His Chosen Bride

“The waves roared like restless beasts, clawing at the jagged rocks beneath Gabriella's feet. Her fingers were stained with paint, the last remnants of the sunset she'd tried to capture before the storm rolled in. Now, the canvas lay forgotten in the sand, the wind tearing at its edges. She wasn't thinking about art anymore. She was thinking about him. "Stay still," Gabriella hissed, pressing harder against the wound on his side. Blood soaked through her scarf, dark and warm, and she swallowed the panic rising in her throat. The young man beneath her winced but didn't push her away. His eyes-dark as midnight and just as dangerous-locked on hers. "Why?" His voice was hoarse, as if he'd swallowed saltwater and fire. "I should've let you drown," she snapped, but her hands didn't stop working. "And you? Why did you to come washed up on the shore half-dead, bleeding like this? What did you do?" He didn't answer. Instead, he gave her a smile that made her heart stumble-sharp, wolfish, and entirely out of place for someone so broken. "I was running," he said. "From what?" His smile faltered, and for the first time, Gabriella saw the fear in his eyes. Not the kind born of pain, but something deeper. Older. "Everything." Lightning split the sky, and for a breathless moment, the world burned silver. Gabriella saw the marks then-the faint shimmer of scales along his ribs, like moonlight trapped under his skin. She froze. "What... are you?" The man's lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, he reached up and caught her wrist in a surprisingly strong grip. "You can't tell anyone." Gabriella's pulse thundered. He wasn't human. Whatever he was, she should've run. Instead, she tightened her hold on him. "Who said I was planning to?" Their eyes locked, and despite the storm and the blood and the impossible truth unraveling between them, Gabriella felt the strangest pull-like the tide dragging her out to sea. And then he whispered his name. "Arik." It shouldn't have meant anything. But it did. And as the storm howled and the waves rose higher, Gabriella knew her world had just shifted. Permanently. Little did she know, it was only the beginning. ♤◇♤◇♤◇♤◇ In a world where legends rise from the depths and betrayal runs deeper than the sea, love can be the most dangerous tide of all. Sixteen-year-old Gabriella is a gifted painter, content with her quiet life by the shore-until the night she saves a mysterious, masked, dying stranger. Arik is dark, alluring, and more trouble than she's ever known. But as their worlds collide, Gabriella learns the truth: Arik is no ordinary man. He's a prince-and a merman-fleeing a deadly betrothal to a monster's daughter. Their forbidden romance ignites like wildfire, but court intrigue, ancient magic, and a vengeful enemy threaten to tear them apart. When Arik breaks his promise and doesn't return , Gabriella is left shattered, her love turning to ice-cold hatred. Now bound to a sinister force with her own dark agenda, Gabriella must decide whether to fight for the boy who broke her heart-or destroy him. As secrets unravel and tides turn, Gabriella and Arik must face the ultimate question: Is their love strong enough to conquer the depths-or will it drown beneath the waves?”