Asteria POV.It has been a few weeks since we arrived back and each day Carter is slipping and no matter what I do; he pushes me further away.I have gone to sleep on my own but have woken in his arms, but I know it’s Lykos and not him.Jerome has been here every day, and they have argued, and Carter has told him to leave and never come back. I have explained to Jerome what is happening with Carter and he has told me that he will be there for us both, even if Carter completely gives in to Sephone and her song.I have been able to find out what song it is she has used. Artemis came and told me that my suspicions were right. That the song Sephone is using is a new song. It is a combination of the song we used to calm and the song to lure. But she has added compulsion to it. To say I’m fucking angry is an understatement. Only the queen can use compulsion, and she isn’t the queen because I still live.Everyday Carter becomes more distant and I find him standing by the water looking out ov
Asteria POV.“We are sorry for not coming to you sooner. We always knew you were out there. When Poseidon brought us back the day he turned you, we told him not to say anything to you. I wish we hadn’t, then you would have been with us sooner. But if we did, you wouldn’t have become the queen you were meant to be. The world will bow to you,” he says, and I can’t help but think how things would have been different.“The impulse would have been the same. The need for revenge. I held it for so long. I watched you all die, papa. I was ready to join you all. The day he came to me, I was waiting for death. Then he gave me the choice. I chose. I don’t regret it. But the lust and the need for the death of the humans consumed me and it got out of hand. As you can see.” I say with a chuckle as I wave my hands in a dramatic flourish over myself. He chuckles before he kisses my head.“You did what you needed to do. You fought for what you thought was right. It is in your nature. Don’t lose that p
Carter POV.Waking in the morning, I was alone. I sit up and rub my head. What the fuck happened last night?“Lykos, Lykos, are you there?” I ask as my head splits with pain.“You motherfucker. Do you know what you have done?” He roars at me and I clutch my head. What is he on about?“What do you mean? I haven’t done anything.” I say to him when he roars in my head before he whines and whimpers.“You fucked Bethany and Sephone. You blocked me out. You bastard, you have destroyed her. You have destroyed my MATE!” My eyes widen as I climb out of bed and see I’m naked and I find the odd piece of clothing that doesn’t belong to Asteria. No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t. It was Asteria I was having sex with. It was her face and body I was seeing.I stagger out of the bedroom, one hand clutching my head, the other the doorframe as I open her bedroom door and it’s empty. The bed is still made. Her scent is no longer in the room.“I wouldn’t do that, Lykos. It was her I was seeing.” I say my brain fe
Asteria POV.Watching as Carter walks away from the settlement. I have a pain in my chest at how he looks so dejected.Fenrir placed an illusion around the settlement. Similar to the one in Hell. He could walk right past me and wouldn’t see, feel, or smell me. My father places his hand on my shoulder as I watch Carter disappear into the forest.I turn and face my father, who smiles softly down at me.“It will be ok, you love him. The pain you feel now. Will lessen over time. He doesn’t deserve you, Asteria.” I can’t help but feel that what he is saying is wrong. I know he was under the influence of the song. But I don’t think I can move past this. Can I forgive him when it wasn’t him?“Thank you for being there, father. I’m sorry for everything I have said to you and done. But right now, we need to prepare. She has shown her hand and has used her greatest weapon against me. She will believe that I have ran. She will believe she has won. But she has won nothing but my rage. She will kn
Asteria POV.The shriek of sirens wakes me. I climb out of bed and move through the cabin and see the sirens and wolves getting into formation.“They are here.” I turn and grab my clothes and get changed quickly as I head back out, throwing my hair into a bun. I grab a spear from one of the wolves, passing out weapons. I move through the formation to stand at the front.I turn and face them all.“Today will go down in history. The fight for Moonlight Cove. The fight for humanity against the usurper Sephone. The siren I once called my sister. May the gods bless us with victory and allow us to send them to hell. For Moonlight Cove.” I raise my spear and howls and shrieks echo around me as I turn and twirl the spear above my head before I slam it down into the ground.“MOVE OUT!” I scream as I grab it up and walk forward towards the treeline. The vibration of feet travels through the earth as I look up as a storm begins to form and I smirk.“Father!” I say as we move further down towards
Carter POV.My world collapsed when Sephone thrust that spear into Asteria’s back. Lykos roared in pain as he had felt it. Something was telling me to take her to the water and when I did. I never expected her powers to return.And boy, did they return. She seemed stronger than before. The hardest part of all this was watching her leave with her people and family. Knowing I may never see her again.I watched, and I waited at the shoreline with the wolves. All of us waiting and watching for any sign that she was coming back.“She will be back. Just give her time, Carter. She needs this. She saved that little boy by once again sacrificing herself.” Destinee says to me and I turn to look at her. Her wolf, Aura, is beautiful and is so strong.“Where did that boy even come from?” I ask her when she looks behind me and I turn and smile, seeing the little boy being embraced by his sobbing family.“His family had nowhere to go, so they stayed. He left the house wanting to go to the beach. Not
Asteria POV.Swimming away from him is the hardest thing I have ever done. I fight the urge to turn around and swim back. I flick my fin harder and faster as I move effortlessly through the water when I hear it. The cries of Katrina. The killer whale from the aquarium.I open the mind link to my people, telling them to meet me there. I made a promise and I will fulfil it tonight.I swim closer and wait for my people to arrive. I breach the surface and see the aquarium in front of me. I swim towards the gates that separate the ocean to the whale and dolphin enclosure tanks.This gate is in a separate area from the main tanks, so they can’t escape unless it is opened. It can’t be opened from here.“Asteria, what are we doing here?” I turn and smile at my parents and brother.“I made a promise and I need to keep it.” I say before I dive back down and swim towards the access road. I drag myself up and let the shift take hold. I stand and no sooner do I stand. I look down and see I’m in cl
Carter POV.“Carter, are you listening?” I turn away from the window and back to Jerome. I nod my head at him and he sighs as he moves closer to me.“She will be ok. You saw the news she was so bad ass releasing all the fish. I was cheering for her. Dani laughed, seeing Asteria wave at the cameras.” He says and I smile. It was all over the news what the sirens did. It is still mentioned even now. People wonder where the sirens went and have reported possible sightings, but nothing concrete.Animal activists are calling her a hero, for saving them. I couldn’t agree more. She is a hero not just to the fish and mammals, but to the town. The news also covered the war and what she did. The reporters interviewed the boy and his family, Asteria, has been named a hero of humanity.“I know, it’s just hard. She isn’t in the area and none of the sirens have been seen since that day. It has been nearly a year and no word from her or any sightings.” I tell him when he pats my shoulder, his lips in
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