More than a Mermaid (Shifty Book 4) Read online

  More than a Mermaid

  By Sara Summers

  To anyone who believes that love always requires sacrifice

  Chapter 1

  Every shifter girl has dreamed about what her soulmate would be like. We wonder what he’ll look like, whether he’ll be playful or quiet. We think about how long it will take us to fall in love with him, how many children we’ll have, and what his job will be.

  Shifter girls think about everything when it comes to their soulmates.

  But as I sat in my usual thinking place, high up on a cliff, I looked out at the ocean in front of me and realized that I was ready to let all of those dreams go.

  I watched the water, observing the way it crashed against the rocks and flowed with the wind. The ocean was always changing, and because of that, I had to accept that my life would be too. As the queen of all mermaids, I had no choice but to flow with the water. It was a part of me that I simply couldn’t control.

  I loved just staring out at it, though. Looking at the expanse of water so vast that no human or shifter could truly comprehend it. Watching the way wind and sea animals rippled the surface. I loved feeling the life and magic that the water contained.

  A salty breeze washed over my face, and I smiled up at the soft warmth from the sun. It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and the council expected me back any minute.

  Still, I couldn’t resist just one more minute of freedom. As soon as I went back there, to the palace—my palace, I guess, though the council decided everything that did or didn’t happen there—my life would be altered indefinitely. I would be given a soulmate who wasn’t my real soulmate, a king to lead beside me, the ever-lonely queen.

  Would he love me?

  I didn’t know.

  Would he even want to?

  I wasn’t sure. Mermaids, like all shifters, were raised knowing that there was only one person out there for them. Who would bother building a relationship with someone who wasn’t their one person?

  But since my soulmate still hadn’t come around, the council had decided to take things into their hands. As always, there was no way to convince them of what I thought or wanted. They were right, whether they were really right or not.

  Still, I had accepted my fate. It was just another thing that came with the crown I had never wanted.

  I sighed and shook my head, looking out at the ocean that I loved so much. The ocean that answered when I called to it, thanks to the same crown I had never wanted. The ocean that was there for me while I had no one.

  I guess it’s a worthwhile trade.

  I thought.

  The ocean for my soulmate. If that’s what it costs, so be it. I will pay the price.

  Another gust of salty wind brushed past me, flinging my crazy hair around even more wildly than the water would’ve moved it. I guess it was trying to make up for all the bits of me that the water had already claimed.

  I took a deep breath in to steady myself. Then, I swallowed the last piece of romantic desire that I had left, and dove into the ocean.

  I was ready to face the unfortunate fate that lied ahead, and I would do so with confidence that I was making the right decision. My people were worth everything I was giving up.

  Chapter 2

  I dove face-first into the ocean below. It was maybe a two or three hundred foot drop and the water below was scattered about with rocks, yet I didn’t worry.

  The ocean rose up to meet me halfway, like it always did. It would never leave me alone; not me. I was its ruler, the one chosen by the Creator for reasons that I still didn’t understand.

  To some, the water would’ve felt icy. To me, it was invigorating. The salt water lent me the strength I didn’t have, engulfing me in a power that was so great I almost thought I should bow down to it.

  That would be improper though, seeing as I was the queen.

  I was so tired of hearing what all was improper. The council never stopped telling me, though.

  I shifted my legs into a tail and tried to propel myself forward as soon as I was submerged deeply enough. However, the ocean had a different plan for me.

  The water towed me forward, throwing me toward the rocky beach ahead.

  “What are you doing?” I called out, but the ocean didn’t answer.

  Instead, it threw me forward once again.

  I traded my tail for legs once again and let the ocean take me where it wanted. It continued pulling me through the water, until it pulled me up and out.

  A wave of water placed me on a rock on my feet, and then left me alone.

  “What’s going on?” I wondered, looking around.

  As soon as my eyes turned toward the shore, they got caught on a man. He walked along the rocky beach, wearing a black hoodie and faded blue jeans. My eyes followed him, wondering exactly why the ocean had taken me to him.

  When the mermaids crowned me their queen, I’d inherited plenty of magic. Controlling the ocean was one of the most major changes, but there was something else, too.

  As soon as I became the queen, the coties—mate marks, as humans called them—on other types of shifters seemed to sing for me. They called my name, and I knew in an instant what type of shifter the person was along with a vague idea of what the future held for them.

  Looking at the man on the beach, I knew he wasn’t a shifter. He had no cotie, and no part of him carried any type of magic that called for me.

  “Why did you bring me here?” I whispered. The council was expecting me, and if I was late they would be even less happy than usual. Though I was the queen, there weren’t many things I actually had any say in.

  For a minute, the ocean didn’t answer back.

  Anyone watching would’ve thought I was crazy for talking to it—the ocean was a body of water, after all. But I knew the truth. The ocean lived with magic that drew people in all of the time. Humans gathered to beaches because some piece inside them could sense that magic.

  And honestly, talking to the ocean wasn’t crazy at all when you were a mermaid queen who it would protect at all costs.

