"There are things to attend to."
Get on her good side. Get her guard down."Do I have to dress like your kind?" Rem asked, shoving bread in her mouth. Her eyes rolled with pleasure, and she chewed slowly.
"Eventually."
As Rem ate, she wondered who would cook bread for Oliver. Was he also given new clothes? It soured the food in her mouth. She stared at the rest of the loaf before repeating, "Where is my brother?”
Gally pursed her lips. "My brother wishes to handle that."
"Owen?"
Gally gave a small shake of her head. "No, anther one named Jackson. He is the second in command, next to Owen."
"Alright, well, then... Do you condone this or something?" Rem pried, pouring more water as indignation leaked through her resolution. She had tried being polite, but Gally clearly wasn't going to budge. "Kidnapping me, taking my brother, cursing me so I can't even tell anyone." She glanced at Gally. "And your Alpha doesn't even know about it. You condone that? You condone this behavior?"
Gally's chest rose with a deep inhale, looking off before eyeing Rem once again. "I condone what my Clan does to survive. You should know, for the sake of keeping a proper lie about you... The Alpha thinks your family came here. You cannot speak to him, but if another translator were to be near him, you are to lie and tell them that your family remained with your brother."
Rem's veins ran cold. "And when the Alpha has chosen me? What happens to Oliver? What happens then?"
"That's up to Jackson. I assume the boy will be sent home, and this will become a secret between us for the years to come. Unless you want to never speak again, that is."
Rem dropped her gaze, regretting never pushing her mother to teach her to read or write. It crossed her mind to try to learn while she was in the Warden Pack, but who would teach her? Even worse, the only true solution was to kill Fiona in order to break the curse… How could Rem possibly kill an Elder Witch? That was as dangerous as taking on a bear with a dull knife and no hunting skills.
She was stuck giving into their demands.
With defeat, Rem asked, "When do I meet your Alpha, then?"
"Tomorrow morning, as tomorrow is the day of a full moon."
Rem pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just—" she gave a sardonic chuckle, dropping her hand to wildly glance at Gally—"Maybe we are just too different. Because I have no idea how you think I will just do all of this with ease. I justgothere. How am I supposed to makeanyof this happen? This is all insane."
Gally, ever unphased, took only a brief moment to compose herself before replying with, "I will instruct you over the next day on what to do. As for now, it will be minimal. You will eventually learn Icelandic, but it's clearly best if you remain mute while meeting Ronan for the first time."
Rem narrowed her eyes, slowly pronouncing, "Icelandic?"
"Yes. Do those witches teach you nothing?"
"They are very selective on what we know, which isn't much."
"Great," the she-wolf mumbled. "They are surely making my life difficult right now..."
Rem stared at her with curious eyes but refused to ask for more details. She hated asking them for anything.
Gally noticed the interest, however. "I suppose I should at least give you some background information... Ronan will not want a mate that has been so sheltered," Gally said, looking off as if to mumble to herself once more, but thought better of it. "But that's not my place to criticize... I suppose the best place to start is our origins. As you know, this Earth used to be ruled by magic? Dragons, werewolves, witches, sorceresses, all of it? Yes… Okay. You are also aware, I assume, that humans have enjoyed sporadic moments of complete absences of magic? Not really? That is another story for another time, then… But in the last culling of supernatural creatures such as myself, we were all sent somewhere dark.
"In a complete lack of creativity, someone coined it the Exiles, and so it stuck—ah, you seem to know what that is. I am sure your witches told you tales of how stuffing us away protected humanity... Meanwhile, my ancestors grew up on legends of this Earth, desperate to smell her soil while humans mined and ruined it. It's no matter anymore, as the Great Purge allowed us to be here, and we will protect these lands—"
"You are ruining lives," Rem interrupted. "Like mine and my brother's."
"Your kind are no better. The wars that humans wage are beyond reckless and full of destruction."
"Don't pretend like you have morals."
Gally chortled, her green eyes darkening. "You're lucky Ido."
"Well, I don't care about whatever you have to say about the history of these lands. My gran was a native of here, and you're no better than the Europeans, with what you're doing to me."
Gally seemed to consider that. "If only I had an entire week to teach you of the history of this world, but I don't. If I did, you'd better understand that shifters don't care for bloodlines, not in the way humans do. We are all children of the moon, and weallprotect this Earth. Our bloodlines are just as important for familial bonding, and while we may war, we all bow to the shadows of the trees."
