Asteria POV.I don’t know how long I have been in this tank or where I am. All I know is the room is dark and I’m back wearing a fucking muzzle like a rabid dog. The only people I see don’t look at me and wear ear defenders. They come in to feed me on a long pole. Not that I can leap out of the tank when my wrists are shackled to the bottom of the damn thing. I tried to use my tail against the glass, but it didn’t work. The shackles are made from something that I can’t break.They haven’t used the little sonic device which sits at the bottom of the tank next to me. I look down and see my scales are losing their shine, and are peeling like the skin on a snake when it sheds. I know one thing, though I haven’t shifted into my human form since the day I saved my people from the facility. The days blur together. I’m slowly losing my damn mind.I bang the glass to get someone’s attention, but no one is there. I keep banging and banging for what feels like hours when I give up and give in to
Carter POV.“Where is your father keeping Asteria?” I look at Bethany, who is tied to a chair, blood trickling down her face as she looks at me. Her gaze is hard as she smirks at me, spitting her blood onto my face.The door to the hut opens and in steps a woman with blonde hair. Her eyes are red and I nod at her as she saunters towards us in her black high heels, wearing black leather pants.“Give it up Carter, I won’t say a damn word, you fucking traitor. But know this when my daddy is finished with her you will never find her corpse.” She chuckles when the blonde moves at lightening speed and grabs Bethany by her hair and growl in her face.“Is that so? Well then, I guess we have no use for you then. What do you say, Carter? Shall we just kill this bitch now?” She says with a smirk on her face as she looks at me over her shoulder.“No, we need her alive to get Asteria back.” The blonde clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes.“You are no fun at all.” She says as she sits on Bethany’s
Asteria POV.“You want to know why I killed your wife?” I ask him and he nods his head. He was never told why, only that she got too close to the tank and I killed her. That is not the whole truth.“Why now Andrew?” I ask him and he leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees.“Please Asteria. I have to know why,” he says, his voice laced with hurt. I look away and close my eyes.“You wife was a lovely woman. She was kind to me. She would come and see me nearly daily. We would talk about what life was like under the water. How I have seen the world change over the years. She told me about her life growing up and that it was difficult for her. Then one day, she came when you were away.” I open my eyes and turn to look at him. His eyes watching me.“She didn’t look the same. She was different, frail. She came closer and opened the lid of the tank and, like always, I swam up to greet her. I looked at her and her face was thinner and grey. Her eyes were dull, and I knew she was in pain
Asteria POV.Today is the day. I will save my people from all of this. The ultimate sacrifice is to save every last siren on land and in the sea.“Asteria, so do we have to move you by force, or will you go willingly?” One of the soldiers asks as he points a harpoon gun at me.“What time is it?” I ask him, and he looks at the desk, at the clock, and back at me.“Seven pm. Why?” He asks and I smirk before I click my tongue.“What time will the moon be at its highest?” I ask, and he looks at me in confusion.“Tell me or I won’t move.” I say, and he rolls his eyes and grabs his phone and types away.“It says in an hour. Why?” I smile at him and shake my head.“Nothing. Can I have a few more minutes? It has been so long since I have been in a bed. Just a few more minutes, that is all I ask.” I say to him as my eyes flash and he nods his head.“Ok, but you have to promise me you will go back in the tank without a fuss. Deal?” I smile and nod my head at him when he leaves the room, and I sm
Carter POV.“Where is Asteria?” I growl at Bethany as Gaia hits her again. She coughs and chuckles as she spits more blood.“She is tough for a human.” Gaia almost looks impressed. However, I am not. Asteria is going to do something stupid if I don’t get to her before she does. Time is running out. We only have a few hours.“God Carter, you are so stupid. I have already told you where your little mermaid is. You didn’t catch it, though not like we caught her.” She chuckles when Gaia looks at me and I look back at Bethany.“If you told me, I wouldn’t be here. Would I?” I snarled at her when she looks at me, her face swollen and bleeding from the beatings and torture Gaia has inflicted on her.“This isn’t working. Let me try something else.” She says when I look behind me and see Fenrir and Calista standing there with their arms folded over their chests.“Make it quick, Gaia. Don’t do too much damage.” Calista says to her when she smirks and turns to face Bethany again.“You asked for t
