⊰ T W O ⊱

CAPTURE

I was clueless as to why Yoongi was so determined to catch a siren, but I wasn't going to question him. The reward for bringing one in would likely be higher than what we could get from all the stolen goods we were planning to sell. It just seemed like there was something more than greed in his eyes when he commanded us to get the net ready.

Jungkook and I swiftly made our way to the cargo hold where Namjoon was still staring wide-eyed through the porthole.

"Namjoon, we need your help with the net. Let's go," I ordered, grabbing his hand and dragging him along with me before he had a chance to respond.

All three of us rushed to the top deck at the stern of the boat where we made work of the tangled netting. We hardly ever made use of it as fishing wasn't on our list of priorities, so the net wasn't an impressive one. Luckily, we only needed one siren.

After a few minutes of struggle, we finally managed to prepare the net to be dropped. The three of us looked towards the middle of the ship where Jin, Hoseok, and Taehyung stood, aiming their rifles toward the shrieking creatures.

Before anyone could shoot, loud thuds came from the side of the ship. Leaning over the edge, I gasped. Several of the beasts were using their claws to latch onto the side of the boat, their irises shining with an animalistic gleam. As one of them spotted me, it hissed and bared its blade-like teeth at me.

Not a second passed before Hoseok's rifle went off, his shot entering the shoulder of the very siren that had hissed at me, causing it to lose its grip and go flying back into the dark waters.

"Not yet, you fool!" Yoongi's voice bellowed. He stood at the helm, struggling with the wheel in an attempt to navigate through the storm. "Don't shoot until I say so! Kat, drop the net!"

I ran to the lever near me, pulling it and releasing the net into the depths below. Namjoon and Jungkook peered over the edge to make sure the net was properly positioned.

"It's ready, Cap!" Namjoon shouted.

"Boys, don't let those things scratch up my beautiful ship!" The captain yelled out his go-ahead and within seconds, the pirates were all shooting down the side of the boat.

I watched in a mix of horror and awe as the bullets hit their targets, bodies jolting as their golden skin was stained red. With blood-curdling screams, three of them crashed back into the water. I winced at the sight.

"Kat, get over here!" Namjoon yelled. I tore my gaze away from the bloody scene and stumbled to the rope where Jungkook and Namjoon stood. I joined them in holding on, waiting for the signal.

The sound of the rifles continued to pierce through the air, along with the ferocious wind and the relentless rain. Thunder was cracking every other minute, followed by a bolt of lightning. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open against the sheets of water that pounded down.

"We've got one! We caught the damn thing!" Jin shouted out.

Yoongi continued to stare ahead, fighting the violent waves as he tried to keep the ship steady. Without a word, he gestured for us to bring the net in.

The three of us immediately started tugging on the rope with all of our strength, and I was shocked at how heavy the creature was.

"Are you sure there's only one in the net?" I hollered at Jin as we continued heaving.

"Only one! Its tail must weigh a ton," Jin replied as he and the other two men approached us.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you still be shooting at those monsters?" Jungkook asked with a grunt as he kept pulling on the rope. There was scarce progress being made.

"They all disappeared after we started shooting. I think we scared them off." Hoseok's voice was loud as ever and full of authority. "Now why don't you step aside and let the big boys handle this, Princess." His hands were suddenly on mine as he attempted to pry them off the rope, but I protested.

"Get your hands off me! I can do this myself, you asshole!" I yelled through my teeth, struggling to get out of his grip. He impatiently moved his hands to my waist where he tried to lift me away from the rope. Losing my temper, I released my hands to punch Hoseok square in the jaw, but my actions backfired as he stumbled into Namjoon, who then fell forward onto Jungkook, causing them both to lose their grasps on the rope.

In the blink of an eye, I was reaching out to grab the cord that started flying loose, and the second I latched onto it, the weight from the net flung my body toward the edge of the boat. I heard the yells of six men as I was dragged over the railing, then suddenly there was a rough jolt and I felt tension return to the rope, the sudden stop almost shaking my grip. Those idiots must've figured out to catch it before I went overboard.

I let out a shaky breath as I made sense of the position I was in. Hanging above the roaring sea, my only lifeline was the thick cord between my numb fingers. As I looked beneath me, my eyes widened at the dark, silvery tail that I could see caught in the net, which was now dragging in the water again.

