#4 Moonlight on the Water

Chapter 4: Navy

Why me? What did I do to the Moon Goddess to deserve this? I turned 18 three days before I ran from a stranger on the beach. Somehow, I knew that he was my mate. He smelt like firewood and fresh morning dew. I had no idea what I was supposed to do so I did the only logical thing, I ran.

I ran because three days earlier, on the day I turned 18, I was mated to my childhood best friend, Cameron. How could I be mated to two men of two different species? How could I be mated to a werewolf?

“You need to calm down, Navy, you’re going to boil the ocean.” My sister, Nadia, said from where she was laying in a bed of kelp covered in sunshine.

“I can’t calm down!” I screamed, causing another round of bubbles to burst from my fingers and towards the surface of the water. Nadia raised her hands in surrender,

“Whatever.” She was only sixteen and had about zero good advice for me.

“Nadia, go do something productive, please.” My mother floated into the room and quickly dismissed my sister.

“Navy,” She sighed at me,

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know!” I grumbled in frustration.

“I told you that werewolves are stubborn. You need to reject him.”

“I tried! He wouldn’t let me.” I argued.

“Just say the words and he can’t argue.” My mother put her hands on her hips as she frowned at me. The last thing she wanted was for me to be mated to someone on the surface and have more excuses to leave home.

“Isla, leave her be. It’s Navy’s choice.” My father entered the room, saving me from her raft. Isla grumbled at her mate and left the room with a flick of her tail.

“Your mother just wants what’s best for you, she’s afraid that you’ll leave home.” My father sat down on a rock and motioned for me to sit beside him.

“I know she’s right. It’s not fair to the werewolf to lead him on. I need to reject him.” I sighed.

“Is that what you want?” He asked.

“I have Cameron. Everyone knew he would be my mate. He’s a good guy and he makes me happy. Hudson is going to be King soon, he needs me, too. My family is here.” I rambled on and on, never really answering his question.

“Those are all excuses, Navy.” My father shook his head at me with a knowing smile.

“I don’t know why I can’t just do the right thing.” I pouted.

“Because it might not be the right thing for you. Listen, princess, your home and family will always be here for you. Hudson will take the crown from me when he’s ready and he’ll do just fine on his own. I can’t speak for Cameron, I’m sure that he’s going to be upset, but you can’t make a decision about your entire future based on everyone else’s feelings. You have to do what feels right for you.” My father placed his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.

“Has this ever happened before? A siren mating with a werewolf?” I asked.

“As you know, there was a time when our people ventured to the surface regularly, before the wars and the separation of the species. Back then, there were several interspecies relationships. It was rare, but it happened. But, in more recent times, I know of only one. Your grandmother.” My father’s words shocked me.

“What?”

“My mother mated with a werewolf when she was just 18. She, like you, had a taste for adventure and snuck away to visit the surface world often. That’s where she met a werewolf who became her mate. She left home and lived on the surface for years. Rumor has it, she even had a child with him. But, she longed for her home and her family. She ended up leaving her mate and returning to the ocean, where she was mated to a siren, my father. She never spoke of her time on the surface. It was too painful, I think, to remember her lost mate.” My father explained.

“Well that’s encouraging.” I sulked.

“She made her choice, you have to make yours.” My father kissed my head and then left me alone.

I had always known what my life would be like. I was the eldest princess of the siren. My father, King Nile, and my mother, Queen Isla, had four children. My eldest brother, Hudson, would be the King. Then there was my brother Lachlan, me, and my younger sister, Nadia.

Lachlan mated to a girl in the royal village shortly after he turned 18 and they moved into a cottage of their own in the royal city. Hudson was mated to a daughter of a high society Lord and together they lived in the royal palace, awaiting his coronation day. Nadia was only sixteen, but she was going on 30 and knew it all. She had no patience and no interest in learning royal procedures. She was more interested in her social life and finding a mate.

I was Hudson’s advisor. I had always been interested in royal proceedings and the history of our people and, it turned out, I was pretty good at public speaking and diplomacy, too. Hudson and I quickly became a good team and he chose me as his royal advisor.

Nowhere in that plan was being mated to a werewolf and a siren, and having to decide if I wanted to live on the surface or in the water.

Sure, I loved my adventures on the surface. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a little girl and my father first took me to the beach. The people amused me, the food and smells enchanted me, and the sights and sounds were exhilarating. But, did I really want to live there?

And, yet, no matter how hard I tried to forget about my wolf, I couldn’t. His wild green eyes called to my soul, his large warm hands consumed mine, and his tall, exquisite body hovered over mine like a protective shadow. I was being pulled to him no matter where I was on the surface or the ocean. He was mine and I didn’t want to give him up.