"How'd it go with the marine biologist?" Veridia questioned Rita the moment she set foot in the bedroom. Straight to business then. Nevermind she hadn't actually seen Veridia today, the other Mermaid had left before she woke up to help search the coasts for any evidence of more dead creatures.

"He's going to write that it was a juvenile shark but he couldn't tell exactly what it was," Rita gave her the brief version. "The bites don't match anything any land people have studied."

"You know exactly what it looks like," Veridia said, turning in her seat at the dressing table to face the mirror, she pulled a shell pin out of her hair and set it down on the table. In just a few short months the entire room had gone from being 'her' space, to being very much 'their' space. At this point Veridia had more on the dressing table than Rita herself did.

"A siren." The thought was on her mind the second she saw those first fish on Mako two months ago. As Dr Ross had kept saying about the bites - they were all wrong for anything else. Human sized bites with shark like teeth? It screamed 'Siren.' She hadn't wanted to buy into it; a Siren in this part of the world was not a good thing.

"There hasn't been one in this part of the world in a long time." Veridia removed another three pins from her hair, the braids they held up falling down, and set the pins beside the first one. "Can you help with these?"

Rita stood behind Veridia and began undoing the first braid, unweaving the strands, soft curls tangling around her fingers.

"There were rumours about a Siren living on land over in America." Over in Washington to be exact. There had always been high 'activity' in that area, the Pod that used to frequent the waters were often attacked by shadows. It took years before any of the Mermaids actually saw the shadow's face. Once they did - they left before the next Moon cycle began.

"Exactly. America," Veridia forced. "They don't live here anymore. If there was one living around Mako someone would have seen her by now."

Someone would have seen her, nothing like that could swim by Mako without someone seeing, let alone something killing so violently.

"These attacks," Rita began, "they only happen at the Full Moon. Nothing can survive only hunting once a month. Apart from werewolves."

The irregularity of the hunting sprees had bothered her. Nothing in any Sea anywhere across the world only hunted once a month and only on a Full Moon. Nothing. There was no denying a Siren was the only real candidate for what was attacking those poor creatures, but not even Sirens hunted that little.

"Don't even joke about that," Veridia twisted round in her seat. "We don't need a werewolf problem on top of a Siren problem."

Rita turned Veridia back around with one hand on each shoulder and ran her fingers through Veridia's hair, smoothing out all the curls.

"There was a werewolf here for years and he was no problem," Rita picked up a brush from the dressing table. She was 98% certain it was her brush but the hairs tangled in the bristles were unmistakably copper. Last time she checked she had dark hair. "You don't need to worry."

The Wolf was little more than a pup. He didn't bother any of them and kept himself out of trouble on the Full Moon by hiding up in the mountains. Rita had only met the boy a handful of times over the years but she felt for him.

A Wolf without a Pack is like a Mermaid without a Pod.

She emphasised with him, even with his insuffering attitude. The boy had left five Moons ago for America, before he left he promised he'd be back with a smirk and a wink. It had taken more self control than she thought she had to do nothing more than roll her eyes at him.

Rita started brushing out Veridia's hair, working out all the little tangles and knots.

"Do you remember being taught about the troëdig?" Veridia asked, disturbing the soft silence that had settled.

The name sounded familiar. It was Welsh. There wasn't much Welsh influence in the Mako Pod, but that name was so familiar. Then it hit her.

"Those land girls in Wales? The ones that attacked and killed those fishermen."

Three land girls, perfectly normal in every way suddenly snapped and murdered a group of fishermen along the western coast of Wales.

"The month before that they got attacked by a Siren."

That was not good news.

"Troëdig means turned." Realisation hit her. "They were turned into Sirens." They were never taught that part, but then land people were turned into Mermaids, why not Sirens too? An infection passed on in the same way as lycanthropy once was.

Veridia nodded, "before that no one thought it was possible. The pod there took care of them - the next Full Moon they trapped them in a cave. Two were killed during the night when they turned on each other, and the final drowned once she changed back.

