It's the middle of the night and I can still hear Aiden's voice echoing in my mind. He called me a gorgeous woman. It didn't occur to me at the time but it was a very endearing compliment. I'm not used to compliments from men. When Jaxson dated me he would compliment other women except for me. It's not that I need the approval of a man but it's nice to have affirmation from someone who I haven't dated before. I have a feeling that my affection for Aiden will get deeper and deeper as time moves forward. The water is calm as I look out onto the beach. So calm in fact, that I can't help but think of nothing else but the sand between my toes. Aiden would give me a hard time if you wandered out onto the beach again in the middle of the night. But there's something about the beach at night that's more lovely than the daytime. Perhaps it's the night sky that makes the water calmer. Just the moon reflecting in the ocean as it rises from the horizon. Or maybe it's that it's quiet on the beach
The morning sunrise appears and the mermaids return me to land, like spirits returning a soul to the land of the living. My journey among the mysterious has ended and it's time to face the truth that, whatever lies beneath the surface has a desire to win me over. I am still in shock that they called me a mermaid. Deep down in my bones, I know it to be true. I didn't explore the city like King Caspian wanted me to do. It was too hard for me to wrap my mind around. The colors of the fish, the smell of the city, and the fact that I had a fishtail distracted me from my mission. He wanted me to explore the city and decide if I want to return to them. Would it really be returning if I have no memory of that place? Being human is more comfortable, it's more familiar. Perhaps if I lie on the shore for a while the bad dream will end and the one where Aiden isn't a werewolf and I'm not a siren can start. Aiden called out to me when the sirens took me below the waters. I never did get a clear
It's been a few weeks since I was turned into a mermaid. I haven't heard their voices on the water. I haven't heard the eerie harmonizing of the family of three who escorted me to and from that place. I've concluded that it was a dream and never took place, to begin with. Aiden doesn't strike me as the sort to ridicule. But there are times when I have to ask myself, why I ever dated Jaxson in the first place when men like Aiden exist. In the last few weeks, Brianna, Aiden, and I have become very close. I've kept Aiden away. I've kept him at arm's length and have promised myself that I won't kiss him or touch him again. Kissing him would be hard because the moment our lips would touch again the butterflies would pick up and I'd give in. I don't want to give in. Not really. Giving in to Aiden would be giving up on our friendship. We could be friends. We could be best friends if we could put all of our physical touching behind us. I hardly know him and yet the way he has cared for me h
Dreaming is something I don't enjoy. Within my dreams, images appear images of things that scare me. My brain itches when I'm in my deep REM cycle. Rapid Eye Movement is what it's called when the eyes twitch endlessly back and forth behind closed eyelids, as though they are reading the pages of an imaged manuscript. I've watched eyes flutter behind closed lids. The movement is rapid and unpredictable like ocean waves. When I dream the joys of my life disappear behind a sea of lifeless darkness. The things I am scared of flood in, and haunt me at night. I remember the last time werewolves and sirens had a battle in my presence. The land sirens came and took my mother out of her bed by her long hair. We were in our human forms in those days, living peacefully amongst the shadows. The sirens burned our village to the ground. They forced the vampires to retreat to Europe. But the werewolves stood and fought for the land we've come to love. I was ten when my mother died in that house. And
The next morning is different than any other I've had with Aiden. Brianna returned from the picnic yesterday completely unaware of the fact that Aiden had sucked on my chest. Aiden and I promised each other it would be a one-time ordeal, but the truth is it is likely to happen again now that we both know what the other feels like. It wasn't sex of course, but it was intimate enough that if I hadn't pulled away I am quite sure it would have led to it. There's nothing wrong with sex, until someone older shows up to ruin the fun. Luckily we don't have anyone older than us around here. Older adults tend to judge everything no matter what and then proceed to assume they have some super wisdom that one else could ever hope to achieve. Like the time I went to the library and was quietly reading my saucy romance to myself. The cover was a little risky but I didn't throw that in anyone's face. This older lady in her mid-seventies came up to me and proceeded to give me an unsolicited lecture
The rain at Siren's Point picks up and Aiden takes his fingers out of my core. My insides pulse from the excitement of orgasm. I've had sex before with Jaxson Miles. I was bored with him in bed and had to read sexy erotic novels to get myself going. Aiden's fingering and kissing me is more arousing than any sex I've had before. If he's this good with his hands, I wonder how good he'd be in bed with his body thrusting against mine. Needless to say, I will not be having sex with Aiden in the rain at Siren's Point Prison. "Aiden, I think we should go back to my house. Don't you think?" Aiden looks at me with those deep blue eyes and his long hair flows into his ponytail. I've never been with someone with long hair before. "Why are you in such a hurry to get back? Aren't you having fun here?" It's not that I am not having fun, but unlike Aiden, I know that if we wait too long we will miss the last ferry boat and we will be stuck here in the middle of an ocean storm. I'm not ready for
