Two years later.
As Ximena was closing the café for the day, she noticed Freya heading over to her with a beautiful baby boy in one arm and a picnic basket in the other.
She couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight of her one year old son and the middle-aged witch. The elderly man she met the night she was banished at introduced her to Freya.
The older woman had taken her in, helping Ximena out when she was at her lowest. Ximena at first was suspicious of Freya, especially after what had happened with her sister.
But she soon learnt Freya saw her dead daughter in Ximena. Freya had explained that seeing Ximena in need of help felt like the Moon Goddess was giving Freya a second chance.
And with Ximena soon discovering she was pregnant, she decided to stay around and build a life for her child. Her revenge was forgotten with the news that she was going to be a mother.
Her priorities became her child.
Now she ran Freya's café which was just a few meters away from the beach. Freya meanwhile retired and helped Ximena with the caretaking of Nikolas, her son.
Ximena was surprised when she discovered her baby was a boy. It was incredibly rare for sirens to have boys. Still, she loved her son, glad he hadn't inherited her siren genes.
She wasn't sure exactly who the father was or what type of supernatural being he was, but it was better this way. It would have been hard for her child not to learn about her siren heritage because of Ximena's banishment.
But seeing as he was not a siren, she could keep that part a secret. It was better he never knew about the ocean. He wouldn't be allowed near the kingdom anyway with her banishment in place.
"Mama!" Nikolas cried out happily as he spotted his mother.
"Hello, baby." Ximena murmured sweetly as she took her son from Freya, cuddling him tightly. "You have a good time with grandma."
"Ga!" Nikolas giggled.
"We had a nice time, Ximena." Freya answered. "Nikolas here seems to love magic."
Ximena smiled at her child, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Thanks for taking him out."
"Of course, dear. I had such fun with him." Freya said as she tickled his stomach. "Nikolas is so well behaved."
Ximena felt a sense of motherly pride at those words. "That's great to hear."
"Anyway, was it busy today?" Freya asked as they made their way into town.
The trio lived in a small building, with Ximena taking up one apartment while Freya had another. Freya was the one who had suggested they live separately so Ximena could have a life, secretly hoping Ximena would find love.
"Not really." Ximena answered. "Except for a few regulars it was quiet."
Freya nodded in understanding. "It is always like that around July. People go away for the summer."
Ximena didn't mind the quietness though. She had actually grown to love the small town and its charm. She would even dare to say it felt more like home to her than the ocean did.
Of course, she couldn't compete with her nature. Every full moon was a nightmare as she fought with her instincts to swim in the ocean. Her siren magic begged for the taste of the ocean and every time she had to deny it.
It got easier as time went by but she was starting to think moving farther inland would help reduce the urges. She had spoken to Freya about it and the older witch agreed too.
They decided that once someone bought the café, they would move to the nearby city. And because there were more supernatural beings living there, they could get Nikolas tested to see if he had any supernatural blood in him.
When they finally got to their apartment building, the two parts ways, Freya heading inside her apartment while Ximena and Nikolas headed upstairs to her apartment.
As she got to her floor, Ximena instantly picked up a strange scent and heard some male sounding voices. Out of instinct, she covered her son's head, thankfully he had fallen asleep in her arms.
She then let her magic flow through her blood, her eyes glowing. Once she stood a chance at fighting whatever lay ahead, Ximena walked toward her apartment, noticing the voices had quietened down.
And there in front of her apartment door stood three males. Each seemed dominating in his own right, powerful auras coming from all three.
The one closest to the door was the tallest, about 6,4ft and a body like a bodybuilder. He had fiery red hair, tan skin and orange eyes which looked like fire.
Despite the tightfitting suit making him look like a businessman, Ximena could tell this man was a dragon. After almost two years living on land, Ximena was getting better at sensing others.
As for the man next to him, he was pale like a corpse, had black hair and red eyes. He too wore a suit but had a fur cloak. He looked to be 6ft and had a lean body, the shortest of the three. Ximena knew he was a vampire from the pale skin and red eyes.
Finally, on the opposite end stood a man with dirty, blond hair. He was 6,2ft and had an athletic build. His gray eyes stared at Ximena sharply like a predator looking at its prey. The suit could not hide the wolf beast from Ximena either.
"Are you gentlemen lost?" Ximena asked, hoping they would leave quickly.
With her son in her arms, it would be quite difficult to fight off these three men. Especially considering they were giving off strong vibes.
The man in the middle smiled, showing off fangs. "Oh… we're in the right place, my dear little siren."
Ximena felt herself hissing as a protective instinct kicked in. She had never met these men before but they acted like they knew her.
"Calm down…" The dragon said. "We need to talk to you. I promise we won't harm you or… your son."
Ximena stared at him, still not ready to trust him. The man, realizing this, sighed in frustration and placed a hand over his heart.
"Dragon's vow. We won't harm you or your son." The man muttered, his hand glowing red for a second.
Knowing that breaking a dragon vow was a death sentence, Ximena let herself relax a little. However, she kept her child close and magic circulating in case.
"What is it you want to talk about?" Ximena asked, trying to stay calm.
The werewolf, who had been silently leaning against the wall, straightened up and said in a calm tone, "You're our mate and that child is ours."