"This isn't like Zac. They don't have emotions or any sense of right or wrong. The only way to stop them is to kill them."

As much as she was loath to admit it - Veridia was right.

"We need to find out who it is first before we start thinking about any of that."

She thought it best not to mention what she found out from Mimmi earlier that day, nothing could be done until the next Full Moon, best not to aggravate things too early. After all, she knew too well what Veridia could be like.

"You already know something. I can see it on your face."

Rita met Veridia's eyes through her reflection and held her gaze before relenting.

"Carly has been disappearing every night on the Full Moon. Starting from that same Moon cycle that the Siren began hunting."

"And you said nothing?" Veridia raised an eyebrow.

"I found out seconds before coming up here. Mimmi only told me this morning after her and Evie found Carly miles up the coast with no memory of how she got there."

"She has to be dealt with."

"We have to make sure first. You are to do nothing until I make sure."

No one orders the Head of the Council around and gets away with it. No one but her anyway. She wasn't part of the Pod. She was on equal standing with Veridia as her girlfriend and Veridia listened to her.

The moment she got home Carly all but crawled into bed and collapsed, sleep instantly taking over her. The walk down the coast had drained her and the mental gap weighed heavily on her mind. She stood no chance against the siren call of a nap.

She woke up hours later only mildly better.

This whole mess had to stop before she drove herself insane thinking over everything. Carly dragged herself out of her bed, still in Mimmi's pjs and set about getting ready to face the day. Afternoon? She didn't know what time it was but as long as it wasn't stupid o'clock in the morning, she had people to see.

The thing that lay across the rock may have once been vaguely human but now? It was unrecognisable. It was not fresh dead. Anyone could see that. And smell that. The rotting flesh was bloated and torn, flies buzzing around the body and the thick trails of congealed blood.

How this was missed was beyond her. It was also a massive breach of security. If something like this could be missed - what else could be missed? These shores were supposed to have been checked this morning and this thing was not a fresh kill. If she had to guess she'd say a couple months at least, on land. If it had been in the water first, then the time frame would be less.

Huge chunks of dark scale like skin were torn away from a tail of some description more akin to a dolphin's than her own. The ashen skin on the humanoid top was the same with the stomach torn open and most of the insides gone.

It looked like a Mermaid but every part of it was wrong. So wrong.

Taking a breath she ducked under the water and shot off back round the island. The Council needed to see this.

Carly rang the doorbell beside the blue door with the swirled glass and stepped back from the door to wait. Second time here today. The first time Mimmi and Evie hadn't taken her in through the underwater entrance. You really wouldn't think that looking at this house there was that place underneath it with a collection to rival Ariel's in the Little Mermaid.

She didn't have to wait long before Principal Santos opened the door. The Mermaid looked very different in her casual clothes compared to what Carly was used to seeing her in at school. Collared shirts and tight skirts replaced with a short white dress. There were even little shells pinned into her braid.

"I brought Mimmi's pajama's back," Carly held out the bag. Then stood back awkwardly once Principal Santos took the bag from her.

"Thank you," Principal Santos smiled, "I'll pass it onto her."

"Thanks," Carly slipped one hand into her front pocket. Or tried to. These shorts had fake front pockets. Her fingertips just caught on the seam.

"How are you doing?" Principal Santos asked. "I heard about this morning from Mimmi, everything okay?"

It was no surprise she knew, the Mermaids all seemed to tell each other everything. What one of them knew, they all knew.

"Yeah," Carly nodded. "Yeah it's just. It's fine, it's just fine. I should probably go."

Nothing was really 'okay' but oh well. She should really go and see David and Evie. And Cam. Someone she could actually talk to without feeling … weird.

"Why don't you come in?" Rita offered. "The kettle's just off."

"Um, okay. Thanks."

Tea sounded nice though. Her mum had made her tea but she'd fallen asleep before she could drink it and she'd been too keyed up to sit at home for another one.

"So what happened? When did this all start?" Rita set the cup in front of Carly and took a seat across from the girl.

"Three months ago. I blacked out or something and woke up the next morning in one of those caves we sometimes go swimming in."

