June 2006
Riley lunged at Edward in hopes to distract him just for a second. That was all the time Victoria needed to get her hands on Bella.
The sound of rock clashing rang through the clearing as Riley got to Edward. Fear and disbelief flashed in Edward's tawny eyes as Riley collided with him, taking his attention away from Bella.
She was unprotected.
Victoria wrapped her cold, stoney hand around Bella's neck, her nails digging into the soft flesh. Triumph filled the vampire's face as Bella quivered in fear, her hands gripping Victoria's wrist.
A feral growl erupted as Seth leapt at Riley and took him off of Edward. Edward was on Victoria, ripping her away from his mate, gripping her head in his hands and snapping her neck, working to pull her body apart. But the damage was done.
As Victoria was pulled from Bella, her nails sliced deep, rupturing an artery. Bella gasped and fell to her knees, her hands at her neck as tears flowed freely from her eyes.
Seth continued to drag Riley into the forest where he ripped the vampire apart, changing to set the remains a flame.
Edward turned to Bella and agony took hold of him as he saw the blood spilling from her neck like a waterfall. She was dying. He yelled and lunged at her, grabbing her shoulders to pull her close. He sank his teeth into her flesh along her shoulder, letting the venom enter her bloodstream and move through her body. Fearing that it wouldn't be enough due to the gaping wound in her neck, he took her right wrist and bit the soft flesh, letting more venom enter her body.
Bella's transformation took two and a half days. After which the Cullen's knew they had to leave. While it had been done to save her life, Edward still changed a human. This was something that went against the La Push Treaty.
They caused a gas leak in the house, resulting in a small explosion and the house burning down. What little remains were left of the newborns and Victoria were used to act as the Cullen family and Bella in order to fake their deaths.
It pained Bella greatly to do this to her father, but she knew it was better this way. With the house still burning, the Cullen family left Forks forever.
Ten Years Later
It was a particularly nice day in Forks, Washington. It took a while for things to return to normal after the newborn battle and the "death" of the Cullens and Bella, but eventually it happened and the town resumed being a small town where nothing happened.
At least, until someone bought the Cullen property and construction started. It took nearly three months to get the new house built, and no one knew when the new owner would be arriving.
Though, everyone was interested. Including some of the La Push residents.
A ruby red Ford Focus Electric with tinted windows entered Forks as the sun began to rise, not that anyone would be able to watch a sunrise with the overcast weather. The car continued on the highway, pulling off before continuing towards La Push. The driver slowed the car, looking for the right street, turning and entering a road with no distinct streets. The driver slammed on the brakes after a little while and reversed, having barely missed the desired turn.
The car turned onto a lane that wound through trees for a short time before opening up to a fairly clear opening where a house stood at the end. The car stopped in front of the house as the driver stared through the tinted windows at the two story house in front of them.
It was a two story house with a garage port to the right. While the original house had once had windows for walls, this house seemed fairly normal, with the addition of large windows to allow light in on sunny days, however few. The outside of the house had grey bricks in two different shades, a light grey for most of the exterior, but a darker grey encompassed two feet high on the bottom of the house. This house was built specifically at the new owner's request with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a spacious living room, a large kitchen, a dining room, as well as a dance studio attached to the house.
After a few moments, the car pulled around the right side of the house where the double garage door was opening and it pulled into the farthest spot before its engine was cut.
The car door opened and a woman stepped out. Even in a pair of skinny jeans tucked into heeled boots, one would use the term "legs for days" for her. She stood at five feet ten inches with a slim build that matched her height. No one could say she was tall and lanky. Her caramel brown hair fell in waves down to the middle of her back. Along with the dark skinny jeans and brown heeled boots, she wore a brown round neck sweater that hugged her curves, accentuating her breasts.
Almond shaped eyes looked around the currently empty garage. Anyone who saw her eyes would stare for the longest time, amazed at the mixture of emerald green and cognac. Every day she was around people she heard just how beautiful her eyes were. The two colors blended together in a burst from the pupil with the cognac around the pupil, mixing together but still managing to be separate from one another.
She had high cheekbones, with a straight nose that rounded a little at the tip. Her full lips were naturally a deep pink, one would describe them as kissable. Her hair framed her face in a tapered layered effect, though not giving her bangs of any sort. Something about her seemed radiant. Maybe it was her soft, sun kissed skin. It was that perfectly tanned color that some pale women killed for.
Though, anyone could tell it was something more than just healthy skin, even if they couldn't name it.
