The Alpha's Siren Song

Chapter 37

"I can't help you," I said defensively when Ajax leaned towards me, arms crossed on the table. He hadn't even asked, but I knew. I could feel it like frost in the air.

"Understandable," he replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Misty high tailed it out of here to go to Europe. She wanted nothing to do with werewolves and I don't blame her. In fact, we helped her by paying for her college classes in Zurich after she told us what she knew."

"Money won't convince me either," I snapped. 

"Trust me, seeing you shoveling horse shit for minimum wage led me to believe that money wasn't an issue for you."

I said nothing, gritting my teeth but refusing to break eye contact. I had suffered enough. I had suffered more than anyone deserved. The man had gotten away with all the awful, vile things he did because no one else was brave enough or smart enough to step in. I was not putting myself at risk for their benefit.

"So, here's my thought process, Nero obviously knows where you are. He either can't find Misty or he doesn't care as much about her as he cares about you. You are mated to Easton who is the alpha of this pack and responsible for it's welfare which means that you are kind of stuck here. That's not ideal for you."

My eyes flashed to Easton as a weighted pause took over the air in the room. He still hadn't moved from the kitchen. And now, he was staring down at this tea in his mug like it had wronged him. But the tea hadn't murdered his pack members. The tea hadn't brought a crazed killer here through keeping a deadly secret behind sealed lips.

"What Ajax is trying to say is that you can ignore us if you'd like," Keiko piped up, her voice clear and striking. Her attentive gaze went to my features, studying me like I was a challenge. "You've been hurt and you might be afraid. You might not want anything to do with werewolves. We understand that. but we only want to help you. A werewolf doesn't benefit the community if it destroys others. Nero is coming after you. We all know that. You've already tried running. He's followed. Now, you can either keep running and instances like this can keep happening or you can work with us. We aren't asking you to slay a dragon singlehandedly. We just want you to tell us what you know and to listen to us as well."

Her sharp, emotionless voice caught me off guard. She wasn't trying to comfort me like Sebastian or use arrogance and pride to bait me like Ajax. She was just telling me the facts.

My eyes narrowed into slits and my aim zeroed in on her. "I don't think that you understand that this man has tried to kill me multiple times. He killed my mother in front of me."

She just cocked her head to one side. "I don't think you understand that he will keep coming after you. And he knows your tricks, he turned you into the defensive, paranoid person you are through all of the suffering. But he doesn't know us. He doesn't know what we are capable of."

"So far, all you've done is let a serial killer slaughter innocent women and girls."

"I understand that you are upset, but we have already explained to you that we have done all we can. We are continuing to do everything we can. We will catch him one way or another. You just might not be alive to see it. You know that Nero is too animalistic for your siren powers, right? He can't be persuaded like a normal werewolf."

I hadn't know that. I thought that Easton was just some strange anomaly, not the standard, but I said nothing. How could they ask me to actively fight against the man who killed my mother right in front of me? How was I supposed to tell them everything that I had seen, heard, and felt and sleep at night? How could they toss me in the back of an SUV and corner me and expect an answer?

"We want to help," Sebastian interjected, so soft among his abrasive counterparts. It was like sample a chocolate bar after sucking a lemon, not nearly as pleasant as it should have been. "And we want to keep you safe. You have to know that you are at risk. Against him, you're hardly more than a human. An extra set of jaws and paws is always good to have on your side."

I said nothing. I couldn't be bothered to even think of a response and I was not feeling particularly inclined to humor their good-cop-bad-cop scheme. 

They eventually gave up on me and began speaking with Easton instead, talking about the funeral that would be held for those who had lost their lives. All I could think of was that no one talked about the colours of the flowers that would be given to relatives when my mother died. No one worried about which church would please my sisters who choked on their own blood. There was no talk of obituaries or funeral planning. 

We just died.

And the world moved on.

The hoard of people left the house at some point. I was still sitting in the kitchen, staring at my hands, even when the timid woman- Sebastian's mate- gave my shoulder a squeeze. Easton stayed in the kitchen, like keeping the island between us would ward off evil spirits. Two cars started and drove away. I stared at the grain in the wood.

The world had moved on.

I would not.

I heard Easton dump his full cup of tea into the sink. My eyes finally lifted. His face was red. The mug in his hand shook. 

"You didn't think to tell me that you were a siren?" he whispered, unable to look at me.

My pride flared up as did my walls. Arms crossed over my chest and brow low, I hissed, "You told me I didn't have to tell you. You were giving me time, remember?"

"I told you to take your time if my pack was safe!" he shot back. The mug was discarded in the sink and I wondered if it shattered from the impact. Easton made no move to check. "My pack was not safe, Kaia. I lost a whole family today. A whole fucking family! All because you didn't feel like telling me that one of the most blood thirsty werewolves was coming after you!"

I opened my mouth to protest or defend myself, though I wasn't entirely sure how. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Easton was no longer appeased with standing still. He was tearing his clothes of bit by bit. He was down to his jeans by the time he got to the front door. A second later, I saw his wolf sprinting across the open road.

The world went on.

My life had stopped.

~~~Distraction Section~~~

I have decided that we will be moving to two updates a week! Monday and Wednesday to get us through the rest of the book. And of course, random updates when I can.

Question of the Day: what did you Google last?