Storm at sea

"I need a man here!" 

Dallan felt a splash on his face even before the words managed to escape his lips. He heard a roar; another wave rolled forward with raging speed directed at the bottom of the ship. 

"I am here, my alpha!" 

Dallan looked at the side to see one of the warriors standing behind him, close to the steering. He muttered a curse under his breath as he handed the steering over to the warrior. The boards would not hold on much longer, he knew that. He silently cursed the night again as a bolt of frightening lightning streaked across the sky, momentarily producing light bright enough to see as far as the angry approaching waves. 

He did not need the streak of lightning to see, or even any form of light. His eyes which were glowing bright yellow had all the eyesight properties he needed in a weather like this. He heard a yell followed by a loud grunt as a wave slapped hard on the side of the ship where he was carefully trying to tread. 

Dallan grunted and grabbed onto a rope for support. The ship tilted to the side and he lost grip—and footing. "F*ck!" He rolled towards the edge. He managed to grab the railing, but it wasn't a strong grip. Dallan looked down. He doubted if even wolves could survive a fall into the sea in such weather. Just as he looked up, a firm hand gripped his wrist. 

"Hold onto me!" 

Dallan gripped the railing with one hand and pushed himself up as he was dragged back to the surface. His long hair was ungracefully matted around his head. A quick swipe of his palm stopped the strands from blocking his eyesight. "Thanks, Kai," he appreciated the helper. 

"You are welcome. I pray we survive this. The men are in control of the ship. They are doing a very good job if I must say." 

"Have we any reward for this night?" Dallan steadied himself by holding onto the shrouds supporting the mast. He indicated for Kai to do the same. "Please tell me we do." 

"Unfortunately, we don't. We have practically nothing for tonight. I warned you about coming to sea at night in search of crazy mermaids." 

"I will get one," Dallan said with a kind of determination that scared Kai. 

"Please don't tell me we won't leave until we get one. Please don't do that." 

"That is exactly my plan. No one leaves this storm until I get a mermaid. I have searched for one for so long. I want one at the pack for the powers they possess." He wiped his face and turned to look Kai straight in the eyes. "No one leaves, not even you. As my brother, friend, and beta, you are mandated to always stay by my side." 

"Good heavens!" Kai grunted in exasperation. He had heard that line so many times; now, it almost made his ear ache—if the cold wasn't mentioned. He held onto things to steady himself as he entered the captain's cabin. 

Dallan raked his dark hair back. He could not leave empty-handed. He just couldn't. What will the pack say? 

They will definitely say things about him losing his hunting skills or becoming weak. He needed one mermaid, just one to capture and probably force out information of her specie's whereabouts from. They had to get one mermaid or die at sea.

The last option seemed more suitable if they got nothing. The sea, waves or cold would do nothing to hold him back. It was Kai's idea to bring this archaic pirate ship. Now, Dallan was regretting it. If they had brought something with an improved engine, he doubted if they would still be stuck where they were. 

Dallan was about yelling for someone to give him an update when he saw something. 

No, someone. 

It was more of a glitter silently floating underneath the turbulent waves. Dallan stilled and followed it with his eyes. He held his breath, narrowed his eyes to slits and peered closer. His eyes glowed brighter; he felt his body grow hot as adrenaline pumped into him. "Go north!" he ordered over the raging sound of the waves. 

"Go north!" another voice echoed after him. Another voice repeated the command until the order got to the captain's cabin. 

Dallan yelled out another order for two men to join him on deck. As the ship tilted towards the north, he had a good view of the supposed glitter. It was shaped in the form of... a fish! 

A streak of lightning gave him a good view of a long wavy hair heralding the quick movement of the glittering fishtail. 

"We have one!" Dallan announced in excitement. "Be on guard!" Within a minute, he gave out more commands than he could remember giving in his long and boring years of life. 

The ship inched closer—very slowly. Dallan felt like pressing Kai's head to a wall and drawing it forward until the flesh came off. The ship moved like a slug! 

"Lower the nets now!" Dallan ordered and joined them in the exercise. Another wave slammed against the side of the ship and they were forced to cling to each other until it temporarily passed. The wave violently rocked the ship, toppling barrels and standing objects—and even living creatures. As the men rolled on the floor from one side to another, Dallan clutched the shroud tight until it almost tore. He was losing grip on his patience and the men knew that. They quickly gathered themselves and helped in shooting the net out. It missed. 

With the speed and strength of their specie, they withdrew the net and flung it out again. It still missed. 

"Give me that." Dallan snatched the pointed end of the harpoon to which the net was attached. It was a simple mechanical device that required little stress if used by trained people. Dallan knew all the men had training for things like this, so it surprised him to see them so slack. He could not start berating the men now. There would be enough time for that later. 

Dallan made sure the net was firmly held by the tip of the harpoon before starting a slow climb up the mast pole. 

"My alpha!" one of the men called out in alarm. The others looked up with drooped jaws. The way Dallan managed to climb the pole with his grip on the harpoon had them wondering if Dallan had some special training they knew nothing about. 

Dallan got to the middle and called out to the men at the bottom. "Just pull the string when I give the signal!" 

"Yes, my alpha!" The two voices at the bottom called out at the same time. 

Dallan steadied himself. He hung his left leg on the shroud and concentrated on the mermaid who was now frantically swimming to safety. He had no fear of her swimming to the bottom, after all, during waves like this, it would be more turbulent at the bottom. Even if she did swim to the bottom, Dallan could swear by the goddess that he would go after her. 

