THE BILLIONAIRE'S FORBIDDEN OBSESSION

THE SHIFTER

Shantal leaned forward, the cold ocean spray stinging her face, but she barely felt it. Her eyes were locked onto the creature, searching for Gabriel. But in her mind, how does this creature meet Gabriel?

"Did he see you? Is that why you're coming up here?"

Shantal asked.

The mermaid remained silent for a long beat, her piercing eyes reflecting the silver moonlight. She tilted her head, analyzing Shantal’s tears.

"Gabriel... me." the mermaid finally spoke, her voice sounding like the chime of distant glass, beautiful yet dangerously sharp.

Shantal’s breath hitched in her throat. Gabriel had never mentioned the name of any girl he's interested in. And he had never spoken of a girl from the sea, especially a mermaid?!

"What did he say to you? please you have to tell me" she pleaded, her hands gripping the rough edge of the stone.

"Fire-bringer. It's Gabriel." the only words that the blonde girl whispered.

With her broken heart and mind in complete chaos, Shantal couldn't fully grasp what the mermaid meant. Yet, looking at this creature, a profound ache stirred deep inside her. It wasn't just curiosity, it was a sudden, overwhelming urge to discover who she truly was.

She stared at the iridescent scales catching the moonlight, wondering about the secrets of her own existence and why she felt such an inexplicable, magnetic pull to this wild world.

"So, how can I help you?" Shantal whispered.

She changed her mind, desperately wanted to get closer to her.. not just to talk, but to see the creature's face clearly and marvel at the breathtaking sight of her. She needed to understand the mystery of their connection and the nature of their different worlds. Anyone who can see her would think she was losing her mind.

But this creature was a living, breathing reality. The fact that she could also voice human language, even not in complete sentence is amazing, with that also, she had spoken to Gabriel, her unreasonable brother was already meet her... it felt like an awakening.

For the first time, Shantal Vance felt a glimmer of understanding about the hidden depths of her own life.

"Alright, I will help you meet him," Shantal said, a new resolve settling into her mind.

She pointed toward the floating house resting at the edge of the Siargao Island, the place she currently called home. It was massive compared to the other structures, featuring a wide, sprawling balcony perfectly built for observing the horizon under the warmth of the sun.

Shantal made her way down the slick, wooden ladder attached to the outside of her floating house, the open water lapping at her ankles. She looked back at the blonde mermaid, completely enchanted. She wanted to study this creature's skin, map her otherworldly beauty, and uncover the cosmic secrets connecting their very souls.Then she looked down at the massive, shimmering fish tail slapping against the surface.

Right, Shantal thought, the profound cosmic awakening in her brain grinding to a screeching halt. She has a tail. An actual, ninety-pound, scaly fish bottom.

How on earth am I supposed to get her up a ladder? Shantal murmured. She stared at the ladder. She stared at the mermaid, then she stared back at the ladder.

"Home?" the mermaid whispered, her voice still carrying that haunting, ethereal glass-chime quality.

"Yes, it's my small space, if I want to be alone," Shantal replied, though her tone was now significantly less like lost in wonder.

Shantal crouched on the bottom step, testing the weight of the situation. "Okay, look, Miss Mermaid. Whatever your name is. My soul feels a deep, magnetic pull to yours, I really do mean that. But my biceps do not. Can you... I don't know, do a dolphin flip onto the deck? Scuttle up like a seal?"

The blonde mermaid just blinked at her with wide, pure, majestic eyes. She obviously didn't understand a single word.

"Great. Fantastic," Shantal muttered, wiping her face.

She reached into the dark water, wrapping her arms under the mermaid’s arms. The skin of her torso was shockingly smooth, but the moment Shantal tried to lift, the massive tail flapped in protest, splashing a gallon of freezing seawater directly into Shantal’s open mouth.

Shantal coughed, choking on the salt. "Okay! No lifting! Respect the tail!"

She looked up at her sprawling, beautiful balcony, then down at the mythical mermaid of the deep who was currently trying to chew on the bottom rung of the wooden ladder. The grand mystery of Shantal Vance’s true identity was going to have to wait until she figured out how to forklift a legendary sea beast onto a Siargao vacation home.

Shantal scrambled up the ladder, her mind racing through the inventory of her Siargao home. A luggage cart? No, the stairs would kill her back. A giant blue tarp? Yes!

She was pretty sure she saw one tucked next to the generator. She could wrap the mermaid like a giant, mythical burrito and drag her up the steps. It was a flawless plan. She dashed inside, dug through the storage closet, and emerged a minute later dragging a massive, crinkling blue tarp over her shoulder. She was fully prepared to sweat, strain, and apologize to the sea gods for treating their majestic daughter like a load of laundry.

She hauled the tarp out onto the balcony, threw herself over the railing to look down at the ladder, and froze.The water was empty.

"Oh, great. It took too long and she drowned. Wait, can mermaids drown?" Shantal muttered, her heart dropping.

"Cold," a soft voice whispered from right behind her.

Shantal spun around so fast she tripped over the tarp, nearly face-planting onto the deck.

Standing right there, squarely on the wooden floorboards of the balcony, was the blonde girl. She wasn't flopping. She wasn't gasping for air. She was standing perfectly balanced on two bare, slender human feet.

Shantal’s jaw hit the floor.

She stared down. The massive, ninety-pound iridescent fish tail was completely gone. In its place were smooth, sun-kissed legs. Shantal leaned in, squinting in the moonlight, desperately scanning for a stray scale, a stray fin, or maybe some leftover seaweed. Nothing. Just flawless, normal human skin.

The profound, cosmic mystery of Shantal’s own identity slammed right back into her brain. She can change? Just like that? Is this what Gabriel saw? Is this what is hidden inside me too?

Because the blonde mermaid now, looks very much like a human girls. Shivered, wrapping her arms around her bare shoulders. She looked down at her own toes, wiggling them experimentally, before looking back up at Shantal with those same wide, ancient eyes.