Caspian’s POV“You don’t understand what you’re saying.” I snap, temper and frustration rising alongside the overpowering and irresistible urge to mate Viviane.I can feel her uncertainty through our bond. Her body wants it almost as badly as mine, but her mind is unsure. “It was going really well.” She murmurs, turning back. I groan internally, seeing her lust-glazed eyes is not helping. “And it felt–“That’s lust talking.” I cut her off before she can tell me how good I was making her feel. It isn’t necessary, I can smell her arousal even from across the room. “You’re not ready.” My wolf howls in my chest, an unmistakable mating call.To my surprise, Viviane sways forward as if she hears it, but the confusion on her face tells me she has no idea why her feet decided to move. Interesting. I think, wondering what else our mate bond might allow. And very inconvenient.“Viviane.” I don’t want to raise my voice, but she’s leaving me no choice. If she touches me I’m a goner. She freezes o
Viviane’s POVI wake to my mother sweeping up pearls littered around my sofa bed. “You shouldn’t be doing that.” I object instantly, sitting up.She pulls the broom and dustpan out of my reach, “I’m not a complete invalid you know.” She looks me over dubiously. “Besides, I’m not the one in need of healing this morning.”“It was just nightmares.” I deflect, rubbing my eyes drowsily.“I’m not talking about the nightmares.” Mom replies coolly. “You should go take a look in the mirror.”“Wh–” All at once it comes back to me: the scene in Caspian’s rooms; my refusal to leave; his shout; strange wolves grabbing me and carrying me off against my will; Caspian attacking his father. “Oh my god.” I murmur, sinking back down onto the couch. I quickly survey my bare arms and legs, finding them littered with bruises I earned trying to escape the wolves. My entire body is sore, and suddenly all my horrible nightmares make sense.At first it was just Mordred, then his face changed, replaced with doz
Viviane’s POVI have to see Caspian.If I’m going to end things between us, I have to do it in person. He deserves that much, and I have to make sure he’s okay for my peace of mind. From what I saw on the news, he came out of the games trials last night looking like he’d been doing a lot more fighting than hunting, finishing in second place behind his uncle, James.I can’t help but think he would have performed better if he hadn’t wasted all his energy attacking the Alpha the night before and been tranquilized. I also wonder if being in heat harmed his chances. I don’t know much about shifter mating, but I know the heat can continue for days if not weeks.When I knock on the pack house door, I’m surprised to find it’s opened, not by a servant or guard, but by James himself. “Oh,” I say dumbly, taken about. “Hello, I’m Viviane.”“Yes, I know.” He says with a small smile. “I was here on Thursday night.”My cheeks flush with heat and I’m finding it suddenly very difficult to look him in
Caspian’s POVThe 10 behemoths blocking the locker room door are glowering at me with a mix of resentment and uncertainty. They might not want me to win, but I am still heir to the pack. I am still an Alpha by blood and birthright. James might be a persuasive speaker, but he does not possess my authority, and he is nowhere near as dangerous as I am.“You do realize what he’s doing don’t you?” I ask, “He wants you to exhaust yourselves fighting me so that you won’t have the energy to fight him.” I point to the door where James retreated. “That’s been his strategy through the entire Games. He set the fastest and strongest trackers on me so that I would knock them out before they could complete the trial. He’s doing the same now, using me to get you out of the way.”The wolves glance at one another hesitantly, and I press on. “Is that really the kind of shifter you want vying for control of your pack, one that cheats and props himself up on stronger men. One who kidnaps women – mates – t
Viviane’s POVThe morning after the Pack Games, I wake feeling dazed and weary. In the bright light of dawn, all the drama of the past few days feels surreal and distant, as if it happened to someone else. None of the events swirling through my memory feel real, and yet I know they were.The guard posted outside my front door tells me as much, as does my mother’s tense expression and quiet anger. No one has seen hide nor hair of James since Caspian beat my location out of him, and though he was obsequiously polite and gentle throughout the kidnapping, I can’t deny that it frightens me to know he’s out there somewhere.Jasper assured us James would cause no further problems, but I couldn’t help noticing Caspian’s silence on the matter. Nor did it escape me that his guard on the apartment had doubled by the time we got home. Mom noticed too, and though she’d refused to speak to me until we were in the privacy of our tiny flat, she made her feelings very clear once we arrived.“Has it no
Caspian’s POV“No.” Marina’s voice comes down like a gavel.I emit a beleaguered sigh, resting my hands on my hips as I stand outside Viviane’s front door, staring down a very uncooperative mermaid. “Please just give me a chance to explain.”“Explain what?” Marina bites back, “that you want to announce to the entire city that you’re dating my daughter?” She arches one brow, “Your own uncle found out and kidnapped her. What do you think the pack will do?”“It’s just one date.” I attempt, placating.“Bull.” She snorts, “If you turn up to that ball with my daughter on your arm, you’ll be naming her as a candidate for Luna. It will be in all the tabloids, all the newspapers. She’ll be a target for every jealous she-wolf and rival you possess.”“The difference between James and the pack is that he was emboldened by his position.” I explain patiently. “He thought he was untouchable because he’s my uncle. But the entire pack just watched me take down the strongest wolves in Asterion on live
Viviane’s POV“You mean it’s going to be like this until we…?” I can’t bring myself to say the word.“Yes.” He states simply.My nose crinkles as I try to process this information. I have no idea how much time I’m going to need before I feel ready to make love to Caspian, but since he can’t even touch me without me freezing up, I’m not optimistic. “So you’re going to lose control every time…?“Not necessarily.” Caspian sighs, moving us onto the couch. “It might get easier with more time together.”“But couldn’t it also get more difficult?” I ask. “I mean, the longer you deny yourself…”“That’s my problem, not yours, little mate.” He promises.Despite his words, I can’t help but feel guilty. “Is there anything I can do to help?”A deep laugh vibrates in Caspian’s chest, and he nuzzles my neck. “You can try to stop being so beautiful,” He suggests playfully, “or smelling so good.”“Well I know one way to fix that.” I quip, hopping up and moving towards my bag. I dig inside for my bottle
