He smiled darkly. "If you want to see Oliver one last time before meeting the Alpha, I suggest you look out the window."
She stood, eyeing the glass he nodded towards.
Rem panted, suppressing the tears. She had to focus. She needed to remain calm and to think. Nearly tripping, she hurried over to the window, placing her palms on the glass, wiping at it when her heavy breathing fogged her vision. She scanned the area until she spotted a group of shifters walking.
Among them was a smaller individual.
She could feel Jackson behind her, watching. As the group slowly passed the home, the child threw something into the air and caught it. The young boy turned around, and it was then that she saw his face.
Her slow, low groan filled the silence of the attic, anger contorting her expression—Oliver. It was the first time she had seen him since they let her glimpse her brother on the journey.
She banged on the window, "Oliver!"
"We don't need a scene," Jackson warned, pulling her away.
"Ihateyou," she seethed, hot tears swelling in her eyes. She even lunged at him, all of her aggression releasing like a rain catcher that over-filled, spilling out uncontrollably. “I hate you!” She tried to hit him, to kick him, even head butt him.
Jackson hardly struggled to contain her, and she threw a knee right at him the best that she could. But he was something paranormal, and her mortal strikes were nothing against his flesh. The shifter threw her off of him, and she hit the floor with a hardthud.
She'd find a way to murder these people, to hurt everyone that crossed her. Their manipulation disgusted her, and she loathed to think of what they could to do to her brother.
"Well, that wasn’t pretty. I advise you work on that. With luck, you’ll get over your ego and adjust so our Alpha will take to you, and you can enjoy the passion that he is known for… And then Oliver gets to live," Jackson said with a sadistic smile, knowing he had won.
Rem wanted to scream again; she fumed while staring at the wooden floor, a white-hot rage scorching her veins.
"Gally will return shortly. Don't disappoint me, Rem, or therewillbe punishment."
When he left and shut the door, Rem rushed back to the window only to see that Oliver was gone. She placed her hand on the sill, her forehead on the glass, and cried.
She only hoped that Ronan, somehow, would see through the deception.
4
THEIR FIRST MEETING
R E M
The sun had yetto rise by the time Gally tended to Rem, braiding her hair back into an elaborate bun. The faintest glow of daybreak graced the attic.
Rem yawned, her eyes watering.
Everything felt wrong about Gally braiding her hair. Rem missed her mother, struggling to peel away from thoughts about her life from only two weeks ago. Were her parents alright? Were the witches looking for her? Had the hunters reached them yet?
There was no way she'd let the Callons take control of her life so easily. She might be a Silver, but she was still Rem Walker, granddaughter of Ophelia.
"I know you are only yawning, but please do not cry in front of Ronan. You cry a lot."
Rem did not reply, stolidly staring at the wall in front of her.
"The Alpha wants a strong female, you do realize?" Gally continued, pulling tightly on Rem's hair.
"I won't cry," she dryly said. "I can’t afford that right now. Your sadistic brother kidnapped my Oliver. The boy is only ten. But you know that. That's why you took him."
"My family is also on the line here, so you're not the only one," Gally warned, turning to face Rem. "Cut the self-pity. Get over it. Life is unfair. You cannot change that. You can only change how you react."
"Well, you are all definitely related. There's a linked disconnect with the world and how one should react to something like this," she snapped.
Her vengeful heart erased any effort to be kind; the manners in which witches and humans interacted clearly did not translate here.