Page 33 of Siren's Kiss & Feral Beasts
His army withdraws; one by one, they’re falling back and over the railing, shifting into their tails and putting distance between them and my ship. Orion leaves, too, but not before tossing the stone overboard. His retreat is less cautious and more of a desperate dive—I try to catch him mid-jump—but I’m stopped in my tracks by the sight in front of me…
Nerissa is in the water, her eyes on mine, and in them I see the truth. She’s also holding my necklace, and the stone dangling from her delicate fingers flares—black surface igniting into a fiery blue, as though flames lick and dance beneath the surface. The light is bright, wild, and uncontained, matching the ire in my chest.
Mates.
I am hers. She is mine.
And yet the betrayal burns just as bitter on my tongue, and my hands grip the railing, splintering the wood. When did I shift? I don’t know or care; my instincts are zoned in to kill.
I watch as Orion swims up and tugs on her arm, moving her further away, and the once-bright Cordis Lux dies at his touch. I watch as those violet eyes dim. She nods, but then mouths,We can’t.
My response? I wink.
That’s it. Nerissa is in my blood now, our bond semi-formed, and I’ll find her and the stone.
Both belong to me.
She’s mine to worship and discipline; this betrayal won’t go unchecked. That stone is more than its magic. It was the gift from a woman who broke the heart of an honest wolf.
I’ll see you soon, little treasure.
12
NERISSA
The water in Marivelle is cool against my skin, the unsettled currents brushing against my scales as I lie in bed. It’s been twenty-four hours since his honeyed eyes glared at me, his mistrust thick in the air, and even from the water below, it struck with the force of a lash. Kai thinks I helped Orion, and while untrue, the stoneisaround my neck.
Something I’d been planning anyway, so why does it leave such a bitter taste on my tongue?
I’m angry. Hurt. Confused. Unable to think of anything but him as sunlight fractures through the surface for the first time in hours, the broken gold rays dancing across my tail.
My emotions have been as tumultuous as the storm above, the water violent, and I can’t stop touching his chain—wishing its weight would anchor me. Instead, the Cordis Lux feels heavy, and its surface is cold. Like a heavy noose, and bringing it home did nothing to calm the storm within.
I’m in no hurry to hand it over. I’m irate at the mere thought of anyone touching what he wore close to his heart for so long.
He’s a werewolf.
My mate. The one soul meant to be mine, and he has to be the enemy.
I can’t accept him.
No matter how much every fiber of my being demands I return, slip beneath his warm body, and surrender to his bite. Markhim,my fangs leaving the sacred imprint of our bond for the world to see.
Because I want Alpha Kai Daire. There’s no denying it.
Mates are sacred, and the Gods never make a mistake. Our souls are intertwined in a way that no man or beast can undo, and yet, I have no choice but to turn my back against destiny.
Our paths were set ablaze by his grandfather’s greed and my grandmother’s soft heart.
“He’s a part of me,” I whisper into the empty room, my lips moving, but barely a sound escapes. Because if heartbreak had a name, this moment is the very definition.
Guaiac wood. Leather. Pineapple.
That’s what my mate smells like, and the memory alone is addictive. The perfect balance of tropical with a woodsy spice; it lit my soul on fire after the first inhale. My scales vibrated beneath his touch then, and they vibrate now as I recall the scent sliding across my senses.
I will never forget that first inhale. That wolf is forever etched into me, woven into my DNA.
Closing my eyes, I let the currents cradle me. Bubbles rise lazily past my hair, the silk of it floating around my shoulders and ribs while my heart races, each beat echoing within the stone against my chest.
