Asteria POV.I leave the car with Carter at my side as we walk towards his company, Montgomery Fishing Corp. the last time I was here. Well, let’s say it was a bloody encounter. I take a few breaths as I walk in behind Carter.I walk with my head held high and my shoulders relaxed. I’m wearing the pencil skirt and blouse Carter brought for me, as well as the black high heels. My hair in is a messy bun on the top of my head and I’m wearing glasses to finish the look. According to Carter, it will divert the attention from my violet eyes. I didn’t argue; I know I will be shown hostility because it’s not everyday you see someone with violet eyes.I walk side by side with him as the workers in the office stop and look at us; I don’t even glance at them as we walk past them. Carter says his hellos and I just look around, taking in my new surroundings.Ok Asteria, you can do this! I say as Carter senses my unease. He steps in front of me, blocking me from the others in the room.“You will be
Carter POV.It has been a few weeks now since Asteria has begun working at the company. She thinks I don’t see the hostility she has been shown by my staff; she is wrong.Jerome has helped where he can. She showed us what we missed and how we can all benefit from what she had suggested. It is safe to say that Jerome has seen her in a different light.I enter the office and hear her giggling at something Jerome has said, and she is explaining something. I stand and listen to her.“No, we sometimes use spears, not nets.” She says as she shows him something. I watch as he looks at her like she is crazy.“But the blood, doesn’t that attract sharks and other predators?” I move further into the room and listen. Asteria laughs, holding her belly.“Sharks and other predators. Gods above, the sirens are an apex predator. In both the water and on land. Animals on land and in the sea know this. The sirens create balance. We only hunt what we need. The sirens don’t need to use nets to catch the f
Asteria POV.I’m standing on top of a hill looking over the glistening blue waters. I hear laughter coming from behind me. I turn and see a black-haired little girl running with a boy. I smile at the image.“Janny, stop! I can’t run that fast!” the little girl laughs as she pushes faster away from the boy. They both run past me and I follow behind them down the hill towards the village. I stop in my tracks when I see her. My mother.She catches the girl who I know is my much younger self as I try to run past her. With a squeal, she sweeps me up into the air, away from my brother.“There you are, my little sea flower. Where have you been?” she coos and kisses my cheek before she sets me on my feet.“Janny was chasing me. We were racing. I won, mamma. I did it.” I laugh as Janis picks me up and hugs me. Before they take off again. I walk closer to my mother and look at her.She is beautiful, brown eyes and olive skin, long deep brown hair that is nearly black, the sun catching red under
Carter POV.Watching Asteria fight and argue with her father was something else. I knew she needed to get this off her chest, so I wasn’t going to intervene. I know Asteria can handle herself. Even so, I will be there for her.“Asteria is going to leave.” Lykos says in my head with a whimper when I see her turn to walk back to the steps.“We will be there no matter what she needs, but she isn’t leaving.” I say to him as he hums. Asteria moves closer to me, and I wrap a blanket around her shoulders. Her full lips are slightly blue, and her legs are shaking. I move aside for her, and she follows me in. I move towards the kitchen and make us both a drink.She is sitting on the sofa. Her elbows were on her knees with her face in her hands.“Asteria, I got you this.” I hand her the mug, and she smiles at me and takes it. And visibly shivers with the heat of the mug and sits, bringing her legs up onto the sofa. I sit beside her but give her some space. She blows the steam from the mug and t
Asteria POV.Horror and shame wash over me as Carter places me in the shower. The slight cramping in my stomach makes me groan out as I clutch my stomach.“It’s ok Asteria. This is normal for human women.” I snap my head to him as he enters the shower behind me. I try to scramble away, but he stops me.“Look at me, Asteria, you have nothing to be ashamed about. This is called a period. It is your monthly cycle.” I blink rapidly at his words as I tilt my head to the side.“Period, what is its purpose? Why does it hurt?” I ask him as I whimper. I move to the floor and curl up in a ball as the hot water beats down on me, offering me very little relief.“Every month, human women go through this cycle. It is completely normal. The purpose is to shed the old lining.” I look up at him.“What old lining?” I ask through gritted teeth as the dull ache continues. Whatever this period thing is, I feel like I’m dying and I’m sure I will with the amount of blood that I am losing.“Your womb, when y
Carter POV.“What the fuck Dani? Why did you tell her you are my girlfriend?” Dani rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest. She is in no way shape or form my girlfriend. She is a girl who is my friend, not the other kind.“Oh please Carter, you know what I meant. Didn’t you want to see how she felt about you, well I think it is safe to say you have your answer. Besides, Jerome told me she is a nice person.” I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose.Jerome and Danielle are engaged, and he has told her about Asteria, well not everything about her but the basics. Dani doesn’t know that Asteria is or was a siren. The less she knows, the better, especially when it was Asteria who nearly killed Jerome.“No, you have just made it worse. She was finally coming out of her shell and you have to pull a dumb stunt like that.” She rolls her eye again and I swear to all that is good if she was a man, I would knock her ass out.“Carter, it worked. Yes, I shouldn’t have sat on your lap, but y
Asteria POV.Walking along the path to the settlement. I stop and turn to look at the glistening waters across from me. The sun is high in the sky. I lower my head in defeat and turn to continue my journey towards the settlement.I follow the path around and the cabins come into view. The only sounds are the birds in the surrounding trees, no sound of the children playing or the residents chatting or doing their daily routines. The place is abandoned.I walk into the middle of the settlement and it looks how it always has, yet I know I’m here on my own. I sigh and walk towards the cabin of the chief. My feet ache as I walk up the wooden steps and open the door.I step inside and look around and everything is in its place; I walk to the windows and open them. Dust lines the surfaces. I run my finger over the window-sill and fight the need to cry. The sting in my nose tells me I am fighting a losing battle.I blink rapidly and take a few breaths to stop the tears from falling as I move
Carter POV.I pace in the office. I have not been able to relax, and I didn’t sleep well last night knowing how badly I fucked up. I don’t know where she went or if she is ok. I only hope I will see her soon. I tried getting in touch with Gaia last night, but I couldn’t reach her. Even her mate Calista couldn’t tell me where she was. So now I have to wait and hope Asteria comes to me.The office door opens and I turn with a smile, thinking it’s Asteria, but my smile slips off my face when I see Jerome standing there looking at me with an eyebrow raised.“Well, I heard you fucked up. What were you thinking? Dani told me everything and let me tell you, I gave her up and down the banks. You are both like children.” He says and I growl at his tone with me. And he just tilts his head and points a finger at me.“You can stop that shit, right now Carter. Or is it Lykos? You are both to blame for her leaving you,” he says, and I sit in my chair.Everyone in the company knows I am a Lycan, no
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