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They quickly dragged the bodies of the dead tritons closer to the house and wrapped them in tarps to get them ready for disposal in the morning. There were no serious injuries to any of the wolves, only a few superficial claw marks that would heal within a day.

Ara and Sagan arrived too late to be part of the battle, but they did report that they had caught a few more triton scents a little to the south of the island, but no other sightings from any of the other wolf patrols were reported and nothing else was seen on any of the cameras.

"I think I may know why, or at least have a theory, of why they are coming here," Harper mused as they all sat around the house making plans for the next day.

Everyone stopped their conversations and turned to her.

"We've talked about how sirens have hunted down and tried to wipe out tritons for centuries, and that their population is dwindling. What if this is their attempt to fight back against the sirens?" Harper said. "Sirens out in the ocean might not be easy to find, but Mattie lives here, his scent is all around this island, what if they came here to hunt him specifically because he's in one place and they know where he is."

Everyone stared at Harper for several minutes before Eden spoke.

"That would explain why they are focusing on this island instead of coming onshore anywhere else." Eden said. "If they have evolved to the point they are working together, it would make sense they have identified sirens as a threat and would try to eliminate them whenever they could. Matt staying here gives them a stationary target."

"If that is the case we need to contact every siren family living on land and let them know that they need to start watching out for triton attacks at their homes." Matt said.

"We're playing right into their hands too, by calling reinforcements in, we are bringing more targets here, to a location they are aware of," Ara said. "We need to warn any sirens coming into the area, the tritons may shift their focus from targeting the island itself to targeting lone sirens answering the call."

"I thought you said these creatures weren't smart enough for this kind of thing?" Alpha Michael said.

"We never said they weren't smart, they are." Harper replied. "They just have no society or language. Which made it hard for them to communicate with each other and work together, but in the face of extinction, a species will develop rapidly, and that may be what they're doing."

"Adapt or die," Matt said. "What would you do?"

"The first step would be to come together in groups, then try and eliminate the threat, then increase the population by breeding more." Alpha Alexander said. "Protecting the females and young."

"They have to have come up with some means of communicating with each other, so they are probably developing some form of rudimentary language." Sagan said. "Now that I think of it, I have not heard of as many attacks on humans as I have in the past. Perhaps they have figured out their attacks on humans draw sirens to them?"

"Yes, we have not seen nearly as many attacks in the past several years, nor have I found as many hunting near the islands, which is why I was so surprised when they started showing up this year." Matt said.

"We must speak with the elders of our kind," Ara said. "We must let our people know what we suspect."

"What will you do if they are evolving?" Reese asked. "If they are becoming civilized and they stop hunting humans, will you stop hunting them?"

"That is not for us alone to decide," Matt said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But I doubt that will happen, even if they stopped hunting humans, I doubt they will stop hunting us. They will likely continue seeking to wipe us out as we have sought to wipe them out."

"Blood feuds are not easily resolved," Alpha Lucas agreed. "And it's unlikely they will have evolved enough to come up with complex treaty agreements within a few months of developing a rudimentary language for the first time."

"Yes, they will likely war with each other as much as they war with you," Alpha Michael said. "I doubt their whole population will suddenly be ready to stop eating each other, make peace, and start building underwater cities."

Harper snorted and nodded her head.

"Evolution of a primitive species is not an easy thing," Harper said. "As much as a part of me hates the idea of the extinction of an entire species. I have a hard time believing they will evolve far enough, fast enough, to make saving them worthwhile. They literally tried to eat a guy night before last, so I don't see them drastically changing anytime soon."

"Yeah, it's not like trying to save a species of tiger or bear," Celie said. "They eat humans, actively hunt and eat them, we're prey to them. They're not just living their lives out in the wild minding their own business like animals, only killing a human by accident on a rare occasion when they feel threatened. I doubt they will want to stop doing that altogether, that'd be like asking Harp to give up mint Oreos forever."

