Page 20 of Siren’s Kiss & Feral Beasts

KAI

J onathan arrives less than an hour later, clutching a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

His steps are slow and hesitant. The weight of my gaze is enough to make most wolves falter—and he does, right inside the threshold of my office.

It takes a few seconds for him to right himself, to check that nothing was spilled, before he stops and waits for me to address him.

There’s one thing missing, though. No mate.

She’s nowhere to be seen, and I lean back in my chair, raising a brow at the man. “Where is she?”

“She’s with your mother, Alpha. The old luna said she was too thin and looked too tired, and took it upon herself to cure both ailments,” Torren answers for him, stepping inside with a quiet arrogance only my third can pull off. Veris has a bit of that in him, too.

It’s part of the hierarchy. If I die, Veris would take over as I have no heirs, and Torren would have first rights to claim the beta position.

“Who’s with them?” He’s as protective of her as I am, having grown up with her as the mother of the pack.

Lunas are important for more than being the alpha’s mate and moral compass.

She’s a maternal figure to all, young and old, and brings comfort in times of unrest. She’s unity personified, and not one member of this pack would ever put her life at risk.

“Your father took over watch duty, said he wanted to show the new member around. Show the pack they are welcome here.”

A faint smirk tugs at my lips. Typical. My parents are social and very much involved—retirement has softened him—yet neither oversteps. My word is law, even with them.

“Fine.” I shift my attention back to Jonathan, letting the silence stretch between us until he shifts. Only then do I wave to the chair across from me. “Sit. We have a lot to discuss.”

Jonathan sets his coffee down carefully at the edge of my desk, hands trembling. “Alpha.”

“Please sit.” The words come out sharp, the command rolling from my chest. He obeys immediately, lowering himself into the chair opposite mine. A few times his eyes flicker to the only exit, but he only finds Torren.

My gamma stands with his arms crossed, large body leaning against the wall to the left of the closed door. He doesn’t call him out on it, but rather tilts his head in my direction.

“I’m not a liar, Jonathan. If I said you’re safe, then that’s what you are.”

At my words, he nods. Becomes a little less rigid, even. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. How this ends depends solely on you.”

“Okay.”

“Tell me everything. Leave nothing out,” I tell him, voice calm, yet the wolf comes through in the command, dangerous and unyielding. “From the beginning, what led you to Isle San Tico the night of the challenges? What were you after?”

“We didn’t plan on it, Alpha Kai. Not at first.” Jonathan swallows hard, throat bobbing, and he takes a hearty sip from his mug.

He doesn’t set it down this time, but rather clutches it like a lifeline.

“This all started about a month ago, when Brina ran away with me. We’re from neighboring small islands on the southern edge of the northern sea, near the capital city of Bazra. ”

“Are you from Liora or Selvora?”

“I’m from Selvora. It’s definitely colder than Liora; nobody uses the beaches there.”

“And you ran away because…” I had an idea, but I wanted to test just how honest he’d be.

Mar de Marea Plateadas, or Sea of Silver Tides, is known for its archaic traditions.

Some places, like its capital city of Bazra, have taken on a more modern approach to civilization, but it’s the city of Morvane that controls its waters.

Morvane is a gothic port city on the northernmost point of Mar de Marea Plateadas.

It’s controlled by vampires, an older-than-dirt coven with money and a penchant to play with mated pairs.

None of the members have found their beloved, and to them, a soulmate is nothing more than entertainment.

They have a lot in common with King Atlas in that perspective; neither the vampires nor sirens in power think past political advancement or money.

“Because our parents had plans for us.”

“Go on.”

“Arranged marriages.” Jonathan inhales deeply and then lets it out slowly.

His shoulders also sag a bit. “Hers to a territory leader, while I was to step in and take care of my sister-in-law and nephews. My brother passed away last year during a herding run for the vampires. He’d collect the donors, make sure they were fed and clean, then transport them back to the harem’s private sanctuary not far from Selvora.

A quick trip, what should’ve taken a day at most, but the boat capsized, and we have no idea why. ”

“Survivors?”

“None.”

My fingers drum once against the desk. “So you ran?”

“Yes.” Jonathan glances down at his hand, knuckles white.

A small crack appears on the cup, linear and doesn’t spill its contents.

“We ended up in Avaria after a friend gave me safe passage on his ship. He’s a transporter and was already on his way to drop off shipping supplies at the port.

” Another pause, and this time he smiles a bit.

“Avaria is amazing. Tropical and warm, different from what we’re used to, and the locals treated us kindly.

It’s also where we met Spiro…literally ran into him. ”

“When and where?”

“On our second night.”

Torren clears his throat then, and I shift my gaze to his. “Brina is on her way here.”

“Okay.” Pushing my chair back, I walk toward my liquor cabinet near the window and pick up the bottle of dark rum.

This one is locally made, rich with caramel and pineapple.

The cork stopper pops right out, and I pour three fingers’ worth into a glass.

The first sip burns slow and deep, a smoky sweetness sliding across my tongue.

The warmth spreads through my chest, then my limbs, and I close my eyes for a second.

With my back to them, I stay that way until there’s a soft knock.

I hear the opening of a door, a low hello , and then the scraping of another chair across the hardwood floor. Brina’s worry is palpable, but she keeps her composure. Another change in her, just like Jonathan, is their scents.

Now, it’s a mix of him and her. Citrus and cinnamon.

No rogue in them. No stench.

Do you notice the change? Torren’s voice comes through, his link filled with trepidation. Second-guessing, or maybe it’s a lack of trust in the two, but I sense it too.

