Page 128 of The Silver Ones


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“Uh huh, but you’re my friend, too, not just someone who helps me.”

Nia threw Rem a ‘yeah, whatever’ glare, before the tiniest smile emerged. It had been a recent topic for them, especially once Rem had learned that Nia dreamed of finding a mate but didn’t think herself worthy of such a role yet. It took a while to pry that bit out of her.

Serving Rem was a way for Nia to prove her own worth, especially since, for so long, she had been a shy wolf that mostly only helped her elderly grandmother.

“Okay, so Icelandic or English with his mother?”

“I’d go with Icelandic for now. Might impress her.”

They found Freya in the library reading a book, the smell of paper and wood saturating the room along with trace scents that Rem had never encountered before.

"Rem, it has been a while," Freya said, closing the book with a soft thud, crossing her legs as her head rose gracefully.

"It is a pleasure," Rem said in their tongue, bowing her head.

Freya's blue eyes shone brightly, the light from the sun coming through the window to accentuate the regality of the scene.

"You are learning Icelandic?" she asked in the same language.

"Yes. Nia is a good teacher," Rem said.

Freya laughed. “I suppose in the month and a half that I have been here, I should have checked on you more. But… Well, I didn’t want too many eyes on either of us, and they were very stern about allowing such a meeting… Anyway, what brings you by?" she asked, continuing the conversation in her native tongue, looking behind them as if expecting someone but focusing back on them.

Rem crossed a hand over her wrist and straightened her back. "Deacon. We are visiting Deacon.”

"Why is that?"

"He took me. I have questions.”

Freya examined Rem with an emotionless gaze before conceding, "You are owed that, at the least." She placed the book on the table next to her. "So, how long are the Elders keeping the Silvers at Evensen? I heard rumors that some Alphas want to leave. I didn’t realize they were going to let you travel on your own.”

Rem started to translate what she would say in her head, but realized it was not worth wasting Freya's time to deal with her broken language.

"If you don't mind, I'll use English to save you time," Rem said, and Freya lightly nodded. "They let us leave to roam around, starting yesterday, but we can only visit our liege residences. Some Alphas don't feel comfortable in Scarlet, and I think this is to mitigate that. A few say that it doesn’t ‘feel’ right anymore. I don’t know. I haven’t really experienced that part of being a shifter yet.

“A few of the Elders agree that we should be able to return home, but others, like Imari, want us to stay longer. She says that the queen demands it, although we haven’t seen the queen since the night we drank the serum.”

Freya leaned back into her chair, tapping her finger on the armrest as she looked out the window. "I would like to wait for my son… But I don’t know… Perhaps we need to consider leaving sooner rather than later," Freya said, more to herself than to Rem. “I, too, feel like something is wrong. I don’t know what, as it is subtle… But it’s there.”

“Did Ronan feel that?” Rem carefully asked.

Freya’s gaze moved to Rem. “Yes.”

“Why did he leave, then?”

With hesitation, Freya replied, “Duty.”

Rem looked down, her gaze aimlessly moving over the wooden floor.

Freya added, “Our packs are quite large, Rem. They are hard to fully manage, which is why he has his Betas. Ronan would not serve of much use here anyway as we are creatures that thrive in numbers, which we do not have inside of Scarlet. He left you because it was the wisest choice, given the change you Silvers are physically going through. I know it can be intimidating to be alone, but a Luna would persevere. He will rely on her for such a strength, as an Alpha can only be as strong as his other half.”

Rem’s pulse quickened. “You say that as if I would become a Luna.”

Freya raised a brow. “You have shown aptitude, but whether you belong to Warden is not up to my son, but ratheryou. All I know is that hewillchoose a Silver, and I think it’s obvious that there is a mutual interest from the both of you. That bond has been established, at the very least.”

Rem wasn’t sure how to respond to hismotherabout such things and opted to simply nod, a more whimsical part beaming inside at the mention of a bond.

Freya gently smiled, staring at Rem for a long moment until she frowned. “Where is Lothar, by the way? I expected him with you. Is he outside? His scent is absent.”