King Bailey POV
Riley looks relaxed as we head out of the pack and towards the town. Her hair is billowing in the wind, her eyes are sparkling and there's a gleam in her eyes. I touch her hand, feeling the softness of her skin, looking longingly at those pink lips of hers. Just touching our mate is enough to content my lycan and I and we purr, as we begin to drive while Riley cocks her head and stares eagerly out the window.
"How long has it been since you've gone into town?" Riley asks with curiosity.
I frown and think about it. To be honest I can't remember the last time I went into town. For the most part, Thomas tends to or I send somebody to fetch what I want. I give a careless shrug. "I guess it's been a while" I admit sheepishly "I guess I've never really felt the inclination to go but now" I pause and look at her deliberately while continuing to deftly steer the car on the main highway "I have a reason to want to go more often" I wink at her as she giggles at me.
"Where are we going?" she asks.
She has her swimsuit on underneath a casual dress and her eyes are filled with excitement.
"It's a surprise" I grumble.
She pouts. It looks so adorable that for a moment I almost get distracted.
We head to the back part of town and Riley's eyes widen. She sniffs the air and I glance at her. Is it possible that she's able to pick up the scent? I park and climb out and she gets out, still sniffing eagerly. I can barely smell the salt water or the ocean but she's picking it up and I swear her eyes are glowing even brighter.
"I can smell the ocean" she whispers, her voice shaking slightly as she looks at me longingly.
I shake my head at her "We are having lunch first" I tell her firmly as she makes a move towards the direction of the water, "then we go swimming."
She looked slightly disappointed but nodded. I chuckled and gripped her hand, leading her up the carpark and towards a quint little building that was a pub on the waterfront. "We can sit out and look at the water" I propose and she lights back up.
We head inside and then out onto the balcony, grabbing a table. I hand her a menu and she begins to eagerly pursue it.
"What are you craving?" I ask her as she begins to lick her lips while gazing back out to the ocean.
The water is like a crystal blue and the sand is pale gold. It's gorgeous and one of the reasons I had chosen to go into town. She's practically bouncing on her seat in her excitement.
"Fish," she says quickly, "I really want the battered fish and chips."
She almost moaned. I felt my groin tighten. Damn. Her voice was music to my ears. I glanced down at the menu and then shrugged. I got back up. "I'll go order," I told her as she nodded "do not go anywhere" I added.
"Promise" she whispers still looking out onto the water.
I rush to place the order and come back. To my relief, she's still sitting there. I grab her hand as I sit down and begin to stroke it.
"Just so you know you look absolutely stunning," I tell her as a small smile curves on her lips.
"Thank you but you don't have to say that," she says quietly, amused "I know I'm not exactly dressed up."
"I think you look gorgeous," I tell her honestly "you always do."
Her eyes look suspiciously shiny. She gives me a smile "Well you don't happen to look so bad yourself" she laughs.
I wink "thanks" I growl making her laugh out loud.
The waiter is a handsome young shifter man who brings our drinks and food over, placing them in front of us. I see him eyeing Riley appreciatively and can't help the low growl that comes out of my throat.
"Is there anything else that you need?" he asks her, leaning over and ignoring me.
My eyes begin to flash a dangerous dark black color and Riley looks at me apprehensively.
"No thank you," she tells the man.
My voice is dangerous "Beat it pup, she's taken."
The waiter looks at me and his eyes widen as he realizes who I am. He immediately ducks his head in apology. "Sorry Sir, I didn't know she was..." he trails off.
"Now you do" I snarl.
He quickly heads off while Lorelai giggles to herself.
"You're a little overprotective" she points out.
"If anything I'm underprotective" I growled "if he hadn't been so young, I would have strong-armed him through the window and flung him to the ground below."
She looked a little shocked "Really?"
I stared at her without blinking "Yes."
"Oh," she said faintly "but you didn't."
"He's young and stupid. Not to mention I didn't want to ruin our first date" I said beginning to cut into my steak while Riley began to cut into her fish "I'm sorry it might seem a little much to you, but there's a reason I'm the Lycan king and my Lycan is very protective of his mate" I emphasized.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said weakly, putting her fork to her mouth and chewing, her eyes widening in amazement.
I grinned. "It's good isn't it?"
I had forgotten how good the food was here. Riley enthusiastically bobbed her head up and down, eagerly biting into another forkful. "It's so tender and juicy," she said, moaning and causing my cock to clench "it's really good."
"Do you want some steak?" I offered.
She shook her head and offered some fish. I wrinkled my nose. I was not much of a fish fan. I shook my head and we returned to eating. I glanced out over the water.
"Do you think..." Riley begins and then stops.
"Do I think?" I ask staring at her.
"Are there more sirens out there, like me?" she asked tentatively "do you think?"
I exhale "I don't know. Shifters fear your kind so much they practically wiped your kind out of existence. If there are anymore they are either hiding or too afraid to come out. I can't say as I blame them" I added "I would love to find more sirens or more half sirens but for the moment, I can't say that it's going to be possible."
She looks disappointed. "It would just be nice to have somebody to talk to" she murmured, biting her lip "somebody who understood what it was like."
"I'm sorry Riley, I really am. I can keep looking in the different packs but realistically..." I pause "if I was a siren or half siren, I would hide out in the human world instead which makes it even more complicated to find them."
She nods and absent mindedly bites into another piece of fish. I feel a little awful for her. I look over the ocean. I can see several shifters surfing out on the waves, their arms outstretched, enjoying the sunshine and the calm swell of the ocean. I can see children building sandcastles, using small buckets to create muddy piles with which to create their sculptures. I look at Riley thoughtfully "You have a sibling out there somewhere don't you?" I ask quietly.
"Damien" she says frowning "he ran away though instead of being executed and I don't think, I don't think it's a good idea to try and find him" she confesses "he was always so abusive and mean. I'm glad he's gone" she says and I inwardly sigh.
She had no way of knowing I was on the hunt for her missing brother, wanting to know where he might have vanished to. So far there had been no signs of him. Riley finishes her fish and leans back against the chair, a satisfied look on her face. Her eyes refuse to move away from the ocean. I push my plate away and fight back my grin. She's desperate to get in the water.
"Why don't you go in and I'll go grab our bags from the car" I suggest.
She looks like Christmas has come early. "Thank you so much" she breathes, hugging me enthusiastically "I'll just be down there."
"Don't wait for me" I say dramatically, while she giggles at my expression "I'm just the bag carrier."
She's already rushing out as I make my way towards the car. It doesn't take a moment to grab our bags and shut the trunk of the car. I make my way leisurely towards the ocean, a smile on my face as I picture Riley in my mind who is no doubt swimming by now. I get closer to the ocean and the sight in front of me has me gasping as I stare incredulously and see that shifters on the ocean have paused to do the same while Riley is oblivious to everything. The ocean had just transformed her in ways I never could have imagined. Was it because of the saltiness of the water or was there something else at play?