I don’t think they were ever truly rogues.

How could they fake it? Another question, but like Torren, I don’t have the answers yet. Do you think she’s a hybrid? Part witch?

Immediately, my wolf rejects the notion. I do, too.

Hybrids are hard to detect, but they carry one shared marker: a small red birthmark on the inside of their wrists in the shape of a spiral. I looked when she accepted the bottle of water from Veris, noticing the first change in her scent.

No. Not a hybrid, but she’s been wearing a very strong blocker. Turning, I walk back to my seat and face the two. “Continue.”

Brina’s brows furrow, but she remains quiet. Instead, she grips her mate’s hand. The same hand that a few minutes ago had the coffee cup. “I’m confused?—”

“I’m explaining how we got here.” She says Oh , and that’s it.

Just sits relaxed and smiles at him. His mate is more relaxed than he is, and there’s a touch more color in her cheeks, too.

The look he gives her is besotted, and my chest squeezes tight.

“He was running from a grouping of three houses when he slammed into me, both of us tumbling to the ground. Spiro was trying to steal something—running from someone, and we covered for him when an older woman came at us with a thick wooden broom.”

“A mage?”

“Not sure, but she was angry,” Brina jumps in, her eyes unfocused as if remembering that day. “It happened so fast, and we didn’t want to get caught up in his mess, so we lied.”

“The woman, she bought this?”

“I remember her looking at us, Alpha. Like almost seeing through us, and then she smiled. Just smiled, and bid us a goodnight.”

“Then what?”

“Spiro took us in.”

I arch a brow. “Took you in or used you?”

“Both.” Jonathan grimaces, while Brina nods in agreement. “He and Levi—they were partners. One stole, the other kept lookout. My mate and I…we just tagged along. It was survival; were staying in the background until we saved enough to head east and buy land in one of the less-populated villages.”

“And the mermaid?”

“How did you know she was a?—”

“Answer me.” This leaves me on a sharp bark, the command of my wolf.

He’s pushing for me to hurry this up, so I can leave and find our mate.

He wants her found, mounted, and claimed with our bite mark adorning her pretty little neck.

And I need that, too, but leaving without settling them or having the facts will only delay our hunt. “Where is she? What did she do?”

“S-She wasn’t like the other homeowners on Port Avaria and caught Spiro stealing. Literally had his hands on some coral-carved jewelry box, and glamoured him. Then Levi.”

“Not you or Brina?”

“No. The woman, whose name is Nerissa, left us alone. No explanation why, she just did.”

“What did she say?”

Brina’s expression is apologetic. “We don’t want to anger you, Alpha. It wasn’t nice.”

“Say it. Don’t sugarcoat a single word.”

“That you weren’t a true king. That wolves deserved better than a filthy, untrustworthy pirate and his kin.

” It hurts to hear, burns in my esophagus like the worst case of acid reflux.

“She also wanted to know about a stone. Kept repeating something about a black gem and how important it was to find it. The reward she’d give Spiro for his help. ”

“Not you? Just Spiro?”

“And Levi,” Jonathan adds. “Both were too eager to help, with Spiro thinking himself worthy of the crown.”

“The guards on watch that night, too,” his mate says, picking up the now lukewarm coffee her mate set down and takes a few sips. “She bent them to her will, got them to let us walk past without alerting anyone. Like we were invisible.”

My claws scrape the desk. When they emerged? No clue. I’m too busy filing every single word away. Cataloging the betrayal of a centuries-old agreement between her grandmother and my grandfather.

He’d drilled it into my head since an early age. Our bloodline wouldn’t swim in the sea, and the mermaids wouldn’t sing for wolves.

A treaty Nerissa Del Mare broke.

My traitorous little siren.

“And the scent blockers?”

They share a look, but I catch how Jonathan pats her hand with his unoccupied one. How his body shifts toward her—support and comfort.

“I made it.” Her voice is tinged with fear, yet underlined with optimism.

“My father is a man of science, and I grew up around herbs and compounds—the territory leader keeps him well stocked. He’s tested and tweaked that recipe for years, and a few years ago, perfected it.

It gave him leverage in our pack, a way to move up the ladder by asking for a marriage alliance I didn’t want.

In the end, it helped us. Kept us hidden. ”

Before I could ask for further clarification, her mate leaned forward.

Not much, but enough to pull my gaze to him.

“Alpha, please know we didn’t want this.

We just wanted to be free and safe. It’s why I played along with Levi that night, until he got pushy.

While Spiro challenged you, he wanted us to create a diversion—use Brina to get the males riled up—but the attention I caught was that of your beta and gamma. ”

Tilting my head, I study the two. There’s no malice or lies in their explanation. Instead, they look at me with hope.

“Do you want more than freedom? A home here?” They blink, and the excitement that builds brings a smile to their lips.

Both nod quickly. “I’m giving you a chance for more.

Pack, protection, and a future with your mate.

Do not let me down. You’ll be on probation, but will help where needed and earn my people’s trust. Fail once, and I will personally kill you. Understood?”

“Yes, Alpha. Thank you.” Again in unison, each signing their names on a contract I push across my desk before dismissing them. The other pack omegas will help them get set up in a home, then pull them into the chore rotation.

When I get back, I’ll deal with the scent blocker and the issue it might provide in the future. For now, though, my thoughts head back to Nerissa. Her call tugs at me, even miles from sea.

I’m coming, pretty siren. And you’ll have a lot to apologize for with that sinful mouth.