My 90’s analog clock illuminated 12:07 in red dots and dashes. I knew everyone in the house was woken up by that great howl, which meant clothes were no longer just an option, Ella and I both went for a robe at the same time, our only options were sheer and semi sheer, but the feeling of urgency made us disregard undergarments altogether. Everyone undoubtedly knew by now that we were mated, they knew what we had done because we weren’t shy or quiet about it. Now the whole family was stirring, and it was likely that at any moment, someone would be coming through the door to check on us. I was intrigued by the howl, rather than startled. Knowing of the wolves out on patrol, I felt safe, but somehow I knew that this was a call out to me, I was being summoned and I was certain I knew who it was.
You dare call for me like a creature of servitude? I know who you are. Come to me, let me lay my eyes upon the creature that has held my heart for years now. I seek to understand how I am to be mated to a great beast such as you. I knew he could hear me, so I wielded my words poetically, knowing he was feeling the same pull as I was.
Just then, two twinkling emeralds appeared in the darkness, as he hid just in the tree line.
*The trees will have much to talk about after this night.
My heart pounded in my ears as I moved to my balcony to see him in full view, but only his glistening eyes were visible, appearing to float six feet above the ground. The woods were pitch black beyond the treeline, making it a hopeless venture.
*I’m going to have to brave the cold.
Intoxicated by the smell of hibiscus and sandalwood, I felt my body trying to switch to “auto-pilot” as I was lost in the emeralds, same as it took over me when Ella and I made love. The familiar feelings revealed everything in one instant.
**I’m coming, my love, for you to mark me and make me yours in the light of this full moon and the whole earth will bear witness to us as we consummate the bond we will share for all eternity. I knew my words would drive him wild, and hopefully right out of hiding.
“You’ll have to call to him, my love. I’ll get help.” Ella moved swiftly out of the room, motioning with her hands for me to stay behind.
Seconds passed and I was helpless, struggling to resist the pull as it grew in strength. Fighting as hard as I could, I was able to force myself into the bathroom to check myself in the vanity mirror. Somehow my platinum blonde waves fell perfectly down to my buttocks tonight, the dry, cold air keeping the usual frizz at bay. A slight blush graced my cheeks, giving contrast to the freckles that dotted it everywhere. My pouty lips were still plump and pink from the friction of Ella and I mating. Sliding my tongue across them catching remnants of her vanilla glaze, I noticed flashes of silver in my eyes. The swirls captivated me, reminding me of the onyx that took over Ella’s eyes when I sealed our mate bond with my mark. The more intensely I stared into the mirror, the more I could feel the blood pumping in my veins. It struck so forcefully, each beat felt as though my entire body was pulsating in synchronicity. A shockwave of energy suddenly shook the entire house, breaking me from the trance I had fallen into.
“Master, please come down now?” Kendrick had appeared in my bathroom doorway and I hadn’t noticed because I had been lost in my reflection.
It’s time.
I noticed Kendrick was looking at the ground and not at me, I knew my body was still visible through my sheer robe and so he was being respectful. He wanted to be sure that he did not look at another man’s mate, keeping his gaze downward at all times, as we exited the room. Each stair to the ground level was that much closer to my soulmate, and the magnetism intensified with every footstep. When my feet met the wood flooring of our family room, the air inside the house hummed. Mom and Ella stood waiting for us, Kendrick still looking at the floor.
“I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind, Master.” Kendrick did not move as he spoke.
“I understand, Kendrick.” I looked around the room and noticed that everyone else had been suspended in place, except for the four of us.
“You won't be able to mind-link anyone but your mates tonight, due to the occasion. So it’s important for you to know that you have a very small window of time to find him before you’ll need to allow time to continue as it will, or there will be grave consequences in terms of the space-time-continuum of our world. I trust that you’ll know what to do.”
