The Alpha's Siren Song

Chapter 7

For a second, no one moved. The young boy who had been hitting on me seemed to crumple under this man's voice, because he was just that, all man with at least five years on the kid. And I just stared up at him, baffled because this couldn't be possible.

I was sure it was his voice that I had heard that night, with my back to him and my face to the ocean. His voice had soothed me when I felt like nothing in the world could make me comfortable and he had said those shy words, telling me he couldn't tear his eyes away. I remembered it well.

But I was sure that those eyes were the same eyes that belonged to the werewolf and the man who had ended up on Eddy's driveway. I wasn't even in the same continent, how was it that he was here too?

And if both of those things were true and he had somehow tracked me down, then how had I commanded him? He should have been impervious to my siren spell because of his lack of humanity. It was a known fact, sirens could not control werewolves, otherwise we would have overpowered Alpha Nero long before he did anything harmful to us.

"What is she? Your girlfriend?" the kid demanded, narrowing his eyes on the man.

"She doesn't have to be anything to me personally for me to want her to be comfortable in a public park. I saw you harassing her. So, be on your way," the man hissed. It was then that I noticed how different his accent was from the other, not quite right. 

"I didn't make her uncomfortable," the kid protested, looking at me for validation.

"You're both making me uncomfortable," I interjected, snapping my book shut. I lost my page but that was the least of my worries now. I just wanted to use the argumentative youth to my advantage. "You two can hash out who was worse, but I'm going to find somewhere else to read." 

I took a deep breath as I stood up, trying to appear calm while I braced for the vile stench of mutt that would be rolling off the man in front of me. Instead, I was struck with something fresh with undertones of wood, as if someone had captured the scent of summer and spritzed it over this creature. Startled, my eyes snapped up, and I saw the green that I already knew and feared, but something deeper was stirring beneath like gold shimmering below the surface.

I ripped my gaze away from him, clutched my book to my chest, and skittered down the path.

Behind me there was a brief squabble between the men, one blaming the other for chasing me away. Neither wanted to admit fault but both were furious. Perfect, exactly what I wanted. This would give me time to find a place to hide or at least a chance to find some water. Was I sure that my siren abilities would do anything to the werewolf? No, I wasn't. But it was worth a shot. It had seemed to work once and if all else failed, I could rely on the water to get me far away.

"Hey, please, wait," the man called out from behind. 

His voice sent a shiver down my spine. I pretended like I didn't hear him and shot out onto a side street. I held onto my book tighter and quickened my pace. I didn't want to sprint and draw attention, but I wanted it to be clear I was leaving.

"Lass, please."

I said nothing, continuing to walk away as my mind worked over my options. Where could I go? Not home, that was for sure. The last thing I wanted him to know was where I laid my head at night and where the most important man in my life resided. I needed to get to the water. I needed to find River Dee and find a way to get down to the water.

But the man fell into step beside me. I was tall for a girl, so tall I struggled with finding pants that didn't make me look like I was preparing for a flood. He was taller yet. Not by much, only a couple of inches, but his stride was quick.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he stated. "I just thought that he was bothering you and he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"You didn't offend me. I would just like to be left alone."

"Can I at least make it up to you with tea?" he suggested.

"No." My eyes darted over the landscape in front of me. I had left all the pedestrians behind me at the park. There was little foot traffic where we were. Would people stop if I screamed? Probably not. And if I acted so erratically it would only confirm his suspicions. He was being far more patient and wary than Nero and his other man had ever been. Maybe he wasn't quite sure.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked.

Shouldn't he know my name? He had been sent by Nero to pick me up, he should know almost everything about me. And he had to have access to an impressive amount of intelligence on me if he knew that I flew from rural Canada to Scotland. He was obviously just toying with me.

"Get away from me," I hissed. But I had no access to water, no power. I couldn't order him around without putting myself at great risk. "Now you are the one isn't taking no for an answer."

"Please don't order me away again," he said, his voice soft. "I-I don't know what you did, but I hated it."

I almost rolled my eyes at his words and if I hadn't been so afraid of him and who he worked for I might have called him out on his terrible acting. Didn't he hear the difference between his accent and that of the boy he confronted, it was clearly fake. He was playing with me and I knew it, but couldn't he tell his ploy wasn't working?

"I'll ask you one more time to leave me alone," I warned. What was I going to do if he denied? I wasn't sure, but I hoped he wouldn't be brave enough to call my bluff.

"You don't understand," he begged, almost sounding wounded. "I can walk away from you now, but the world is going to keep bringing us together. Please, let's just have a cup of tea together and I'll try and explain everything to you."

The passionate way he spoke gave me chills. The world was going to bring us together? That sounded absolutely religious. Was that Nero's newest angle? He wasn't just making capturing sirens a quest for power, he was making it a religious feat, creating a cult mentality. And this little werewolf clearly believed him, a devoted follower of that man.

"Shut up about your fucking tea," I hissed. 

His hands went up in surrender, but his eyes swept the area around us. "Bowling, how about bowling?" he tried again.

"Listen, I don't care if you offer to take me to see the queen, okay? I'm not going anywhere with you so just leave me alone or I'm going to make a big scene and I'm going to pepper spray you. Do you understand?"

The man stopped keeping pace with me. I should have taken that moment to run, to get as far away from him as possible. But I didn't. I stopped too and narrowed my eyes on him, daring him to challenge me again. He didn't know that I didn't own pepper spray, but clearly, the threat was enough to keep him at bay. His eyes followed my hand as I reached towards my purse and I watched him swallow hard.

"My name is Easton," he said, his voice shaking a little. He took a step back. "I know you probably don't care, but-"

"You're right, I don't care," I hissed, then I spun away and ran towards the nearest train station.