The tall, vibrant woman shifted the purse she was holding to her shoulder and took the special charging cable from the wall in front of the car and plugged it into the port on the driver's side about the front tire. She stepped over the cord and walked in front of the car to the door that would lead into the house. Pulling the silver key from among her key ring, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Everything was dark due to the lack of sunlight. She felt along the wall, knowing there should be a light switch to her left. Sure enough there was a light switch and she flicked it on. Light filled the short hallway. Straight ahead of her the glass door allowed her to see the dance studio she had requested.
A small smile pulled at her lips as she saw the studio. She was already itching to dance.
Almost immediately to her right was a door that lead to a bathroom. The door next to that revealed a closet that could be used as storage. It would probably remain empty for the time being.
She looked at the studio again, fighting the urge to dance. She had to get ready for the moving truck.
She continued to move through the house, turning on lights as she went and inspecting the new building.
With a couple of hours until the moving truck arrived, she retrieved a few boxes from her car and put them on the counters in the kitchen. She began to unpack them, one box containing bottles red and white wine that she put in a built in wine fridge under the counter. A small cubby was built in next to the wine fridge that she slid wine glasses from another box into the built in groves. Eight wine glasses fit just under the counter and she put more stemless wine glasses on a shelf that was just below the hanging wine glasses.
The other two boxes were more kitchen items that she unpacked before sitting on the stairs in the foyer to wait for the movers. When they finally arrived after eight in the morning, a moving crew quickly began making work of moving the items in the truck into the house.
The woman instructed the movers where everything would be going, her expression neutral as she tried to stay out of the way. Due to the fact that she was alone, the moving crew stayed until all of the furniture was where she wanted it and the boxes, what few there were, were placed in their respective rooms.
When the moving crew left it was well past noon. She stood in the entryway to the living room, staring at a box on top of the round table in the breakfast room to the right that was attached to the kitchen. It was one of the last boxes to have been brought in from the truck. The delicate and foreign script almost made her heart stop.
Aidan's Pictures.
She didn't have any pictures, everything had been burned to a crisp in the fire a decade ago.
Sadness gripped her heart as she walked over to the table and peeled the tape off of the box. She slowly opened the flaps of the box to see a silver looking envelope with her name in the same script as on the box sitting on top of what looked to be photo albums. She lifted it and turned it over to see a wax seal with a crescent moon keeping the letter closed.
Breaking the seal, Aidan pulled out the letter and began to read it, her eyes beginning to shine with tears.
Our Little Flame,
We have been unable to protect you from those that wish to do you harm, for that we are all sorry. We have all seen our fair share of children come and go, but you have become more than just another child, you have stolen our hearts and we regret that we can not keep you safe.
While your life is your own and you must live it on your own, we want to do what we can for you. Ensuring that your family's estate rests in your hands once again, giving you all the material possessions we could, and pointing you in the right direction is all that we can do.
Returning to you the past you lost because of us. Finding a place where you could settle down and call home.
This is all that we can do for you, little flame. Your mother, her soul happy within the Elysian Fields, wanted you to live and be happy. We cannot use our divine powers to ensure your safety, but we can use them to help make you happy.
The past is just that, the past. Stop running, accept what happened and work towards a new future. Remember who you are, where you came from, and think about where you want to go. It's okay to let yourself be happy. We hope that these memories will help you remember that you could be happy, that you were happy once.
With love,
Artemis
P.S. Should you need us, you have the woods surrounding you and the ocean close by. We will come when you call.
Aidan rubbed the tears from her eyes as her body began to glow softly. She shook her head and the glow disappeared. Setting the letter on the table she took out the first album and sat down.
She only had to open it to the first page to feel the sadness grip at her heart and a lump form in her throat as she fought tears again.
Aidan Hallowell: Birth - 5 years, was written on the front page in a cursive that she recognized as her mother's. A sonogram picture of a baby in the womb just below it.
Turning the page, Aidan got stuck staring at the beautiful woman in a bed with a wooden headboard holding an almost golden child bundled in a white blanket. The woman had short brown hair that was wavy and tucked behind her ears, matted only slightly from what Aidan knew was a hot room. She was sweating, her face flushed, but she was smiling brightly as she looked at the baby in her arms.
The picture just below had to have been taken moments after the first, but the woman was looking up at the camera with an adoring smile. Her stormy grey eyes were sparkling joyously.
Aidan shut her eyes tightly, the pain gripping at her heart and her body beginning to glow again. She stood up from the table, shutting the photo album and walking away.