Asteria POV.I wake up groaning. I open my eyes and take in the unfamiliar surroundings. This isn’t the institute or any pack. Where am I?I try to move and wince as I clutch my side. I look down and see I’m in a long white shirt and some shorts. I lift the hem of the shirt and see a covering over my side. I poke it and boy, was that a bad idea and gasp at the pain. Fuck!The room is white with one wall that is dark grey. The cover on the bed is white with a black trim. It is so soft and cool. I lean back down as I look around. I can smell something in the air. Something sweet and spicy at the same time. I look towards the window and hear the water. My eyes widen as I rip the covers away and scoot towards the end of the bed and I pull myself up to stand. I stagger and fall to my knees and I scream, clutching my side. I move my hand and see blood. Great, just great.I lean my head back against the bed. When the door opens and I turn my head and sneer at the intruder, when I see it’s Ca
Asteria POV.It has been a few weeks since I handed the title to Artemis. I have been getting stronger. Carter has been taking care of me and I appreciate his efforts. I have discovered something called daytime television.It is strange to be mortal again and even though I have walked amongst the humans for centuries; it is still going to be hard to get used to the fact that I have no powers, nor can I shift. I am a human, the same species I hate and despise the most.I press the button on the remote control and find a steaming service and snuggle down on the sofa as I watch the opening credits of a film. Is this what humans do all day? As much as I want to leave here and find something to do. I have had to get used to my new reality.“What you watching?” I look over at the back of the sofa. I thought being here in Carter’s home would be torture, but I was wrong. He is a good person, and I judged him harshly at first and I shouldn’t have.“Erm, I think it’s called Predator.” I say as
Asteria POV.I’m currently sitting in Carter’s home office as he shows me the statistics of his hauls and I feel myself growl at the numbers in front of me.“You said these lanes are sustainable?” I ask as I look from the high numbers on the paper to his face and he nods his head and I scoff.“They aren’t. The lane you are saying is sustainable isn’t. If I’m being honest with you, none of the lanes that surround Moonlight Cove are sustainable. Who told you they were?” I ask as I look into his eyes and see his eyes flash with his Lycan. Lykos, he isn’t angry with me for severing the bond with them. He understands. I wake some morning in the furry arms of him. At first I screamed and tried to fight, but I am a weak human with no fangs or talons, so I let him hold me and nothing more.“The game and fishing made sure they are sustainable.” He replies and I chuckle, shaking my head at his naivety.“They lied to you. I have been swimming these waters for a very long time and I can tell you
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.“Swim Carter, she is right on your tail.” I shout from the top of the abyss as the meg gains on him. It has been two months since Carter’s and Ione’s training began.I watch as the meg slams her jaws shut as he picks up speed. That was close. The rest of us move along the top, watching the test play out.Carter swims and stops turning. What is he doing? I look at Artemis and she looks at me. When I see him throw the trident towards the meg. She rolls to the side, avoiding it. She gains speed and my eyes widen. When she slams into him and I go to stop it when Artemis holds me back.“Look!” she says and I wait for the sand and debris to settle when I slowly smile, seeing Carter has his hands on her snout. She is wiggling her fin to move forward, but he isn’t budging.Carter has grown in size, strength, and speed. He is a great hunter and fighter.He shoves hard, and she flies back, shaking her head. He moves like a bullet and lands blows to her gills and she roars. Swimming
Asteria POV.It has been a few days since the wedding and the crowning ceremony. The celebration ended yesterday and I’m glad it did.There are only so many times you can shake hands and give kisses before you become tired of it.Selene and Lycaon congratulated us both, and I decided it was high time we drew a line in the sand and move forward without the hostility. Grated the hostility came from me, but still it was time to move forward.Zeus was still a prick and that will never change. Even though it has been just over a week since I gave birth to Ione, she is a lot bigger now and crawling. I wasn’t kidding when I said sirens grow quicker.We think once she hits a few years old in siren time that she will slow her growth down. Last thing we want to come back from her training and her being an adult.Today we start her training, and Fenrir will be in charge alongside Lycaon. Carter enters the bedroom carrying an excited Ione. She has been swimming in her siren form in the bath. We a
Asteria POV.The elders have been on my ass today, and I’m ready to flip out. According to them, it is not traditional for the luna queen to not wear a ballgown! I laughed at the dress.Even Artemis and my mother laughed as I stood there is this dress that looks all puffy and it’s tight around my chest and neck. Gaia counted the layers to this cloud like dress and counted twenty. I look like a fairy. It’s red and gold and really puffy, as Gaia said. I don’t like it.It weighs a tonne too. When I told the elders, I don’t like it that it wasn’t comfortable; they sneered at me, muttering I was a savage, so I did the only thing I could. I tore it to shreds. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t sit down, and I couldn’t fit through the damn door. Being called a savage was the final straw. So I showed them how savage I could be.So here I am with my females around me as they get me ready. My long, wavy raven hair is down flowing against my lower back. I have my coral crown on my head adorned with
