Mated to a Mermaid

Chapter 2

Lucas’ POV

It’s been six long, hard years since I lost my hearing. I wasn’t the only one it happened to. Elizabeth lost her voice and Helen lost her sight. We all lost our family and friends that day; all except the seven of us. Uncle Steven said we are now siblings, and he is acting Alpha until I am old enough to rebuild the pack. He took on the role of father, provider and mentor. Even though the pack was wealthy enough to close the businesses Dad had, he kept them going for our future.

He couldn’t bring himself to leave the pack, nor could he go back to the packhouse the way it was. We stayed in the caves with sleeping bags and tents for a few weeks while he sorted out all the dead bodies and laid them to rest. Peter and I helped as much as we could, but Uncle Steven didn’t want any of us to see what happened. Once everything was cleared, we moved to one of the empty houses near the Lillvan Coven. Uncle Steven said it wasn't touched by those who attacked us. I think he lied and had it built when we were in the cave. Either way, we moved in there, and he called for grandpa Horice to come see us.

Grandpa noticed Elizabeth, Helen and I were enchanted straight away. He tried to reverse it; but without knowing what mum and Aunty Lucinda had done, he wasn’t able to. Did I mention that it was them who put the enchantment on us? It’s different from a curse or a charm. I remember reading something about enchantments. For the desired effect, you must give something in return. That’s why we lost one of our senses. Mum and Aunty Lucinda had hidden our witch side. Anyone who smells us will think we are just a werewolf. They can’t smell we are half witch.

Uncle Steven had sent us to a human boarding school for people with similar disabilities. They taught us sign language and I know how to read lips because not everyone knows how to sign. Peter, Eden and Josie went there too; mainly to help us with what we needed to know.

Now I'm 18 and have finished school, I’m heading to the kingdom pack where King Isaac is going to teach me what I need to do as an Alpha. I’m also going to see if I can find out as much information as I can about enchantments and what enchantment was put on us. Grandpa said it was a long shot, but if there was anything written down; it would be there.

Peter and Eden are heading to the Gray Moon pack. Uncle Steven said I needed a beta and who better to have than my best friend and brother. He said he could teach Peter himself, but thought someone with a full pack could help him better.

“Are you ready to go?” Uncle Steven signed, coming into my room. I nodded my head in response and picked up my suitcase as we both headed down to the car. I’m a bit nervous. This is the first time I've flown anywhere. King Isaac’s son, Prince Kyle, is being taught too. I hope he isn’t a stuck up, know it all like I’ve heard royal families can be.

“King Isaac is going to have someone pick you up when you land” Uncle Steven mind links while we begin our journey to the airport. I didn’t feel like talking, so I nodded my head in response. “You’ll be fine, King Isaac is a great king and an even better man.”

“Do you think I will be a good Alpha?” I asked, looking outside the window as we merged onto the freeway towards the airport.

“Is that what is bothering you?” He replied and I sucked in a deep breath. “Lucas, you’ve just turned 18. You’ve had Bruce for 2 years now, and you are a team.” He isn’t answering my question. Does he not think I will be a good Alpha? I continued to look out the window, deep in thought.

I take in another intake of air and turn my head to glance at Uncle Steven as he pulls into the carpark at the airport. “I think you will be a great Alpha; maybe even better than Derek. You will only get stronger when you find your Luna. She is out there somewhere and will complete you”, he signs and speaks at the same time.

I nodded my head and got out of the car, retrieving my suitcase from the trunk. I checked in and got my ticket as I watched my suitcase leave on the conveyor before turning and saying goodbye to Uncle Steven. After I board the airplane; I take my phone out of my pocket, place it on airplane mode and scroll through my pictures; landing on one. Her smile lights up my world with her long brown hair pulled to the side of her round face. Her sparkling blue eyes beamed at me.

“I wish you could have been my Luna” I said inwardly to myself. Bridget; my one and only love while I was at school. I dated a few others after her, but was never serious. It’s hard being a werewolf/witch hybrid around humans. We had to watch everything we did, so we didn’t tip them off. Secrecy is in our DNA; we can’t have hunters chasing us down; we don’t know who attacked our pack and that was bad enough. We concluded it was some extremist wanting to get rid of Helen, Elizabeth and me because we are a hybrid.

