Chapter 3

They’d stopped hurting ages ago.

I was only a little unsteady on my feet.

His touch was making my body grow warm, too.

Once merfolk reached adulthood, we went into heat.

Usually, it came a week after we came of age.

That gave us a week to find a mate to get through it with.

But I’d been too busy fleeing for my life. Mine had been delayed.

Now, with Shen Yuan teasing me, I could feel the signs returning.

I’d already used him for so much. What was one more thing?

Besides, merfolk had delicate, supple bodies and wonderfully sweet voices.

However you looked at it, Shen Yuan was getting the better deal by mating with me.

Fine. I’d be his wife for a while, then run off once I got bored.

With that decided, I parted my lips and took his finger into my mouth.

I tilted my legs, too, trapping his hand between them.

“Doesn’t hurt,” I mumbled. “We can mate.”

“But I’m warning you. Be gentle.”

“It’s my first time. Hurt me and you’re dead!”

I delivered my warning with great ferocity.

He was human. I couldn’t give myself away.

I could only be intimate with him in human form.

Shen Yuan’s whole face flushed as he kissed me, dazed and eager.

Blind or not, his aim was perfect.

Deep and hard.

The night passed in a haze.

He was usually gentle. He was gentle now, too.

But he wasn’t very obedient. I was exhausted, and he still wouldn’t let go.

He was so strong. Even kicking him wouldn’t get him off me.

I was too tired to lift my arms or legs. My belly ached.

There was a strange burning sensation, too.

I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, never mind look.

Shen Yuan held me tightly and sighed. “Cyril, you’re my mate now. You can never take it back.”

He pressed a hand to my belly and said softly, “My mark is here now.”

“You can’t leave me. It’ll be dangerous.”

I didn’t quite hear him. I fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, my body seemed full of strength.

Yet I was so sore I could barely walk.

Infuriating.

I called Shen Yuan over and slapped him twice.

“Are you an ox instead of a man?”

“Where does all that endless brute strength come from?”

Shen Yuan rubbed his face. His nose twitched, and he grinned foolishly.

“Yes, wife. You’re right. I’m not human.”

He paused, then added, “I’m not an ox, either, of course.”

He took my hand and kissed my palm.

“Wife, even your palm is so soft. It smells so good.”

“You can slap me some more.”

What was that supposed to mean?

Was he saying my slaps didn’t hurt him at all?

That made me even angrier.

“Are you some kind of pervert?”

“I’m hungry. Get out and cook me some fish.”

Shen Yuan’s lips curved as he murmured, “Cooking fish.”

“Mm-hmm. I like doing fish.”

Rather creepy.

For some reason, all the fine hairs on my body stood up.

I drove him out and lay in bed sulking.

Waves of heat were still passing through my belly.

I hauled up my clothes and took a closer look.

A silver full moon the size of a coin had appeared beneath my navel.

A faint silver glow flickered in and out. It was slightly warm.

What was this thing?

I scratched it, and it vanished.

I had no idea what it was, but I didn’t take it seriously.

After two days of being waited on by Shen Yuan, I finally felt comfortable again.

But!

I’d given him my body to cheer him up, and he was still sneaking off to cry at night.

What on earth did he have to cry about?

So annoying.

I got up to find him.

I found him with his back to me, cutting his wrist with a knife and sobbing.

The thick smell of blood hit me.

Startled, I cried, “Shen Yuan, what are you doing?”

He jolted all over and dropped a piece of silk over the floor.

Then he closed his eyes and turned to face me.

Spouting nonsense.

“We’re out of fish. I have to trade for more. I—I was weaving…”

What?

Who in their right mind wove cloth by cutting themselves and crying?