"Hey! Mint Oreos aren't intelligent living creatures that feel pain when they are eaten alive," Harper argued, as she picked up an Oreo off a snack tray and popped it into her mouth.

"Mint Oreos," Callum smiled sadly. "I forgot you loved those things; they were like your favorite thing to eat when you were little, you could eat a whole package of them by yourself at one time. Mom used to hide them in the top of the pantry so you couldn't get to them." He shook his head slowly, a deep frown on his face. "The things you forget when you're busy being an asshole..."

Harper shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and the other wolves sent confused glances at them.

"Long story," Reese said.

**

"Harp, can I talk to you for a sec?" Callum asked, coming up behind Harper as she got a bottle of water out of the fridge. He had apparently been watching her and snuck into the kitchen behind her when she went for a drink.

"What is it, Callum?" Harper asked, frowning at him.

"Listen, I know I can't ever make up for what I did." Callum started. "I know the words I'm sorry don't amount to much. I get that, I really do. I'm not going to hound you or harass you anymore for forgiveness. I get that maybe I don't deserve it. Maybe though, consider that some people can learn, some people can have experiences that change them. You leaving, having to face what I did, having to see the looks on the alpha and luna's face when they found out, seeing how the pack reacted, thinking about, for the first time, how mom and dad would feel about what I did, getting rejected, all that changed me."

"I never knew what real shame felt like, I never had to face it. None of us did until everything came out, and it didn't just come out inside the pack. When the laws were passed, every pack found out, and knew what we did. I never want to feel that again. It's selfish, but I do want to feel better about myself because, I'm a better person than I was. I'm not perfect, but I'm not the same. We changed, we all did, the whole pack, all the packs. I don't think you get that. We, and a whole lot of other people, were outed to the whole werewolf world because you and Cel had the strength to leave, and because alpha and luna had the strength to call everyone out publicly, even though it made them look bad too." Callum told her solemnly.

"You were right about why we're here, partially; we are here for ourselves. We're here because we want another chance, not for just for us, but for you too, and for Luna and Alpha, and the pack. Not everyone knew what was happening to you, not everyone thought it was ok, the whole pack was ashamed of us. All the packs were ashamed. So think about it, because I'm betting you can't heal all the way either, you can't put it all the way behind you, without knowing we really are sorry. So I just want you to remember, if you ever get to a point where you can forgive me, and give me another chance, I'll be waiting."

Harper just nodded and Callum slowly turned and walked out of the kitchen without saying anything else.

**

"Oh my goodness!" Luna Penny gaped at Matt's boat when she and the other arrived at the doc. "How in the world did you get such a big boat? I was expecting...Well, I don't know what I was expecting, a sailboat maybe, but not this!"

Matt laughed heartily as he ushered them onboard.

"Well, this is kinda my job, so it's not exactly a pleasure boat, even though we have a bit of luxury on it." Matt explained. "I don't think we've told you much about me and what I do, so I'll give you a run down. I'm a salvager, a wreck diver, treasure hunter, sometime rescue operation captain, and I work with the university and help map the sea floor. So this boat is my livelihood and I spend most of my time on it."

"Treasure hunter?" Alpha Lucas asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yep, that's how I made my money, I've found four old world ships so far, the artifacts from them sell for high prices." Matt said. "Haven't found a Spanish galleon yet, but I'm still looking. Plus salvage prices on newer ships is nothing to sneeze at."

"It's easier for him because he doesn't have the same challenges as regular divers." Harper said, smiling. "He doesn't have time restrictions, he doesn't have to worry about oxygen saturation, dept sickness, pressurization issues, and he doesn't have to depressurize on the way up. He can swim straight to the bottom, stay down there as long as he wants, and swim straight back up without stopping. And he swims a lot faster and can cover more area in a shorter period of time. And if he gets hungry, he can just grab a fish passing by and eat it."

"He's gotten so good that he teaches a class on maritime history at the university," Celie told them, proud of her friend. "He knows every ship that's ever gone down in these waters, just hasn't found them all yet."

