Since I can remember, everyone in Mariner's Bay has been obsessed with treasure. It's our culture, our habit, our comfort. We hoard jewels the way other kingdoms hoard memories. As I grew older, I realized why: treasure fills the void we never speak of. It distracts us from the truth—that we are a kingdom built on longing, not connection. Gold shines brighter than loneliness. Gems don't abandon us. Crystals don't disappoint us. And when they finally bore us, we discard them and search for the next shimmer.
An endless cycle.
Until I found her.
That day, Chance and I were preparing to scavenge an old cave—a place the elder merfolk whispered about, where beasts once offered tributes to a forgotten goddess. The sky was dark, the waves restless. Rain drizzled like the sea was weeping. Then I saw her.
Small. Fragile. Yet defying a monstrous wave with eyes fierce enough to challenge the tide itself.
She should have run. She should have screamed. But instead, she fought the ocean itself to save her friend. There was no treasure on her, no gold, no gems—nothing that should have held my attention.
But something about her pulled at me.
A spark. A warmth. A strange ache in my chest I had no name for.
When the next wave crashed over her and she lost consciousness, my instincts acted faster than thought. I caught her, held her against me—and felt heat radiate from her body, as if the sun itself had wrapped around me.
Her hair glowed like fire in water. Her skin flushed with life. Even unconscious, she made soft sounds that… hypnotized me.
I knew then: I had to keep her.
A treasure unlike any I had ever seen.
A rare find—one I feared might slip through my fingers if I loosened my grip.
But the more time I spent with her, the more I realized she wasn't a treasure to be kept. She was a force I wanted to understand.
She cared for her companion with a devotion I'd never witnessed.
She wasn't impressed by our gold yet found wonder in the simplest beauty—sunlight in the water, the whales passing overhead.
And for the first time in my life, someone rejected my gifts but not me.
She didn't tread carefully around my pride like others did. She considered my feelings without wanting anything in return.
That… disarmed me.
Then came greed—the dangerous kind.
When I learned that another king wanted her, I felt something feral inside me rise.
Another king's treasure?
How delightful it would be to steal something priceless from him.
But the truth struck harder each day: she wasn't like us.
Not beast, not merfolk, not monster.
She was something else entirely—warmth, soul, heart.
A being capable of touching lives instead of taking from them.
She's vulnerable… yet strongest when protecting others.
She willingly walks into danger. She throws herself between violence and innocence without hesitation.
It frightens me.
It fascinates me.
It makes me want to shield her—and test her—and keep her all at once.
When she cries, my chest aches as though someone is carving it open. Her tears are priceless; I never want to see them fall. She has a hold on me—a grip stronger than any goddess or curse could place.
And when I save her, even from her own powers, I feel needed. I feel alive. I feel chosen.
I have mated with others before, but none compared to her.
Mating with her felt… consuming.
Every inch of her warmth, every sound she made, every curve molding perfectly into mine—she was heaven wrapped in a mortal frame.
When she touched me, it was gentle, curious, hesitant… and it drove me insane in the best way.
I finally understood:
I had found something more valuable than any treasure.
Someone worth changing for.
Someone worth ruling for.
Someone worth keeping—forever.
I would give her anything—my life, my kingdom, my very soul if she asked. Now that she is in my world, I finally see everything I've been missing.
Today, I vowed to make her wishes come true—starting with bringing back the children's parents.
⸻
"King, you seem happy today," Chance said, raising a brow.
I turned to him, grinning like a fool—an unfamiliar feeling. "Yes. I am. And I will be every single day from now on."
"Was it because of the siren's song?" he asked. "It echoed all night. Beautiful. Rare."
Siren's song…
Her voice. Her cry. Her warmth.
"Yes," I said. "It changed everything."
Chance gestured around us. "Boss, the air feels lighter. Cleaner. Like something heavy has been lifted from Mariner's Bay."
He was right. The kingdom felt… renewed.
Alive.
Hopeful.
As I walked, helping clear treasure piles the kids used to climb on, a sudden shift rippled through the water—an immense presence approaching the kingdom.
Powerful.
Feral.
Threatening.
My instincts roared.
Hide her. Protect her. TAKE HER AWAY. NOW.
"Chance," I barked. "Take Sienna to the islands where the whales migrate this season. Tell her I will meet her there. Keep her away from here."
Chance stiffened immediately, sensing the danger too. "Understood."
Then it came—a deep, resonant howl echoing across the Bay.
A call.
A claim.
A warning.
I felt it vibrate through the water and into my bones.
The Beast King.
Coming for her.
Coming here.
My jaw tightened.
Whoever stepped onto my land—king, beast, god, or monster—would face me first.
Because she is mine.
My treasure.
And I will protect her until my last breath.
No matter what comes next.