"Det är relaterat till Jackson. Han gjorde det här. "
Nia motioned for Rem to bow, to which she did in a slow movement, grimacing from her wound that began to ache again.
Nia said, “He asked to confirm who did that to your back.”
“Jackson,” Rem said without hesitation, avoiding eye contact.
“He wants to know why."
She looked around, quietly saying, “I disobeyed and fought him.”
When it was quiet, she glanced up at the Alpha; he was such a large creature, even his stomach was lined with muscle. Ronan narrowed his gaze on her, and she got the sense that that answer didn’t please him. She desperately wanted to know why. Was he angry with Jackson? Or did he think lowly of her for ‘disobeying’ someone?
Ronan nodded towards the waters. “Återvänd till vattnet.”
Nia seemed relieved. "He said to get back into the water. For your back."
“What about his wound," Rem said, nodding to his chest. “Won’t he need to get in himself?”
Although—as she said that—she understood this would be a perfect chance to be alone with him… She merely said those words so as toavoidgetting in together. But wasn’t that unwise, given what was demanded of her?
"He said he must go tend to Jackson first."
Their gazes connected, those piercing blue eyes of his making her feel naked and exposed once more. Especially with how he didn’t look away. Rem wasn’t sure why she stared at the Alpha, or what silent conversation they were having.
All she knew was that he spellbound her.
He looked her over one last time before turning away, giving her his back. His shoulders were broad and filled with muscle, something she could hardly stop staring at, and for the second time, he left her as swiftly as he had arrived.
She opened her mouth to potentially tell him about the Callon's deep betrayal—to try to negotiate her brother’s freedom—but as soon as she did, her throat was on fire like when Fiona had cursed her.
I really am cursed.
"I swear my brother said that Ronan was long gone for the day. I am so sorry," Nia said as she watched the other shifter walk away as well.
Rem nodded when Nia looked at her, faking a smile to cover the way her body burned with a curse. "It all worked out in the end. Don’t beat yourself up.”
"Oh, we got so lucky," Nia moaned with an upturn of her brows, gently biting her lip.
"Really?"
Nia nodded fervently. "Ronanhateswhen people linger when they smell him in the air. Especially when he is in a mood like that. He wasnothappy when he came here. Probably related to whatever that wound is."
Rem eyed Nia, the she-wolf’s hands trembling, the petals of the flowers shaking. Rem said, "Thank you for coming when you did… What all did he say?”
"He just wanted to know what happened to you and who did it."
"And what did he say when he looked at my back?"
"He said 'Unfortunate'."
Rem frowned, crossing her arms. "Unfortunate? I mean, the wound is a bit more than ‘unfortunate’.”
Nia downplayed it. "It’s not as casual as it sounds. I think for Ronan, hemeansthat. He's not very emotional, at least to anyone that isn’t very close family. It's why he's a good Alpha. The fact that he went to deal with it speaks more than any words. I think he’s disappointed and angry with the Callons. And maybe concerned for you. I know he doesn’t seem like it, but letting you stay shows he is, at least a little. Well, more than a little. Trust me when I say it’s good."
Trusting those words was tempting. How great would it be if the Alpha was actually concerned for her? But for now, Rem merely tucked the comment away.
“I need to learn your language,” Rem mumbled. “Like, yesterday.”
