WATER HEART, FUR SOUL

This book is fictional. All names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictional setting. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. Copyright © 2026 Violet Crosby All rights reserved. Cover: Violet Crosby English translation : Violet Crosby This book or any part of it may not be reproduced electronically or physically. This includes the storage or retrieval of information without written permission from the author, except in the case of a short excerpt for literary criticism. One night to love each other. One lifetime to destroy each other. She belongs to the abyss. He rules the forest. Every full moon night, Naïda the mermaid and Kodiak the shapeshifting grizzly defy the forbidden at the edge of a mist-covered lake. Their connection is immediate, consuming… And deadly. For time is their cruelest enemy : Naïda withers away outside the water, while Kodiak loses his sanity when separated from his sacred land. To seal their impossible love, they must awaken the forest’s darkest secrets. But will the price they must pay shatter them beyond repair ? Discover a dark and dramatic fantasy romance where the elements rage and love come at a tragic cost. For more information: www.violetcrosbyauteure.com ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For updates on new releases, freebies, and other fun surprises, sign up for my newsletter! Chapter 1 : Whispers of Mist and Skin I. The Call of Silver That night, the waters of Mist Lake held the texture of liquid glass and the metallic taste of secrets kept for far too long. More than twenty meters below the surface, where cold currents caressed the sedimentary rock walls, silence reigned absolute. It was a familiar solitude, almost comforting, but tonight, it weighed on her like armor forged from lead. Suddenly, an imperceptible vibration rippled through the water column. A thermal caress. The Moon, round, swollen, and arrogant, had pierced the surface above, casting a thread of silver light through the aquatic darkness. Naïda opened her eyes. Excitement and a sharp edge of anxiety, twisting in her stomach since mid-afternoon, instantly transformed her irises from a soothing jade blue to crystalline gold, shimmering like molten metal. With a powerful flick of her tail, she surged upward. Waves of sinuous movement propelled her body through the depths with lethargic grace. Around her, the scales of her tail captured the moonlight, changing color with every undulation: deep emerald green melted into cobalt blue before igniting into golden sparks whenever the current strengthened. Just a few more meters, she thought, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. Don’t rush. Don’t waste these precious minutes. She surfaced nose first, inhaling the outside air. The scent of dry land struck her heightened senses immediately. It was an intoxicating, almost aggressive mixture of resinous pine, decaying moss, wild mushrooms, and the stagnant dampness unique to forgotten marshlands. To a creature born of pure water, the air smelled of life, but also death and rot. It was the scent of the walkers’ world. The scent of his world. Naïda gripped the edge of a flat rock slick with black lichen. Her skin, so pale and translucent that the delicate blue network of veins beneath could almost be seen, shivered beneath the night breeze. She painfully dragged herself from the water with a decidedly ungraceful grunt escaping her full lips. This was where the romance of the situation lost all dignity. If human legends sang of ethereal mermaids lounging elegantly upon rocks, they conveniently failed to mention just how ridiculous it was to crawl across the ground without legs. — “Come on, haul yourself up, old sardine,” she muttered to herself, digging her nails into the damp soil. Her long, blazing red hair coiled around her shoulders like streams of lava, violently contrasting against the paler scales, delicate, shell-shaped plates that covered and protected her breasts. She pulled herself farther onto the forbidden shore, the lower half of her tail still splashing in the life-giving water. Already, the air had begun its slow sabotage. She could feel the protective moisture coating her body evaporating. The countdown had begun. At most, she had three hours before the dehydration became fatal. II. The Shadow and the Beast A snapping branch shattered the chorus of frogs. Then silence returned, heavy, oppressive, almost artificial. Naïda turned her head, her eyes now glowing electric blue-green in the darkness. Instantly, the scent around her changed. It was no longer merely the forest. It was something wild. Hot. Terribly alive. The smell of rain-soaked fur, dried blood, animal musk, and ozone. A scent that made her want to flee into the deepest part of the lake and surrender herself completely at the same time. From the thorn bushes emerged a colossal silhouette. A grizzly. But not an ordinary bear. This one stood nearly four meters tall when fully upright, a mass of muscles and jet-black fur, its eyes glowing with a strangely human chocolate-brown intelligence. The beast halted at the tree line, exhaling warm breath that materialized into white mist in the cool air. Jameson… her mind whispered. The bear released a low growl, a sound that vibrated through Naïda’s body all the way to her throat. Then the transformation began. Though terrifying, it fascinated the mermaid every single time. Bones cracked with the sinister sound of snapping green branches. The massive form contracted, fur receding beneath flesh as the beast reshaped itself into a human silhouette. Seconds later, the