Page 38 of Siren's Kiss & Feral Beasts
The cliffs rear up jagged from the sea, and black stone was carved by years of storms. A large jungle spills from the island’s heart—full of trees and wildlife—while smoke curls from the pack’s hearth fires as they await our return.
My domain. My family.
On the shoreline, I make out my beta waiting. He’s been made aware of our return by the watchers, wolves who welcome and report on activity beyond our shores.
Veris smiles as we near, broad and steady, a wolf carved of iron and one I trust with my life. He should’ve been with me on this run, but his mate was too close to her due date, and his place was here, welcoming his pup—a new life—into the pack.
“Alpha.” He shows me his neck as I step onto the dock, the exhausted smile of a new father on his face. “My little Ophelia is strong and healthy with the cries of a warrior. Martha rests well.”
I clap his shoulder, pride mixing with relief. “Congratulations, cousin. May she be blessed by the goddess, and her howl one day shake the mountains.”
“Thank you, Kai. That means a lot to us.” The smile drops from his face when he sees the three injured disembark, still a little weak. The glass pulled from Torren’s side needs to be examined for poison. “What the hell happened? You just went to pick up supplies and your sword?—”
“Send word to my father and grandfather. I want them in the stone hall immediately.”
His brows furrow, catching the bite in my tone, but he doesn’t ask. My beta nods, then rushes off to help his brethren and tell the prior alphas that they’ve been summoned.
The stone hall sits at the heart of the island, carved from volcanic rock long before my time. It’s where all alphas, past and present, meet with their elders or pack members with leadership roles. Even visiting territory chiefs meet here when I summon them to discuss treaties or intercept bad judgment calls—the removal of someone who oversteps.
This is for diplomacy, while Isle San Tico is where I spill blood.
When I step inside its sacred walls, the torches dance. Shadows move, and the silence is as still as my father’s position near the wall. His arms are crossed, face serious, while my grandfather sits like a king without a throne. Old, but unbroken, and his eyes are as sharp as the day he taught me about wolves and magic.
I don’t waste time.
“Did you know?’ I ask them, my tone hard. A tinge of bitterness coats each word. “Did you know my mate would be a siren?” Neither speaks, but my father shifts uncomfortably. Minute as it is, I catch the twitch of his hands and the small shuffle back of his feet. My grandfather, though, the old wolf, doesn’t react. Instead, his gaze on me is steady and unblinking. “Why?”
“Son, you need to understand that?—”
“They have the Cordis Lux. The stone is gone.”
At that, a look passes between both men, and for the first time in years, my grandfather looks unsettled…
14
KAI
Ephraim Daire is a strong wolf.
He’s noble and just, a little demanding, but I’ve never seen him like this. A pained expression crosses his face before his eyes darken and the fine hairs on his arms become a thick pelt as his wolf pushes forward. Not out of protective instinct, but because something pains him on a deeper level.
It pours from him.
Pain. Regret. Rejection.
And while I’m not an empath, as the alpha, I’m attuned to every member of my kingdom’s emotions if I concentrate on a single individual. This is something that comes in handy to help soothe a wolf in distress or who is going through the loss of a loved one—the latter is what I sense in him.
A loss he’s never gotten over.
“Answer me, Grandfather.” I’m trying hard to rein in my anger and disappointment; my beast is on edge. Between his emotions and mine—and my father’s worry—my tight leash is beginning to slacken, and claws, fangs, and fur burst forth. My muscles bulge, and in my half-shift form, I’m towering overeveryone inside this room before my next low snarl. “Did you know our union was a possibility?”
“Yes.” Ephraim’s jaw tightens, but his eyes remain steady on me with a darkness I’ve never seen before. His eye contact isn’t in defiance or disrespect, but to show honesty. The torches sputter as a breeze sweeps in from the open windows, casting a jittery light across his tired face.His burden is heavy.“It was always a possibility, one I worried about. First with your father, and then with you.”
“What were you thinking, keeping something like this from me?”
“That my prayers were answered, and the goddess held no ill will toward me or mine.” He rubs a hand down his face. “Soul mates are sacred, Kai. I’ve drilled that into your head since you were young, and what I accepted—even if Lucienne had made up her mind—was wrong. I should’ve fought harder. Made her see that breaking our bond was a mistake.”
My father speaks up. “You had no choice but to accept.”Keep an open mind, my son.