"One, two, three, heave! One, two, three, heave!" I could hear the pirates chant in unison as they slowly began pulling me back up. I held on tightly as I was raised closer and closer to the railing, then finally, I was able to latch onto the edge until someone grabbed me from underneath my armpits, proceeding to lift me up and onto the deck. I looked up and saw that it was Taehyung, who pulled me into a tight hug.

My body was shaking, probably from the shock of what just happened mixed with the icy dampness of the storm.

"Taehyung, take over. The winds are dying down, so I trust you can handle it," Yoongi ordered. Taehyung let me go and held my gaze for a second, then swiftly made his way to the helm where he took the wheel from the captain.

I stood there trembling as I watched the remaining four men continue to heave the net up. After what felt like ages, the net finally came into view and the men pulled it the rest of the way over the edge, dragging it onto the deck roughly. All four of them were panting, reminding me of just how much the siren weighed.

My eyes observed what was underneath the net, but I could only make out a scaled, metallic tail and a tan, human-like back. Every breath from the creature caused the muscles in its back to ripple and move, its skin glistening with droplets from the sea.

The reality sunk in that a dangerous, mythical creature was in front of me, and I took a step back.

"Afraid it'll bite?" a voice teased in my ear.

I jumped around to see Yoongi smirking down at me. I scoffed. "Of course not, I just was about to go change out of these sopping clothes."

He chuckled. "You go ahead and do that. When you're done, meet us in the brig."

I nodded before heading to the crew's quarters. Sighing in relief that nobody was in the dimly-lit room, I undressed. Normally I had to find ways to change without showing too much skin at one time since there were always the prying eyes of the crew to worry about.

Damn pirates.

I slipped on some black pants, put on an oversized, long-sleeved red blouse, then fastened a belt around the shirt so that it was form-fitting. Finally, I slipped on my black boots. Warmer and not so jittery, I hung my wet clothes up before walking out of the room.

I ran across the main deck, trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. The storm had lightened up and the rain was just a drizzle, but the waves were still rocking the ship a fair amount.

Soon I found my way to the brig, which was the farthest space below deck. As I entered the dark room, the strong scent of must filled my nose. Six heads turned to face me, their features glowing from the light of the lanterns they held. Dancing shadows and orange beams were cast on the walls as the flames flickered ominously.

My gaze moved from their faces to the cell they stood in front of.

"Move," I said quietly, pushing my way through the males until I had a clear view of the creature that laid against the wall of the cell. I walked up to the bars, grabbing onto them as my eyes slowly took everything in.

His tail was the first thing I noticed as it was hard to miss, stretching long enough to reach all the way across the cell. The diamond-shaped scales were obsidian, but any spots the light hit glimmered into a silver. The fluke of the tail, which was against the bars at my feet, was wide with sharp edges. His tanned, lean torso looked very human aside from the golden sheen it had.

Finally, I took in his face, noticing that he was resting his head against the side of the wall with his eyes closed. He had full lips, a round nose, high cheekbones, and a pronounced, square jawline. His damp hair was a color I'd never quite seen before, a cross of turquoise like tropical tides and silver like sparkling seashells.

He was beautiful.

"What are we going to do with it?" Jungkook asked, breaking me out of my mesmerized state.

I turned around to see Yoongi cross his arms, his gaze falling on the siren. "I haven't decided yet. But in the meantime, how you deal with it will be up to Kat."

I watched as the males frowned.

"What do you mean it's up to Kat? Why does she get to decide how we treat it?" Jin asked.

Yoongi sighed before answering, "I've made Kat my first mate, so you all have to follow her orders unless I say otherwise."

The second he finished speaking, all five of the men burst into protests and questions.

"You can't really be replacing me with her," Hoseok raised his voice to be heard over the others. He glared from me to Yoongi. "She's only barely been a part of this crew for four years. She's a woman. She lacks physical strength—"

"Tell that to your purple jaw," Yoongi chuckled, gesturing to the dark bruise which marked Hoseok's face, right where I'd punched him. Taehyung and Namjoon chuckled lightly, causing Hoseok to growl in anger before marching out of the room. I sighed in annoyance.

"I'm going to talk to him. Kat, you're in charge here. Just tell these idiots what you want them to do. I'll check in with you in the morning."

And with that, Yoongi followed after Hoseok, leaving me with four men and a siren to deal with.

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