  I waited a few more moments, listening for the answer that I knew would come.

  The man continued walking, throwing rocks into the water. He looked sad, and some part of me wanted to offer him comfort.

  “Watch.” The ocean’s whisper tickled me, and the wind whirled around me to do the same.

  I nodded, standing on the rock and watching the man.

  A few more seconds trickled by, and then I heard the splash.

  “Help me!” a woman shrieked. My eyes flashed over to where the noise had come from, and I searched the water with my mind, searching for her.

  I found her, a mermaid, screaming about having been caught in a net.

  I went to dive back into the ocean, but it whispered again,

  “Watch.”

  The water carried the mermaid up to the shore, and the man who had been walking and throwing rocks sprinted over to her.

  The mermaid held her hands over her chest, and I saw bright red blood staining her skin and the net.

  “Stop moving.” The man commanded. I should’ve been too far away to hear his words, but the wind carried them to me.

  “Please, help.” The woman whimpered.

  The man pulled a knife out of his pocket, and my muscles tensed.

  “Watch.” The ocean whispered for a third time. I nodded and relaxed, forcing myself to do what it had instructed me to.

  “What happened?” The man asked, kneeling on the rocky sand. Water washed over his legs and knees, soaking his jeans, but he didn’t care at all. Instead, he began cutting at the net that bound the mermaid.

  “I don’t know.” The m
ermaid coughed. “I was swimming, and then I couldn’t move. The water carried me here.” Her voice sounded fainter as she spoke.

  “We’ll have you out in just a few minutes.” The man assured her. “You’re going to be fine.”

  The mermaid coughed again.

  “I have to get back to the water.” Her throat began wheezing. “I’m not a shifter, I can’t,” she coughed again, more violently. “breathe both.”

  “Alright, stay with me.” The man nodded. He was steady and calm, and for that he at least earned my respect.

  He picked her up, not minding the barbs on the net that dug into his hoodie and undoubtedly his skin.

  He went deep enough that she would be completely submerged in water, then began cutting the net again.

  It took a few minutes for him to free her, and he was silent as he did so. Waves splashed him in the face, bouncing off large rocks and rolling toward him. No matter how many times the water attacked him, though, he continued working against the net.

  All while it continued, I watched. I knew what the situation meant; any shifter would know what it meant to save one of their kind. My heart grew heavy for him, because being a mermaid shifter wasn’t easy. Humans didn’t understand us the way we understood them, which caused plenty of conflict.

  Still, as the ocean had urged me to, I watched.

  When the mermaid was finally free, she picked her head up out of the water and gave the man a brilliant smile.

  “You are someone special, Sam.” She promised him.

  I frowned. That was a strange turn of events. They knew each other?

  “How do you know my name?” the man narrowed his eyes at her, standing up.

  “You’ll understand soon.” The mermaid’s smile remained. “Treat your queen well. She means very much to me.”

  With that, the mermaid dove back into the water and disappeared out of sight. I felt her swim for a moment, and then she seemed to fade into the ocean.

  My frown deepened.

  Was that even a real mermaid, or was it just an illusion the ocean had created with its magic?

  “Go.” The ocean’s word chilled my spine.

  I dove into the water, letting it carry me to that rocky beach where the man was scrambling to figure out what had just happened.

  I felt the water rise behind me as I walked to the shore, and I had to shake my head. The ocean was a drama queen sometimes. It cared about me, that much I knew.

  Sam’s eyes widened as he saw the spectacle the ocean was undoubtedly putting on for him. I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead settled for the tiniest hint of a smile.

  “What’s going on?” The man demanded.

  His hood fell back as he stepped away from me, sliding off his head and revealing short blonde hair underneath.

  “You don’t need to be afraid.” I held out a hand, stepping closer to him and trying to appear calm. “You saved a mermaid, Sam, and as payment for your kindness, you will become a shifter.”

  “What?” he squinted his eyes at me, shaking his head and falling backward.

  “You are becoming a merman shifter as we speak.”

  He tried to scoot away, and as I wondered what he was running from, I felt the ocean rise behind me in a big wave that would wash Sam away like he was just a grain of sand.

  Instead of letting that happen, I surged forward and dropped to the ground, wrapping my arm around his waist.

  “Enough.” I commanded the ocean. It refused my command, and the wave crashed down on us, soaking both me and the man in my arms.

  The wave left us there on the beach as it retreated into the ocean.

  Sam coughed up water.

  “My side is burning.” His breathing sped up, his body pulsating with what I could only assume was pain. “What’s happening?” he demanded, though his voice was hoarse. I held him tight to me as the ocean gathered another massive wave.

  “Your body is changing. You’re becoming a merman.” I ran my hand down his arm, trying to calm his quivering body.

  “It hurts.” He moaned, shaking his head and trying to roll away from me.

  “You’re strong.” I whispered. “Let the magic change you.”

  The next wave that hit us knocked Sam unconscious.

