Carter POV.18 Months later.Coming back to the surface after being in my siren form for a few months was strange. Not much had changed, but still it was weird.“It would be the same if you were stuck in Lycan form for that amount of time.” Lykos had said to me when it was taking me a little bit longer to adjust to being back on two legs. But here we are sitting watching the two most important women in our lives.“Lykos, we are truly blessed. Look at them both.” I say with a big smile on my face as we watch Asteria chase after Ione in the palace gardens. Both are wearing matching outfits. Lykos purrs watching our mate and daughter playing.When we came back, everyone was shocked to see not only how much Ione had grew and changed but also the change in myself. I have bulked up in the water. But not overly bulky.I watch as Asteria runs away from Ione, and she chases her mom. With Set beside her, the second we got home, Set pounced on them both. Ione has said she remembers him and so
Asteria POV.I’m laying on my favourite rock, the sun is high in the clear blue sky. The water laps gently against the shore. The ocean is calm. The sun’s rays warm my cold scales as I flick my fin lazily in the water. The ocean, my home, how I miss it. For I know this is just a dream. A drug induced sedation to make me compliant.“Wakey, wakey little mermaid.” A vibration through the water and a voice I have come to hate. I open my eyes and move my large black fin away from my muzzled face. Looking into the cold and cruel green eyes of the man I made a deal with nine years, three hundred and fifty-one days ago. General Andrew Patterson.The man who caught me alongside the military and threatened every shifter with death if I didn’t agree to be a lab rat for two years and the remaining eight I was to become an attraction in an aquarium, lovingly called Poseidon’s Underwater Kingdom. I complied and I regret it. The shifters turned their backs on me for my stupidity. They will pay with
Carter POV.“Carty, what’s wrong?” Beth asks me as I watch the woman with violet eyes swimming towards the top of the tank. No doubt to rest and get some air.“Carter!” I blink and take a breath. I look at Beth and smile. Who is the woman in the tank? I have been having dreams of a woman with raven hair and violet eyes, and now I’ve found her. Is this destiny? Fate? I’m not sure all I know is I need to get close to her.“Sorry, baby, what did you say?” I smile softly at Beth as she snuggles into my side, but it doesn’t feel right having her in my arms. So I move back and stand beside her instead.“I was saying this room is the perfect backdrop for the engagement party tonight. After all, you are one of the biggest benefactors of the institute.” I grimaced at that. It’s hypercritical that I Carter Montgomery, who is the CEO of Montgomery Fishing Corp, is a benefactor to protect endangered species of marine life.“Yeah, sure. Beth, who is the woman in the tank?” I ask as I jut my chin f
Asteria POV.What the fuck was Fenrir doing there? I shriek as I run fast. Everything moves in a blur as I smell the salt in the ocean’s air. My home, I whimper as I push on harder, faster as I turn and run towards the beach. Gun’s fire behind me, I turn my head and see military vehicles in pursuit. I smirk. The power I lost is slowly returning. I need the water.The waves crash and a rumble of thunder moves across the sky. I smile as my chest heaves. I jump over the barricade and land in the sand. Tears leave my eyes as I run towards the water. More gun fire, I scream as I’m hit but I growl and keep moving. The humans didn’t learn.I run into the water and wade as far as I can. A helicopter hovers overhead and I dive. I keep swimming as the vibration from above moves closer. Divers enter the water. Firing towards me.I shriek as the shift takes over. My legs fuse together, my talons erupt and webbing forms. My gills split across my neck. I dive further down.“I, queen Asteria, the fi
Carter POV.Standing on the beach, I’m shocked at the carnage that surrounds me, the heat of the trucks that are in flames and the bodies on the floor. I move closer just as Fenrir comes back to me.“You said you needed to speak to me. What the fuck is going on?” I shout, and he looks at me with pity.“As you know, shifters are real. She is a siren. Asteria is what we call a mate. She is your soulmate. However, Asteria has just declared war. Not only on the humans, but us, too.” Wait. Why?“You said us. Care to explain?” I ask as I look out towards the ocean, not bothering with the surrounding carnage.“You are a shifter. I am a God, a werewolf who can change also to a Lycan. You would have heard about Gaia.” He says and I nod my head.“I am her father. I am Fenrir. I was the wolf of hell, the harbinger of death. However, I passed the title to her when she turned 18. The moon goddess Selene is my twin sister. Her mate is called Lycaon. He is a Lycan. You are from his bloodline.” I sta
Asteria POV.What was I thinking when I kissed him? Gods above. I launch out of the water and sit on my favourite rock. This is such a mess. I should have never agreed to any of this. Look where it got me.It got me betrayed by the humans, by the shifters. I should have let the military destroy them all.“Asteria.” I look at the water and see Artemis as she moves closer to me and I burst into tears. She pulls herself up on the rock next to me and we hug each other.I sob like a baby. A sob of pain and relief. The pain of losing Shanti, the relief of knowing Artemis, was ok. The weight of what I did to save those I thought gave a shit about me. I was wrong, so fucking wrong. I paid the ultimate price, doing what I believed was right.I gave up my freedom so they could keep theirs, but the price that I paid was losing the girl I raised. I lost my sanity, my home, my people. All for what? So the other shifters could carry on with their lives blissfully unaware of the suffering that I end
Carter POV.I wake up on a sofa. Fenrir talks to the alpha and his luna. I know them because we have worked together before, but I never thought I would be here because my mate is, one a siren and two a fucking psychopath.“Perla, Perla, where are you going?” Alpha Javier’s voice pulls me back to the present as I watch his luna run outside.“What is happening?” I ask as I watch the luna run faster.“We need to follow her. Something isn’t right. It was like she was in a trance.” Javier runs and shifts into his large black wolf and I stop in my tracks and he looks at me, nods his head and we run. Fenrir’s beast picks me up and throws me and I land on his back on my stomach, winded as I try to catch my breath.“Hang on, Carter, until you shift. You won’t be able to catch up with us.” I hold on to his black fur as we chase after alpha Javier, his pack warriors and beta following behind in their wolf forms. You would think I would be terrified, but it’s not the first time I have seen them
Carter POV.“News just in that sirens are very real and are a threat to everyone. We have reports that sirens have attacked many fishing towns up the east coast. Citizens are reminded to stay away from the areas. No-one knows why these beautiful yet deadly shifters have attacked. But one thing is for sure, they are dangerous. The governments are in talks with the military about the siren threat. We will have more as the story breaks.”I watch the news presenter on the screen as footage is shown of sirens destroying small fishing tows and killing both shifters and human alike. It has been two months since Asteria declared war and she is making good on that threat.“Carter, we need to get your Lycan to come forward. Only you can stop her.” Lycaon says from the chair next to my sofa. I shake my head.“How? She will try to kill me again.” I say as I watch the carnage on the screen. However, Asteria isn’t with them. Where is she?“I think we can use magic to make that happen.” I turn to th