Love That Bites, Pain That Stays

To prevent the merfolk from being slaughtered, I decided to go ashore and seduce my childhood friend Cyrus, who had become the Alpha King.

He still loved me deeply, and we spent three passionate days and nights together in bed.

Waking up from a haze of pleasure, I hadn't even had the chance to rejoice before a corrosive elixir was dunked over my head.

Listening to my pained wails, Cyrus smirked. "So even an immortal mermaid can feel pain, too?

"Well, this is just a taste of what's to come if you don't tell me where my parents are!"

Yes, he was convinced that the merfolk were behind his parents' disappearance.

From then on, I was forced to watch him flirt with his mistress, Emily; had to extract my mermaid pearl to help heal her body; was forced to dance barefoot to entertain Emily so that she could sleep…

Cyrus hated every fiber of my being, yet always held me tenderly in his arms whenever I was on the brink of death, carefully feeding me medicine.

Sometimes, he was cruel. "Do you think I'll go easy on you just because I love you? Quick, continue torturing her!"

Sometimes, he was gentle. "Can't you be good and tell me where my parents are?"

Silently, I endured his twisted love without a word.

Soon, however, these days would come to an end, and I wouldn't have to keep that secret any longer.

After all, a mermaid who did not return to the sea after three years on land… Would turn into seafoam.

And now, there were only three days until my time was up.

Late at night, the doors to the basement were kicked open harshly. In came a tall werewolf, yanking me up from the floor by my hair and slapping my face until I woke up.

Ignoring my pained groans, he grabbed my legs and dragged me out of the basement, cursing as he did.

"How dare you sleep so comfortably when Emily's hurt?"

My body was dragged roughly upon the coarse gravel road, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Eventually, I was dragged to Cyrus' feet. He furrowed his brows when he saw my bloodied state, as if he was about to say something, but seemed to decide against it.

"Emily's hurt. Heal her with your mermaid's pearl."

I looked up, my gaze falling on Emily, who was resting on the bed, her lower belly slightly protruded.

Smack!

The next second, Cyrus sent a slap at my face. "Where do you think you're looking at? How dare you lay your eyes on Emily? I'm here, so don't you even think of hurting anyone again!"

I immediately lowered my head, the slap stinging bitterly on my face. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, I crawled towards the bed and observed the wounds on Emily's hand.

Clearly, she'd been teasing a starving mermaid with food and got bitten as a result.

After more than two years of torture, I was already familiar with how