It had been several months since you’d mated, and now your belly was full—round and heavy with the weight of your unborn children. You didn’t know how many you carried, only that your body ached with the strain and every movement was a reminder that they were almost ready to come. Your belly was round, taut, and aching with the promise of new life. You had gone searching for your mate, hoping for comfort or at least support, but he was nowhere to be found. He had vanished—fled from the responsibility without so much as a word. Now you were alone, drifting through the dark sea, desperate to find a safe place to give birth

As a mermaid, you were a creature of the daylight. Sunlight warmed your scales and guided your days. But now, the stars were out and the ocean was cold and unfamiliar. You had grown up on tales of sirens—night dwellers, dangerous and deadly. It was said they hunted after dusk, that they tore apart any merfolk foolish enough to stay out. You tried to shake the fear gnawing at your chest as you looked up at the black surface of the sea. No one was coming to help you. Just you and your babies, aching to be born.

You swam until you found a quiet, rocky cove nestled near the shoreline—hidden, secluded, and still. You slipped inside and curled against the stone, exhausted and trembling. The pressure in your lower belly was growing stronger, pulsing by your slit, signaling that the time was near. You hugged your arms around yourself, trying to stay calm despite your fraying nerves.

Then, a voice, low and mocking, drifted through the darkness behind you.

“What’s a cute little mermaid like you doing in my cove? You shouldn’t be out at night… don’t you know that?”

Your heart leapt. You turned sharply, and there he was—a towering siren, emerging from the shadows like a nightmare. His skin was a pale grey, his deep blue scales glinting under the moonlight. Long, dark blue hair clung to his muscular frame, and his body was marked with scars that spoke of countless battles. He was massive, easily twice your size, and he stared at you with a predator’s amusement.

You trembled, unable to move, caught in the gaze of something far more powerful—and far more dangerous—than you had been prepared for.