She couldn't face the past, not yet. Maybe not ever.
The rest of the day Aidan unpacked the boxes in her bedroom. The boxes of clothes took her hours to go through, she hadn't seen most of the clothes before she started unpacking them so it was all new to her.
Everything in the house was new to her. She had spent the past decade running, keeping only necessities with her as she traveled all over the States and up into Canada. She had taken some time to get her GED, to say that she got it, but only death followed and she ran again.
Aidan had never stayed in one place for too long. This was the first time she had her own home since her mother died.
The walk-in closet attached to the master bath was more of a small room and was still half empty after unpacking all of the clothes, shoes, and purses that had filled half a dozen large boxes. She opened the sliding door on the opposite end of the room and found herself in the laundry room. She deposited the broken down boxes in there before returning to her bathroom where she unpacked a couple of boxes that had an assortment of body care items and other bathroom necessities.
When her stomach complained loudly, Aidan left her unpacking task to return downstairs where she didn't look at the photo album or box and went straight for the kitchen. There wasn't much for her to eat just yet, so she settled for the power bars and jerky she had brought with her.
After the quick break she returned the unpacking her bedroom and making sure that felt like home.
She didn't pay attention to the time, just finished organizing her bathroom before moving to the bedroom. There she set up sheer light blue curtains on the two large windows. A matching canopy was set up over her four poster California King sized bed that was set up against the wall to the left of the room.
A yawn escaped her as soon as she started making the bed, the light grey silk sheets cool on her skin. She looked at her phone on the charger on the nightstand and found that it was only after nine. She hadn't done any of the heavy lifting, but having spent most of the previous night awake driving, the exhaustion was finally catching up with her.
She turned off all the lights in the house and made sure the doors were all locked before she returned to her bedroom and shut that door, also locking it, before stripping completely and slipping underneath the silk sheets.
For four days after Aidan moved in the sky continued to be mostly overcast with little hope for sunshine. With the pain from having her past in a box in her closet, all she wanted was to feel the sun on her skin and to feel the comfort that usually came with a caring hug when the sunlight touched her.
Everyday after she first moved in was spent familiarizing herself with the new house and all of her new belongings. She moved through each room as she organized it until all the boxes and packaging were in the garage ready to get taken away with the weekly trash pickup. She had taken the box full of memories up into her bedroom closet, stashing it away in the back alcove on a top shelf.
On her fifth day in Forks the clouds finally gave way to fairly clear skies. She had stopped her morning dance practice to close her eyes and soak in the warmth that the sun provided. After her two hours of dance was finished she simply rinsed off in her luxury shower and changing into a simple black bikini, a blue short sleeved dress with a scooped neckline that stopped just above her knees, and black lace up mid-calf boots with grey knee high socks.. With a beach towel, phone, and book, large water bottle, and a couple of power bars in a backpack, she put her sunglasses on and went to her car.
In her breaks from unpacking she had utilized google maps to look at the surrounding area. This revealed the beaches of La Push.
Before driving, Aidan looked at the best way to what was called Second Beach. There had been another beach that would have been more ideal, Third Beach, but she didn't want to spend the better part of an hour just trying to get to the beach.
The drive went by fairly quickly and she parked along the side of the road close to the Second Beach Trail. After locking the car and putting her backpack on, cell phone secure within, she started for the trail. It was a weekday, close to nine in the morning so there weren't many people on the trail.
The air was crisp and refreshing on her hot skin. While walking in the woods was normal to Aidan, these woods felt different to her. She could almost feel magic in the air and it brought a smile to her full lips. She looked up at the canopy of trees above her, her sunglasses shielding her eyes from the rays of sunshine that managed to break through.
The sounds of birds chirping and animals scurrying through the trees and along the forest floor brought a sense of calm washing over her. If there were sounds of other critters she knew there was no danger.
The closer she got to the ocean the stronger the pull became. It wasn't a strong pull, not as much as it would have been for one of her cousins, but it was there. After walking for about fifteen minutes she could finally see the ocean through the trees. Her smile grew bigger as her steps quickened until she was out of the trees and standing on sand.
The waves crashed along the beach, and she walked closer towards it. She looked around and found some driftwood out of the reach of the waves. She changed course and dropped her backpack on top, sitting on the driftwood to unlace her boots and peel them and her socks off. The cool sand on her feet made her sigh.