Kendrick had so much faith in me, they all seemed to, as if I had been practicing for this my whole life. Their confidence was contagious too, at that moment, I felt sure that I would have no trouble despite just learning about this gift. If not, my mates would give me strength. I’d spent months learning new skills- practicing until I could do nothing but eat and then rest, wake and repeat. My life had gone from mundane to magical with the change of seasons and I cared not about trivial things anymore like my appearance- how my freckles used to drive me insane. Or how other girls would gawk or stare at me when I went to town for goods. The pain of feeling alone throughout my school years was forgotten, my real friends and family meant the most to me. Everyone in this room, except one, though he was always there, he evaded me now and I wasn’t sure why.
“I’ll make sure that everyone stays inside after you swing time back into motion. Until then, I will be in my room, napping.” Kendrick took his leave after I nodded in approval, still not raising his eyes in the slightest, and headed up to the second floor.
**My Love, where are you? Why do you hide from me? Can’t you feel me yearning for you?
**He doesn’t hide from you, Love. He fears he is unworthy of you. You’re something so incredibly precious, Maren. He has watched you for years, knowing you were meant to be together, and how special you truly are and has his doubts about whether he deserves you. Ella’s heart was in her message to me, she meant every word she said.
“Maren, sweetheart, you are blessed to have more than one mate, tonight under the full moon you need to make your bond with both of them or else your hearts will suffer severely throughout the next lunar cycle. This is something natural to all of us, I’m not here to pass judgment on you just because I am your parent. All of us must consummate our bond during the first full moon of our adulthood or face heat and heartache for a full lunar cycle. It can drive an un-mated pair to insanity or even suicide. You need to make sure he knows that you’ll choose him, that you want him, not by force. He struggles to feel equal to you because of your gifts, you’re destined for such greatness, he is unsure if he deserves you. Reassure him, show him your surrender so he won’t be afraid to fail you.”
Mom was eloquent, her way of comforting me with her kind words was a gift, she always seemed to know exactly what to say and her words wrapped around me like a hug. Feeling her love caused a momentary interruption in my lustful and impulsive desire, but not curbing it completely. The magnetism was far too strong and I couldn’t imagine what a month would be like without mating. It would be pure hell to deny my body of his, but I’ll do it if he denies me. I cannot force something he doesn't want.
**Love, he won’t deny you. In fact, he is terrified that he can’t resist you. You must call him. Ella’s encouragement was striking, considering she is my first mate.
**How can you encourage me to make love with another when we are mated?
**It’s destiny, Maren. You’re too perfect for me to keep you to myself. You know he is your home, you know you want to be with both of us. I love you and that will never change, I want this for you as much as you do.
I lept into Ella’s arms, my mouth met with hers immediately. Leaning in, I kissed her as passionately as I could muster with one breath, feeling myself getting wet with excitement. The love I had for her could not possibly be matched with my second mate. She pulled away to say something, but before she could, I interrupted.
“I may lust for him, but I do not yet love him. I can’t mate with him just because I feel drawn to him by fate. It’s not fair to him, to you, or myself!” I needed to reason with her and Mom.
“Sweetheart, stop thinking for a moment. Stop thinking and just feel. Feel with your heart, your body, your soul. You are connected with him on an otherworldly level. You know this. You’ve felt the pull with every fiber of your being. Love is a relative term, you must understand that it's a concept that humans use to describe something they only understand as an emotion. It’s so much more than that.”
I pressed my eyelids shut and allowed the air around me to fill my nostrils. Hibiscus and cedarwood carried on the breeze. Breathing it in felt like my skin was the only thing keeping me from exploding into a million pieces, every cell in my body humming in joy. In my head, flashes of memories played, every time I saw him nearby. His watchful eyes always on me and I remembered for the first time that he had been there even before he grew to his current stature. He truly had been waiting for me his whole life- our whole lives. Every time I fell and scraped a knee, he was there. When I left the second grade playground crying after another kid put sand in my hair, he was there. Our outdoor graduation ceremony, he was there. When we moved out here from our beautiful tropical home, he came, bringing the aroma of it with him. The thrumming of our bond called to me irresistibly, charging my body with electricity. I opened my eyes to see Ella wearing a full grin, her eyes, like my own, were glazed over with happy tears. She was connected so deeply with me that she felt my happiness.
