Chapter 100 - Ocean - What Does It All Mean? Part 3

~~

Ocean

~~

Makai had wanted to hop back into the pool to change back but his clothes were wet, or at least his shorts and boxers were, so he had to stay that way until someone got him something dry to wear. My current look was deemed 'acceptable' so I was forced to sit in the chairs that were near the edge of the room and wait for the show to continue.

I was just really glad that the dress hadn't returned. That would most definitely be unacceptable. And to be honest, being in a see through dress in front of my parents would have been worse than being in it in front of Makai's parents.

After a couple minutes, Mr. Rivers returned from Makai's bedroom with some clothes and helped him to the changing room that I had used earlier. He came back out a few moments later, dressed and towel drying his hair.

"Alright, let's continue, shall we?" He smiled and sat down next to me.

"What more is there for us to know?" Mom asked, full acceptance on her face. "We get that he isn't human, and that he needs to work things out. But what more do we need to know?"

"Well, there are a few things." Mrs. Rivers assured her. "For one, earlier you mentioned that Ocean was always hungry. That is part of what he is. He has a higher metabolism than a human and needs to eat more. It's not just normal teenage boy behavior." Mrs. Rivers was smiling as she said that.

"OK, so that explains his appetite, but what does the faster metabolism do for him?" This time it was Dad that spoke.

"Well for one, he won't get sick; he can, but it's more rare. And he will heal an injury quickly as long as his body has the energy for it. Major injuries can still pose problems in some cases. However, a broken bone, even a stab wound could be healed in a matter of hours." Mr. Rivers was explaining this.

"Ahh, that explains how he was able to leave the hospital so soon." Dad's words caught Mr. and Mrs. Rivers by surprise, causing them both to do a double take and voice their shock.

"Come again?"

"What was that?"

"At one of our swim meets, Ocean had been tired and starved. He hadn't been sleeping or eating so he ended up losing consciousness. He hit his head and fell into the water."

"And he was taken to the hospital?" Mrs. Rivers looked shocked.

"Yes, to Trinity Hospital." Mom nodded.

"Kai, you never told us about this." His dad didn't look too happy about that.

"Ocean, did they take any blood from you? Did they do any tests?" Mrs. Rivers was looking nervous now.

"They did an MRI on my head and took blood. But this was before I turned eighteen, and Makai said that it shouldn't be an issue since my abilities hadn't been activated yet."

"That's possible." She didn't look convinced. "We will look into this, make sure that nothing is going to come of that incident. We can shut it down before it does."

"That is good to know." Mom looked relieved. "OK, so I guess there is more to know. Please, explain everything."

From there the Rivers family started to explain the different types of shifters in the world, along with the fact that Vampires, Witches, Warlocks and Fairies (OK, Fae) were all real. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there really were werewolves in this world. That, to me, was more frightening and fantastical than anything else. Fucking werewoves.

After explaining the various types of people, they explained that there was a Queen that ruled over us, who happened to be a werewolf. Oh, joy. They also explained a little about the shifter culture.

Next, they went on to explain to my parents, and me, a semi in-depth account of Siren history.

"The Sirens believe themselves to be the Queens of the sea."

"Queens?" Dad interrupted Mrs. Rivers as she explained all of this to us.

"Ocean is actually the first ever male Siren to be born. At least, to my knowledge." He continued, drawing gasps from my parents.

"How do they reproduce if they're all women?" Mom was too curious to stay quiet.

"They lure a human man to reproduce. Now since they were banned from luring the men and abandoning them at sea, they usually go to the shore and meet a man; however, in the past it was like the old legends say."

"OK, so human fathers and Siren mothers. I am guessing the Siren genetics are the strongest and always prove dominant?" Dad was throwing out his thoughts.

"Yes. That is how they can continuously produce female offspring to continue the race." Mrs. Rivers confirmed that theory for mom. "However, we don't know if they find a man they know will give them a daughter, or if the magic in them is what does it.

"That is interesting, and would be nice to know." I had been thinking and listening this entire time, but I seemed to shock my parent's and Makai's when I spoke. It was like they forgot about me.

"It would take some massive experimentation." Mrs. Rivers sounded like she didn't want me looking into it at all.

"OK." I tried to shrink away so they would continue and let me listen.

"So, why was it that Ocean was found on a beach the day he was born?" Mom wondered and Dad's eyes lit up with curiosity as well.

"Most likely his mother put him on the beach hoping he would die, and not be evidence in the water for her misfortunes. If the others in the clan had found out that a male Siren was born, both of them might have been banished. She didn't want that happening."

"I have one, why was it that Ocean didn't become a siren until his birthday?" Dad was more curious about this than the last question.

"If a child of the Sea is raised on the land, they don't come into their power until their eighteenth birthday. That is the way it is. The same happened to Kai over the summer." Mrs. Rivers' explanation was enough for us to get it.

"OK, so I am gathering that my son was a chance of fate born to a Siren, who was a stupid bitch and abandoned him on the beach, but that was fine because that meant that we got to raise him." Mom did her best to sum it up for us all.

"Yeah, that's about it." Mr. Rivers was chuckling as he answered her.

I thought that this would be over now, but nope. They had other plans. Why was the Rivers family so thorough?

"There is one last thing that we need to explain. That is how we find and know our mates." Mrs. Rivers continued.

"Mate?" Mom was curious but raised a brow at the unconventional word.

"Just think of it as our equivalent of a soulmate. Only there is magic behind ours." Mr. Rivers laughed. "We know our mates because we feel drawn to them. We have a sort of magnetic pull toward the person we are meant to be with. The Moon Goddess chooses a mate for us, and she is never wrong."

"Does this mean that Ocean and Kai will have to break up?" Mom looked at me with a worried expression.

"No, not at all." Mrs. Rivers shook her head.

"You see, once a mate has been decided on, and the couple takes that next step, they mark each other. More specifically, the mark they were born with is modified to represent the person they have mated with."

"It changes?" Mom looked confused for a moment then looked at me. She then pushed me forward and looked at the birthmark that she had seen on Sunday. She once again looked at the color and the letter M that was in there. "So...so...so this means that O..O..Ocean and K..K..Kai are… they are.. they're mates?" Mom had a hard time with that for a moment, but then I saw the look on her face, and it was a happy one. I think she was glad that I wasn't going to have to leave Makai. She seemed to be feeling some sort of motherly protective love or something.

"That's right. They mated and marked each other." Mrs. Rivers added. "My son's birthmark changed as well, the colors are inverted and he has an O on his."

"So, does this make them married in the eyes of the Merfolk and Sirens?" Dad giggled, but I know he meant it as a halfway serious question.

"Hey, at least the in-laws get along." Mr. Rivers laughed, that was when Dad high fived him while laughing as well.

"Oh yeah, time for family boating trips."

"YES!"

"Phineas!"

"Reef!" Our moms yelled at the same time which caused them to look at each other and giggle. "Well, I guess they weren't wrong." Mrs. Rivers smiled at Mom.

"Yeah, it's better that we get along than if we didn't." Mom smiled back.

"Oh God, what is happening?" I groaned and buried my burning red face in my hands.

"It could be worse." Makai laughed next to me.

"Should we hold a real wedding for them?" Dad asked now.

"DAD!" I screamed at him. "THIS IS SO NOT THE TIME!"

"I am just trying to be supportive." He winked at me.

"Not helping." I growled.

"Fine."