  I sat on the beach, holding him close as the ocean tried to overwhelm us. It wasn’t doing so out of cruelty, I knew, but as a test to see if Sam was strong enough for the change.

  “I will be strong enough for him.” I told the ocean, as another wave towered over us. It stopped where it was, hovering just over our heads.

  “Change is coming.” The ocean whispered.

  With that, the wave crashed down on us. This time, when the water cleared, Sam had a tail.

  His hoodie had disappeared right along with his legs, leaving his bare chest out in the sun. My eyes went straight to the cotie on the side of him, and I gasped when I saw it.

  There, written on Sam’s side, was the mark of royalty.

  His cotie matched mine completely.

  Chapter 3

  It took a few minutes for the magic that connected us to kick in and change our coties, but when it did, I almost went unconscious.

  I opened my eyes afterward, feeling the tenderness that covered my side, and my eyes flashed down to look at the markings on Sam. The shapes and figures had transformed in just a few slight ways, but as I read the symbols that were now mine my eyes filled with tears.

  Our life was going to be so great.

  Sam groaned and turned his head.

  “What happened?” He peeked one eye open just a tad.

  “You just became a merman.” I told him. He frowned, then glanced down at his tail.

  “What the—“

  He jerked up.

  “No way, no effing way. I’m a human.” He shook his head as if he was trying to dislodge the idea, and I bit back a smile.

  “You saved a mermaid by your free will and choice. There’s no going back now.” I shrugged.

  “Who are you?” Sam demanded, focusing his anger on me for the moment. I bit my lip. Should I tell him that I was the queen of the mermaids? That I was his mate? That we were two halves of one soul?

  “I’m Ava.” I decided my name would be the safest thing to start with.

  “Alright, Ava, I’ve had enough of this. Just… get rid of the tail and go back to wherever you came from.” He decided.

  I forced my face to remain serious, though it took plenty of effort to hide my amusement.

  “It’s your tail, Sam. You’re the only one who can shift it back into legs.” I told him, letting a wry smile slip onto my face.

  “How?” He demanded.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s supposed to come naturally.”

  “Well, it doesn’t.” he told me, his words dripping in sarcasm.

  “Maybe if we swim around a little, it’ll come to you.” I suggested. “Sometimes it can be hard to shift if you haven’t spent enough time in both of your forms, maybe that’s the problem.”

  “I am not getting in the water.” He told me. “I’m not a mermaid.”

  “Alright.” I stood up, brushing sand and rocks off the back of my legs. “I have to get going. It was nice to meet you.” I turned, biting my lip to hold back another wave of laughter.

  Sam didn’t say anything as I walked toward the water. When I was about knee-deep, he finally called out,

  “Wait, Ava.”

  I turned around and forced my expression to stay serious.

  “Yes?” I folded my arms.

  “Can you help me?” he asked, though even asking the question brought a grimace to his face.

  “If you want.” I walked back on to the shore.

  “Could you…” His grimace grew, and he gestured toward the ocean with his head. “I can’t move, already tried.”

  “Sure.” I shrugged, biting back another smile as I walked around him. “Here, tell me if it hurts.” I told him. Bending down, I threaded my arms through his so
I had a grip around his shoulders.

  When my hold was steady, I towed him down the beach and into the ocean.

  “Do I have to come up for air a lot?” Sam asked, and I laughed.

  “No,” I shook my head. “You can breathe water.” I told him.

  He gaped at me.

  “You’re some kind of siren, aren’t you? Making me see things and trying to drown me? I should’ve known; you’re way too hot to be just a shifter.” He started scooting himself back to the rocky sand.

  “If I wanted to drown you I would’ve done it already.” I put a hand on my hip. “Sirens aren’t real and besides, I have legs.” I lifted one out of the water to prove it. “Now, are you ready or not?”

  Sam groaned.

  “Fine.” He muttered. This time, he started scooting himself deeper into the water.

  “You might want to try breathing water here, before we get too deep down.” I stopped walking to advise him.

  “Fine.” He muttered again. “If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you.” He shot me a glare. I shrugged at him, holding back my smile until he submerged his head. A second later, he came back up, coughing and spitting out water.

  “I can’t do it.” He groaned, shaking his head and clearing his throat. “I’m a human, not a shifter.

  “You were a human.” I corrected him. “Now, you’re a shifter.”

  “I don’t want to drown.” He glared at me.

  “Fine, then. Swim with your head above water for the rest of your life. You probably won’t be able to get your legs back until you actually admit to yourself that you’re a merman, but I don’t care. Stay here.” I shrugged, stepping away.

  “Wait.” Sam sighed, grabbing my arm to stop me from leaving. “Fine, I’ll try again.”

  He closed his eyes, and the look on his face told me he was all but sure this experiment would cost him his life.

  He put his head under, and this time, held it there.

  When he came back up again, he was grinning.

  “Okay, that’s sweet. You can see everything, like the water’s barely there at all.”

  “You have merman eyes now, too.” I reminded him. “Ready for me to shift?”