Rem bore her gaze into Josie, blinking rapidly.
Jola nodded. "We settle civil disputes with our claws. Sometimes you can raise it to your Alpha. For mating, we mostly fight it out, as if the goddess truly wants two shifters together, she will bless the winner before the fight, and it will be shown in the results. So technically, yes," Jola said, her tone growing with concern as she looked back and forth between Rem and Josie.
"Interesting," Josie said with half a smile on her face, her eyes darting to Rem.
Interesting my ass.
"Though you absolutely have to respect the results of the fight. If one of you stops it, youmustback off, or you lose privilege and can be denied the mating. Talk to me if you are serious about that," Jola added with furrowed brows, her voice gently echoing in the rather empty, two-story foyer, the sun burning through large windows.
Josie sweetly smiled. "Oh, I will."
Jola nodded, turning her head to face the rest while her gaze lingered on Josie for a moment more. "Alright, so we went over thevärme, why you are here, your scents, what else..." Jola muttered as she looked at the floor. "I think that's it for now. I will stay with you from now on, always available to you."
"So where are the other two of us?” Shia asked.
"Well," Jola began, then she pursed her lips as she looked around the room. "Alright. One of the Silvers was attacked on accident by a male who got into a fight with another male. She is fine and will recover. I promise. She is with another Silver who is at her side. The injured Silver is why we panicked. Imari arranged sending you in the last moment, and we thought it best to send you here andtheninform the other Alphas afterward."
"What?"
"You're joking."
"How badly was she injured?"
The women began to whisper, and Rem looked at Nia with concern.
Jola waved her hands around. "She is fine. Please, everyone, calm down. I promise she is fine. The male didn't hurt her on purpose, she just got hit by one with his claw when she neared him to break it up. Once she started to bleed, the males stopped fighting immediately. But we were still concerned, nonetheless."
"You're fucking kidding," one said.
"None of this is smart," Nia interjected, and all eyes fell to her.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm talking about putting all the Silvers into Marcus’s home, which is still the bigger issue. Ronan doesn't trust Marcus in the slightest. He won't like that you put all the Silvers in his home, especiallyhisSilver, even with these circumstances. You should have taken them to the Elder's Shrine, or to a different,unmatedAlpha, at the very least,” Nia defended with a loyalty that Ronan would be proud of.
"Like I said, it wasn't my decision. It was Imari’s. I am just the new Elder," Jola implored. "Anyway, I need to check on the parameters of the home and your lodgings. I will leave you ladies alone while we wait for the humans to come and get the home running. I'd recommend staying in this general area. Guards outside know not to let you out either. At least not until we have more males to guard the areas.”
Jola's smile dropped when she walked through the front doors, as if thankful that that was finally over. Rem had a feeling she was leaving just to get fresh air.
As soon as Jola left, Loral spoke up. "Did anyone else notice how she hesitated when she said they'd break us up in a fight, if we fought over a guy? I think she realized no one will be strong enough to control us."
"So then howwillthey control us? What stops us from running away?" Mavis asked.
"Well, I'm staying put," Shia said, and crossed her arms.
"Maybe they'll confine us somehow," Mavis threw out there, ignoring Shia. "We can't trust these creatures. They let one of us get hurt."
"Don't be worried," Loral said, the shortest of them all. "She said it was an accident. I believe her. Shifters are just very passionate."
Hardly any of them seemed assuaged. Unsettled voices moved through the room in hushed whispers. Rem got the feeling that the women looked at each other as a form of competition now, especially when her gaze landed on Josie.
And how was Ronan going to react when he learned about where they had been taken?
The Elders, if they were trying to help at all, seemed as useful as a book to someone who couldn’t read.
22
THE ALPHA’S REACTION