Darkness has taken me to a place I've never been before. I'm half-dead and half-alive. Bubbles and water crack beside my ears. The singing gets louder, and my eyes blur silhouettes before me. Three figures, who I am assuming to be the sirens who rescued me once before, appear before me. My arms feel familiar tingling sensations like the night I transformed into a mermaid. My arms are covered in purple scales and my tail is pink. The transformation must have occurred during my unconsciousness. It must be the reason I am still alive. For that, I suppose I am grateful to the sirens, but I still don't have an answer to give King Caspian. "Kayla, you're okay thank, Poseidon. We were worried you might have died. You inhaled so much seawater. We saw the whole thing dear. That terrible beast tossed you into the sea. What were you doing with that horrible werewolf anyway?" It's a lot of information to take in, but the truth is I can't tell them that he's my almost boyfriend. They hate the w
My wolf form disappears with the sun and I hardly remember last night. Apparently, my attempts to transform back into a human at will were lost to the beast. Without proper instruction, I will never possess that ability and if I can't stop myself from turning myself into a monster then I can't truly be with Kayla Lawson. I will wait until the next full moon, and that will be the last time I try to control the power I know that I have within the beast. If I can't turn into a human at will on the next full moon, I will move on from Brianna and Kayla Lawson forever and will continue my banishment amongst the vampires overseas in Europe. There are worse places to be, I won't be alone at least. I have many vampire friends who would happily take my sorry ass in. At least it's not full-on banishment. As far as a love life goes, Kayla might be my last chance at it. Before the next full moon, I hope we make love or fuck. I guess we can't make love if we aren't in it, or perhaps it's only one-
"Hello, Kayla," a guard knocks on my prison cell. There is no sense in trying to convince anyone down here that werewolves aren't so bad. I've only ever met Aiden and he's nice to me. But what about the other werewolves? Perhaps there is a nastiness about them. Perhaps they are evil and Aiden is the exception to kindness. He was banished after all and in my book that is not a kind act. In fact it is quite the opposite. His family has hurt him just as mine as hurt me. He was banished and I was deceived. I hope Aiden finds me before these wretched mermaids force my hand to marry their king. There's nothing sexually appealing to me about sirens. Squid tentacles and fish faces don't do it for me. King Caspian has the largest beard of them all. He has a long flowing purple octopus beard with kelp like mustaches to match. My lungs have gill slits by my rib cage. It's disturbing to watch myself breathe and watch those gills shake as I inhale and exhale the water."Hello, have you come to
My nap is long and the dreams I had were of Kayla and I being together forever as vampires. Could I really give up a piece of my identity for a woman? Is it possible for me to surrender a piece of myself for the betterment of someone else? If you love someone you are willing to sacrifice anything and everything for that person. That's what the werewolves believe. Werewolves are loyal to their lovers. They mate for life, unless banishment sets in. That happened to me and I never thought I'd love again. But somehow I miraculously did. For Kayla, I would give up my werewolf life and become a vampire. We can't be together as sirens and wolves, but as vampires we could be the same. One flesh and one blood molded and changed by the vampire's magic. One bite and we really could be together forever. "Aiden, are you in here?" Ethan says as he rises from his coffin. "Yes, what?" I ask half asleep. My voice cracks like a thirteen year old human kid. Brianna chuckles at the sounds I make. I al
I wake up and remember I'm in Venice. For Kayla's sake this needs to be a quick trip. A quick change in plans. Anything to help pass the time. I want to get to the moment where she's in my arms and where I'm loving her and she's loving me. I don't care if she's a siren. I don't care what I don't know about her. She had every reason to keep the sirens and her story away from me. She must have known something about her past. She must have known that her family is what they are, maybe she didn't know what they were. I suppose not, given that she looked for them frequently with a boat. If my family had all died on the water I would have looked for them too. But her family straight up lied to her and let her go on believing they were all dead. That was cruel. That was heartless. For that she will never forgive them. "Aiden, are you hungry?" A rather happy looking Ethan says while holding Brianna's hand. "No, not really. But I should eat something. What do you have?" "Eggs? We have loa
