Chapter 541: Won’t swim away

Vaelor had been fixing the fish trap he had come up with to help catch a large number of fish at once. He had no idea if his masterpiece was actually a masterpiece at all, so he was trying to secure the rope of the net against the side of their boat when his own foot became caught in it as he threw it into the water. Before he fully understood what was happening, he was pulled straight into the water.

As he tried to swim back to the surface, the trap and net, anchored by a heavy rock, continued dragging him steadily downward instead of allowing him to rise. He cursed himself for not being more careful. It looked like he was going to drown in the very water he knew how to swim in.

As Vaelor struggled to free himself, that was when the mermaid appeared, cutting through the water beside him with startling speed. Before he could even register what was happening or what she was, she sliced through the rope with one sharp fin, freeing him and smoothly pulling him back toward the surface.

It was the first time he had ever laid eyes on a creature like her, yet he scowled at her anyway, even as she effortlessly pushed him back into his boat.

Before Vaelor could say anything, she had already swum away, hiding just beneath the surface. She remained close enough that her face was still visible as she looked up at him, a beautiful smile playing on her lips.

Vaelor tilted his head to the side, studying her through the clear waters. "Goddess, what are you?" he muttered to himself as her smile grew wider before she began to sink deeper into the water, slowly disappearing from his view.

"Did you see that, brother?" Came the words of his twin, Vik, staring into the water where the mermaid had vanished as though she’d never been there at all. "An angel, azure in color, and... magnificent." He said, his voice sounding almost memorized by the sight, which made Vaelor turn to him with a darker scowl, right before Vik noticed his brother’s clothes were soaking wet.

"You took a dip in the water, did you? Did you see the azure angel too?" Vik asked, eager to confirm whether he’d actually glimpsed something real from the deck, since he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life and thought he could happily stare at it forever.

Vaelor, still processing everything he’d just seen and felt, brushed past his brother. "I didn’t see anything. You’re dreaming while you’re awake."

"Then what nature of creature did I just glimpse?" Vik muttered to himself, unwilling to drop the subject entirely, not realizing that somewhere deep in his brother’s heart, Vaelor had already claimed whatever that creature was as his own, and didn’t think his brother should even dare think of her.

That day, after they had returned home with the day’s catch, Vaelor went back out onto the water alone to fish. Since Alphas were expected to provide for their packs, he had to ensure they had enough food. But this time, he had another reason for going back.

He threw himself straight into the water, hoping to lure the creature out. He was certain she had been watching him from somewhere nearby the entire time he had been fixing his net on the boat. He had felt that strange sensation of being watched, and there was no doubt in his mind that it had been the blue creature lurking nearby. This time, he was going to catch her.

Just as he had suspected, the moment he fell into the water, pretending not to know how to swim, she emerged. All blue and beautiful, she immediately grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back to the surface, assuming he was unable to swim.

But Vaelor caught hold of her instead.

He quickly realized that she was as slippery as a fish beneath his grip. She twisted and tried to escape, but he grabbed the only thing he could manage, her hair, and held on tightly to keep her from getting away as she hauled him back toward the surface.

"Ouch! Let go!" She yelped, splashing water at his face, but Vaelor knew that if he let go now, she’d simply vanish again to the depth of the waters.

"So you do have words in you, little fish girl. If you promise not to run, I’ll let you go." He bargained, and she glared at him but nodded anyway.

Looking at her up close, blue instantly became Vaelor’s favorite color. Something unfamiliar stirred deep within his chest as he stared at her, a strange warmth spreading through him that he couldn’t quite understand.

Vaelor, above all others, was known to be ruthless, a werewolf with no sympathy, no softness, and seemingly not a single seed of love within him. Nothing could hold his attention or captivate him for more than a mere second. He had his fun with every woman who threw herself at him, but he was never captivated by any of them. He would often forget their names by morning, which was why his pack members believed there was nothing in this world capable of stirring his heart.

Yet somehow, his heart was stirring for a fish.

"I won’t swim away. Let go," she said.

Vaelor slowly released her long hair, crouching down at the edge of his boat to study her as she floated on the surface of the water. There was still a small glare in those azure eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair, carefully arranging the long strands and the pearls adorning them.

He found himself unable to look away.

"What exactly are you? Not quite fish, not quite human. What are you?" He scowled at her, and she flushed a deep scarlet across her cheeks and neck, where faint blue scales turned a soft shade of pink. Was she shy? Fascinating.

"Mermaid," she told him. "Don’t fall into the water again. You’re distracting me."

"Why?" He arched a brow. "If I fall, will you catch me... little mermaid?" He asked, the corner of his mouth lifting, but rather than answer, she dove back under the water and swam off, flashing her tail at him and splashing him soundly on her way out.

"Aren’t you something? I’ll get you for that, little mermaid!"

Sebastian, still reading, turned the page to find Vaelor had written:

*[I came to the waters to find my mermaid every day after that, but she only ever came out once more, and then I didn’t see her again until the night we celebrated the moon. I saw her there too, only this time she had no tail at all. She came with legs instead, unclothed. I felt rage seeing her lose the blue, standing unclothed in front of our entire pack, but before I could even reach her, my brother had already claimed her for himself, and she smiled at him with a familiarity that suggested she knew him too. How could she smile at Vik like that? I thought we’d shared something together.]*

*[But if I had known how our fate would end, I would have thrown her right back into the water myself, or I would have claimed her in front of everyone, the very same day Vik did. That was my mistake.]*