“Maybe humans have something over merrae, then.” I tried to step away from Triton, but his grip was iron. “Look at yourselves.” I gestured between the couple. “Do you let your children fight like this?”

Greta’s face flushed bright red.

That was an obvious no.

Platt snarled out, “This is who we are. You are nothing but a womb—a tiny human female who cannot understand the workings of merrae warriors.”

Triton’s magic slammed through the room like a bolt of lightning.

Everyone sucked in a breath as their hair raised and the air in the room thickened—including me.

Though the way my back arched made it obvious that it affected me much differently than it did them, because the blood drained from all of their faces. Even his sister’s and brother-in-law’s.

“Go ahead and repeat what you just said about my queen.” There was no missing the pure, undiluted fury in Triton’s voice.

Platt eyed the man behind me, and said nothing, though he did rise to his feet.

“He only means that we voted in favor of you taking a mate for the sake of repopulation,” Greta said quietly but evenly as she stepped up in front of her mate. She was only a few inches shorter than him, but he could see over her just fine. “We never planned on seeing her as a queen. No one did.”

Apparently, she could stand up for her mate when she wasn’t trying to murder him with a coffee table.

“Then perhaps you should’ve asked my opinion.” Triton’s growl was back, his magic still surrounding us all in a way that made it difficult for me not to grind against him or moan.

I needed to get my shit together, but his power made that pretty much impossible.

“I have spent the last century solving your problems and dealing with your temper tantrums almost entirely alone.” Triton finally released me, placing me behind him again as he slowly stalked toward the couple.

Staying where he put me, I just watched him.

And fought like hell not to give into the urge to touch myself.

His magic may as well have been a drug to me.

“You act like spoiled children for a century, then repay me by interrupting my time with my mate moments after I bring her home. Now you’ve insulted her, so I am done. Solve your own fucking problems, because if this happens again, I will kill you myself.” He stopped just a few inches away from them, gesturing to the broken furniture.

The room was still flooded with his magic, to the point where I was about to stumble backward so I could lean on the wall for support.

It was insanely hot watching him threaten them. I didn’t even want to know what that said about how twisted my mind was.