Not a good start. Memory loss was often associated with transformations and waking up in a water filled cave? It was looking like her suspicions were confirmed already. It was too much of a coincidence for it not to be the case.

"Did anything happen before that?" Rita pressed.

"No," Carly answered too quick for that to be an honest answer. "Well…"

Nothing about that did anything to ease her worry.

"Carly, what happened?"

"It was nothing." The girl's dismissive attitude wasn't a good sign. Something happened to her and she was confident she could guess what.

"Carly."

"The last Full Moon before that I was helping David load up the boat and I got attacked by this … thing. It came from the water and knocked me over and slashed my arm."

Troëdig. Land girls attacked by a Siren and turned. Carly was attacked. Carly turned. Troëdig.

"It cut you?" Rita asked.

"Yeah, but it healed over really fast. I'm okay now."

Sirens had incredible healing, far superior to Mermaids and with less need for any of the healing salves and potions.

"Can I see?"

She'd seen her fair share of werewolf scratches over the years, she'd visited the Moon Pool in Ireland enough times to run across the Pack there. How different would Siren ones be?

"There's nothing there but okay," Carly rolled up the edge of her sleeve, "it was right across here." She drew over the rough area of the slashes. Sure enough the skin was unblemished "Healed so fast almost feels like I imagined it," Carly gave a little laugh at that.

Rita touched over where Carly marked out the cuts and the girl flinched.

"Sorry," Rita apologised. She pressed lightly against Carly's arm and moved downwards. She could feel the scars, the skin ever so slightly raised up and smoother than the rest of Carly's arm. Following the raised scar it curved around Carly's arm cutting over muscle.

"There is scar tissue there, consistent with something clawed, but healed over," Rita said. "This was four months ago now?"

"Yeah, would be," Carly confirmed, "Why did it heal so fast? What was it?"

"I'm not sure," Rita lied. Why worry the girl unnecessarily? If she told Carly, she'd spend all month worrying what was going to happen to her next time, and what the Council might do - no doubt Ondina would take full care to fill her in on exactly what the Council planned.

"I thought it was one of the little Mermaids at first but I didn't see anything. I just heard splashing and then I got knocked over by it leaping from the water," Carly pulled her sleeve back down.

"There's more out there than even a Mermaid knows."

"My parents are going insane, I can't keep doing this to them."

She felt bad for the girl, she just found out her friends were all Mermaids, and Mermen in Zac's case, and now she was pulled into that world but in such a twisted way. Mermaids and Sirens don't coexist for a reason.

"Next Full Moon why don't you stay here?" Rita proposed. If Carly was here she could be watched. Could be controlled. Then at least one of Carly's problems would be solved and the Council's problem would be solved. "If it is every Full Moon this is happening to you then staying somewhere safe is the best idea."

"What about the Full Moon celebrations?" Carly asked. "I don't want to get in the way of that."

Mermaids were inherently selfish by nature, everything came down to how to best protect themselves. It wasn't a critique, just an observation. Carly's worry of getting in the way of the Full Moon was refreshing.

"I don't celebrate with the Pod," Rita informed her, "and I'm sure Evie would stay with you if you asked."

Evie would do anything for Carly, she remembered her conversations with her after Evie first turned and her concerns- mostly regarding her dad and Carly.

"Okay," Carly agreed. "Okay, let's do it."

"Well?" Veridia asked, coming into the kitchen the moment Carly let.

"It's Carly," Rita admitted, "she said she got attacked by something that came from the water that Full Moon before all this began."

"This cannot go undealt with," Veridia said. "Every turn she will get more accustomed to her form and who knows how long before she stops hunting fish and dolphins and goes after Mermaids or even humans."

Carly had already taken down a tiger shark, Mermaids would be pretty close behind on her prey list this time.

"It will be dealt with, but this isn't like those girls in Wales," Rita warned. "When people go missing nowadays people look for them and they have a lot of resources. Carly can't just disappear."

There were times it scared her how determinedly single minded Veridia could be. Once Veridia decided what had to be done - that was it, there was no convincing her otherwise. Fortunately she'd spent a great deal of time over the years being the one to do just that.

