me let go immediately.

"Sorry," I apologized while blushing.

He smiled, "You surprised me that’s all. Come, let’s go," he put his arm on my shoulder as he guided me to the giant seahorses.

Hiro’s tail wrapped against mine making me stop. I looked at him and patted his head.

"Don’t worry, you come with me too," I smiled, and he jumped in my arms.

When I turned around, I surprised Cadfael looking at me. I blushed and felt self-conscious. What if there was something in me he didn’t like? Did I do something to upset him?

I slowly swam to him and asked how we would bring my luggage and Hiro with us. He took Hiro from my arms and put it back on the ground making me frown at him.

"Someone will come to take care of it, don’t worry. But now," he smiled as he pulled me by the waist until I was flush against him, "How about we get home?" he asked with his usual breathtaking smile, before kissing me.

This time, the kiss was more aggressive as he licked and bit my lower lip making me slowly open my mouth. He didn’t waste a second before his tongue found mine. I began to tremble and shiver in his arms when his finger trailed at the base of my back where the scales started. He gently touched there making me gasp and to my horror, I felt myself getting aroused. I tried to push Cadfael away before he could make it worse.

When I heard him chuckle, I understood that he knew why I did that. He started looking down and immediately, I sat on the ground with the front of my tail touching my chest.

I blushed even harder when I saw some merpeople swimming around giving us curious glances.

"Let’s get going beautiful," he smirked as he took me in his arms as I stayed in the same position.

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide under a shell and disappear. He put me down on a giant seahorse before going to the one next to it. I didn’t have to worry about anything since my seahorse was bound to the other.

Our mount started to swim slowly until we reached the gates in front of the seaweed forest. I gulped and looked up, I never went this close before and it looked so intimidating.

As the guards saw us approaching, the Prince got out a shell with something written on it and of course his crest. The guard looked at it before bowing and wishing us a safe trip before ordering the others to open the gates.

As we started to advance again, I was excited to see how the world on the other side looked like yet, I was also scared to death. I glanced at Cadfael who was slightly in front of me. He was really handsome from every angle, and I smiled.

We weren’t at each other's throats, and he seemed very kind. My dream to be a happy couple and have a successful mating was starting to get closer now.

"We will soon be out of the seaweed forest, and I want you to stay put. Don’t go swimming around, okay beautiful?" warned Cadfael with a smile, but his eyes and tone were dead serious.

I nodded, "Is it that dangerous on the other side?"

"You have nothing to worry about with me on your side. I’ll protect you."

I shyly smiled and when we finally got through the forest, I blinked and put my arm in front of my eyes because of the sun.

When I adapted to the brightness of the sun, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so beautiful! There were so much more fishes and corals that I never saw before. I looked up and the water seemed much clearer than on the other side.

"Beautiful isn’t it?" asked my mate next to me with a warm smile.

"It’s gorgeous," I whispered back.

"Good, because that would be similar to the view from my Kingdom."

"There’s no forest around it?" I asked shocked.

"Nope, we don’t have one and merpeople are free to roam around in our territory, but fear not, we have guards protecting our citizens. You’ll see Llyr. I’ll teach you how to be free in all kind of ways."