“How do I find him, Mom?”
“Well, sweetheart, that’s why I Kendrick shielded me. I’ve been waiting your whole life to tell you this: like me, you are a Siren.” Mom’s eyes were also tearing up now.
“Siren?” Ella and I both asked in unison.
“Yes, sweetheart, Siren. Once great creatures of the ocean, our ancestors cared for everything under the waves. Our songs attracted creatures to the reefs, and life flourished under our watch. At some point after humans built ships and took to the sea, humans and Sirens met, and influenced one another. Clans of Sirens were divided when some decided to stay in the water, others chose to live on land. The ones who chose life on land took the form of humans and eventually lost the ability to live in the water ever again, landlocked.”
“Wow,” I couldn’t help but whisper in awe, “I’ve never seen a Siren before in person, I heard they’re captivating and enchanting songstresses.” I said these wrods just before it donned on me that I had secretly known one my whole life.
For a minute, I allowed them to conversate so I could try to think. The overwhelming attraction of our un-mated bond continued to grow, clouding my thoughts and making it hard to focus on the many questions that I had for Mom. So many gifts were revealing themselves, so quickly that I could hardly keep track. I needed more information, I needed training, I needed help. All I could do was trust in everyone around me, knowing that they’d been here for me my whole life gave me solace, allowing me to put all of my curiosity on the back burner for now.
*Enough waiting.
“How?” I looked at them both, cutting off their Q&A session.
Mom affectionately smiled, fully embracing the moment she had anticipated for so long. Her reply, simple but efficient.
“Sing to him,” Despite her soft expression, Mom spoke with certainty, “but only while time stands still. For now, I haven’t the luxury of explaining everything to you. If you call to him without proper training, you’ll call every living creature in this area- human, animal, mystical and everything in between, which will be dangerous. Kendrick has given you a small moment in which to call to your wolf, and shielded Ella so she can be with the two of you without being affected by it. I have shielded her so that she will not be affected by your song, this consummation must be witnessed by her as well, since she is also your mate. It’s necessary for her to consent or you can break your bond with her, causing her agonizing pain.”
“Did he consent for us to mate?” I asked Ella, even though I knew she would never have approached me if she hadn’t.
“Our mate bond was somewhat of a surprise to everyone. I felt it a few years ago just as he felt a bond with you. I tried to ignore it, fought it almost, because he revealed your bond to all of us and I didn’t want to interfere, so I kept it a secret until a few days ago. We both had to wait until you were of age to decide for yourself, even though we already were. It’s not something that can be rushed, that can have terrible consequences for mate bonds, or none at all, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Aside from that, the age of consent for wolves is nineteen.”
“It’s just after midnight, I’m only now officially nineteen, so…”
“You were born nineteen years ago yesterday,” Mom jumped in, “when you were born, the doctor had to be summoned from a great distance away because we were in seclusion for everyone’s safety. Your official date and time of birth are different from the documented date and time because it took about six hours for the doctor to make it official. It’s just the way things were done then.”
**Did you really think I would take advantage of you? Ella laughingly asked.
**Well, you didn’t waste a minute, did you? I retorted teasingly.
Ella cleared her throat, returning to our discussion.
“To answer your question out loud, he did give me consent, but extremely reluctantly. He and I are of equal station, but we respect each other as your mates. He knew that I am not nearly as strong as he is, my resolve was weak and I had difficulty resisting the pull of fate. He hated knowing that I would be deflowering you and he would not be your first. His only request was that I not penetrate you in any way, which you made very difficult.”
“And that’s my cue to leave this conversation.” Mom’s face was pale as a sheet after hearing Ella.
“Mom, wait. What am I supposed to say?”
“Words aren’t a requirement for a Siren’s song. Sing whatever is in your heart. If words come, then sing them.” With that, Mom went to the armchair where her book rested on a nearby end-table. She took the crocheted blanket from its back, sat heavilyy in the chair and covered her lap. She picked up her book and thumbed through the pages to find where she left off, then shot me a wink before getting lost in the pages.