The curse hovered in her throat, the only thing coming to mind being ‘witch’.
“It’s personal,” she replied, swallowing thickly.
Then it clicked; they didn’t trust her. At all.
That felt worse. She would need them. Oliver would need them. And they didn’t trust her.
Rem pleaded, “Please, I know it might seem odd. I’ll be honest, I am doing my best to keep composure—” Nia translated as she spoke “—I admit that my home life was not the best. My family was wonderful, but they are rooted there, so I had to come alone. And, I don’t know. After Jackson’s attack, I guess I have my walls up. I didn’t know if someone would just attack me again, so I keep my mouth shut.”
“Even then,” Freya said, crossing her legs, some of the motherly charm leaving her, “you don’t fight it.”
Rem frowned. “I thought you wanted me to enjoy this place.”
“I do. But I also can smell your scent. You’re nervous. Something is wrong, but you won’t say. And it seems to be related to something larger than adjusting issues.”
Rem thought to the real truth, to how she might actually feel if she were here without Oliver, and did her best to channel those emotions. The most important thing in that moment was securing their trust.
“I hated living with the witches. They controlled everything we did. They controlled even who we married, down to importing them or exporting us. I didn’t want to stay there. But I also didn’t want to leave. But… We heard the rumors before the Callons came. So, I was prepared for it. I was not easy to deal with when they showed up at my house. I think I feel better with Nia by my side,” Rem didn’t have to lie about that. “And Ronan has been kinder to me than I expected. When the hunters came… If your words are true, I accept this is where I will have to live, and so right now, I don’t want to fight it. I am already exhausted. As long as,” she paused, a thought coming to mind, “I can invite my family here one day. Maybe they will still come. If I can have that, I will learn to get used to this.”
Freya, thankfully, didn’t oppose. “That will be for my son to decide… And about becoming a shifter? Your true thoughts on that?”
Rem looked down, dark musings consuming her. “I want claws. I want to heal better than this—” she pointed to her leg “—I don’t want anyone to ever have that kind of power over me, ever again.”
Freya, never letting up, continued, “And what of belonging to us, in more than spirit? What of mating with a shifter? Bearing his young?”
Rem blushed, wondering why they just kept coming at her with questions. Her patience for inhibition waned, and she figured if they liked her bold, she’d embody that now. Anything to get on their good side. With a stolen glimpse at the Alpha, she said, “The selection here is better.”
When Nia translated, Ronan snickered, approval in his eyes.
Rem bit her inner lip to prevent herself from smiling, watching carefully as Ronan rolled his gaze to his mother to speak to her.
His mother said, “My son is right to add that you need to understand that once you are turned, they will want you mated very quickly. Did the Callons not go over that?”
“I understand there is a pressure for shifters like Ronan to mate us. I suppose it makes sense that the Silvers would need to be mated just as quickly, too. The Callons didn’t really go over that, but I’ve picked up on it.”
“Well, good. I say all this to help you; to prepare you. The more Silver power we have, the better, even if we don’t fully understand it just now. The immunity and extra strength alone will serve us well. The longer you are unmated, the more the males will fight, I assume. And you might feel better to avoid that.” Freya appeared to want to say more, but Ronan held up a hand—his gaze on Rem—and with that, his mother nodded as she stood up, looking at his sister, and they left.
Just like that, Rem and Nia remained alone with the Alpha.
That distractingly smooth, yet rough, voice of Ronan filled in the silence, and Rem watched him speak in that foreign tongue. Nia translated,“He notes the males will begin fighting over you. And so will the unmated Alphas.”
Rem considered that, imagining him fighting for a Silver—or making a claim on her. Anxiety raced her thoughts as she considered him fighting for another. She muttered, “Who will I go to?”
Ronan stood up and looked at the fire, his massive body taking up so much space as he mindlessly paced while he spoke.Nia echoed,“Ronan says that the distribution of the Silvers will be discussed while being here. Everyone you interact with is a potential mate, so just remember that. The sooner you have a mate selected, the easier it will be on you.”
Rem couldn’t decide if he was trying to help her, or possibly pushing her away. “What of you? What are you going to do?”
He glanced over his thick shoulder at her, his penetrating gaze slowly looking her over while he spoke, to which Nia said,“He notes that shifters are more intense than humans. They are more direct. Especially males like him, who will want to claim the female that they seek—” Ronan moved away from the fire, facing her with something in his eyes that she hadn’t yet seen, and she couldn’t quite define it “—so do with that what you will. Either way, out of respect for your boundaries, he prefers if you make your interest more clear before he acts, if that’s truly what you want… He also adds that if you do, he will respond in kind.”
13
MEAT SKEWERS
R E M
That followingmorning was spent with Nia, practicing Icelandic all the way until lunch before Nia left to bathe and change, leaving Rem alone in her room with Lothar standing guard in the hall.
Looking herself over in a large, cloudy mirror, Rem wanted to see herself after everything she’d been through. Not much had changed, other than the wounds that were still fresh. Purple and green spotted her skin where it was still bruised, and her bright blue eyes harbored a novel, worn depth.
