3rd Person“What do we do?” Chase exclaimed, his gaze ping ponging back and forth between the images on the security screens. The Beta was beside himself, unable to help Caspian and distracted by his mate’s antics all at once.“I don’t know.” Marina fretted, her attention focused on Viviane and Caspian, divided by glass walls and completely at Damien’s mercy. Even as she watched them, she knew she couldn’t simply stand there and do nothing. “I’ll go help Kiera.” She suggested after a moment. The chances that she would be able to help her daughter were slim, but Chase could – assuming he was able to focus on doing so. “She’s not in imminent danger and the faster the other mermaids are freed, the better.”“Thank you,” Chase breathed, anxiously following her movements on the black and white monitors.Without another word, Marina careened out of the control room, dashing for the lower levels where the mermaids were trapped. Her heart pounded, blood rushing in her ears as she darted throug
VivianeDamien’s body is so heavy on mine. His rough hands bruise my skin as his sneering face gazes down at me, and nausea writhes in my belly as I feel his hardness digging into my stomach. My mind is whirling, struggling to stay in the present as past horrors seek to drag me under, and simultaneously fighting the urge to leave my body and dissociate from the violation I’m about to suffer.In the distance Caspian’s roars and growls fill the air, the sound of his body slamming into the glass over and over again wrenching at my heartstrings terribly. I don’t want him to see this, I can’t bear the thought of him blaming himself for not saving me, and I know he will.Calling out to him through our mental link, I try to tell him to turn away, even though I know it’s useless. Don’t watch, Caspian. I beg, please, I don’t want you to see this.No! He thunders back, don’t give up, Viviane! Just hold on!It’s okay. I mentally sob, I’ll be okay. I’ve survived before and I’ll survive again, jus
Three Months LaterViviane“Viv, are you ready?” Kiera asks, appearing in the doorway.I’m standing in front of a huge, floor length mirror, my wedding gown flowing around my body in graceful waves. It’s a delicate concoction of sea colored silk that ripples over my curves like water, and brings out the color of my turquoise eyes.I honestly can’t believe this day has finally come. I never thought I’d get married at all, and here I am preparing to walk down the aisle to join myself with the first Alpha in shifter history to rule two packs. After my rescue, Caspian tried to find another candidate to lead the Bloodstones, but none of the wolves in the pack were willing to do away with Damien’s mermaid program completely. Luckily for us, none of them were strong enough to challenge Caspian either, so he stayed in control by default.When we got home he finally sat down with his father and aired out all of the secrets and unspoken traumas of Caspian’s childhood, and his father willingly s
Viviane’s POV“Cry, Mermaid!” a sharp lash slices into my back, forcing a yelp from my lips.Screams and sobs surround me on all sides, children crying out for someone, anyone to save them. Their small voices crack and break, a cacophony of squeals and squawks echoing around the vaulted chamber. I wish they would stop. No one is ever going to rescue us, and their constant begging only eggs on the Pearl Reapers.The lashes fall harder, the shrieks grow louder, and pearls fall like rain into the water around us.“That’s it, harder!” The head Reaper praises his men. “Give them more!”We give nicknames to all the Reapers. We know little about them, other than that they belong to the Bloodstone pack. We’ve never seen them in their wolf forms, so we name them based on their human appearances.We call the head reaper Cyclops – christened thus for the jagged scar running through his left eye socket; his sight solely dependent on his right eye. Unfortunately his aim is no less precise for the
Viviane’s POVThe operation lasts hours. I hover on the edge of existence, wavering in and out of consciousness. I feel every last slice of their blades, every new tendon sewn into my muscles and nail hammered into my bones.Arteries are rerouted, nerves and blood vessels are carefully fused with tissues unwillingly donated by other mermaids who did not survive their own surgeries. This will be my future if I do not make it off of the operating table. My corpse will be picked over by these vultures, my bones stolen and inserted into the body of another.I see everything, the biohazard coolers from which new body parts are continuously extracted, the red disposal bins where my mutilated tail lays in tatters.My scales, an unusual combination of blues, pinks and purples, are spread out on a separate counter – awaiting processing. Our bodies might be cannon fodder for the Bloodstone pack, but not an ounce of the riches we contain go to waste. The reapers tell us our scales are considered
Viviane’s POVThe wolves will never let us go, and on land we don’t stand a chance against them. They have night vision and supernatural hearing, they can track a smell from miles away, they can run 10 times faster and tear us to shreds with nothing more than their teeth.There is no doubt what fate awaits us if we’re caught. Escapees don’t go back to the camp, they are killed on sight, and not humanely.The river is in sight now, but behind us howls announce the guards’ pursuit.We exchange terrified glances as we run, and suddenly Isla’s father is shouting above the wind. “Get to the river!”I don’t understand, that was already the plan. Then I realize he is no longer beside me, I slow down, craning my neck over my shoulder to see him running back to face the wolves. “Come on, Viviane!” My mother urges me, sounding as if she is on the verge of hysterics.“But—”“He made his choice!” She cuts me off. “We agreed that you would come first.”I start to protest again, but she does not le
*Content Warning*Five Years LaterViviane’s POVI wake on a pillow littered with pearls.I’ve been crying in my sleep again, subconsciously battling the demons that always appear in the unguarded realms of slumber. I whip the blankets from my body, sending gems flying, and slide out of bed.My own screams echo in my ears as I move swiftly toward the bathroom. I’m completely alert, drowning in adrenaline. I feel exactly as I did five years ago, the dream sent my brain into full flight mode but left my body unable to flee.I yank the shower handle down, stepping out of the way just in time for hot water to burst from the showerhead. I strip frantically, leaving my nightclothes in a haphazard pile on the floor, before disappearing into the steam.The water is too hot, it scalds every scrap of skin it touches, but I don’t flinch away. I need the heat, I need it to wash away the feeling of Mordred’s hands on my body. I grab a sharply bristled scrub brush from a hook on the wall, dousing i
Caspian’s POVShe’s perfect. I knew the moment I smelled her. My wolf went beserk, demanding I find her immediately, demanding we claim what is ours. I thought I could wait until the end of the competition, to do my duty and see out the judging.All thoughts of duty went out the window the moment I heard her voice. I knew she was the one singing, rather than the pretty brunette on stage. That incredible, bewitching voice belonged to my mate, and the woman on stage was not my mate – not even close.Yesterday I might have taken the lip syncer home with me, but now I have no interest in her. I have no interest in anyone but the trembling shifter in front of me. Half of her face is obscured by dark glasses, and a staff is leaning against the wall to our left.If she’s blind her other senses must be so heightened that she can sense the things around her. Her head is tilted up, directly at my face, and when she turned she’d immediately began backing away from me, her attention never waveri