Standing, Aidan took her sunglasses off and set them down next to her backpack before she pulled her dress over her head, four small crescent shaped scars just under her right collarbone revealed, and dropped it on top of her backpack before walking towards the waves.
Excitement filled her chest as she felt the water licking at her toes before receding. She continued moving further in, the waves crashing against her. The sudden shock of cold water against her hot skin made her gasp.
It was shocking at first, but after a moment she adjusted and dove under the waves, letting her entire body to be submerged in the cold water. She continued to swim underwater for a few moments before angling back towards the surface. Breaking the surface she took a breath and opened her eyes, her body bobbing slightly with the water as she kicked her legs to keep afloat.
The feeling of being in the water with the sun shining down on her had her feel extremely relaxed. She started leaning back until she was floating, her arms outstretched and her eyes closed as she let herself soak in the wonderful feeling of belonging.
After what felt like hours, though only minutes had passed, Aidan swam back to shore. She walked back to her backpack and pulled her towel out, laying it out on the driftwood and the sand before sitting on it, leaning against the driftwood. She allowed the sunlight and her naturally high body heat to dry the water on her skin.
She leaned her head back on the driftwood and closed her eyes, soaking up the sun and letting it comfort her, pushing away the sadness and emptiness she had been feeling for days.
"Haven't seen you around here before," a deep voice called from somewhere to Aidan's right.
Fear and alarm filled her heart as her eyes snapped open and she jumped slightly, her whole body going rigid as she looked to her right to find a large man with dark skin a few feet from her. He was dressed in only a pair of dark swim trunks, his chest bare. He was attractive and well built.
He raised his hands in the air at shoulder level in a non-threatening gesture at her sudden rigid posture and alarmed eyes. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he said with a small smile. "My name's Seth," he continued.
Aidan could still hear the sound of birds in the trees behind her; she was in no immediate danger. Slowly, she relaxed and moved to sit on the driftwood. "Aidan," she responded finally.
The man smiled and let his hands fall to his side. "So what brings you to Second Beach? Usually tourists go to First Beach, and you don't seem like a camper," he nodded at the fairly small backpack next to her.
Aidan looked him in the eye, trying to feel for any negativity from him. The only thing she saw in his brown eyes was honest curiosity, and what was probably attraction. She averted her eyes to look at the ocean. "I actually just moved to Forks, I figured I would visit this beach since it's a little out of the way," she admitted, glancing over at him.
"Oh, are you the one who built that new house on the old Cullen property?" he asked, his voice almost excited as he walked over to sit on the sand a couple feet from her.
She tensed slightly and looked at him, her eyes cautious. Though, looking at him, Aidan kind of felt like she was looking at a puppy even though he looked like he was in his twenties. He was giving off a kind and warming aura that it made her relax against the driftwood.
"Uh, yeah," she mumbled.
"So how come you moved to Forks?" he asked crossing his legs and leaning on his arms, his hand on his ankles.
The question had her biting her bottom lip as she looked at him for a moment before looking at the ocean again. She had hoped he wouldn't ask that question. She wasn't much of a liar, truth ran in her blood. "I…" she hesitated before looking at the partly cloudy sky, looking for a sign.
As if granting her wish, the sun shone brightly down on them as a particularly large cloud began to break apart. Her two toned eyes looked at the clouds that were dispersing and thinning, unable to block the sun from her view.
Her heart throbbed slightly as she looked back at the crashing waves on the shoreline. If she had been anyone else, she would have considered that a huge coincidence, but she knew better.
With a soft sigh she looked back at the handsome man waiting patiently for her answer. "I moved here because Carlisle Cullen said I would be protected," she told him in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone.
Silence fell between them, the sound of the crashing waves and birds chirping in the forest the only sounds filling the air between them. She watched him closely, waiting to see the doubt and the frown as he called her crazy. She had been told that the Cullen's were believed to be dead, that they made people think they were dead.
Finally, Seth nodded and smiled slightly at her. "Esme called a few weeks ago and gave us a heads up that you would be arriving. We just had to be sure you were the girl she was talking about," he leaned back on his hands. "Though, she didn't say why you needed protection."
Aidan breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at her feet on the ground. "It's kind of a long story," she started before something he said finally registered. She frowned and looked at him again. "You said 'we,' who's 'we'?"
Seth grinned and motioned towards the woods with his head.
She looked at the forest and frowned when she didn't see anything. Her bright eyes scanned the trees, searching but still not finding anything. "What am I…?" her voice caught in her throat as she finally saw a large figure step into view within the trees.