He raised the harpoon, ready for launch. His sharp gaze caught the lower part of her body flapping against the surface of the sea, bringing splashes. It seemed it was getting more turbulent at the bottom because she began swimming to the surface. 

Dallan launched the harpoon with a strength he knew his specie possessed. It flew forward with great speed and landed in front of the mermaid who whirled around after seeing the attack. 

"Now!" Dallan cried out. The men at the bottom pulled on the rope. The net attached to the end of the harpoon came loose. It popped open with a slinging sound, covering more than half of the space around the mermaid. "Pull now!" 

The net was pulled back to meet the mermaid. She screamed and tried struggling out of the grasp of the net but it was futile. It wrapped around her like a blanket, restricting her movements. Slowly but steadily, she was pulled to the deck of the ship. 

The men ran to the captain's room, screaming at the top of their voices for the ship to be turned around since they had gotten their goal. Kai who had stayed beside the warrior acting as a captain, ran out to see the 'prize.' 

"I told you!" Dallan yelled in happiness. "I told you I will get one!" His glowing eyes gradually went back to normal. He stared at the struggling mermaid who was wrapped around by the net. He rested his eyes on the flap of her glittering tail and the way her skin gleamed. They were now withdrawing away from the storm—back to shore. 

"Wow. She is beautiful," Kai said in awe as he eyed her. "We did it!" 

"Yeah, we did." Dallan suddenly turned serious. "Do we need to put her into a tank of water? Will she die if we don't?" 

"Hey careful," Kai said to the men who were now hauling her into a cabin before turning to Dallan, "No. There are a lot of misconceptions about them, and not being able to survive without water is one of them. She would be in her normal form when she wants. They should just dump her in that cabin for now." 

"Wow. So they choose when to change?" 

"Yes, they do. Unlike what people say, they don't change into their mermaid form immediately they come in contact with water. They choose to make that change happen, meaning they can swim with both legs like a normal human except they choose to do otherwise." 

"Hmm, I see." Dallan had no option but to believe Kai. They were brothers and had been close since childhood even before the Alpha and Beta part of their relationship. Dallan was used to seeing Kai pouring out vast knowledge without consulting a single book. That was another thing that kept their bond tight: their compatibility. Dallan exuded strength and authority. Kai had the brain. 

The ship was slowly getting out of the storm. The waves no longer rose to the height of a tower like it had done. As the ship sailed forward, the sea got calmer; the sky became more visible. Dallan was even surprised to see a full moon. During the storm, he was too busy to notice it. Was that the reason for his energy surge? 

"Hey, Kai. Look... There is a full moon." 

"I saw that a long time ago. If not for this crazy adventure you brought us on, we should have gone for a run in the forest." Kai pouted childishly. Wolves' powers were always at the peak during a full moon and he just missed an opportunity to howl and run around a garden of vegetation—because of their 'journey.' 

"Well, look where this journey got us." Dallan shrugged. "We got what we wanted. It is worth all the stress." He looked at the cabin where the mermaid was taken into. "Kai, do you know what this means?" He did not notice how Kai raised a brow. "We can be the most powerful pack on the entire planet!" 

"Okay, hold it right there. When I explained this mer stuff to you, I told you that only female mers have special powers. We got a female; good. Now, have you tried finding out what her powers are before jubilating?" 

"I... I know it will be something good." Dallan knitted his brows and looked down. "I will go into that cabin and speak to her. What are the powers common with their specie?" 

"Mostly healing capabilities. Most of them can heal or cure someone of a disease or illness. Please don't ask me how they do it because I don't know." The ship rocked a bit and Kai grabbed onto a pole for support. "I don't know which power this one may possess." 

"Even if it's healing, that's great, right?" 

"Dal, I don't know. We don't have any kind of incurable disease in our pack that requires divine intervention. What do we need healing for?" 

For a moment, Dallan looked perplexed. Truly, they had no incurable disease as Kai had said. So... what will he do with a mermaid who had only healing properties? His cold-blue eyes suddenly quirked up in happiness. "Yes! I know what to do. If she only has healing powers, we will dedicate a part of the pack—on specific days—for people all over to come and partake in the healing... just for a small price. That way, we will gain fame and revenue." When he finished, Kai's mouth dropped open in shock. Before he could say anything, Dallan was bouncing towards the cabin the mermaid was in, swinging his hefty build from side to side. Just as he rounded a barrel, Kai's voice echoed from behind. 

"Just so you know, today is the beginning of a century!" 

Dallan passed a thumbs up to him without looking back. 

Another century? That meant Dallan would be about a hundred years of age. Wolves seemed surprisingly strange, he could not deny that fact even though he was one of them. They lived their lives somewhat long—and maybe a bit boring. He could relate more to the boring part. 

He was over a hundred years and was yet to find a mate. It was not only getting boring, but frustrating as well. He could almost picture how his mate would be. Beautiful, strong, resilient, loving and most especially a wolf! He would definitely have a stronger mate bond with a woman of his specie. Though he would not mind if it was an elf or demon or any higher level of specie. 

Well, that would be the job of the moon goddess to decide. 

Dallan mumbled something about the goddess taking too long in his case as he approached the cabin. His hands found the knob and that was when he felt it. 

"What the f*ck..."