“She is out there” Bruce says to me, glancing at the photo through my eyes.

“Who? Bridget?” I asked, smiling inwardly at the photo. I know he was talking about my mate but if he was talking about Bridget, naturally she is out there. Where? I’m not sure. Her father removed her from the boarding school just before she turned 16, to finish her schooling closer to home. He kept his son, Matthew, at the boarding school. Why couldn’t he keep her there? She was my world and we were great together. Yes, she was human but she got me. She and her brother were in an accident when they were toddlers. She lost both her voice and hearing, and he lost his sight, like Helen.

“Your Luna” he states, sitting down in my mind. He is always at the forefront of my mind when we are by ourselves. He is my ears; if someone starts a conversation, he tells me what they said, so I can reply. Then I take it from there, if they are facing me. Uncle Steven was right when he said we were a team. “Of course, we are,” he snickered.

“Do you think we will find our mate in the kingdom pack? I’m 18 now; anything is possible”, I asked Bruce as the plane took off and leveled out in the sky as I looked out the window.

He looks at the photo of Bridget again and gives me a nudge; “I doubt it. She will come when she is ready.”

“Always cryptic”, rolling my eyes at him. We’ve had this conversation several times since I was 16. We get our wolves normally on our 16th birthday. I’ve heard of some coming sooner and some coming later; but generally, it’s on our birthday. Even though we get our wolves at 16, we don’t know who we are mated to until we turn 18. It’s like our sense of smell becomes stronger, and we can pinpoint our mates' scent in a room full of wolves.

Mmm; scents; caramel and sea salt, that’s Bridget’s. I’m not going to say anything, whenever I do, Bruce tells me the same thing. It’s like he has a secret, and he isn't sharing, or refuses to. Not sure which one. Bruce moves his head between his front shoulder joints; did he just shrug his shoulders at me?

He lets off a snicker and I roll my eyes again before turning off my phone and placing it in my pocket. “We are starting our decent”, Bruce states, as I lean back against the back of my chair and wait to touch down. I wonder who my mate is, and will I feel the same way as I do about Bridget? “She is out there”, Bruce says again, nudging me with his snout. See? The same thing.

The touchdown was a bit bumpier than I expected. All in all, the flight was quite smooth. I headed up the tunnel and through some double glass doors, moving my way through the crowd of loved ones reuniting to find who was taking me to see King Isaac. In a corner of the busy baggage claim, a dark-haired man was holding a piece of cardboard with my name on it.

“I’m Lucas Surry” I stated, walking up to him.

He puts the board down and starts signing; “I’m Beta Cody. The castle is about an hour’s drive from here.”

“Thank you” I whispered as I collected my suitcase from the carousel, and we walked towards a black SUV with tinted windows in the pick-up and drop-off zone. He’s signing. Did they learn sign language because of me? Is Beta Cody the only one who knows sign language? "Is that all the luggage you have?"

"Yes" I answered with a tiny grin. I can get the rest of my stuff by teleporting it to me, I just don't tell anyone that I can do it.

Since I didn't give any more details, Beta Cody continues; “Under the circumstances, King Isaac made sure we all learned sign language to communicate with you. Gamma Nathan will be teaching you combat training. I will be teaching you the leadership skills you require, and King Isaac will be overseeing both” he signed his explanation before I stepped into the back seat of the SUV. “You will be joined by my son’s Hunter and Jacob, the future Beta and Gamma, along with Prince Kyle. All four of you will be learning together” he added, before closing the door and climbing into the driver’s seat to take me to the castle.

The drive was uneventful. When we arrived, King Isaac was waiting for us with Kyle, Hunter, Jacob and Gamma Nathan. Kyle had a woman dressed in street walker attire on his arm, who eyed me up and down; her nose turned upward like she was going to go deaf too. Other than that, they all seemed very friendly for the most part. Besides mixing a few words, they were able to sign quite well. “We will get you settled in. Dinner will be at six, and you start your training at 8 A.M” King Isaac signed, turning to head back into the castle. I followed Gamma Nathan, and he showed me to my room. My room for the next two years. I drew in a breath and made my way in through the doorway.