It was massive, about as tall as a full grown horse. Russet colored fur contrasted against the brown and green of the forest. And its eyes were such a soft chocolate brown.
Aidan gasped as her eyes met with the wolf's eyes. Its chocolate orbs filled with so many different emotions that she didn't know where to begin. Her heart clenched in her chest and her throat constricted as she saw two shimmering gold threads in her peripherals appear in the space between them. She was unable to tear her eyes from the wolf's eyes as the two golden threads became entangled together, giving a soft pinkish red glow before disappearing from her sight.
She bolted up and stepped backward. The sudden movement caused her to fall backwards on her butt and the wolf took a step forward, its eyes wide with concern.
Seth jumped from his spot and rushed to her, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock. "Are you okay?" he asked as he helped her to her feet.
Aidan nodded numbly as she watched the wolf take another step towards them, emerging from the forest. Seth looked at her with wide eyes before looking at the wolf with a shocked look.
The wolf took another tentative step towards them and Aidan took a step back, moving closer to the ocean, pulling her arm from Seth's grip. The wolf stopped moving and continued to stare at her, it's dark eyes flashing with pain for a moment before lowering.
Seth looked to Aidan with a concerned look. "He won't hurt you," he whispered, clearly taking her reaction to be fear.
And in a sense, she was afraid, but it wasn't because there was a massive wolf in front of her. She was afraid of what she saw in the air between them. Threads of fate joining and shining a soft pinkish red color. She had heard stories about it.
Soulmates.
Emotion choked her and Aidan shook her head. "I can't," she whispered as she took another step back. "I can't do this, not again," she choked on her words before turning and running into the ocean.
"Aidan!" Seth cried out after her.
She threw herself into the ocean with one word slipping past her lips before she was submerged in the water. "Aphrodite."
Slender arms wrapped around Aidan's body as she felt the water rushing past her.
"Little flame, why are you running?" a musical voice asked as they found their way into an underwater cove.
Aidan opened her eyes and looked at the golden beauty holding her. The water was surrounding them in a bubble. She looked at the woman with tears in her eyes, her own skin beginning to glow softly, but not coming close to the brilliant glow the blonde Goddess had.
Aphrodite's brilliant violet eyes softened as she tucked Aidan's wet hair behind her ear. "You shouldn't be afraid of him, little flame."
"I'm afraid of what will happen, of what I'll do," she admitted as she lowered her head onto the Goddess's shoulder.
The Goddess lowered her head on top of Aidan's as she held her. "You have more control than before, you won't lose control," she said softly.
Aidan flinched in her arms. "I haven't experienced such intense emotions like that since the accident. How do you know I won't lose control?" she asked tensely.
Aphrodite took Aidan by the shoulders and held her at arm's length, a serious look in her violet eyes. "Because he's your soulmate. You two were made for each other. This is my specialty, Aidan. Besides, I'm not telling you to jump right in and have sex with him right away!"
Aidan's face grew hot, but her glow remained constant. Aphrodite laughed and let her go. "See? Your powers didn't escalate, you have more control. You just have to take things slow, get to know him, get used to him," she placed a finger under Aidan's chin and lifted her head slightly so that she was looking into her eyes. "You deserve to be happy, Aidan. It took me a decade to find him for you, and honestly, I only managed to find him with the help of Artemis. The souls of those wolves are protected from other Gods," she explained with a pout. "Such a shame that I didn't know about them sooner, did you see that one with you?" she made an appreciative sound, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Aro!" Aidan exclaimed, using the nickname she had called the Goddess when she was a child.
Aphrodite laughed as she took the other woman's hand. "Don't be so embarrassed, Aidan, you're twenty six! Now go on, your man is desperately searching for you," she said as the water crashed in on them before Aidan could do or say anything.
The sudden loss of air shocked Aidan as she felt herself being hurled away from the Goddess, bubbles surrounding her as she was pushed away from the ocean floor and the cove they had been in.
Stop running, little flame. Let yourself be happy, the musical voice of the Goddess of Love echoed in her head as she clenched her eyes tightly from the torrent of water and bubbles surrounding her.
As the rough waves took hold of her, the bubbles that had been guiding her towards the beach dissipated. She tumbled in the water as the waves took her by surprise. Her lungs burned with the need for air as she fought to try and get her bearings.
Large arms encircled her and pulled her close to a large, bare chest. Surprise at the heat took her breath away and air escaped her, the bubbles rushing to the surface.
The man broke the surface and they both gasped for air.