Carter POV.Watching Asteria assert her dominance is always fun to watch. He did deserve it and she is right. Even I didn’t like the way he was looking at Ione. If Asteria hadn’t stepped in to protect her when she did, I would have killed him. Lykos was on the verge of shifting when she put him and the others in their place.The bedroom we are in is nice. The wealth of the Lycans is evident. However, it is pretentious. Yes, I have mansions and top of the line supercars, but this. There is too much gold and reds. I get it furnishings fit for a king and his queen, but this is not what I’m comfortable with and, by the looks of it, neither is Asteria.I understand the palace is filled with history but I would like to make some adjustments, but I doubt the elders will be too pleased with that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice, but it’s too much.Asteria is standing on the balcony that looks out over the kingdom and beyond that, the ocean. Ione is having a nap and so it is just the two of us f
Asteria POV.Walking the path towards the Lycan Palace. It hits me that the palace is shielded from the world using an illusion spell. But this is the royal pack.The palace sits in the middle with houses surrounding it, similar to a packhouse. Wolves and Lycans leave their homes to see what is happening as Carter and I, plus our entourage, walk towards the palace.I keep my head high as Carter carries Ione. The wolves and Lycans bow as we pass, showing their respect to us. My eyes connect with a few and they bow lower. We walk up the steps to the palace and come face to face with what I can only assume are the elders.They bow in respect as Fenrir moves closer to us.“Welcome home your majesty, we’re thrilled that you are here.” One of the dusty old men says not acknowledging me. I ignore the disrespect because if I was to act on it, then he would die.I ignore their conversation as I look around, surveying everything when Carter takes my hand, pulling me out of what I’m doing.“Plea
Asteria POV.There hasn’t been a day of peace since before Ione has been born. Now don’t get me wrong, I love seeing everyone, but is it too much to ask for us just to have time together with just the three of us? The only time we get to ourselves is when it’s bedtime.“Fen, just the man I wanted to see,” Carter says as the wolves take their seats and coo over Ione.“Oh-oh, that sounds ominous. What can I do for you both?” Fen asks with a chuckle and I roll my eyes as I lay Ione on my legs. Her feet against my tummy, as I gently sway my knees from side to side as I make silly faces at her, earning me big giggles from her.“We need your help with running the kingdom, well, looking after the kingdom for a couple of months. Ione will begin her training before the end of next week, and I need to be with both her and Asteria. So, would be the interim ruler while we are away?” Carter asks, and I look up at Fen and smile at him.“I will only do it if I get Ione cuddles.” He says as he stands
Carter POV.Words can’t describe what I had witnessed. The birth of my daughter Ione. Asteria handled it like a pro and I now have more respect for the females in the world. It was scary when she started to death roll, but then she pulled Ione free.I saw her tail before Asteria did; I know she was panicked that Ione may not shift. So she didn’t notice that little detail before she took off like a bat out of hell to get to the surface.But here we are in the living room with a sleeping Ione in my arms. Asteria is back to normal. She appears to be stronger than before. She is breastfeeding her but also supplementing her with blended fish. Gross, I know, but sirens feed their children differently. Hence why they are born with teeth and talons.We have had so many visitors over the past few days and Ione has taken it all in her stride. She is a dream, though. She never cries and Asteria said it’s because siren babies don’t cry. She is content and happy. Lykos is in love with her the same
Asteria POV.I wake up in the night wincing in pain. Trying to get comfortable is a nightmare. Odessa has told me she is low in my pelvis, but I knew that already she has been for a while now.I pull myself up and shuffle to the end of the bed and place my feet on the ground and stand. I’m exhausted, but nature calls. I hold my bump with one hand and the wall with the other as I make my way to the bathroom.I’m out of breath and I feel like I’ve run a damn marathon in flip-flops. I move to the toilet and do my business and wash my hands.A low pain spreads across my belly and I brace my hands on the vanity, my chin tucked as I breathe in through my nose and slowly out of my mouth until it passes. Once it does, I stand up straight. I look at the bath in the mirror.I turn slowly and move towards it and turn the water on. Placing the plug in. I strip down. And climb in as the bath fills.Leaning my head back, I place my hands on my bump that pokes out of the water and I hum, the song wa