Pirate Princess: Mated To The Merman CEO

Natasha Most days, I'm trapped inside my head and stuck on remembering the past before the apocalypse happened. I miss my childhood, when people had regular jobs, and when schools mattered. Ten years ago, I had parents, friends, and neighbors. I was a carefree little girl who rarely worried about tomorrow—that changed when monsters rose from the sea and destroyed our cities. Humans are no longer safe. Most people are bound to live in cities heavily guarded by the military, and others, like me, are forced to steal to survive the next day. And my poverty is all because of Scylla, the monstrous mermaid, who destroyed my entire city and ate my parents. She is a beast, and I have sworn to murder her once I have enough money to buy myself a crew ready to tackle anything. I pick up a photograph. "Ugh," there is a picture of an old woman holding a cat, but the frame is made of silver—I throw it into my black XXL garbage bag that I've slung over my bon

Natasha I'm fading from the lack of oxygen until something strong curls around me, towing me to the surface. The instant I break through the water, I sharply inhale. Cold air enters my lungs as my chest pulls back. I'm not thinking when I grab whatever is holding me—I'm acting on pure instinct. "What the hell?!" A loud, scary voice is yelling at me, and it sounds like thunder and anger. "You can't swim—why the hell didn't you tell you didn't know how to swim?!" I blink salt out of my eyes and stare at a giant wall of flesh before me. An eight-pack of massive, granite abs draped over with beautifully tanned skin is staring me in the face. My cheeks turn molten. Is this person Hayden? I barely have time to ponder before I'm gently moved away from the water by whoever saved me from drowning. Fingers, thicker than tree trunks, pull me closer to the person's carved chest. But the intimacy that generally would make me blush got me fe

Natasha When I walk outside of the restaurant, I catch Hayden talking with a group of girls. He is speaking animatedly, yet it does nothing to calm down the girls, who appear terrified of him. Their faces are pale, and I notice their legs are shaking. It's with no surprise that I watch the girls disappear into the restaurant, causing Hayden to mutter after them. "Suit yourself..." I step forward, forcing out my voice. "What was that about?" I'm unstable after Hayden threatened to eat everyone inside the restaurant. And Hayden narrows his eyes in delight as if he savors how rattled I must still appear from our earlier argument. I can see his lips curling by the corners, like my state of fright is his source of satisfaction. His expression bothers me because I would like to believe that the smiling guy I got to see a glimpse of on the beach is real. I genuinely hope Hayden doesn't like it when people are afraid of him. But what d

Hayden I'm waiting on the beach. Natasha told me she needed to grab something important from town, and I handed her some gemstones. Electronic money is useless these days, but coins, gold, and jewels work. "Sorry for the delay!" I move to gaze to the pathway leading to the beach, spotting the crazy woman holding three bottles of rum. She is wearing a pirate hat and beaming at me like the freaking sun. Laughter rolls inside my mind; it seems Tide, the merman voice inside my head, has been awakened. I swear to god I'm a psychopath for having a second person inside my head. Vivian read werewolf novels in the past, where the werewolves had their wolf talking to them inside of their head. Well, I have Tide, a merman who looks exactly like me, speaking to me daily. 'Oh, come on!' I can hear the smile in Tide's voice. Usually, he only cares about eating and hunting, but he likes Natasha. 'Admit our mate is amusing!' I eye the black-ha

Natasha Growing up, I didn't have friends—bearded men and bottled rum surrounded me. My step-dad, Roger, was the captain of our ship, and the men and I were his loyal pirates. Well, I was his daughter, his pride and princess, and not allowed to join in on the sword fighting and robbery. Of course, I never listened and beat my first opponent as a twelve-year-old. Okay, so the man I stabbed my sword into might have been drunk, but I finished him regardless, and not twenty-four hours later, the men on our ship called me the pirate princess. And how do you keep breathing after such a bloody past? I'm an eighteen-year-old—not a girl, but not quite a woman yet, and I've already murdered people. So how do I survive? These days, I drink and try to stay away from trouble. Earning money and buying myself a new crew to murder Scylla is my goal, but when I'm all alone, the faces of the men I've slaughtered in cold-blood haunt me. That is w