animal was gone. Jameson stood before her. He was breathing hard, his powerful musculature taut from the strain of the shift. His skin bore the scars of a violent existence: long white marks, souvenirs of childhood rituals or brutal battles for clan dominance, crossed his broad chest and powerful arms. His thick black hair fell messily across his forehead, framing angular, almost brutal features softened only by the depth of his chocolate-brown eyes. — “You’re late,” Naïda said, a crooked smile tugging at her lips despite the tightness crushing her chest. “I was starting to think I’d turn into dried fish for the gulls’ dinner.” Jameson let out a rough laugh, the sound rumbling from deep within his grizzly chest. He took three quick steps toward her, then stopped abruptly as pain twisted across his features. Anxiously, he glanced back toward the depths of the sacred forest. — “The elders doubled the patrols around the sanctuary,” he said, his human voice still carrying feral undertones. “My father suspects something. The scent of the lake… He says it clings to my skin like a curse. Says I smell of water-witchcraft.” — “I’m not a witch,” she replied softly, her eyes fading back to jade blue tinged with immediate sorrow. “I’m just… An anomaly who loves you.” Jameson crouched before her, breaking the careful distance he always forced himself to maintain during the first moments of their meetings. The scent of the man overtook that of the beast now: pine sap, worn leather, and that unique bodily warmth Naïda missed so desperately in the abyssal depths. III. The Fusion of Forbidden Worlds When he placed his rough, burning hand against the mermaid’s translucent cheek, a thermal shiver rippled through them both. That was the paradox of their existence. She was frost and flowing water. He was blood-fire and heavy earth. — “You’re burning hot, Jameson,” she whispered, closing her eyes as she savored the contact of his calloused palm against her delicate skin. — “And you’re like the first ice of winter.” His fingers slid through her long crimson hair, the strands seeming to crackle with their own energy beneath the moonlight. — “Every time I come near this shore, the forest pulls me back, Naïda. My mind… the grizzly grows restless. It hates the emptiness of the water. It screams that if I stay here too long, I’ll lose my sanity.” — “Then why do you come?” She already knew the answer. But she needed to hear it. Inside her crystal prison, during the twenty-eight days separating each full moon, she replayed the sound of his voice over and over to keep herself from slipping into madness. — “Because the madness of being without you is far worse than whatever waits for me on this shore,” he answered, his voice breaking. He lay beside her on the damp sand, careful not to crush her enormous tail. His dark chocolate eyes locked onto hers, now swirling hypnotically between blue and gold. The contrast between them was striking: He was dark, massive, scarred by the trials of the earth. She was luminous, fluid, almost unreal in beauty and terrifyingly fragile upon hostile ground. — “Tell me what’s happening in your clan,” Naïda said gently, her fingers brushing a long scar across Jameson’s arm. “Are the tensions easing ?” Jameson released a heavy sigh. — “Quite the opposite. My role as heir is becoming a cage. My father wants me to choose a mate from among the clan females before the next rainy season ends. They want pure blood. Bears strong enough to reinforce our borders against the northern clans.” A bitter smile twisted his lips. — “If only they knew their precious warrior is completely wrapped around the finger of a creature who doesn’t even have feet…” Naïda elbowed him playfully in the ribs, drawing a genuine grin from him. — “Hey! For your information, my swimming is far more graceful than your duck-like walk in human form. And at least I don’t have to scratch my back against tree trunks in public.” — “That’s a highly respected communication technique among my people,” he shot back with a wink. But the laughter faded quickly, swept away by the brutal reality of their situation. Naïda whimpered softly. She glanced down at her left arm. Near her wrist, her pale skin was beginning to lose its suppleness, turning dull and parchment-like. The scales of her tail, usually fluid and gleaming, had begun to stiffen and tighten against one another as though trapping the last remaining traces of moisture inside her body. — “Already ?” Jameson asked, panic piercing through his deep voice. — “The air is especially dry tonight,” Naïda replied, trying to conceal the terror twisting through her gut. “And the moon is rising too fast. Far too fast.” IV. The Threat of Waves and Claws Jameson scooped up a handful of liquid mud from the water’s edge and gently spread it over Naïda’s tail, trying to cool her down. The touch of the cold silt drew a sigh of relief from her lips, but it was only a pitiful remedy. A single drop of water in a desert of fire. — “We can’t go on like this, Naïda,” he said through clenched teeth. “The clan is patrolling closer and closer to the lake. They believe some malevolent entity is haunting these waters because of the unnatural mists rising from them. My father spoke of sending the shamans to… To purify the lake.” Naïda’s eyes turned a pure shade of gold, the unmistakable sign of overwhelming terror. — “Purify it ? With the fire of the earth ? If their rituals alter the water’s composition, I… My sisters and I won’t survive. This is our only refuge.” — “I know,” Jameson cut in, taking her hands in his. His fingers trembled as a vision of horror flashed through his