The Catch

Chapter One: The Catch

The sea was never quiet.

It whispered, it roared, it called—and Captain Seraphine Vale had learned long ago to never trust its voice.

Standing at the helm of her ship, The Abyssal Queen, Seraphine watched the dark waves twist beneath the moonlight. The wind tangled through her long hair, carrying the scent of salt and something deeper… something alive.

“Captain,” one of her crew called, his voice tight. “We’ve spotted movement beneath the hull.”

Seraphine didn’t turn immediately. She simply smiled.

“Good,” she said softly. “Prepare the nets.”

Her crew moved without hesitation. They feared her—respected her—and that was exactly how she liked it. No one survived long under her command if they hesitated.

Magical creatures were rare. Dangerous. Valuable.

And tonight, the sea had offered her a gift.

The ship slowed as heavy chains rattled over the deck. Enchanted nets—woven with silver thread and old magic—were lowered into the water. The ocean stirred violently in response, waves crashing harder against the wood as if trying to warn them.

Or stop them.

Seraphine stepped closer to the edge, her sharp eyes scanning the surface.

Then—

A shadow.

Fast. Large.

Something powerful.

“Now,” she ordered.

The crew pulled.

The chains groaned, the nets tightening as something thrashed beneath the surface. The water erupted, spraying across the deck as a force unlike anything they had ever caught fought back.

“Hold it!” Seraphine barked.

A flash of blue broke through the waves.

For a moment, everything went still.

Then chaos followed.

The creature lunged, its form twisting with unnatural grace. Scales shimmered under the moonlight, reflecting silver and deep ocean hues. Webbed ears. Sharp eyes. A tail that crashed against the ship with enough force to shake it.

A siren.

But not like the stories.

He wasn’t delicate or soft.

He was terrifying.

Two crew members were thrown aside before the net tightened again, glowing faintly as the enchantment began to take hold. The siren snarled—actually snarled—his voice low and dangerous, nothing like the enchanting songs sailors feared.

Seraphine stepped forward, completely unafraid.

“Careful,” one of her men warned. “That thing will kill you.”

She ignored him.

Instead, she crouched in front of the trapped creature, her boots slick with seawater. Up close, he was even more striking. His skin was a deep ocean blue, marked with faint glowing patterns. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes locked onto hers like a predator sizing up its prey.

Or an equal.

Interesting.

“Well,” she murmured, tilting her head slightly. “Aren’t you rare?”

The siren’s lip curled, revealing sharp teeth.

“Release me,” he said, his voice rough, edged with something ancient.

Seraphine raised a brow.

“Or what?”

The chains tightened as he struggled, muscles tensing, tail slamming once more against the deck. The crew flinched.

But Seraphine didn’t move.

Instead, she reached out.

Slowly.

Carefully.