Chapter 4 Vanessa

Romeo’s office is upstairs from the bar. It’s a messy place, heavy with a scent I can’t quite place.

He shuts the door behind me with a thud that makes me jump. I turn to face him, and his enigmatic expression sets my nerves on edge.

“I don’t get why you said that,” I say, my voice shaky with anxiety.

He circles around me, letting out a short, humorless laugh.

“Your naivety only gets you so far, Vanessa,” Romeo replies, his tone sharp with acidity. “Besides, your scent…”

He steps closer, and I hold my breath at his proximity. He’s so close I can almost feel the heat radiating from his body. A shiver runs through me as he inhales deeply near my neck, his breath grazing my skin. His face turns toward mine, his lips dangerously close.

“It’s too delicious to be human or any other species I’ve ever met,” he whispers near my ear.

I stumble back at his words, staring at him in disbelief. My entire body screams to run, but my feet stay anchored to the floor. What does he know?

“You’re a siren, aren’t you?” Romeo asks, a lascivious grin spreading across his face. It’s not really a question—he’s just confirming, toying with my reaction. “I was looking for you.”

I frown, not grasping what he means. He steps back, leaning against the edge of his iron desk, sitting casually with his legs stretched out, hands resting on the desk’s rim.

“Sirens haven’t been seen for thousands and thousands of years. You’ve become a legend, just like werewolves and witches once were to humans,” Romeo says, his voice softer now, almost calm. “Stories blend truth and lies over time. I was almost losing hope of finding one… until you screamed in that grotto.”

During my transformation. He’d mentioned hearing me.

“It wasn’t easy getting back there—the tide was coming in,” Romeo continues, his lupine eyes suddenly gleaming. He leans forward slightly. “But I always get what I want. And it seems one of those stories about you sirens held some truth. Your tail…”

My head spins at his words. No, no, no! My tail—he took my tail! That tearing feeling I felt earlier today, that was it. Romeo has my tail.

I look at him, and his face radiates satisfaction, a cruel kind of triumph. He didn’t help me out of kindness or friendliness. Romeo just wanted my tail, and I, naive fool, let it happen.

“What do you want from me?” I ask, voice thick with worry.

“Love me,” Romeo replies with the calm certainty of someone who knows the weight of their words. “Do that, and your tail is yours again.”

The world around me seems to waver. My body freezes. Blinking feels like effort; breathing feels wrong. I stare at him, unable to process. The word “love” echoes in my head, relentless, refusing to fade.

I blink, confused, shocked, trying to absorb it, to make sense of it, but I can’t. My thoughts swirl like seaweed caught in a fierce current, tangled and directionless. All I can do is repeat, stunned, the absurdity of what I just heard.

“You want me to do what?” I ask, incredulous.

He smirks, that infuriating smirk of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing. Like he’s baited the hook and now watches the prey thrash. His lupine eyes pierce me with a mix of desire, gamesmanship, and cruelty.

“Fall in love with me, and I’ll set you free, little fish,” he repeats, his voice smooth like a haunting melody.

I shake my head, slowly at first, then more forcefully. My lips press tight, my jaw locks, my eyes burn with the heat of rebellion. This can’t be it. It can’t be this ridiculous. My entire body hums with indignation.

“It’s impossible. Sirens don’t fall in love with land-dwellers like you. It’s impossible,” I snap, my voice trembling with nerves. “Ask for something else.”

For a split second, I think he might back down. But no. He crosses his arms, his expression dripping with amusement.

“Fall in love with me, or work for me. Sing in my bar, every song ever created by us…” He raises an eyebrow, mocking me as he repeats my words like a private joke. “Land-dwellers? Fine. When you sing the last song ever made, I’ll give your siren tail back.”

It’s like he’s handed me a prison sentence. My heart clenches with rage and frustration. I want to scream, to punch the walls, to claw the floor apart. A blazing fury surges through me, rising like a brutal wave threatening to spill over. My chest burns. My eyes burn. My fists clench so tight my nails dig into my palms.

How could I be so stupid? So foolish? So miserably naive? I, a princess of the ocean, let myself be ensnared by the sweet words of a wolf in man’s clothing. How did I fall for this cheap spell of disguised kindness? My desperation to escape an arranged fate blinded me, leading me straight into the jaws of another predator.

And worse, a handsome predator. Damn his perfectly sculpted face. Damn the way he moves, the way he speaks, the way he looks at me. How could I let this male, with his hypnotic eyes and body carved by some sarcastic deity, chain me like this?

“I need my tail back. You can’t keep me here!” I protest, my voice defiant.

I step toward Romeo, wanting nothing more than to scream and punch that pretty, chiseled face. But I can’t. Something holds me back… my damn tail in his possession. Romeo sees it all, senses how trapped I am.

“You’re mine now, little fish,” he whispers with malice, winking at me. “And I can set you free the moment you fall in love with me. It’s that simple,” he says, his tone mocking.

“It’s impossible!” I repeat, my voice thick with anger.

That only makes him smile wider, and he shrugs.

“Then you start singing tomorrow night here at the bar, got it?” Romeo says with a chuckle. “For today, you’re free to see how things work, my little fish.”

He stands and steps toward me. His hand reaches for my face, and I flinch back on reflex. His hand freezes mid-air, inches from my skin. He opens his mouth to say something but seems to think better of it and closes it. My breath races, my heart pounding like it wants to leap out of my chest. Romeo steps back, leaving me alone in his office.