Sirens (Theo Raeken) [1]

Collateral Damage

"It still hurts, doesn't it?" Theo asks.

He places two fingers under my chin and tips my head sidewards. His fingers gingerly trace the necklace of bruises on my neck. "Yes," I mutter, avoiding his gaze.

"Arden," he says. "Arden, look at me."

I shift my gaze to his, swallowing hard. "That was incredible what you did back there," he says, his hand fitted onto the side of my neck. "You don't understand how powerful you are."

Even though I try to stop them, tears begin to roll down my cheeks anyway. "I don't feel powerful," I say. "I failed."

He readjusts himself on the bed so that I'm sitting cross-legged between his legs and his arms are around my waist. He leans forward so that there's barely a gap between us. "You didn't fail," he says. "You took out his entire pack with a sentence."

"Exactly."

He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "What are you upset about, baby girl?"

"Theo," I choke out. "I killed all those people. I killed every single one of them. And I didn't even kill Lucien. I can't believe I killed them all."

"Hey, come on, princess, shh," he murmurs. "It's alright. We're alright."

"I —"

"I know you killed those people," he says. "But think about how many people they would've killed if you hadn't. Innocent people, Arden. They wouldn't have stopped. They wanted you to kill for them. You saw what you did back there. They wanted that but on a bigger scale and to people who were innocent.

"You stopped a war, Arden."

"I delayed a war, Theo," I say. "But I didn't stop it. I didn't kill their leader."

The corners of his mouth raise slightly. "You don't understand what you did back there," he says. "You stopped it all. Lucien is powerless now." He draws me closer to him. "How are the injuries doing, baby?"

"They hurt," I say.

"It's the wolfsbane," he says. "It'll be flushed out of your system soon and then you'll heal properly." He twirls a piece of my hair around his finger. "You're a survivor, Arden. This is nothing."

"It isn't nothing," I say, burying my face in my hands. "I don't care about the injuries. I care that I killed a hundred people with my voice."

He lifts my head to meet his gaze. "You're a siren, Arden," he murmurs. "That's what you do."

"I don't want to be able to do that!"

"You weren't born to be normal, Arden," he says. "You're the type of girl who was born to be extraordinary, to burn across the sky and have people know your name."

"Theo—"

"Arden, I'm in love with you because of everything you are. I don't care about the Vinceret pack or Lucien. I'm just glad I have you back here with me." He slides a hand under my jawline and tips my head to the side slightly. He leans forward and his mouth grazes over my neck. His mouth moves up to my jawline as he pulls me closer to him.

He pulls away slowly and presses his lips to mine. His lips work against mine effortlessly, and everything that's happened melts away, if only just for a second. The kiss deepens and his hands roam around my body.

He eases himself down on top of me and pushes me down, his kissing gradually becoming more passionate. His hands slide under my shirt and he edges it up but by bit. I groan against his mouth before he tugs the shirt over my head and throws it somewhere on the floor.