The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

RYKER'S POV

There was a chill breeze in the air that felt unnatural. It was almost like a warning, telling me about everything that could go wrong. Juan was beside me, silent but equally tense. The horses moved slowly, almost as if they also could sense the danger. It was in the air, swirling around us, threatening to choke whatever good was left.

“What if you chose wrong?” Juan asked and I stilled. I had thought about it, debated it actually, the truth was, I wasn't sure. “Do you think they would know that you came looking or can we just head out to the other spot?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know them like I would love to. I don’t make assumptions that I cannot back up by fact.”

“This is a dangerous game you are playing, Ryker. We are facing an enemy that has nothing to lose and those are the most dangerous foes.”

“She has her child.”

He snorted. “I don't know why, but I believe the idea of them not being great parents. A lot of us wolves would do the same thing," I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “That isn't to say that we aren't good parents, we would just choose our mates over our children. She picked her husband over her child.”

I thought about it for a second but I didn’t even need to think about it for long, if it came down to it, I was going to pick Camilla. I wasn’t sure if that made me a bad father or not, but it was what I would have done. I wasn't sure I could live without Camilla, I couldn't even imagine life without her.

“The mate bond is a powerful thing," was my answering response and he hummed in agreement. “How is Christine? How do you feel about the babies?”

“Honestly, I was preparing for one kid, two is a little more than I bargained for but it is exciting nonetheless. I want a family with her and it seems like it will be a good challenge, I just don't know if it is one I'm ready for. Were you ready for your girls?"

I snorted. “I found out about Audrey when she was three and I was not ready for Aurora in the least. I don't think anyone is ever ready for children, it is just something that happens. You will be a good father”

“I know I will,” it wasn't over confidence or pride, he was just stating a fact. “I just hope there is a world for my children to come into.”

“I guess we will find out,” I gestured firward towards the sea. It was only a distance away, I could already see the marsh. “I think we should dismount here. I don't want to startle them.” “Somehow, I think that they already know we are here."

Neither of us said anything as we got off the horses. The air almost seemed colder the closer we got to the edge of the water. I convinced myself that the water had something to do with it, but I couldn't help but know that it was something else. There was old magic running through the veins of the waters and it almost seemed to sing out to me. We were only a few feet away from the stream when I heard a piercing scream.

I slammed both hands over my ears trying to rid myself of the sound but it was coming from somewhere deep within my mind. It was inside of me and I couldn't get it out. I felt Juan's hands on my shoulders as he tried to figure out what was happening but I couldn't hear him, the sound was too much. I looked up at him, relieved that he had his ear plugs in. I knew that whatever I could hear was coming straight from the sirens.

“They're here,” I managed out and he must have read my lips because his eyes grew guarded. “I need ear plugs.”

He handed me some and despite putting them in, I could still the reverberating scream in my brain. It wasn't as bad as before, but it was there. Juan was watching me with concern and apprehension as I slowly made my way towards the edge of the water. It wasn't the cleanest I had seen but it also wasn’t the nastiest.

“Please,” I whispered as I put a hand in the water. I wasn't sure how I knew what to do. “I know you're grieving and I know I am arguably the last person you want to see right now but I want to talk to you."

The scream stopped almost immediately and I felt relief for the first time in minutes, that was until I felt the air shift. It went dark, and I felt a tension in the air that hadn't been there before. The hair on my hands stood on edge and I felt something bitter and tart bubble up in my chest. I knew instantly that it wasn't mine, it was coming from someone else, something else. I looked down at my hand still submerged in the water and pulled it back. Almost immediately, the feeling stopped. I knew instantly that it belonged to the siren. It was her anger and it was directed

at me.

I instantly opened the mind link between Juan and I. “Step back, now. She is coming.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Step back!”

No sooner than I had said that, the water erupted in a huge wave. It splashed everywhere, getting all over my skin and clothes. I was drenched from head to toe but I didn't sway, didn't move back at all. I couldn't cower, not now and not in the face of her anger. For the first time, I took in the female siren. She had hair that looked like it had been spun straight from the depths of the ocean. Her eyes were bottomless pits the color of the waves of the sea and I noticed her bottom half was no longer that of a man, it was a tail, the same color as her hair. “Why shouldn't I kill you right now?” she snarled as she stared so hard, it felt like she was seeing directly into my soul. “You took something from me."

I realized as she spoke that her lips didn’t move once, she spoke directly into my mind. I wasn't sure if it was an after effect of hearing her voice or if it was just a power that she possessed. “You would have killed me if I didn't kill you,” I said simply and I expected anger from her, but all I got in return was cold amusement. “I defended myself.”

She shrugged. “That doesn’t change the fact that you killed my husband and I will have my revenge.”

“You have no moral high ground for revenge.”

The corner of her lips tugged up into a smirk. “Who said anything about morality? I have take everything you hold dear and I will make you watch as I drain the life from your-"

“Do not threaten my family," I snarled and for the first time, I saw something akin to worry flash across her eyes. “You came to my family when you didn’t need to. You attacked us unprovoked, you tried to have me killed and you used your magic on me."

“You are one to talk about magic. Why are you here?”

“I don’t want to fight you, I have no interest in adding one more defeated foe to my history. Our species do not need to be at war, we have peacefully coexisted without having to interact with one another. I see no reason why there should be a fight."

Her lips curved. “It is only a fight if both parties have equal chances of winning. I have no interest in fighting your pack or your species. Neither does my species have any interest in a war. We sirens are people of peace, we only attack strays who wander into our territory.”

“l am no stray and you know that.”

“You are right about that,” she hummed flicking her tail in the water. “You were brave for coming here. Most men wouldn't dream of coming to their place of death yet you walked in willingly”

“Because I have no interest in dying, and I know you have no interest in killing me."

“You are smart,” she laughed humorlessly and sat up straighter. “My daughter is asleep right now. She would love to receive a gift from the people who murdered her father. You came here for peace, right? Let me give you my conditions for peace. I want you to hurt the way I do. I want you to feel my loss. I want your mate."

“That will never happen.”

She looked behind me and nodded towards Juan. “I want his then. I know you won't give up yours so easily, but he wouldn't have to know. I can come in and pretend like it is a battle, I will kill her and leave.”

Her voice was almost calming, like she was singing to me. There was a lull in my brain until felt something like a charge and I knew exactly what she had been trying to do to me. I knew what she wanted. I moved before she could speak. One hand shot out and shadows slithered out wrapping around her throat. Her words were cut off mid-sentence and in that moment, I would have killed her with no hesitation. She knew that too because the next thing I knew, she was diving under the waves again. I couldn't see her and I couldn't kill what I couldn't see. “What happened?” I heard Juan's voice in my head. “What did you talk about? What did she say?”

“Nothing,” I lied. I couldn't tell him what she had asked of me. “We need to get out of here. There is no hope for peace.”

We walked off towards our horses and I was one step away from mine when I heard her voice again.

“You should have taken my offer when you could, Ryker Caine. I will destroy you and I will take both women and you will do nothing about it"