Page 21 of A Siren of Beasts

Then I realized she was looking for my name. Fuck, I was doing this all wrong.

“Rhun, my name is Rhun,” I answered hurriedly.

“Rhun, it suits you,” she commented. “I’m Kezia.”

Her name was as perfect as she was, but I was pretty sure I would think that about anything that had to do with her. Dropping to one knee I reached out slowly, allowing her to pull away if she wanted to as I took her hand. Letting a ripple of my power flow over her, the water dried and wafted off her in a billow of steam. When she didn’t react other than to smile, I lifted her hand and rubbed my face to the back of it, letting my musk scent her.

“You’re so warm,” she said with a sigh.

My head snapped up. “Are you cold, my mate?”

“The water was frigid before Hisceas warmed it for me, but this place is cooler than I’m used to. Where I lived was much warmer and stayed that way most of the year,” Kezia explained.

Before I could think better of it, I used my grip on her hand to pull her to me. Tucking an arm under her ass I cradled her against my chest. Instantly, her arms wrapped around my neck and she rested her head on my shoulder, her whole body relaxing into me.

“This feels amazing,” she murmured as she nuzzled into me. “You smell like smoke and my favorite spiced tea I used to drink back home. It’s an oddly comforting scent.”

Grinning like an idiot, I stood holding my treasured mate in my arms and let out a rough purr that rattled my bones with how foreign of a sound it was. I’d known only mated males could make this noise to soothe their mates and pups, but I’d never dreamed it would happen to me.

“Enjoy it while it lasts, mutt, when I get my chance with her you’re never going to get her back,” the raven hissed at me, his red eyes glowing with jealousy.

Kezia lifted her head and looked at him. “Imp,” she warned. “Don’t threaten Rhun when he’s keeping me warm.”

To my shock the raven, or Imp as she called him, pouted at her scolding. One of the top five most dangerous monsters in this forest was cowed at the simple chastising of this woman in my arms. She was fearsome indeed.

“Let us return to Grieth’s nest, unless either of you know of another secure place we can rest?” Hisceas asked, looking at the both of us.

I shook my head. “Until today I’ve been under the grip of the madness. I’m not sure what I’ve been doing or where I’ve been staying but I’m sure it wouldn’t be fit for my mate. Going back to Imp’s place is a wise choice.”

“No,” Imp roared, making the air vibrate with his fury as all his feathers stood on end, black magic rippling around him. I knew the only reason I wasn’t a pile of ash right now was because of who I was holding.

“You will never call me that, only Shiny can use that name, no one else,” he announced, his chest heaving with how worked up he was. “Mutt, you will use Grieth, the name the creators gave me.”

“I’ll use it only if you stop calling me mutt, my name is Rhun,” I shot back with a warning snarl.

A booming sound had both Grieth and me jumping, only to realize it was Hisceas laughing at the two of us. “Only the gods themselves would choose to put rival monsters with the same mate. I’m curious to see who else will join us.”

“Who else?” I barked.

“There will be more?” Grieth demanded.

The guardian looked at us as if surprised. “Has the madness taken away so much of your memory that you don’t remember the queen had a harem of monsters? It is my belief if the queen had mated some or all of them she would have been more powerful and the humans never would have been able to take her away from us. While I don’t agree with marking our Little Siren without her permission, I believe it will protect her in the long run.”

A peal of laughter filled the air, setting me at ease as my mate’s joy filled the air around us. “Gods, if only you understood how funny this is. The whore to a prince is really an offspring to a queen and now gets her own harem of monsters.”

I growled at her words and shifted her back enough I could wrap my clawed hand around her throat. My hand was so large it gripped her jaw as well, giving me the perfect leverage to make her meet my gaze.

“Who made you a whore?” I demanded. “Tell me now, Zia, I will not allow this person to live while they’ve disrespected my mate in such a manner. They will bleed and feed the ground you walk on, restoring the power that will strengthen you for centuries to come.”

She lifted a hand to my arm and gently stroked my charcoal-gray fur. “The man who once called himself my master is dead. About a week ago there was a shipwreck and he never made it off the boat. I wouldn’t have either if Hisceas hadn’t saved me.”

I grunted, not feeling that ending was fitting enough for what she just described. “We should send the guardian to find him in the depths so we might wring out the last of his life force. I’m sure the death raven could still eat him and ensure he’ll never have a chance to be reborn.”

“Yes, I like this plan,” Grieth agreed, clacking his talons together in excitement. “Can you do that, Guardian?”

Hisceas shifted, almost as if he was considering it when Kezia put a stop to it. “No, there is no need to dredge up the past. Let the sea have him. I certainly don’t want him.”

Each of us struggled to hide our displeasure at this decision but none of us were going to go against her wishes.