#4 Moonlight on the Water

Navy

“Nile, tell her that she cannot go!” My mother was glaring at me, her arms folded across her chest.

“I’m not going to do that, Isla. She is a grown lady and is free to make her own choices.” My father sighed.

“She is a princess! She does not need to be galavanting around the surface with some werewolf.”

“He’s not just some boy, mother, he’s my mate!” I shouted back.

“You have a perfectly acceptable mate right here at home. Cameron will be devastated if you leave him. You and he have been mates since childhood, you cannot turn your back on him now.” Mother narrowed her eyes at me like she was making some overwhelmingly obvious point.

“Perfectly acceptable….yes mother, because that’s how I want to live my life.” I rolled my eyes. Mother was just about ready to slap me when my father stepped in,

“Navy, don’t sass your mother. She’s just worried about you. Isla, I’m not going to prohibit our daughter from seeing her mate. She can make her own decisions. She’s not duty bound to stay here.” My father, ever the diplomat.

“I just don’t understand what is so wrong with your life here.” Mother pouted.

“Nothing’s wrong with my life, Mom. It’s not about that. It’s about exploring another option.” I tried to explain.

“The surface is dangerous and the werewolves are so different from us.” Her tone began to change and, for the first time, I noticed the worry and fear in her voice.

“Different doesn’t mean dangerous and how much do you really know about werewolves, anyway?” I asked.

“I know that they are possessive and controlling and overbearing. I know they have short tempers and get very angry.” My mother said.

“He’s my mate, he won’t let anything happen to me.” I argued. Mother just shook her head,

“Clearly I can’t stop you.” She huffed and swam away. My father floats next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders,

“She’ll come around, don’t worry about her. I’m proud of you honey.” He kissed my forehead and left me alone to pack.

A little while later, Hudson paid me a visit.

“Dad told what you’re doing.” He said, sitting down on a rock in the corner of my room.

“Hudson.” I sighed, not prepared for this goodbye. I knew it was temporary but it still hurt. Of all my siblings, Hudson and I were the closest.

“It’s okay, Navy, I understand why you’re doing it.” He smiled at me. I swam over and sat down next to him,

“You do?”

“Of course. You’ve always been destined for bigger things than being Cameron’s housewife and my advisor.” Hudson said. I rolled my eyes at him and giggled. Hudson was never the biggest fan of Cameron, even before we were mates.

“Being your advisor means a lot to me.” I argued.

“I know it does. But you’re meant to lead, not follow.” He shrugged.

“How is being mated to a werewolf and living on the surface going to change any of that?” I asked.

“You never know.” He just shrugged again, knocking his shoulder against mine.

“You’re so unfair to Cameron, he’s a good guy.” I changed topics.

“He’s an okay guy and you’d live an okay life with him. Let’s face it, Navy, you aren’t an okay type of gal. You want adventure and I think this is how you get it.” I sighed, unable to respond. I just laid my head on Hudson’s shoulder and soaked in our time together.

“Geez, it’s not forever,” Hudson laughed, shoving me off of him,

“You’re coming to visit. All the time.”

“Obviously. And, right now, I’m not even agreeing to anything full time. I’m just giving it a try.” I said.

“Yeah, okay.” Hudson snorted, shaking his head at me.

“Lochlan is coming to the palace to see you off as well.” He added before leaving my room.

I finished packing my few positions into a small bag and clutched it to my chest. I didn’t have much. The few clothing items I possessed were on the beach. I had a few pictures and keepsakes I wanted to keep close to me, and the cellphone-like seashell we used to make contact with each other between realms.

I swam out of my room in the royal palace and found my family in the dining room. My parents were at the head of the table with Hudson and his mate, Gloria to the left of them and Nadia to the right. Lochlan and his mate, Mallary, were just entering the room.

“Navy!” Mallary smiled, giving me a hug,

“Good luck, sis.” She whispered in my ear before joining our family at the table. Lochlan smiled at me and gave me a hug next,

“I’ve heard you’re stirring things up again, little sister.” He smirked. I swatted at his arm, pushing him away playfully.

“I have to keep things interesting.” I shrugged.

“Just be careful out there and call if you need anything.” He said, his eyes pulling together in concern.

“I promise.” I said in a mocking tone.

We all sat at the table to have one last dinner as a family before I would leave. Mother didn’t say a word to me throughout the entire dinner. My sister in laws wanted to know all about my mate and my brothers wanted to know when they could meet him and have a talk. Naida was bored with the entire conversation.

