Page 36 of Siren's Kiss & Feral Beasts
KAI
The wolf in me howls as she fades beneath the water, while the man stands still, bottle of rum in my hand. Not drinking, just grabbed it from a nearby barrel before reaching the gunwale to watch the water calm after her disappearance.
An hour has passed now.
I’m angry and thinking—fighting against the urge to call out her name. It sits on my tongue, my instincts daring me to deny her, but the bitterness is hard to swallow.
Nerissa.
A blessing and a curse on my tongue, a taste I can’t wash away no matter how much I wish it so. No amount of rum will help. No amount of blood staining these old, wooden floors will satisfy the betrayal I feel.
My fists clench at my sides, nails biting into my palms until I feel the sting of skin breaking.
I should have known. The signs were there…
Her decadent scent carried a hint of salt at the edge of each note. In the hours I spent between her thighs, a light mist ofwater clung to her skin. I mistook it for sweat, the workout of a rough ride, but it tastes different now.
Like a dewy morning at sea: everything you touch or drink bears the brine of the ocean, a taste I’ve always craved—enjoyed from a young age as a weakness—yet now the connotation sits differently.
The fates have truly fucked me.
She’s a siren.
Delicate. Beautiful. Dangerous.
Motherfucking perfection.
Every inch of this sultrynymph with the coquettish smile calls to me. She’s designed to make men fall to their knees and worship, and yet the Gods have given her to me—a gift and a curse I accept without pause or doubt.
She belongs to me as I do her, even if, at the moment, I abhor who she is.
My weakness. My home.
Mate, a four-letter word that knocks my world off its axis.I no longer belong to myself, but give freely to a woman who’s already betrayed me.
The wolf howls, the angry sound ripping from my chest, and the crew around me bare their necks. They don’t understand just how deep this cuts, how my wolf demands I dive in after her and bring her back. Kicking and screaming don’t matter, and if I kill every scaled bastard who helped her steal from me, even better.
True justice isn’t sweet, but drenched in blood.
My body tenses, ready to leap—consequences be damned—but I fight back the reaction. The man understands what the wolf fails to: below the sea’s surface is not my battleground.Not yet.
“Captain?” Otto’s voice cuts in. He’s the youngest crew member on board and Torren’s brother. He’s wary of me right now, standing back as if he’s unsure of my reaction.
“Speak.”
“How do you want?—”
I tear my gaze from the dark waters, my jaw aching from the grinding of my teeth. “We leave port now. Ready the ship.”
“Yes, Alpha.” The crew surges into motion, while he makes his way to his brother—my friend. Lanterns swing, ropes groan, and sails unfurl while boots thunder against the deck. Voices remain low all around me, but each station master calls out to the other as the ship’s prepared to undock.
“I’m fine,” Torren tells his brother, his body braced against the mast. His shirt is torn and bloody through, yet the wounds are already clotting. Still raw, but healing, and my fury reignites at the sight.
“Let me help you.” Otto tries to slip a hand around him, trying to take on his weight to move Torren, but the latter waves him away. The idiot reopened the stab wound; it bleeds sluggishly down his side, and his face pinches tight.
“Stop—”
“Gamma,” I call out, and whatever bullshit he’d been about to spew dies on his tongue. I’m in front of him in an instant, cataloging his pale skin and the sweat dripping down his temple. Torren tries to push upright, stubborn ass, but the effort makes him stagger.
