Page 149 of The Silver Ones
The alliance with Scarlet seemed to be officially broken.
And she had not been taken.
29
WARM WATER
R E M
Rem's eyeswere closed as she leaned against the gently sloping stone wall of the bath. She breathed in the floral and earthy oils that mixed with the water. The bathhouse was an addition to the Warden estate, built by the shifters. Human servants actively tended to a fire underneath the large stone structure, warming and steaming the water.
The Silvers were at the Warden bathhouse and would remain with Ronan until they found the queen, an action agreed upon by all the other eight remaining Alphas who had been freed. The estate was guarded by a few hundred wolves who were scattered about, the mated ones closest to the Silvers.
Dim candles gently illuminated the space, and eleven of the thirteen were all in the water together.
"So, who wants to make a bet for when we get taken next?" Hannah asked, her face still bruised.
Rem opened her eyes, snickering as the other Silvers joined in with the laughter.
"Give it a month," Shia said.
"I say a week,” Katarina added.
They all shared in their snickering and giggling.
Mavis and Ashley were absent, perhaps having separated during the battle to run off; Marcus was missing as well.
"At some point, I hope we can start fending for ourselves more efficiently," Loral stated before pinching her nose and submersing herself, her silver hair slicked back when she resurfaced, her wet skin reflecting the dim light.
"We still got a few weeks before that," Josie reminded, her own silver hair starting to dry.
"What's going to happen to us? Do we just go back with the Alphas that brought us here?" one named Jessica asked.
"I don't have one. I was here for Scarlet," said a Silver named Alice.
"I'm sure they'll figure it out,” Josie absently reassured.
Silence and steam sat between the females once more as the healing waters worked its magic. Jola was in the home, too, although bed bound as she recovered from her grievous wounds. Rem had slept for a few hours as soon as they arrived, an Elder urging the Silvers to bathe and clean their wounds; Rem was the most injured. The sun was long behind the horizon by now, the moon high in the sky.
Ronan had yet to return to the manor, although Rem wasn’t worried. Over half of Scarlet capitulated, the rest fleeing, perhaps even with the queen herself.
"That was awesome how the other shifters looked at us like we were holy when the wargs appeared," Katarina said, scratching her nose.
"Well, the wargsareholy, and wild ones aren't friendly. But they were gentle with us," Loral replied.
"I, for one," Josie began, "hope that all the bullshit is gone after this. I want to integrate how we weremeantto integrate now that I am one of them."
"I couldn't agree more,” Shia said, raising a hand as if to cheers the statement.
The ladies continued to debate about everything that happened before a wave of yawns swept over them, and finally, a few decided to retire for the night, despite it probably being very early in the morning. The rest followed until it was just Rem and Loral. In truth, Rem was being lazy and didn't want to start the process of getting ready for sleep.
"Don't stay for too long. You might shrivel," Loral said with a smile as she too began to leave, drying off her petite figure.
"Just a few more minutes," Rem mumbled with closed eyes. After she had drank an entire bowl of blood, sprinkled with an Elder’s concoction, her body felt sluggish and ready for rest. They told her it was a part of the blood regeneration process.
Loral departed shortly after.
Only silence surrounded her now, and even the ringing in Rem’s ears dwindled.