"I have a feeling my chances are going to improve with my new first mate," Matt smiled, gesturing to Eden. "Eden's decided to stay for a while, with him beside me we'll have two sets of eyes and can cover much more ground than me alone."

Celie's eyes lit up and she turned to Eden.

"You're really staying?" Celie asked. "For how long?"

"As long as I need to, it's not as if I have a job out there waiting for me to come back to. My family is long gone so I can go wherever I need to go and stay as long as I want." Eden replied. "I have never lived on land before, I like being able to call someone and have them bring food right to the door and being able to sleep without worrying about a passing shark deciding to take a bite out of me."

"Just wait until things calm down!" Celie said excitedly. "I'll take you out and introduce you to salsa dancing! You will love the Miami night life!"

"I'm sure I will love anything you introduce me to." Eden smiled.

Luna Sophia and Alpha Alexander exchanged a sad look, realizing they would now likely be taking home two disappointed wolves when this was over. They knew from one look at Matt and Harper that Reese had no chance of getting his mate back, but they had been hoping Celie would give Adam a chance to redeem himself. But seeing Eden and Celie together, seeing their obvious attraction to each other, and knowing that Celie had immediately accepted the rejection and rebuffed Adam's attempts to reconcile with her were making them lose hope that she would give him another chance.

It was terrible news to them, they'd watched Adam suffer, they knew he, out of all the boys, had truly regretted his actions. Adam had never wanted to reject his mate, he'd done it on the spur of the moment, not understanding the repercussions, never intending for it to be permanent. He couldn't have anticipated Harper and Celie's reactions to the rejections, he had no way of knowing Harper planned to leave the pack, or that the pain Celie experienced would be so great she would jump at the opportunity to leave too. It had honestly never occurred to him that he could actually lose his one and only mate by speaking those words. He'd believed he would revoke them, explain his actions, and live happily ever after with his mate and pups. Now he would probably never have that chance.

"So, we thought we'd head a few miles out and head south for a bit, maybe do a little fishing and loop around back to the bay. The seas are supposed to be pretty calm today, but with a hurricane coming squalls can come up fast and we don't want to get too far out. Even calm seas can cause sea sickness in those not used to being out on the water, so I don't want to chance any serious swells with so many land lovers on board." Matt chuckled.

"Thank you!" Luna Sophia said, nodding her head. She had seriously been worried about getting sea sick, but with a boat the size of Matt's it was steadier in the water than she was expecting so she had calmed quite a bit.

"When next you visit, we can plan a proper cruise," Harper offered. "When it's not mating season, we can hit a couple of the islands, you can experience the true Caribbean."

"You'll love it!" Celie said.

**

Adam sat staring out over the beach, trying to ignore the looks passing between Callum and Reese over his head.

"Would you guys stop staring at me, I'm getting tired of the suicide watch," Adam said.

"We're not staring at you, we're enjoying the view, waiting for everyone to get back so we can get ready to patrol later. I was actually thinking of hitting the hotel gym, thought you might want to join me, work off some tension." Callum said.

"That's actually a good idea," Reese said, honestly he was going crazy sitting here staring out the window. "Know where it is?"

"Not a clue," Callum chuckled, "but I know they must have one. Ask at the desk."

"Thanks for the advice," Reese said sarcastically, as he got up to head to his room to change.

Callum waited a few minutes after Reese left the room.

"You know, I talked to Harper last night," Callum said, bringing Adam's eyes instantly to him.

"What did she say?" Adam asked, finally something else to think about.

"Nothing," Callum sighed, "I didn't really give her a chance to, I just said a few things I needed to say and told her if she ever wanted to give me a chance, I'll be waiting."

"What did you say to her?" Adam asked, when Callum didn't elaborate.

"Just..." Callum sighed, "just that, you know, people can change, that our experiences change us, and that I changed because of everything that happened. I said, I get it if she doesn't really want to give me a chance, but I'll be there if she ever changes her mind. I told her I wouldn't bug her anymore."

