In which, Freya Swan discovers that being a mermaid isn't exactly a fairy-tale. From fearing the ocean to the siren curse, can Freya Swan find her happy ending?
[New Moon | Breaking Dawn - Jacob Black]
[Book 1 in The Syreni Series]
[cover by @hanni...
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Emily's kitchen had always been known as the heart of the pack; a place so warm and welcoming, but the site of four girls sat anxiously around the table in their black mourning clothes darkened the room.
"Freya, your hot chocolate is getting cold," Emily pushed the lukewarm drink towards the younger girl with a sympathetic smile, the straw almost falling out. "Are you hungry? I can cook..."
Kim sipped her drink, eyeing Freya warily. Next to Freya, Alison sat staring at the table, chewing on her nails in silence. They were waiting for the pack to come back with an update about the Clearwater siblings.
"I'm okay," Freya told Emily.
The older woman sighed. "Freya, you know Jacob doesn't blame you."
"How would you feel if you compelled Sam?" Freya's looked from Emily to Kim. "Or Jared?"
"Well...I would be devastated," Kim looked away.
"I know," Emily grew quiet. "But things will get better, I'm sure of it - for both of you," Emily reached across the table, squeezing Alison's hand. "Leah will be okay."
"I don't even know who she is," Alison realised. "How am I supposed to feel?"
"You're the first to know about imprinting before the imprinter," Kim spoke. "I think maybe just giving Leah some space until she comes to you is best."
"She'll be incredibly overwhelmed," Freya noted sadly. "I can't imagine what's going on inside her mind right now."
They carried on the small talk, wondering about the possibilities now that the first female had shifted and imprinted. Freya couldn't help thinking about what it meant for Leah to be in a pack with her ex, who was engaged to her cousin and now being told that she's a supernatural creature, who imprinted on a mermaid. Then throw it all on top of it happening on the day of her father's funeral.
Freya turned to her friend. "Want to take a walk?"
Alison nodded, neither Kim nor Emily asking to join as the two girls smiled in farewell. They wouldn't go far either, knowing the pack wouldn't be happy to come back to find that they had disappeared. Both mermaids were longing for the sea, particularly Freya now, but Sam wasn't confident enough that it was safe.
The outskirts of the woods that surrounded Emily and Sam's little house protected them both from the wind. Out of instinct, they both looked up to the cloudy sky with a frown, unknowing to if it would rain or not. Alison kicked a small rock, an exasperated sigh slipping past her lips.
She spoke, "I know what you're going to say."
"What?" Freya pulled her coat tighter around her body, protecting herself from the sharp wind. "I was just going to see how you're doing? About the imprint?"
"Oh," she looked down. "I thought you wanted to walk to ask me..."