mind: Naïda was consumed by the woodland magic of his clan, her magnificent copper-red hair reduced to ash, her golden eyes extinguished forever. — “That’s why I searched through the old birch-bark archives of the Grand Council. I found something. A fragment of text dating back to before the Great Sundering between the peoples of land and water.” Naïda held her breath. The air burned her throat, every inhale becoming a conscious effort, yet Jameson’s words soothed her panicked mind like a balm. — “A ritual ?” — “Yes. The Ritual of Broken Balance,” he whispered, lowering his voice as though he feared the trees themselves might be listening. “The writings say it is possible to unite two beings of opposite natures. To give legs to a creature of the waters… or allow the beast to breathe beneath the surface without losing its savage mind.” — “But…” Naïda began, knowing the laws of ancient magic all too well. “Every spell demands a price. Nothing is created, everything is traded. What is the cost, Jameson?” The shapeshifter looked away, his chocolate-brown eyes fixed on the dark waters of the lake where the moon shimmered in reflection. His muscles tightened, betraying the immense tension tearing through him. — “The price is the balance of the worlds, Naïda. The text says that to bind two destinies so profoundly different, the magic must drain the very essence of their native realms. If you become human, the lake will lose its magic and dry up, condemning your people. If I become a creature of the water, the sacred forest will lose its mystical protection and become vulnerable to invaders. For a new world to be born between us, our old worlds must die.” A deathly silence fell over the shore. The wind itself seemed to stop; the pine needles ceased their whispering, as though nature had heard the blasphemy. Destroy my people… Naïda thought, heartbroken. Condemn my sisters to exile or death for my own selfish happiness ? And him… Force his clan to face destruction ? This isn’t a miracle. It’s a tragedy disguised as one. V. Time That Bleeds A sharp pain pulsed along the mermaid’s spine. A muffled cry escaped her lips. Her eyes faded into a pale jade blue, almost white. Her lips were beginning to crack, and a thin layer of white salt appeared across her shoulders, a cruel sign that her body was rejecting the little moisture it had left. — “You have to go back,” Jameson said, his voice strangled with emotion. He gathered her into his powerful arms, lifting her despite the immense weight of her tail. — “No… Not yet… A few more minutes,” she pleaded, clinging to his neck as she breathed in his scent one last time, the scent of beast and man intertwined. — “Naïda, you’re going to die before my eyes if I don’t return you to the water!” he shouted, a tear of rage and helplessness rolling down his scarred cheek. “And me… I can feel the forest calling to me. My head is going to split apart. The grizzly wants control again. It wants to kill, it wants to destroy everything that doesn’t belong to the earth.” Indeed, Jameson’s eyes were already losing their warm brown glow, shifting toward something feral, almost yellow. His nails lengthened into retractable claws ready to tear through the flesh. The biological and magical conflict raged within him: the longer he remained near the forbidden waters, the more the spirit of the bear demanded its fill of savagery to compensate for the lake’s spiritual emptiness. He stepped into the icy water, his feet sinking deep into the mud. The lake’s cold seized his legs, drawing a furious growl of disgust from the beast within him. But he held firm. Gently, he lowered Naïda into the shallow waves. The instant her body touched the water, a sigh of pure ecstasy escaped the mermaid’s lips. As though enchanted, her scales immediately regained their suppleness and shifting brilliance, shimmering with countless shades of green, blue, and gold beneath the fading moonlight. Her eyes returned to their original jade-blue hue, deep and mysterious. She floated on her back, her red hair spreading around her like a halo of blood upon the dark water. She took Jameson’s hand while he stood knee-deep in the lake, struggling against the tremors of his impending transformation. — “At the next full moon ?” She whispered, her voice softened by the return of her aquatic strength. — “At the next full moon,” he swore, clenching his teeth to hold back the roar rising in his throat. “I’ll find another solution. There has to be another way. A way that doesn’t require burning our worlds to the ground.” — “Find it, Jameson. Because I don’t know how much longer I can endure being only half of myself when I’m away from you.” He pressed her hand against his one last time before finally tearing himself away and rushing back toward the shore. Barely had his feet touched solid ground when his body convulsed. With one final crack of bones and a howl of pure savagery that made the trees tremble, the great black grizzly reclaimed its form. Without a single glance behind, the beast vanished into the depths of the sacred forest, leaving behind a trail of broken branches and the lingering scent of a hunted predator. Naïda remained motionless upon the water’s surface, staring at the tree line where her lover had disappeared. The lake’s mist began to rise once more, thick, opaque, protective, yet unbearably isolating, wrapping the mermaid within its eternal shroud of solitude. Slowly, she dove beneath the surface, slipping through the water without a sound, carrying with her the forest’s darkest secret and the certainty that their love was a ticking bomb whose fuse had just been lit.