Adam nodded, and was silent for a few moments.

"That's good," he said slowly, "we need to give them time. We did sort of blind side them, showing up out of the blue like this. I don't know, I feel kinda stupid for just expecting shit to fall into place."

"Yeah, but it's ok to hope," Callum said. "I thought maybe enough time had passed, but I think it's still fresh to them, all the bad stuff. It does take a lifetime to deal with some things I guess, and what we did was bad enough that, I can see it taking time. I know I should have owned up to it, I should have told you what I did, and how bad it was, but I was embarrassed. I thought you knew some of it, I wasn't sure how much, but I thought you figured we were pretty bad to her. I just, was ashamed, and I didn't want you to look at me the way the alpha and luna did."

"I don't get it, Callum." Adam said, turning to him. "I'll never understand how you could hit your own sister. I just...I can't imagine it."

"It was Charla..." Callum said. "I feel like an ass saying that, because I was the one who raised my hand, no one but me to blame for that. But I was so...I don't know, just obsessed with her and her approval. My whole life, I was just wanting her to look at me and like me, I think it was the beginning of the mate bond. It had to be, pulling me toward her, wanting to please her so much, even though she was with Reese. I was always jealous, I always thought, if I could please her enough she might just dump him for me. But of course, she didn't, even when the mate bond hit, she didn't even hesitate, the only thing she ever cared about was power."

"I don't understand that," Adam sighed. "That she could just reject her mate to be luna. I know that sounds stupid coming from me, I rejected my mate too. But I truly never intended for it to be permanent, I always planned to revoke it, I was thinking about how I would revoke it while I was doing it. I was already working out in my head what I would say to take it back, and I was worrying about how long it would take, and how I could get you guys on my side to accept her. I was so stupid."

"Yeah, you were stupid," Callum agreed, then chuckled sadly. "I never really understood why you did it, but I didn't want to say that to you all this time because I didn't want you to feel judged. I guess, I was thinking if I didn't judge you for what you did, you wouldn't judge me if you ever found out what I did. Mine was a lot worse than yours though..."

"No, it wasn't," Adam told him.

"Dude, I hurt my own sister," Callum retorted. "For years, my little, defenseless sister."

"My mate has been in pain for seven years," Adam said. "I'd say we're even on the asshole front, no use arguing about it."

Callum snorted.

"At least you never dated anyone, or messed around with other girls," Callum said. "You spared her that, I can tell you, that shit was horrible. Worst pain I ever felt, like the rejection over and over again. I'm so glad the Luna smacked Charla down, seeing the look on her face when she found out she'd never be luna, then the look on her face when she found out the law was named for her. Those were the two most satisfying moments of my life. Ha. How sad is that? My happiest moments were the moments my mate was suffering."

"That bitch deserved it," Adam said vehemently. "One person who was unequivocally responsible for everything Celie and Harper went through was Charla, her downfall was totally and completely deserved. If she hadn't been the power hungry bitch she was, if she hadn't been so eaten up with envy and jealousy of Harper, none of that would have happened. She manipulated and pushed you and Reese to do what you did, yeah, you were both weak ass bitches for not standing up to her, but she initiated the whole thing."

"I didn't see you standing up either, weak ass bitch," Callum retorted, though he was smiling.

"We're all bitches," Adam laughed for real this time. "I can kinda, sorta... but not really, understand you going along with her, the mate pull is strong. I can't believe it was stronger than your love for your sister though. Especially since it was years before Charla turned eighteen and you found out she was your mate, but hey, it is what it is. Reese has no excuse except his dick leading him around though, and that's not good enough to hit a girl."

"Yeah, Reese really does have no excuse, I don't get his behavior either. If the potential mate bond was working on me strong enough to make me follow Charla around like that as kids, why wasn't it strong enough to pull him to Harper? At least enough to keep him from being mean to her?" Callum asked.