Siren's Secret

25. Unexpected News

Jason hung up the phone with his mother and rushed to Rieka's room. He found one of her t-shirts and a pair of shorts and bound them with a few hair ties. 

As he was finishing up, Pierce burst into the room, "Rieka! Where is she?"

"She went to the forest to clear her head. I'm going after her to check on her."

Pierce nodded, "I'll go with you." Jason shook his head and put his hand on Pierce's shoulder, "Pierce, I know she's your alpha, but I'm her brother. I know her better than anyone. I helped her when she was young and would get angry or frustrated and no one else felt like they could reach her. You have to trust me, and stay here. I'll keep her safe." 

Pierce searched Jason's eyes for a moment then relented and stood aside to let Jason rush downstairs and shift.  

Pierce lingered for a moment in Rieka's room. He could feel the pain, confusion and stress through their bond.  He rolled up his left sleeve and looked at the markings starting to grow on his arm. It appeared that morning as the paw print on his chest disappeared. 

Jaguars didn't have a mate like the wolves did, but based on what Pierce knew about their so called "mate bond", he imagined this must be fairly similar to what it feels like. To know their feelings without being told or even when they're not in the same room, or to yearn to protect them from anything and anyone.  To hold them and comfort them when they're hurting. 

It was killing him to not run after Rieka. Pierce didn't know exactly what he was feeling for her, but he knew that he didn't ever want her to feel alone again. Rieka was strong, smart, kind hearted, and she was a great leader. Even when this war was over, he knew he would stay by her side for as long as she wished.

For now, he would have to wait. Thankfully, jaguars were extremely patient.

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Jason shifted into Jax the moment he left the front door to the pack house. He held Rieka's clothes in his mouth and bounded off to the woods. 

Through the forest and up the steep slopes of the mountains Arcon ran. He knew exactly where to look because it was a place only they knew.

After Rieka had shifted when they were kids, there was a lot of negative reactions from those in the pack. Some days were especially hard for Rieka and she would need to get away from it all and clear her head.  Jason would often find her high up in the mountains on this little outcrop in front of a cave that went deep into the mountain. It had an over look that you could see the outskirts of Santa Cruz and the ocean in the far distance and about fifteen feet into the cave was a large round cavern filled with stalagmites of various shapes and sizes. Rayna liked to hear the drip drip drip of the water echo through the cave and smell the wet earth. 

Jax jumped up the jagged boulders that littered the impromptu path up to the outcropping. After jumping the last one, he landed on the edge and saw Rayna sitting on the edge overlooking the valley. The wind was rustling her black fur and her white eyes looked distant, thoughtful. Jason shifted back, put on some sweatpants and walked to his sister's wolf. 

"Hey girl. Thought I'd find you here." Rayna cast a sideways glance at him then stared back at the view in front of her.

"I-uh, brought you some clothes if you wanted to talk about whatever's bothering you." Jason said as he sat the bundled clothes by Rayna's tail then sat beside her, dangling his legs off the side.  Jason took a deep breath and looked over at the ginormous wolf beside him. He reached out his hand and gently caressed her soft fur.

Rayna sighed at his touch and her white eyes turned to meet his stormy blue ones. Slowly, Rayna stood, grabbed the clothes and went behind a tree. A few moments later, Rieka came out in the t-shirt and shorts with her hair up in a messy bun.  She came and sat beside her brother staying quiet but chewing her lip as she thought about what she wanted to say.