"Aiden you ninny. You fiend. You jerk. You pushed her off a cliff at Siren's Point. What were you thinking? Oh wait, let me guess you weren't thinking because the werewolf blood got the better of you?" Brianna shakes her fingers at me with an accusation that is both admirable and terrifying. Her goth attire is different from Kayla's. Kayla is feminine where Brianna is dark."Brianna, don't pin this on me. You weren't there. We all agreed I would transform on that island, so I wouldn't harm either of you. I'm not your enemy here. She must have followed me that night. You know I love Kayla, and I'm as determined to get her back as you are. It's out of my hands now."Brianna puts her hands up in surrender. She knows I am in love with Kayla. There can't be a doubt in her mind that I mean to do right by her. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone. More than I've loved anything. Only my previous fling comes to mind. But in order to heal the werewolf pack, I need to look beyond it. I
"Where's Kayla?" Brianna has left for work and apparently didn't bother looking for her obviously missing friend. Brianna can be so dense sometimes, how has Kayla lasted this long? It's a miracle she's survived. The girl could have been raped or murdered and Brianna might not have even noticed. Note to self when the timing is right sign Brianna up for self-defense classes. I check each room in the house and Kayla is nowhere to be found. "Kayla? Kayla?" Panic sets in as my hands shake beside my stomach. Something must have happened between the time we watched those weird Tim Burton movies and the time my eyes opened. My wolf instincts kick in and a newfound power tingles throughout my fingertips and feels like tiny pulses. The power I had longed to acquire is beginning to develop within my gut. The trigger is Kayla's disappearance. My werewolf senses are heightened more than usual. My strength is within me and my blood feels like the full moon has risen. The sun is up and it's an
It's four in the morning and as usual, I have to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately for me, I am creeped out by the sirens singing on the water. Should I get into my car to get away from them, surely they are here for me. I'm not ready to leave Aiden or Brianna. In our own weird and strange way we are a family, and families stick together. Nothing within me wants to be their siren princess. I'm sure that's the only reason they want me. The king didn't appear to have any heirs when I visited him. Perhaps he has named me his successor. That is a role I don't want if it were ever offered to me. Imagine me being the princess of a foreign kingdom under the water. I wouldn't know the rules or culture down there. That's it I am grabbing my keys. As I grab my keys, Grandpa Jerry storms into the house. His guards are still with him. He must be important to the king if they have a need to drag my ass back down to the bottom of the sea. What role my grandfather plays down there I want no part i
I wake up with Aiden still holding me close. There's so much to talk about. We've made love, we've confessed and now the sirens will be back for my answer. I haven't seen my parents yet and I don't plan to. If they are anything like Grandpa Jerry then they are probably liars too. It's best to keep them away. Aiden smiles when he sleeps and I rest my head on his chest. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with a werewolf, and now that I know what and who I am it's definitely turning into Romeo and Juliet. We could run away together and leave this life behind us, not sure how'd I'd explain that to Brianna exactly. Brianna walks into the house, and instead of moving, I pretend to be asleep after covering Aiden and me with a blanket. I'd prefer she knows, then find us naked and have her get startled by it. A blanket is more polite. Brianna's shoes shuffle along the floor and squeak. Upon seeing us she takes her shoes off, and slips into her house slippers. I know I will owe her an explana
The next six days fly by and my memories return. The Siren's Point episode plays on repeat in my mind, but despite it, I am not afraid of Aiden in human form. I was the one who was foolish enough to go looking for him the night of his transformation. The night I said I would be away but wasn't. In truth, the whole thing is my fault. If I didn't follow Aiden, he wouldn't have tossed me into the ocean and I wouldn't have been rescued by the sea maids. The pressure from the sea maids is on and I must do my part in giving them my answer. My Grandpa Jerry doesn't seem like the nice man I remember him to be and perhaps he was never that kind to begin with. In fact, I could have been a naive little elementary student who thought the world of him. I suppose where my family is concerned I must keep my distance. Family is a toxic thing, it can be a waste of time, energy, and resources. I look across the room and see Aiden asleep on the same couch he has been on this whole week. He hasn't left
My wolf form disappears with the sun and I hardly remember last night. Apparently, my attempts to transform back into a human at will were lost to the beast. Without proper instruction, I will never possess that ability and if I can't stop myself from turning myself into a monster then I can't truly be with Kayla Lawson. I will wait until the next full moon, and that will be the last time I try to control the power I know that I have within the beast. If I can't turn into a human at will on the next full moon, I will move on from Brianna and Kayla Lawson forever and will continue my banishment amongst the vampires overseas in Europe. There are worse places to be, I won't be alone at least. I have many vampire friends who would happily take my sorry ass in. At least it's not full-on banishment. As far as a love life goes, Kayla might be my last chance at it. Before the next full moon, I hope we make love or fuck. I guess we can't make love if we aren't in it, or perhaps it's only one-