Viviane’s POVSpending most of my childhood with a tail instead of legs, dancing always seemed like a skill beyond my reach. I’ve tried a few times and even explored different genres, but it’s always been an utter embarrassment. It turns out all I was missing is my mate.Caspian spins me around the ballroom so effortlessly I feel like I’m floating, though that might just be the effect of being near him. We’re alone on the dancefloor, and the attention from the surrounding pack is palpable, but it’s impossible to feel uneasy in my mate’s arms. Under any other circumstances I would have passed out from stage fright before taking a single step, instead I’m smiling up at the future Alpha without a care in the world.This is the exact problem I shared with Kiera. Everything is easy when we’re together – but is that worth it if everything is a nightmare when we’re apart? If I could only figure out how to be around him without feeling drunk on love, then I might be able to sort… My thoughts
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
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
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
Viviane The day of the auction begins like any other, except instead of waking up and getting ready for school, I’m taken to a Bloodstone spa. If the circumstances were different, I might enjoy the pampering, but I know none of the treatments I’m being given are for my benefit. Instead they’re purely intended to make me as desirable as possible to the shifters at the auction. The servants do not speak as they bathe me, filling a huge ornate tub with perfumed water and rose petals, then adding soaps that froth and foam at the surface. I can see the women attending me are mermaids from the brands on their ankles, but they are not as beautiful as the other girls in the brothel. I wonder if this is yet another fate for my kind – if one is too dried up to produce pearls, but not lovely enough to fetch a high price as a pleasure slave. Instead they must help send the unlucky beauties to their terrible fates. I have to think this is the best deal a mermaid could hope for in Sangville, m
CaspianChase and I are on the outskirts of Sangville when we sense we’re being followed.After killing mordred, a cold sort of determination took over me, an emotionless drive to finish the job no matter the cost. I knew if I let myself think about Viviane – about what might be happening to her this very moment – I would lose my ability to think about our situation objectively. Despite the fact that this was the most personal thing in the world to me, if I let my emotions rein as we planned our strategy, we would lose – and badly.So we arrived here and bega
Viviane“The auction is tomorrow.” I whisper, looking around at the hundled mermaids surrounding me. A dozen worried faces gaze back, their pretty features ranging from frightened to positively petrified. “If we’re going to escape, we have to do it tonight.”“There’s no use.” One of the younger girls sighs forlornly. She looks about fifteen and has spent most of our time here crying. I can’t say I blame her. When I was her age I would have fallen to pieces under these circumstances. I’m actually amazed I’m not in worse condition now. Being with Caspian really has changed me, made me stronger and more confident. A few months ago I would have sat here and waited for him to come and rescue me, but we don’t have the time to waste.“I know it’s daunting, but we have to try.” I tell her gently, looking to the others for support. Unfortunately she’s not the only one who has doubts. Spending one’s formative years in captivity has that effect, we were trained to obey or suffer, and made to bel
Caspian“My brother?” I repeat, stunned.“Honestly Caspian, I knew you were incompetant, but I never thought you were stupid.” James drawls. “Did you never wonder how there could be such a large age difference between siblings? Our grandmother was already thirty when she had mom, she was in her fifties by the time I came around - not exactly prime breeding years.”“They died before I was born.” I remind him, “I never knew the math.”My head is reeling, but I have to admit it makes sense. It would explain why my mother always treated him like a son, why she loved him so much more than she loved me. We were both her children, but he was the one she actually wanted.“Why lie about it?” I demand, “My father let her get away with everything, why lie about your relationship?”“It was never about your father.” James scoffs, “It was about mine. He would have taken me from her if he’d known I existed. She was nothing to him, just another she-wolf in a long line of conquests, but he never had o
Caspian “Are you sure about this, Caspian?” My father asks. “James is family!” “Being family didn’t stop him from kidnapping my mate or betraying me in the pack games.” I remind him. “I don’t have proof yet, but I’m going to get it. If I’m right he’s the only one who might know where they’ve taken Viviane.” “I don’t understand, why would mermaid traffickers take her in the first place?” He inquires, “if she discovered what they were doing, why not just k- silence her?” He continues, clearly amending his words even as they leave his mouth. For a moment I consider lying, but I can’t help but think this has gone on long enough. The truth is that mermaids like my mate have been suffering in this city for a long time, and the only way things are going to change is if I change them. Taking a deep breath, I announce, “Because Viviane is a mermaid.” “What?” My father questions blankly, “What are you talking about.” As I explain everything
I spent the first thirteen years of my life in the Bloodstone territory, yet I’ve never seen an inch of the free territory. I knew only the pearl farms and the river which swept us to freedom.I’ve imagined it a thousand different ways, always assuming the blood money they wrought from the flesh of mermaids afforded the pack lives of unimaginable luxury. I wasn’t wrong, but I certainly didn’t picture this. As the truck rumbles through the city, I remain glued to the back window, trying to memorize the streets, the landmarks and route on the off chance we actually manage to pull off an escape. Luckily the shifters don’t seem to believe we’re capable of even contemplating saving ourselves, because they don’t try to stop me.My memory is incredibly sharp and if I can focus on navigation, I might stand a chance. However it is difficult, because everywhere I look my eyes want to leap out of my head. The bloodstone capital seems to have been built on the side of an active volcano. Silver bu