"He found her!" Aidan barely heard the yell over the sound of the waves and the heavy breathing of the man holding her.
She stared straight at the glistening chest, afraid to look up. Her heart was racing and her skin was tingling where ever he was touching her.
"Are you hurt?" his voice was deep, but it was soft with concern. An overwhelming feeling of peace filled her and she instantly felt bad for having run from this man. Was there some way that he knew of their connection, of the fact that they were soulmates?
Aidan finally lifted her head to look up at the man holding her. His chocolate brown eyes were looking down at her, concern and adoration filling their depths. Her throat clenched at the intensity in his eyes. Never had she seen anyone look like that. Not even Nick had looked at her like that.
He knew.
"Are you okay?" he whispered, one arm reaching up to move hair out of her face as the other hand continued to hold her close.
Aidan tore her gaze from his and nodded, her face growing hot at her body brightening slightly. "Cold," she lied.
The man snorted in laughter but started to swim towards shore with her still in his grasp.
Aidan frowned and lightly pushed away from him. "I can swim," she argued softly. She felt him hesitate before letting her go, but she refused to look at him. She wasn't ready to look into his eyes again, she needed to get a hold of her emotions.
When he finally let go of her, Aidan took a breath and dove underwater, opening her eyes to see where she was going. For a split second her eyes burned with the salt, but the feeling disappeared quickly as she began to swim.
Surprise filled her as she felt the heat of her soulmate next to her. She glanced over to see that he was keeping up with her, though not underwater.
Curiosity filled her as she wondered just how fast he could swim. While she might not be the daughter of Aphrodite or Poseidon, neither of them let her go without learning how to swim. Her mother had made sure to take her to the ocean every summer where she spent most of her time in the water.
Pain stabbed at her heart as she remembered her mother, but the warmth radiating from this man swimming next to her was dulling the pain.
She shook her head and flicked her legs a little harder, keeping her hands together in front of her to slice through the water. As they neared the shore, Aidan felt her lungs burning for air and she broke the surface. He had nearly caught up with her.
Laughter bubbled up in her chest and she pushed forward, diving under again and continuing towards shore. That split second gave him the opportunity to catch up with her.
Aidan let the waves take her to shore. She stumbled on the sand before falling to her butt, the waves crashing over her legs. She looked at the ocean to see a grinning man walking towards her.
Without really knowing why, she started laughing.
The man who had 'saved' her stopped, still waist deep in water to stare at her. He was both confused and amazed at the sound of her laughter.
"What's so funny?" Seth asked from behind her. He was dripping wet, apparently he had been in the ocean looking for her, too.
Aidan leaned back on her hands and tilted her head back to look at Seth, a smile on her face. "I guess it's only funny to me that you all thought I was in danger," she admitted as she lifted her head to look at the man in the ocean who was now frowning.
"It's funny that we thought you were dead? There was a shark heading right towards where you jumped in!" he exclaimed.
The waves crashed against her legs as she stood up. "You don't understand, nothing in the ocean will harm me," she started to explain when the waves receded and the water level reached below his waist. She yelped and turned quickly, turning her back to him as her face grew hot and her her body started glowing again.
Seth groaned and tossed a pair of shorts at the man, "Clothes, please."
"Why wouldn't anything in the ocean harm you?" the man asked as he caught the shorts and put them on, walking further onto shore to get out of the water.
Covering her face with her hands, Aidan walked over to her belongings. "They recognize family," she mumbled.
"Family? You're part fish?!" another man exclaimed as he ran up to them.
Aidan snorted in laughter as she sat on her towel on top of the driftwood, her bikini already starting to dry. "Do I look like I'm part fish?" she looked at the new man and was starting to understand what Aphrodite meant.
While she found she was attracted to the man who was her soulmate, she could see that this new man and Seth were very attractive. Though, there wasn't much difference between them - they were all extremely muscular, taller than six feet, and cropped black hair. And they seemed to prefer to not wear a shirt, though she wondered if this was due to them being a wolf.
"Well, no, but why else would you say they're family?" the new guy crossed his arms over his large chest as he frowned.
By now all three of them were standing a few feet in front of her, her soulmate wearing a pair of black and grey swim trunks.
Aidan looked at them for a moment before sighing and looking at the ground. They didn't seem as infatuated with her like other humans did.
Well, except for the larger man. He was still staring at her with the same adoration behind the confusion.
"Poseidon is my great uncle," she said softly, "I'm the daughter of Apollo."