Page 15 of The Silver Ones


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"Not really. It makes sense. You stop complaining and do what has to be done. I would reverse my shifter gift, marry a human and father his young if it meant keeping my family alive. You act as if we are giving you to a Gamma. This is anAlpha, Rem, of a very large, powerful pack. Don't forget his rank."

Rem looked down, clenching her fists. She had spent the previous day and night unfocused and emotional, with every instruction from Gally slowly chipping away at her spirit. Rem couldn't interact with Oliver, per the rule of Jackson. If she attempted it, then punishment would find the boy.

They had won, and she was subdued.

For now, anyway. Once Oliver was safe? Rem had a feeling an emotional dam would break, and she'd ensure that this family was in the floodplain.

An hour passed,the golden morning sun brightening the room. Particles of dust danced in the new light within a quiet peace that reminded her of the apothecary back home. She used to enjoy helping her gran in the early mornings, Rem tasked with processing herbs before the day got too warm.

Rem looked down as the last braid was finished, eyeing her simple cotton dress. It was held up by tying two loose strands around her neck. A thin black leather belt cinched the waist by tying it in the back. All one had to do was untie the belt, then the part around her neck, and her body would be free.

She had never worn such susceptible clothing before.

Rem touched her head when Gally finished, feeling the flatness of the top that was neatly pulled back, but on the sides were two rows of braids, pulled back into a bun. Gally swatted Rem's hand away to gently tug out some of the braid to give it volume. Rem had never worn her hair like this. Piece by piece, her humanity had been removed—from the color of her eyes and hair changing a few months ago, to the clothes she now wore.They might as well go ahead and tattoo her at this point.

Gally looked Rem over one last time, the only sound in the room being of the she-wolf's light footsteps.

"Good—you look good. You've got good breasts, good hips, and nice legs. This will work well. Your outfit is simple, so he will see the bareness of you through it."

She stopped and looked Rem in the eye, a gentler expression unbecoming of the she-wolf. "Ronan is a good Alpha and a good male. This could bemuchworse, if I am to be honest. There are horrible Alphas out there and worse conditions. So stop reeking of fear."

"You havenoidea how I feel right now," Rem spat.

"Don't assume you know everything," Gally scolded, turning to leave. “Let’s go.”

Rem’s stomach nearly emptied itself. There was a false sense of safety in the attic, as if time were frozen up there. Rem didn't want to leave it. Presenting herself to this Alpha was either going to work, or it wasn't, and she had no way of predicting which way it would go.

She pressed on for Oliver, walking down the attic stairs, which was nothing but a dull, wooden hall. They exited onto a more decorated second landing before advancing to the main staircase. Once down the stairs, Gally told Rem to stand before the main door.

Like the rest of their world, the home had been reclaimed, having once belonged to a person who existed in a past life that felt infinitely far away, even if it had only been eighty years.

Rem avoided looking at the front door, assuming Ronan would step through at any moment. Dread weakened her knees.

"Remember to kneel, as I showed you. Do whatever he asks, Rem," Gally commanded, taking a step closer, their eyes connecting. "Everything."

Those words hollowed out Rem's remaining dignity, her expression slack, her heart numbing itself. Gally left her there, walking through another hall to exit through an unseen door.

And just like that, Rem was alone.

If Rem wanted to save Oliver—let alone her own life—she'd have to become something else today. She tried to get into the mindset of meeting Ronan as if she were a shifter wolf herself, excited to be mated with an Alpha.As everyone keeps telling me.

It was harder than she thought. She didn't care about the Alphas. She didn't care about shifters.

She tried to reframe it and imagine him as a prime hunter. Rem always liked the hunters with their worldly demeanor and hardened eyes. They were humanity's last hope, a representation of salvation that grew stronger with each passing day.

But those hunters would not come today, nor any other day. Once she was one ofthem, they'd hunt her, too.

She shook her head, pressing her fist to her lips as she tried to stifle a cry.

Rem's desperate heart filled her mind with images of her mother, and how she had wanted to leave the village and risk it all to save her daughter. And what was Rem doing? Wearing an outfit that could be easily undone, ready to seduce an Alpha. In a moment of calm and clarity, Rem felt like she was seeing herself for the first time: kneeling in foreign lands, taken from her home, stripped of self-worth, and told her body would be used like one of the witches demanding blood sacrifice.

Disappointment lowered her head. Her grandmother worked so hard to fight everyone and stand on her own. Her family was willing to endure dangerous roads.

What had Rem done?

Nothing.

Nothing but sit there and let them use her.