A short story that illustrates what can happen when a mother's love goes too far. From Joe DeRouen's upcoming short story collection, Odds and Endings: Fiction Short and Otherwise, coming Nov 24th, 2015. Pre-order on Amazon!

Ambrose. The name is not only feared, but shunned and reviled. He's a monster sentenced to a life of desolation and loneliness, and no one but his tormentor knows his whereabouts - at the bottom of the ocean. A creature of the sea cursed because of one simple mistake... Mari. Her life was a small happy bubble until it's popped by the finding out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her - just as the cruise ship she's on starts to sink! She's sure that death is near until she drowns upon an underwater cave...and a hulking man with swirling eyes. Seeing a chance to escape, Ambrose forces the terrified Mari to help them both, but not before ultimately changing her life...and her legs. Their worlds turning upside in the matter of minutes, Ambrose is on a mission to clear his name and Mari's on a mission to return to land. But how can she do that when she slowly starts to fall for the dangerous, damaged man who only wants to be free...and heal her own heart in the process? THIS IS A FREE SAMPLE

PUBLISHED UNDER CLOAK POP FICTION I am Aramis Rayne. Immortal. Full-time familiar. Short-term goal: Rescue my boss from total annihilation. And how to do that? I'm going to need a miracle.