Imari hesitated. "Well, Alphas have homes perfect for hoarding precious things. And when Marcus offered his, I immediately accepted. He's already gathering some humans to staff the estate at the Malus Moon Residence. We're lucky he was out and about, as he could offer so quickly."
Rem’s heart dropped at the thought.
Nia's eyes turned amber, and she tried to drag Rem away. But three more Elders appeared ahead of them, nearing them, leaving Nia as the only other shifter, and she wasn't a fighter. At least, she was atheart, but even Rem knew she couldn’t take on all of these shifters. Brown reclaimed the amber, signaling that Nia understood there wasn't much option.
Nia leaned into Rem and said, "Ronan would never agree to this. There's no way he knows."
"So then tell him," Rem replied as she leaned back into Nia while Imari spoke to the Elders. “Go to him.”
Nia licked her lips and stared at the ground before shaking her head. "I can't. He told me to stay with you, always, unless he ordered otherwise. This can't be good, though. If…" she began, thinking out loud. "If Marcus or Imari do something that doesn't seem right, I'll just run for it and howl. Ronan would kill me if I just left you to go with Marcus. I wish we had brought Lothar… We could use him about right now.”
Rem agreed with all of that and begrudgingly walked with the group, hoping that Ronan would catch wind of this sooner rather than later.
"Hang on," Loral piped up, and everyone turned to face her. “That one Elder, when we drank the serum, said that Marcus was dangerous. Why trust him now, with all of us under a waxing moon... While we smell like attractive shifters?"
Rem slowly looked at Imari, whose own face betrayed her. A small glimmer of panic was visible in the Elder’s eyes before she said, “Just because we sometimes have trust issues doesn’t mean we forget that he is still the Alpha. And you need to get off the streets."
"So, take me to another home,” Loral objected.
"His is closest and best fortified," Imari said, and turned around.
"No, this—"
"I said," Imari began, her eyes amber, "this is the plan."
Rem's jaw loosened as her lips parted, and Nia looked ready to bite someone.My gods. This is all wrong.Why would Imari help Rem earlier but feel so dangerous now?
The other Elders had to nudge Rem and Nia to get them to move again. Rem wanted to run but looking at Nia gave her perspective—Nia was at the most disadvantage when the rest were Silvers or Elders.
Rem grabbed Nia’s wrist, not used to seeing such anger in those eyes. "It's alright."
Nia shot her a glare. "Mhmm," she hummed half-heartedly.
"Ronan is smart, and you know it. This won't be for long. He will come," Rem reassured, those words calming even herself.That's right. He has to come.
Nia tentatively nodded. “Just, with everything going on… I am nervous. I don’t like being here.”
Rem squeezed Nia’s wrist before letting it go. Silence weaved the group together until they finally reached a gated fence, a lavish building behind it. The home was so different from Warden. It was squarer with white paned windows, the home made of red brick.
They were guided inside the large entrance, a broad staircase immediately greeting them. Imari instructed them to wait, so Rem examined the home and its furniture with wide eyes and a rapid heartbeat, too nervous to enjoy details she had never seen before.
They didn't know what they were waiting for, only that Imari just told them to have patience. Nearly all the Silvers murmured to each other.
The wooden front doors opened to reveal two Silvers walking through with additional shifters behind them, although they weren’t Elders.That's right. Nia isn't the only handler for a Silver.
Rem glanced at Nia, who seemed relieved.
A pack.
They were all a very small pack.
The three other shifter handlers confronted Nia, conversing almost immediately among themselves in Icelandic, Nia’s tone angrier than ever.
Another Elder made her appearance, her red robes and neck tattoo giving her away as she walked in from an adjacent hallway. She was older, pale, and had a round face with brown hair. Rem hadn't seen her before.
"How is everyone?" she asked to the room, hushed whispers the only reply. "Is everyone accounted for that was brought here?"
Mavis spoke up, calm and collected. "There's eight of us. We are missing five but they weren't brought in. So, everyone is here—"
