The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

RYKER'S POV

There was a buzzing underneath my skin, like a presence that didn’t want to leave, it was a constant reminder of the magic flowing through my veins. It was unusual at first and a tad bit uncomfortable but now, it was just annoying. With everything going on, it was very easy to lose my cool but the moment I lost control of my emotions, I lost control of the magic too. If Camilla hadnt been with me in the council chambers, I would've lost control and I couldn't have that.

Not right now, not when we were fighting an enemy outside. The last thing I wanted to do was to make the people divert their attention from the real enemy and onto me. People tended to fear what they couldn't understand and I couldn't expect anyone to understand the fact that I currently possessed the same magic that Reina did. Even I found it hard to believe sometimes especially after killing that male siren but I did it for the right cause and that was more than enough for me.

I wasn't going to hide it forever, that was never the plan, I just needed to keep it hidden and controlled long enough until we had nothing to worry about. It was going to take some getting used to and slow acclimatization to get the people used to it but I knew it was something I could do. The people were reasonable and they loved us, but fear was a powerful weapon and right now, there was too much fear for them to think straight. At that moment, they were in survival mode and threatened animals only knew how to do one thing- strike.

“I'm here," Juan announced as he walked into my office. I had asked for his help to try and figure out which sea the sirens could be in. There were three of them and I didn't want to risk sending innocent guards to their deaths. “I got all the notes you asked me to get on the seas and the areas around them. I hope you know what you are doing, Ryker"

I hesitated for a moment before responding. “I hope so too.”

No one wanted the sirens gone more than Juan and I. He had a pregnant mate and I knew it had been worrying him badly that there was so much going on that could potentially put her in danger. I had told him that it was fine if he decided it was best for him and Christine to leave and settle somewhere else but all he did was snort in my face and ask what I needed for him to do. I had never thought I would have another friend in my life but juan was someone I didn't know I needed until he came into my life.

“I have been going through the books about sirens,” I said gesturing to the stack of books I had taken from the private library. “They are a very secretive species so not much is known about them. It is said that once you go down to a sirens home, you will never return. All the information we have is from sirens who have been captured before but it is taken with a grain of salt because sirens are known manipulators.”

“So it could either be completely true or completely false,” he deduced and I nodded. “Alright then, I want to hear it.”

“Excluding their supernatural strength, speed and regenerative habits, it is said that sirens. love the clean and open water. They prefer to move in the deep waters which makes it difficult for their prey to escape. They can usually be found in the open sea and they prefer isolated bodies of water. They have tight familial bonds but they also are not good parents. Sirens will t*****e their own kids so that they can remain with their respective spouses. They also mate for life.”

“Does it say how to kill them?” Juan asked and I nodded.

“They can die like any other mortal creature. They can be decapitated and they can die from blood loss although the last is very tricky because of how fast they regenerate. In their human form, they are at their weakest. If you get a siren in their true form, they are almost impossible to beat. You can also turn a sirens powers back on themselves by singing their own song back to them. It heightens their animalistic tendencies and it causes them to lose control. They could even kill themselves.”

“How do we sing the song to them if it is something that we cannot even hear ourselves? IF we listen to it, we are lost. How do we know what to sing back?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled as I ran my hands through my hair. “But using this information, we are looking for the cleanest possible sea and the largest."

Juan walked over to the map that was open in front of us and dropped a pin in a spot. “That is the cleanest and largest sea that is close to this pack,” he paused for a second and took another pin and placed it on the opposite side of the map. “But if that was all lies, then that is the murkiest, the smallest and the most visited by people.”

“If we choose wrong then!" I trailed off, I didn't even need to finish my sentence, he knew. “What do you think?” “I think you have to make this decision by yourself. It isn't something that I can make for you, I'm sorry."

I thought about it for a second. I didn’t know anything else about sirens except what was in the books and I was normally a stickler for the rules, it was in my nature to just go with what the books said but another part of me, a softer and quiet side told me to go with the opposite. It was like an impossible question because this wasn't just about me anymore, it was about everyone in this entire palace. I couldn't make the wrong choice, I could be damning everyone to a death sentence.

I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply as I pointed to one of the pins. “This one.”

We prepared to move by evening. Sirens had extraordinary eyesight from being able to swim underwater and while I should have been looking for something to our advantage, I was deliberately going with the opposite. I wanted them to feel safe, I wanted them to feel like they had the advantage over us. I wanted to avoid a war and I was going to do everything possible to make sure that it didn't get bloody although a part of me told me I was wasting my time. Dinner was a tense affair, the women knew we were doing something but they didn’t know what and that was exactly how I wanted it. They wouldn't even look us in the eye, Camilla just sat next to me with her expression set in a permanent frown. The tension was so thick and tangible that even the kids didn't speak, they just sat there in uncomfortable silence. I wanted to speak, to try and ease the tension but even I didn’t know what to say.

By the time dinner was over, Camilla and I put the girls in bed but she didn't speak to me once. The moment we were out of Audrey's room, she tried to brush past me but I grabbed her arm. “Please stop."

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Stop what exactly? I haven't done anything so if you would please let me go."

“I need to do this,” I whispered softly but that seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever. “I need to see if peace is an option.”

“It isn't," she spat. It was at that moment I realized exactly what the issue was. She wasn't pissed off at me, she was worried. I cupped her cheeks and stroked my thumb across her skin softly and I felt her shiver against me. “You shouldn't be going out there, especially not with guards.”

“I don’t want her to think that we are attacking them or coming there for an ambush. I want this to be on their own terms”

“This is insane, I will be the first to tell you that this is a suicide battle. She will kill you."

“Then the battle will be over," I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth and the moment they did, Camilla pulled back from me. “Baby-"

She held up a hand to stop me. “You are going out there with the intention to die, aren't you?” “I don't want to die.”

“Don’t lie to me,” she hissed. “It might not be your first choice but if it comes then you will accept it with open arms. You bastard. Would you have just left me here to wait for you to return home?”

“I'm sorry,” I began but she was past the point of listening to me.

She slapped my chest hard repeatedly until I realized there were tears streaming down her face. I cursed and pulled her closer into my embrace. She mumbled something under her breath that was indiscernible but I didn’t care in that moment, I was worried about her.

“I'll come back," I promised her. A few minutes ago, I wouldn't have cared but right now, I had to return. “I will do everything in my power to return.”

“No, you will go above and beyond to return because I swear to the goddess, if you don't come back, I will go down to the afterlife and drag you back myself, do you hear me?"

The corner of my lips tilted up as I nodded. “I hear you loud and clear”

“This isn’t funny,” she mumbled but I could see that she was trying and failing to hide her smile. “I'll be waiting up for you."

“Don't,” I began but she rolled her eyes.

“I will be waiting," she repeated the words to let me know that she didn't give a shit about my refusal. “Christine probably will be too so you would do well to bring Juan back in one piece as well.”

“will”

Camilla sighed before taking a step back from me. “You should go now, before it gets too late”