Emotions don't work for situations like this. Land people were not Veridia's favourite and a rogue Siren was a threat, there was no denying that, but Rita wasn't about to let the Council agree to murdering a kid. Not if there was something she could do.

"The Full Moon will be here before we know it and we need to decide what to do sooner rather than later."

"We can secure her here next Full Moon," Rita said, "Carly's already agreed to it and that gets us another month before she turns again."

"Here?" Veridia questioned.

"In the pool. The sea entrance can be blocked off and then the door. She'll be trapped and can't hurt anyone."

"Those things are strong. Can it be safely secured?"

"Someone will need to watch it all night but it will hold." It might hold. She knew how to make it hold but as a teacher she knew that knowing how to do something isn't the same as being able to do something.

"If you are certain it will work, you can have the next Full Moon. I can't give any longer, this needs to be dealt with. If it fails then, I cannot stop the Council making a decision and acting on it."

"Don't you have the final say?" The Head of the Council held the power, Veridia had the final decision in all matters.

"Not if it's a unanimous decision. I risk my position if I go against every other Mermaid."

"It will work. I promise." There was no doubt she could set it up, any Mermaid could draw up a sigil and move some water around. Sealing it off was a bit harder by any Mermaid with her power could do that. Holding it up was another story. Without a Moon Ring there was no guarantee it would hold.

"I just need a Moon Ring," Rita added. Nixie had her one, wherever Nixie was. The Pod had been back for months but Nixie and Lyla had yet to return.

"I'll see what I can do."

One Month Later - The Day Before The Full Moon

"Everyone ready for tomorrow?" Evie asked joining Carly at the counter with Zac and Cam, both stuffing their faces with burgers - fish for Zac and good old fashioned hamburger for Cam.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Cam looked up, mouth full of burger.

"Full Moon," Carly reminded him. She loved him, but he could be pretty forgetful at times. Usually at the worst times.

"Oh yeah," Cam nodded upwards, "you still staying at Santos' place?"

"We are," Carly confirmed. "Mimmi's agreed to stay with us too." She felt better knowing Mimmi would be there, felt less like gatecrashing someone else's house and more like an invited sleepover.

"Girls night is it?" Zac asked, "It's okay we know our place. Don't we Cam?"

"Not sure Rita would agree with having you two staying over," Evie pointed out. She had a point, Carly couldn't imagine anyone being happy with having both Zac and Cam staying over, let alone their school principal.

"I have to say I'm offended," Cam set down his burger with a pout and crossed his arms in mock anger. "We're your oldest and bestest friends and you're excluding us?"

"It's rude, is what it is Cam. Isn't it?" Zac asked, mirroring Cam's actions. Carly rolled her eyes and Evie lightly smacked the back of Zac's head just enough to slightly ruffle his hair.

"Exactly," Cam pouted even further. "I'm upset. You upset me. How are you going to fix this?"

"Fix what?" Mimmi joined in, coming up beside Evie in front of the counter.

"They're pretending to be upset that they're not invited to our 'sleepover.'" Carly rested her elbows on the counter.

"You can come if you want," Mimmi offered.

"Yay!" Cam cheered and went back to his burger.

"At least Mimmi's nice," Zac nodded to his sister and went back to finishing his own burger.

"Are you sure?" Evie asked, turning to Mimmi. "They're not really upset, they're just being dramatic. I'm sure they'd both be fine having their own 'boy's night in'."

"Hey!" Zac protested. His protests went ignored.

"Why not? More of us there in case something goes wrong," Mimmi said, completely unbothered by her brother's antics. If only Mimmi had grown up with them. She hadn't spent enough time around Zac just yet to realise just how annoying he could really be. She'd soon learn.

"I mean if it's okay with everyone, I'd feel better with more people," Carly said. Her voice was quieter than she intended but it was enough.

"I'll bring popcorn," Zac grinned.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, chapter 4 hopefully won't be too far behind but then I always say that...

Anyways, until next time!