“Naida, when I get settled, maybe you can come and visit me.” I offered, peeking at her interests.

“Absolutely not.” My mother spoke for the first time,

“I don’t need another daughter shying away from her responsibilities.”

“Mother.” My brothers sighed at her.

“I’ve never been to the surface! I want to see it and meet a werewolf!” Naida argued.

“No.”

“Dad, please!” Naida whined to our father.

“Let’s just deal with one problem at a time, Naida.” He sighed. I mouthed sorry at him for causing more problems. He shook his head in response.

“When are you leaving?” Lochlan asked as we finished up dinner.

“In the morning. I need to talk with Cameron before I leave.”

“Have you told him anything?” Gloria asked. I shook my head,

“No, I’ve been avoiding him.” I admitted. My mother huffed from her seat at the table but said nothing.

“Just be honest with him.” Mallary suggested.

“I’m sure that’s going to go over well.” I grumbled, but I knew she was right. We finished up dinner and I said my final goodbyes to my siblings. My father said he would see me off in the morning and my mother continued to ignore me.

I went into the royal village to find Cameron. The village was just outside the palace doors while the royal city was a few miles away. The rest of our people were spread out across the ocean. The siren kingdom represented the species and kept the peace, but otherwise left the people to themselves.

Cameron lived in a large cottage with his parents on the outskirts of the village. His parents and mine were long time friends, and they were gifted the cottage by the King and Queen when they had Cameron, their only child.

“Navy! It’s so good to see you.”

“Hi, Mrs. Cotton.” I greeted Cameron’s mother,

“Can I talk to Cameron?” I asked, denying her invitation to come inside.

“Sure, just a second.” She disappeared and returned with her son.

“Hey, Cam.” I smiled, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek,

“Can we talk?” I motioned towards the open water. He smiled back,

“Course.” He took my hand and we swam through the village together.

“What’s wrong?” Cameron asked as we ventured further away from his house.

“I have to talk to you about something.” I sighed, releasing his hand and swimming slightly ahead of him,

“I’m leaving.” I said in a quick breath.

“What?” Cameron grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards him.

“I’m going to stay on the surface for a while.” I mumbled.

“Why?” His face was frantic.

“I have another mate, he’s a werewolf.” I admitted in a small voice. Cameron’s eyes revealed his torment. He released my hands and moved away from me.

“I’m sorry, Cam.” I sighed.

“You’re just going to leave me?” He whimpered.

“No, I don’t know, I haven’t decided anything yet.”

“But, you’re moving to the surface?” His voice hardened.

“Just for a little while. I need to get to know my other mate and learn what my life would be like with him.” I explained.

“What about your life with me?” Cameron snapped.

“I don’t want to hurt you, I’m sorry, but I know what my life is like here. I know what to expect. I know what my entire future looks like. You know I want more, you know I’ve always wanted adventure.” I was rambling, trying to make sense but also trying not to hurt my best friend.

“Oh, I see, you don’t think life with me would be enough of an adventure for you.” He was becoming angry and I couldn’t blame him.

“That’s not true.” I argued.

“Well I’m not just going to sit around and wait for you, Navy, why you’re off with some werewolf.” He spat.

“I know, I don’t expect you to.” I said.

“Maybe I’ll go and find another mate.” He was trying to hurt me.

“I hope that you do. Cameron, I want you to be happy.” I think I was only making things worse.

“You honestly think I can just go off and forget about you? After all this time? Do I really mean that little to you!” He yelled, waving his hands around.

“No, Cam, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love you and I value our relationship, the last thing I want to do is hurt you. But, I have to go do this for me and I can’t expect you to sit around and wait. I want you to be happy. You’ll always be my best friend.” I knew I couldn’t expect him to be happy for me or to forgive me, but I didn’t want to leave him being so angry.

“I can picture our future too, Navy, and I’m happy with it.” He said, defeated.

“I know.” I sighed.

“I can’t force you to stay.” He almost said it like a question.

“Do you really want to?” I asked and I swear, for a minute, I didn’t know what his answer would be.

“Goodbye, Navy.” Cameron shook his head at me and swam away, leaving me alone in the middle of the village.

I felt the tears streaming down my face as I watched my best friend vanish in the late night fog. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but feeling this heartache wasn’t it. What if moving to the surface was a complete disaster? What if my relationship with Knox isn’t what I want? Now, I have nothing here, either. I may have gone from two mates, to none, in a blink of an eye.