The Alpha's Siren Song

Chapter 56

"So, are you guys going to get married or what?" Misty asked, pouring a generous amount of red wine into each glass. "If I'm going to be your bridesmaid, you will not stick me in some god-awful dress."

I slipped two bowls on the coffee table, wrinkling my nose at her words. After two months of movie nights on the weekends with her, this was the first time marriage had come up. "No, I'm not really a marriage kind of girl."

"Really? I thought being completely mated meant that you were all in love and needed to be with each other completely, all the time. You would be staring at him, all misty-eyed while walking down the aisle, I can see it now."

I sat beside her one the couch, curling my legs underneath me. Misty was right in a sense. For how aggressive the mate bond was before I was marked and mated, I fully expected to me a love sick mess. And, my god, I was in love, but not in that helpless, blind kind of way.

It came on slowly, but I knew by heart which meal Easton cooked when he was upset, exactly where and when he wanted me to kiss him, and just how to make him shiver when I drew on his back. It was the kind of love that was relentless, that came on like a river, undeniable and everlasting. It wasn't jealous or flustered or impulsive. It was steady and certain. Just what I had needed.

But, marriage was not something either of us wanted.

"We talked about it. I told him that we could get married if he wanted to because I'm not against it, really. But, the fact is that we don't need to spend thousands on flowers, pay someone to make it legal, feed his whole pack and his extended family, just so everyone can know that we love each other. Putting more price tags on things or having a few more people stare at us won't make a difference in how we feel."

"You don't want everyone looking at you while you got your make up on, wearing a white dress? You would look so beautiful, you'd be the prettiest siren to ever grace this earth. I mean, he'll probably cry. Let's be real, everyone would be crying." Misty pushed.

I snorted. "Have you met Easton? Of course he would cry, but that's not the point. He knows I love him. I know that he loves me. His pack understands that I'm his mate and to him, there's nothing more sacred than that."

"So how does that work, exactly? They have this whole thing with betas and alphas and lunas. So where does that leave you?"

I shrugged my shoulders and took a hearty gulp of my sweet red wine. "No idea, really. I am learning the pack and getting to know everyone as time goes on, but I'm not a werewolf. I don't fully understand what they want and need all of the time. Plus, I spend a lot of my time teaching swimming lessons and coaching the swim team in the city. So far, Easton hasn't elected a new beta; when issues are brought to him he handles them himself or he talks to me or Keiko and Ajax."

"Huh, how is your coaching going?"

Now I slammed back a big slurp. Thinking of my students struggle to stay afloat wasn't my favorite subject. "I have to tell you, humans and werewolves and everything in between...they just aren't meant to be in the water. Sometimes, I just use my powers to push them along. It's a hot mess most of the time, but I really love it."

Misty snorted with laughter. We fell into a comfortable silence shortly after, one that we were both used to. After everything with Nero we could have gone our separate ways. I'm sure that if I had been asked when I first met her if I would be her friend months later, I would have said no. I could not stand her sharp, abrasive attitude.

 But now, I couldn't imagine my life without her. We saw each other almost every weekend. We caught up on her latest sexual endeavors, what she was learning in college. She always listened to me talk about my new life with no judgement, never telling me that I should go back to school or trying to sway me one way or another. She was completely supportive and wholly siren. While Easton went to his meetings, we watched cheesy movies and shows. Today's choice was a 90's show about mermaids with terrible accents.

Two bottles of wine later, Misty called a cab and I cleaned the left over crumbs out of the two bowls, letting nothing go to waste. I was humming an Abba song under my breath and drying off the last of the dishes when Easton walked in.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be awake," he murmured, walking up behind me and holding my hips in his hands. He nudged my hair aside with his nose and gave the side of my neck a small kiss.

"Misty was over." I spun in his arms to face him, a lazy grin on my lips.

"Mmm, that explains why you smell like wine and why a mermaid show is blasting." He pulled me closer to him, his arms tightening around me as he lifted me up and placed me on the dry portion of the counter. "I missed you."

"You were gone for less than twelve hours."

"Still missed you like hell," he whispered against my lips.

Even with the wine affecting my brain, I wanted to tell him the news. But damn, he tasted so good and felt so strong beneath my wandering hands. The little groaning sound that he made when I pulled his hair was almost enough to make me postpone my announcement to the next day.

But, he pulled away, giving me a dazed smile. I couldn't stop myself.

"We should talk," I blurted.

"Oh?" The soft expression fell away. His hands fell to my thighs, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes of course." I said the words and I knew they were true, but somehow his concern, his soft voice, it all swirled with the wine in my head and I began to cry a little bit.

"Oh, Kaia, please don't cry. Whatever it is, I love you. Everything is going to be fine."

"I know, I know," I mumbled, wiping away my tears. "It's kind of a happy cry, I guess. Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to tell you that I decided to start going to therapy. I booked my first session for next week."

Easton drew back ever so slightly. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Oh Kaia, I'm so proud of you. This is going to be great for you." He gave me a hearty squeeze around my waist, kissing the top of my head.

"Thank you."

He hesitated for a second then asked, "But what started this?"

Now came the big reveal, and as excited as I knew he was going to be, I was also aware that he was going to be excited, I still became a little nervous. It was all such a massive step. I felt ready, but maybe he wasn't. "Well, I just want to be happy. I'm learning to push through things, but I also know that I won't be able to cross every hurdle by myself. And, you know how you were saying that you always wanted to adopt?"

"Yes."

"Well, I know that it's a process and it won't happen overnight, but I would like to adopt too. When we're ready, of course."

"Are you sure? I would never hold it against you if you didn't want to adopt."

"I know, but it's what I want. And if I want to help someone have a better, loving life, then I need to start loving my own life, bit by bit."

"Oh Kaia, you're amazing. You've made me the happiest man alive. How about we have one more adventure, just the two of us, before we start making any plans or calls?"

"Oh yeah? What are you thinking?"

"Somewhere south."

"Like Montana?"

"I was thinking more sun, like Peru or Panama."

I smiled against his shoulder as he held me tightly again. This moment was about as perfect as it could get. And tomorrow, I would call Eddy, he would come over and be all awkward and pensive like he always was around Easton, even now that he knew the truth. But I was certain that he would squeeze my hand and forget all about Easton when I told him the good news.

I didn't need to travel, I had all the sunshine and warmth right here.

~~~Distraction Section~~~

Hey everyone! That is it for TASS! Hope you enjoyed it. It was super fun for me to bring in a new mythical creature and I have started a new novel kind of talking about the origin story of sirens in my novel: Black Pearl. Check it out on my page if you're interested!

Question of the Day: Which classic novels have you read?

I always avoided them as a kid, but am slowly coming into them. I've read the Great Gatsby, Life of Pi, Jane Eyre.