The Silver Siren
Chapter 21

She hung her head, resting her forehead on her knees and then her head shot up. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?” she asked, fearfully.

“No,” said Reece, “I don’t believe you did. You are too weak to do any real damage. We had only one casualty on the border, and he was shot with silver,”

She looked relieved, “Is he ok?”

“He is recovering well,” confirmed Reece.

“What happens now?” she asked, “Will you let me go?”

“You will have to stay here for now, while you recover. And for your own safety,” he said.

“Please don’t send me back to my old pack. I’m sorry I was part of the attack. I didn’t have a choice!” she cried.

“I won’t be sending you back there, Penny. Trust me,” he assured her, and she seemed to calm down a little. “But I will be placing a call to the Alpha at the Spirit Moon Pack about their Beta.”

“No. Please don’t do that! No one can know I am here. He’ll come looking for me if he replaces out I’m here!” she cried, verging on hysterical.

“Calm down, Penny. If you don’t want me to call your Alpha, I won’t. But what he did to you is against our laws. He should be punished for his actions,” Reece said, calmly. She calmed down enough to listen to him. “You are safe here.”

“Do you know what Lucien is planning?” I asked her.

“He sent a group of rogues to attack a smaller pack, but I wasn’t sent that time. I don’t know why he attacked that pack or what he is planning,” she said. She hung her head, defeated. I couldn’t leave her here. I decided to try and mind link Reece.

“Reece” I thought.

“Yes, sweetie,” he replied.

“We can’t leave her here!” I said.

“She may have stay here to for a little while longer. I need to talk to Brad about this. And my dad. And we need to confirm what she says is true with the other rogues. If they say the same, then they are innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing. If Lucien really is using dark magic to control them, they are victims and will be freed. But Penny will never be safe unless both she and Brad accept each other as mates,” he explained.

I wanted her freed now, but I understood that we had to protect the pack. And Penny.

“Ok,” I said, “But can we get her some food and some clean clothes? She looks like she hasn’t eaten in a month.”

“Of course, I will arrange it,” he agreed.

“No, I can do it,” I offered, “I can get her everything she needs.”

“Ok, but stay with a guard when you return,” he said, “I need to talk to Brad. You ready to go?”

“I’d like to stay here and talk to Penny,” I said, firmly. “The guard will be with me, and I’ll be careful, I promise.” It took a few seconds for him to answer but he eventually said, “Ok. I will come and replace you later. I’ll have some extra food sent to her cell.” He leaned into me and kissed my cheek. “Don’t be too long.”

His soft lips met mine and my body melted into his. He stroked along my lower lip with his tongue, and I almost burst into flames. His large hand delicately stroked my face and his tongue slid gently into my mouth. He suddenly pulled away, leaving me breathless and whispered, “I have to go. If I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to stop myself taking you straight to the bedroom.” He was struggling to keep control. I felt my cheeks flush, and I straightened my shirt. I watched him walk away. There was no denying it, he was absolutely magnificent. The mate bond was getting stronger, and I realised I no longer cared about that. I returned to Penny. She was where we had left her.

“Are you ok?” I asked her.

“I guess so,” she said, quietly.

“What happened with your mate,” I asked, softly. She looked up at me, shocked that I knew.

“When I left my pack, I knew I was leaving my life behind, including my chance to replace my mate. But staying would mean I would also have no life. I never thought I would replace him like this. I am a rogue. I belong nowhere, not here, not anywhere, worthy of no mate.” She paused for a moment and looked at me, tears welling in her eyes, “He ran away from me,” she whispered, her lip trembling, the pain of his actions clear.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say. She nodded, gratefully. “You know, I found my mate a few days ago on my 18th birthday. It’s been a rough start for us, too.” I said. She looked at me curiously. “It’s a long story,” and a small smile crept onto her lips.

“You hungry?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, quietly. Reece had already had some food brought down to the dungeons for her and all of the recovering rogues. Penny’s food tray was at the guard’s station, so I made the short walk to retrieve it. The guard opened the cell door for me to enter and came in with me. Although I felt no threat from her, the guard still stayed by the door, instructed to by Reece. I laid the food tray down for her on the cot and she looked at it, wide-eyed.

“Thank you,” she said, gratefully.

“I’ll be back in a moment. Eat,” I told her, and left the cell. The guard closed the door but remained right outside her cell, waiting for me to return.

Another guard at the guard station directed me where I wanted to go and a short while later, I returned, armed with everything I needed. My arms were full of clean clothes, toiletries and a bowl of hot water and a washcloth. I had asked another guard to carry a screen I managed to replace in a storeroom (with the help of Lily). Penny had finished eating and looked at me with a strange look on her face. “What’s all this stuff?” she asked, confused.

“I thought you might like to freshen up a little,” I said, smiling, “I brought you some clean clothes and some toiletries. I hope I got your size right!”

She smiled and her eyes lit up. I positioned the screen in the corner away from the draught, so she could wash and change behind it in privacy.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She looked stunned by my small act. It was obvious she hadn’t been treated right. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that Brad would make things right. I’d known her for less than an hour, and I knew nothing about her other than what she had told us. But the connection between us, I just couldn’t ignore. It was similar to my bond with Kayla but felt ten times as strong.

We walked behind the screen, and I helped her get rid of her dirty clothes. I wasn’t prepared for the sight of her body. She was severely underweight, her hip bones and rib cage protruding sharply. Her skin was pale and had a grey tinge to it, presumably from lack of sunlight. Bruises of all colours covered her body from top to toe.

I took the dirty clothes over to the door and dumped them on the ground and walked back to her, approaching on her left side. She hadn’t heard me approach and jumped when she realised I was there. I wonder....

“Penny, can you see out of your injured eye?” I asked.

“No,” she whispered. I walked around her so I was facing her now. I gently pushed away her hair from her face revealing her eye.

On closer inspection, a scar at least an inch long ran from the end of her eyebrow and curved around her eye. It was still in a stage of healing, and it was clear she had sustained a significant injury at the hands of her pack’s Beta. I looked at her face. She was beautiful, stunningly beautiful. Delicate features and pretty hazel eyes. How could anyone do that to her? The more I thought about it, the more upset I became.

“Allie?” I heard Penny say. “Are you ok? You’re eyes are glowing. What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

It brought me back to the present, and I realised there were tears running down my face.

“No. You did nothing wrong. You’ve never done anything wrong,” I said, firmly. She placed her hand on my arm lightly, and I felt calmer at once.

“Don’t cry,” she encouraged, “Please.”