Siren
1105 Words
Rick's hand froze in midair.
"I've never undergone differentiation. A regular omega completes differentiation and reaches s****l maturity at fourteen. But Colonel Rick, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm just an ordinary person."
Ann shifted her demeanor, elegantly adjusting her clothes, and offering a polite bow, ensuring no skin was exposed. She passed Rick an identification piece — a family crest outlined in gold thread, with an intricately delicate thorn bird pattern, each feather shimmering like mercury.
"However, I am indeed the adopted daughter of the Kondo family," Ann maintained a gentle, dignified smile. "So, I must request that you return me."
Rick's smile faltered at the corner of his mouth. He took a long while to lower his face, removing his glasses from the bridge of his nose. His platinum hair appeared light and cold under the glare, his gray-blue eyes locking onto Ann's.
He shed his own false facade.
Ann subtly straightened her back. "I believe Colonel Rick will honor his promise."
Because few could decline the Kondo family's reward, and few dared provoke them. This family held the purest omega lineage, fostering numerous high-quality girls with exemplary pheromones and genes.
It was akin to possessing the most exceptional reproductive resources, coveted by all, intertwined with every family.
Suddenly, Rick stepped forward, pinning her against the wall. Ann hastily retreated two steps, as he used force to press her shoulders. She trembled, akin to a baby antelope at a cliff's edge.
From a sterile bag carried by the ship's doctor, Rick extracted a syringe and had someone hold her down. The needle tip punctured her pallid skin, drawing a vial of thick, dark red blood.
Ann struggled, gasping for air while hurling sharp insults. But they were not in English; her tone had an unusual cadence. Rick couldn't decipher the language.
He inclined to think she was mixing various Oriental slang.
"I advise you to desist," Rick warned, "Be silent; you are not an omega."
Ann grasped his intent - she was no longer a noble and pitiable omega, undeserving of protection and unqualified to cause a commotion.
At that moment, she felt an urge to laugh.
With a smile, Ann exhaled, relaxing into her chair, arms hanging limply, a single drop of blood emerging from the skin puncture.
Her long, lustrous black hair formed a graceful arc, dark and lucid pupils beneath slender brows.
She conceded, "You're right."
The ship sailed on. Ann remained aboard with minimal encounters for three days. Rick never reappeared after that incident.
Two soldiers stood guard outside her cabin, evidently restricting her freedom.
Not surprising, given her prior conditions — her every move observed when she was a stowaway, her food, clothing, shelter meticulously regulated, even her sips of water counted.
Though her current situation allowed more movement than the cramped quarters during her stowaway days, a profound unease stirred within her.
Escaping would be arduous. What punishments awaited her upon her return?
Being sold to an elderly nobleman or becoming a shared wife among businessman brothers?
Ann clenched her fists.
Beyond lay an endless sea, the route controlled, and Rick, the commander of the British naval fleet, made retreat impossible.
Ann harbored doubts about Rick's intentions.
Why did he react so vehemently to her beta status? Why subject her to gender testing via blood?
An omega's constitution is incredibly volatile. An estrus outbreak onboard could drive all Alphas into frenzy due to a pheromonal surge — a ticking time bomb.
If she were merely a beta, Rick's task would be simpler. His reaction seemed abnormal.
Ann suspected Rick was unbidden by the Kondo family; he merely required an omega nearby.
What role did this omega play?
What temptation led him to cross the Kondo family?
Ann's heart sank; she glanced askance at the small round window.
Outside, overcast clouds loomed, creating an eternal night-like environment. The deep blue sea seemed to harbor a colossal, mysterious, malevolent beast, its breath synchronized with the waves' ebb and flow.
Suddenly, a deafening noise erupted above, a glass lamp exploding, shards cascading. Violent tremors threw Ann to the floor, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Complete silence followed. Then, more violent roars, rattles, gunshots on the deck, sailors shouting themselves hoarse.
Ann clutched her shoulder, agony seizing her, her screams stifled. Standing was an ordeal.
After a brief lull, cacophonous sounds resumed. Intermittent low noises assaulted her ears; the turbulent waves hinted at something more than mere whale roars, an unsettling itch piercing her ears.
"What in the..." Ann was momentarily stunned, feeling sticky blood on her ears.
Footsteps approached outside. As the hatch opened, Rick seized her wrist, ushering her to the ship's lower levels.
His expression wasn't sanguine; he coldly instructed, "Stay here."
Ann was about to speak when a chilling sensation enveloped her legs — a cold, slippery, suction-cupped entity coiled around her ankles.
She muffled a scream.
Quickly squatting, she wrested and flung the entity away, her heart constricting with fear.
Rick had already departed, but upon hearing the commotion, he swiftly returned, gun and knife drawn, impaling the assailant.
"Oh my God..." Ann began to breathe deeply.
There was a click, a lighter flickering in Rick's hand. Under its faint glow, an octopus, the size of a football, clung to a gun-knife, emitting the smell of gunpowder smoke in its death throes.
Ann's skirt was torn; several bloody holes adorned her calf. Circular wounds etched on her fair skin stood out starkly.
It was a minor injury, yet Ann felt psychologically tainted.
That eerie sensation lingered on her legs; the flailing, twisting tentacles seemed ghastly.
She was on the verge of losing her mind, pressing against the wall, cold sweat beading on her brow. "What the hell is Colonel Rick—"
A shrill cry echoed from the deck.
Slimy tentacled creatures ascended the ship's railings, hurling bloody limbs into the sea with swift precision.
"Icen-3, secret laboratory," Rick spoke into the communication device calmly, "Failed to obtain omega pheromone. Alien creatures in revolt, requesting backup."
The door rattled violently from outside, sounding akin to a killer whale's fierce approach.
With a bang, the door burst open, a wet humanoid figure slithered in — a swift silhouette that left an afterimage.
Ann glimpsed a lengthy, thick tail, scales glistening like obsidian.
Rick fired thrice, yet the alien creature dodged each bullet. As a prized experimental subject, Rick was forbidden to terminate it on sight.
Its physique was astonishing — nearly two meters in tail length, an upper body reminiscent of humans, brimming with muscular strength and beauty.
Ann murmured, "Oh my God, this is... a merfolk?"
- Writer
