Rem looked down, the conversation rather useless. What if the Alpha was as cold and dismissive as Gally? How would Rem even learn what he was like? She couldn't even speak to him.
She quietly asked, "So, why Icelandic?"
"Icelandic stems from our strong roots in the Old Norse, where we thrived for a long time, and this is the language that stuck... Even if we live in all parts of the world. Either way, you'll find mostly broken English, no matter where you go. It is considered an inferior language."
Rem stared down at the remaining food in her lap, not wanting any more of it.They've taken over the entire world.An uncomfortable awareness returned to her.And they want me to mate with one of their leaders.
"Anyway, finish eating up. Take some time to relax. You meet my brother Jackson after this. Then, we prepare you for tomorrow."
Rem moved her entire head to face Gally. They silently stared, Gally's indomitable eyes the hardest to read yet.
"I'm done with my food," Rem quietly said. "And my brother likes honey on his toast. He also likes milk in the morning. If you have a heart, atall, please make sure he gets those things."
Gally's cheek stuck out as she pushed it with her tongue in an awkward pause. "I'll see if I can pass that along." She grabbed the tray of food. "I'll send Jackson to speak with you now."
Rem didn't move a muscle, not even to blink.
Gally wordlessly spun around, the she-wolf's feet pounding on each step before an unfamiliar voice echoed up the stairwell.
* * *
The manthat walked in bore an uncanny resemblance to the other Callons, except his features were more refined and his hair a dark blonde, shaved on both sides and pulled back into a bun. Rem guessed he was at least six feet tall, and he was quite muscular.
He stood in front of her and placed his hands in his pockets.
"Are you going to stand at all, or should I just begin?" Jackson asked, his voice lighter than the others, but still masculine.
Rem looked him up and down. He had on a white long-sleeved tunic with leather pants and boots, tattoos peeking through his shirt around the neck.
"Just tell me what you have to tell me," she said, her heart racing.
He looked down at the floor, speaking as if bored. "Fine. I understand. You don't know the rules or the manners owed to someone in my family's rank."
She avoided his gaze when he faced her. When he spoke again, she moved only her eyes to watch him.
He leaned against one of the wooden pillars of the attic. "I suppose we will just dive right in. There are other Silvers, and Fiona wants to ensure that you understand the weight of what we demand from you. She worries you’re too focused on your brother, and not on your task. I know, I know, it seems shocking that we would make such a demand from you… But to us, this is taking a stable master’s daughter and offering her as the wife of a handsome, fit king. Which means you have competition, as the other Silvers will want Ronan, too.
“It's won’t be too hard, despite seeming rather daunting: stroke his ego, maybe a few other things, don't be a wet dishrag in personality, and make him feel special. If Ronan is not interested inyou, then he will look to the others. It's that simple."
No matter how she tried to think this through, all she could see in her mind's eye was a very long, dark tunnel ahead of her.
“I already know all of this. And it still makes no sense… You really want me—a human—to make a shifter wolfchoosemeas his mate when I literally cannot speak his language... All the while actively competing against other women, or my family and I die?"
"Quick one, aren't you?"
She clenched her jaw, glaring at him.
Jackson added, "You can be as mad as you want, but that brother of yours is depending on you. Gally will help you with the other nuances... And then, tomorrow, Alpha Ronan will come here, as is customary for the male to visit his potential she-wolf. I just wanted to meet you and reinforce our expectations."
"What if I just run away?" she muttered. The question escaped her before she could correct the logic, as she'dneverleave without Oliver.
"You'll get eaten by the wolves or the wargs. You know, the giant beasts that us shifters were made in the image of? Plus, if you somehow escaped with your brother on your back, I know where your family lives. I will ensure that you will only find their graves if you try to flee for home."
Her lips parted in a bitter rage, but an odd hooting outside her window distracted her.
Jackson stood up from his lean. "As if on cue," he said, nodding to the window. "I also figured it would be good to have you witness your collateral, so you don't even have to bother with thoughts of running away."
Her heart thrummed with a different kind of panic. "What?"
