The doors opened once again, two Elders leading three Silvers. One of them was Josie.
"What is going on?" Josie demanded as soon as she entered.
"Alright, so just missing two, then. That sounds right. Everyone, please listen!" the round-faced Elder said as she ignored Josie, the room instantly quieting. "My name is Jola. I am an Elder of Scarlet, originally from out west, in the Rocky Mountains. We are missing two of your kind, but we know where they are. They both had incidents, but don't worry," she held her hands out, as if it would help. "It's all being handled. They are back in the Elder’s Shrine right now. Have a seat if you prefer to sit. We have some things to go over."
A few of them sat down on the floor, some sitting in small chairs and the rest stood—including Rem. Nia stood close.
"This is idiotic," Josie protested, the attention moving to her as she remained standing. "Marcus is unmated. And now he haselevenof us in his home. How is this logical?"
"Seriously!" another shouted.
Rem chimed in, "I have to agree. We have no way to fight anyone off, so what's stopping Marcus from taking advantage of us?"
Jola raised her arms to calm everyone down. Even though it silenced the room, the tension remained high. "I did not make this decision, but an Alpha's homedoesmake sense. I apologize for any oversights my sister kin may have made. In truth, we rarely have to worry about this. Females, on average, can easily rival their males. That's so we can, put it simply, tell them to leave us alone if we don't like them. Butyouobviously lack that ability. Hence, our unusual conundrum. And I am unaware of any issues with Marcus, but we can speak about that after this.”
Rem didn't blink as she stared at Jola. Was this Elder serious? They could talk about it afterward? Did she really not know about Marcus?She did say she was from the east...
"If there are no protests,” Jola said with clear relief. “Then I will continue… First things first—the Elders have been discussing things endlessly, and we settled on a few options for all of you. One, you will be housed in one of these homes long after your transformation… As it might be a month before your body adjusts. These homes are already known as off-limits and are easy to guard, whereas the townhome is quite centralized. Fiona… She has taken a, well, let’s just say, a leave of absence” —if Rem had hackles, they would have risen then, her eyes widening as she didn’t understand why others weren’t aware— “In her place, Imari has risen, and she asked Marcus first out of the others, as he was the closest nearby, and he accepted.
“I don't have the authority to challenge that, but I can absolutely listen to any complaints and see what I can do. There will be humans arriving to tend to you, cook for you, and clean. So, itwillbe comfortable. Mated males will be here to guard the home as well. Since they are mated, your scent means nothing to them," she said, looking around the room.
"Alright, well, I’ll continue… So, another thing we need to discuss is that you should know the details behindwhyyou were taken in the first place. I am a newer Elder to Scarlet, so I haven't really interacted with any of this. As far as I know, no one has sat down with the group of you to explain things in detail, have they?"
The word'No'echoed around the room. Jola let out a soft chuckle. "You poor things. You have to forgive the manners of my kin. We are not used to handling delicate humans, nor are we used to going over the cultural barriers. I'll be here from now on to help with that."
Rem's harsh gaze relaxed as she wondered if this Elder might actually look out for them.
"So, to the next topic. The reason you are here in the first place isn't just because we wanted to collect you. It's because the hunters in the south are becoming more audacious and are seeking to retake what they once had from shiftersandwitches. In the process, they mean to kill as many of us shifters as possible."
"You mean somethingweonce had. You know, since we were born human," one Silver named Ashley interjected, her silver hair braided on either side.
"I understand. But like it or not, you were born with blood that obeys the moon. You are creatures born in limbo, with the heritage of a human, but the biology of a shifter. Hard decisions were made by the Arch Elder, the sovereigns, and the Alphas, to begin the campaign to find you Silvers… You were seen in all of our crystals before the hunters even got to you, and our scouts have learned that what the hunters planned to do with you would behorrendous. It is why we are moving so quickly to transform you—with an impending war, you might need your claws sooner, rather than later.”
Rem glanced at Mavis, thinking to what she said about Osmond’s hounds.
"So, you thought you could take us and convince us to fight for you?" Shia asked.
Jola looked at her with patient eyes. "We initially did not take you touseyou. The reality is, when you mate, your mate gets your powers. We currently have three Alphas that are unmated, and they will absolutely need a Silver mate. That is Marcus, Ronan, and Allard."
Some girls scowled while Rem’s heart fluttered.
"Apparently, Marcus is a difficult Alpha for many, but surely someone here will be a good fit. I mean, he did offer his home, so that counts for something, right?" Jola took in a breath and saw that the compliment fell on deaf ears. "Anyway, once you have a mate, you will be tasked with producing younglings. It won't be difficult. Once you are mated, you willwantto procreate."
"Oh, that'ssogood to know," Mavis sneered.
The one with the ill-health, Katarina, spoke up, "I mean it's not so bad. The witches wanted to use me for the same thing back in my village."
Jola looked pleased to see at least one of them was on board.
"Do we still get to choose a mate?" another asked.
"Yes and no. In three days, when you become a creature of the moon, it will take a few months for your body to make permanent changes… Potentially sooner, knowing you all. You will start transformations at two months—at the earliest—and are fully ready to be mated a little after that. That much we do know. Once you can transform, and if you have not chosen a mate, we will intervene."
"What if we choose the same mate? Like one of us goes for the one named Ronan or Allard?" one asked.
"Traditionally, you will fight for him.”
Rem’s jaw clenched.
