The Alpha's Siren Song

Chapter 50

Easton waited for me to cry. I think that he might have wanted me to cry just so he could have any response at all from me. He smoothed my hair back from my face and told me that we would wait for the royals to get here before checking out the house. He told me over and over again that it was nothing, that this was just some dumb hoax to get us all riled up and vulnerable. 

But I knew that it wasn't. I didn't know why I was so certain. I didn't know why I couldn't make myself believe Easton, but my gut told me the truth: Eddy had not been kidnapped from his house because he never made it here. 

The man that had saved me from the law, from myself, and from random men who showed up on his property, was still in Scotland. 

Maybe that should have pushed me over the edge. Maybe that should have made me cry. It didn't.

Elliot left sooner after the message was delivered and Easton became even more anxious. He told me to sit on the couch so I did. He dashed around the kitchen in a mad rush to make me tea. I drank it without a fuss. Once my mug was empty the cycle would start all over again. He was trying to keep me as calm as possible, but was frantic himself, hardly able to sit still for more than a single second.

Eventually, after countless musicals I didn't pay attention to and a dozen cups of tea, he suggested we go to bed.

Once I was laying beside him wearing only my panties and a baggy tee shirt, he asked, "Aren't you upset?"

"You told me that it's probably nothing. The house was untouched. Eddy would put up a fight. It doesn't make any sense," I lied.

"Right, of course. And Ajax and Keiko will be here in the afternoon, we can all go look at the house together. Whatever happens, you won't be against Nero alone. We can all fight this together."

He had no idea how wrong he was. I didn't bother to tell him, knowing that he would try to stop me if I did. Instead, I brought my mouth to his in the dark, sweet and soft. It was a thank you for everything he had done and an apology for what I would put him through tomorrow. 

He fell asleep after countless turns and rolls. I just stared at the ceiling until his breathing was slow and soft.

The hardest part was pulling myself away from Easton. The plan had been so easy before. I was doing what was required of me, following through with what I knew was coming. But, listening to the pleased noise he made when I stroked his back, watching him curl into my touch, it made my heart ache. Would it be so bad if I just stayed here? If I just believed Easton and let the royals and Misty hold my hand through all of this?

But Nero would strike again and again until he had me. 

I slipped out of the bed, fighting back tears. I tried not to think about what I was leaving behind as I pulled on a pair of jeans and one of Easton's sweaters. I briefly wondered if I should pack a suitcase, then remembered that I was either coming back victorious or not coming back at all. Because of that, I didn't worry too much when I used Easton's laptop to purchase the last minute flight to Glasgow with my credit card.

I grabbed a warm jacket and my car keys, taking only my wallet, passport, and a small backpack with me. 

I was calm and collected at the airport. I was heading into a war that I had been preparing for since I got away. I answered all of the security's questions when they eyed my single bag and one way ticket with suspicion. I was going home for a family emergency. No, I didn't know when I was coming back. I had work here and a boyfriend that I fully intended to return to. No, they couldn't call anyone to confirm my story because the person I was going to see was hospitalized and I had no other family there.

Somehow, I made it on the plane without too much fuss. Getting on the train was even easier. No one even looked at me funny, like there was nothing strange about this random woman riding a train in the middle of the night. And no one approached me when I got off the train by myself and walked the dead streets of Aberdeen.

It was so easy to recall being here before, the sea calling to me with every step. And Easton around every corner, so delighted and terrified to see me every time. I had been so frightened by him then. I paid no attention to the warm smiles and the earnest way he constantly tried to gain my affection. All I had cared about was that he was a werewolf. He was like Nero.

How wrong I had been. 

Now, Easton was already awake and frantic. He would already know that I was gone. He had probably already checked the cabin, thinking that I might have needed space. Maybe he went to Eddy's farm, worried that I had taken the task on alone. 

He would figure it out eventually. He would realize that his laptop was not where he left it. I knew Easton. And if I wanted to keep it a secret, I would have placed the computer right back where I found it. I suppose I wanted him to know where I had gone. I didn't want to just be another siren that disappeared. 

Despite the numbness that had taken over my body, something twisted in my gut when the door to the small, grey townhouse swung open. The knot in my belly only became tighter when I saw a frying pan with a raw egg still on the stove. A drawer had been pulled out of the cabinet, utensils strewn across the floor. The television was still on, playing the local news. A cup of cold coffee was rest on the coffee table. 

I walked through the small space that had become my home for a short while. the bedroom that I had slept in was made up, just the way I had left it. I refused to remember hearing Eddy snoring through the walls, feeling so safe. Now was not the time for sentimental thoughts. I couldn't let myself become emotional. Eddy's room looked just like his bedroom at home, clothes tossed about, a book here, a journal there, an empty cup beside his medication on the nightstand.

But no Eddy.

This should have sent me spiraling. I should have dropped to my knees on the old carpet and sobbed. I should have lost it. Nero had forced me to come out here. Nero had taken away the man who had become the only family I needed. And through all that, he couldn't even give me the convenience of walking into my own fate willingly.

But I had played his games before. Nero would find me.

So I left the little house without a second glance, only comforted that I had not seen any traces of blood. If Nero was going to use Eddy as a bargaining chip, he would be smart enough to keep the dear man alive. I hoped.

In the dark, I strode down the roads and walkways I recalled. In the back of my mind I wondered what Easton was doing. It was almost nine in the evening here, two in the afternoon back in Alberta. Had he given up already? Was Elliot trying to comfort him out of hysterics? Was he blaming himself for not seeing the signs?

My legs carried me towards the North Sea, so fierce and angry, even in the cold weather. It looked like it could swallow a person whole with no remorse. I sauntered on, only stopping to sit on a smooth rock, wondering what Easton would think if he saw me here, with my wild hair, tired eyes, and neglected body. Would he think that it was best for me to give up? 

Water sprayed my face as a wave broke before me, bring me back to reality. Easton was not here. Easton should have never been apart of this. I escaped Nero alone and I would go back to him alone. The path of destruction had gone on long enough.

"I knew you'd come back to me, little bird."