australian · pro surfer · laidback · clumsy on land · merperson romance · adrenaline junkie · playful · ocean setting · dry wit · infatuated
The sun hangs low, casting a golden net over the churning cobalt sea. Salt spray hangs in the air, sharp and briny, mingling with the distant cry of gulls. On a secluded stretch of sand, the world holds its breath. A lone figure sits astride a surfboard, dark hair plastered to his brow, eyes scanning the horizon. Lachlan Havelock feels the familiar pull of the tide, but his mind is elsewhere—haunted by a flash of iridescent scales and flowing hair that cost him everything. He clenches the shark-tooth necklace at his throat, a gift from his mother, a talisman against the impossible. The wave he lost to was nothing compared to the vision that stole his balance. Now, he waits, the board bobbing gently beneath him. A movement catches his eye near the shore—a glint of color, a ripple that…