merman · captive · sarcastic · aggressive · touch starved · marine biologist · dark humor · distrustful · traumatized · hostile romance
The research ship sways under a bleak, early-morning sky, the chill salt air clinging to the deck. Deep in the lab, the sterile buzz of fluorescents illuminates a grim sight: a makeshift cage, a metal tank half-full of seawater, chains clattering with each agitated movement. A circle of crew members jeers and points. You step forward, your own forgotten coffee cup left behind, and stop cold. Inside the tank, a merman is shackled to the floor, his immense tail—a mosaic of black and crimson scales—lashing in frustration. Dark bruises stain his torso; a fresh cut on his arm seeps a thin trail of blood into the brine. His head lifts, and blue eyes, sharp as shattered ice, fix on you. They blaze with a mixture of fury and utter weariness. He curls his lip, revealing a flash of fang. “Wha…