Chapter 4.

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 stagger back and shake my head in disbelief at his words.

“Not possible. I am a human. I’m not a Lycan.” I say, and he chuckles.

“Explain your size, the fact the dead around us have no effect on you. You are a Lycan. Your DNA is dormant. Only Asteria or Lycaon can unlock it. I’m afraid she won’t do that now. She has declared war.” He turns and walks away and I drop to my knees in the sand as my chest heaves with this new information. Everything I ever believed was a fucking lie.

I look out at the ocean again and move to my ass and sit there in the sand. Every ripple I see, I hope it’s her coming back to see me. Does she not feel the same way?

“Carter.” I stiffen at the voice and feel Bethany sit next to me.

“How is your dad?” I ask, not looking at her. She sniffles and tries to climb onto my lap, but I push her away.

“He is ok, he will survive. When I get my hands on that bitch, I will kill her.”

“Don’t touch me. You knew what she was. Why didn’t you tell me?” I feel the anger build in me like something is trying to break free to kill her.

“If I were to tell you what she was, would you have believed me? No, you wouldn’t. You asked me how I got the scars on my shoulders and hip. She did that. She tried to drown me.” I look at her and see the tears in her eyes, as well as malice.

“You must have deserved it. So tell me, Bethany, what did you do to receive her wrath?” I look at her and she sneers at me.

“What she deserved. She is responsible for killing my mother. She killed your father. So I tortured her. My father was studying her. But that all changed when we caught another one. From that day on, she become savage when the female died. She is a monster, and she deserves to die, just like the rest of the filthy shifters.” I growl at her, and her eyes go wide as she moves away.

“Those filthy shifters, as you call you them, are innocent. I hope she kills you and your father. It is what you both deserve.” I stand up and walk towards the water.

“Carter. You don’t mean that she killed your father. We will still get married and together we will destroy them all. But first I want to catch the bitch and I will enjoy playing with her.” I turn and grab her around her throat.

“You stay away from her. I will not hesitate to hand you over to her. After all, it looked like she was only after you and your father. Stay away from this, otherwise you will risk war. Stay away Bethany, unless you want me to kill you now.” A spear misses me as I turn and see her in the water with a few others. Her violet eyes burn brightly in the darkness.

“Asteria.” I whisper. I let Bethany go and move back to the water when a small hand grabs me back.

“Carter, stop, she will kill you.” I watch as Asteria rises up out of the water. She raises her hand to me, beckoning me forward when I see the others in the water move closer towards me.

I see a ghost of a smirk on her lips when she shrieks loudly. I fall clutching my ears and I scream when I see a flash of black and hear a loud splash. I look up and see a black Lycan fighting with her in the water. Asteria launches at it, sinking her sharp teeth into his throat. I move fast to pull her off when I’m hit with her tail and I fall backwards. Sea water rushes up my nose and into my mouth.

I surface with a gasp and a cough as the Lycan is thrown out of the water and crashes into the wreckage of the helicopter. I turn to scramble away when I’m pulled under the water. Bethany screams and I come face to face with Asteria under the water.

She opens her mouth flashing her sharp fangs, when she swims around me she hums something and I watch her. Her talons land on my chest, her face inches from mine. She kisses me passionately. I kiss her back when I feel it her talons sink into my stomach. She pulls back and I look at her in shock.

“I, Queen Asteria, the first siren, reject you Carter Montgomery as my mate and king.” I feel a hot, searing sharp pain in my chest, like my heart is being torn apart. When blood fills my vision when I’m pulled from the water.

I cough and groan in pain as I watch the Lycan transform back into Fenrir. Bethany is screaming as Fenrir drips something into my mouth. The coppery taste of blood. I swallow it and feel my skin knit back together.

“You will be ok. What did she do? Tell me, Carter, what did she do?” I look at him and blink to clear my fuzzy vision.

“She rejected me and tried to kill me.” I say with a wheeze. He growls and looks back towards the water.

“Come, I will take you to the Moonlight Pack.” He helps me stand and I look down and see I’ve healed. I look back out over the water just as more military arrives at the beach.

I see a fin flick in the water and know it was her. My arm is taken as I’m dragged through something like a vacuum and I blink to see I’m standing in the pack. Alpha Javier and his Luna Perla run down the steps. They bow to Fenrir and everything spins and morphs as I fall, hearing a laugh echo in my head.

“Asteria.” I allow the darkness to swallow me.