Page 53 of The Silver Ones
Nia rolled her eyes to look at Rem. “Really? Right now?”
“They’re just discussing diplomacy, or whatever it is that your kind chats about,” Rem said, looking at the collective of over a dozen shifters, all speaking carefully and with tension. “They can’t understand us, anyway.”
“Fine. Their brawl was over five years ago, when Ronan was in his mid-twenties and Marcus was in his thirties. They fought over a she-wolf."
Rem’s jaw dropped, keeping an eye on the heated discussion before looking at Nia, whose brows were raised as if to tell her that Nia was right—this was not the place for this.
Rem already knew the answer before asking, "Who?"
"Jemma—don’t say her name, though. They might pick up on it. Goddess knows we don’t need another fight."
"Alright," Rem began with exasperation, "Who in the hell is Je—she?"
"Oh, please don't make me get into all of that right now," Nia pleaded with hardly any break in her words, looking up at the sky with an open mouth.
"Who is she? Tell me," Rem pressed, getting closer to Nia so their shoulders nearly touched. It was the first bit of useless drama that Rem had heard in weeks.
"Fine." Nia pressed her lips together as she looked at Rem and spoke with quiet haste, so as not to become too distracting to the wolves that spoke ahead of them. " Ronan won the fightandwon the she-wolf. Ronan and her were supposed to live happily after and to be mated: a Warden and a Blood Moon—the Clan she belongs to. It fell apart not long after.”
Nia continued when Rem stared wide-eyed at her, nodding for her to continue. “Gosh, you like drama, huh?” Nia chuckled, smiling wide to reveal white teeth, her canines gently pointed.
“It… it feels normal, I guess. I can relate to drama,” Rem said with a light smile.
Nia’s eyes softened. “Okay, fine. It fell apart because Warden Pack and a powerful vampire clan developed tensions after they kept hunting our humans, even killing us wolves after a time. Ronan went to battle against them and invaded their den. Quite a few died and so did his father. They were gone for three weeks, and a herald wolf came home to report the damage. They got Ronan mixed up with a cousin of his who had died. Ronan was actually alive, on his own, and seriously injured. So, when Ronan finally managed his way home, she was already with Marcus. You can imagine Ronan's anger.”
For Rem, there wasn't quite much to say other than a small, "wow," along with a raise of her brows.
As Rem looked them all over, it occurred to her that Ronan stood directly in front of her. Was he guarding her?
She stared at the back of Ronan once more, eyeing the black, ornate tattoos on his shoulder blades. The Alpha continued to engage in conversation with Marcus, his muscles moving with his body language. She couldn't believe a stoic, intense being was entangled in such a love triangle, and it made him all the more interesting to her. Speaking Icelandic became more of a priority so she could ask him questions directly.
"He never forgave her for it,” Nia said. “If he was confirmed dead, that would be one thing. But he wasn't."
"So, she's no longer in his life?" Rem asked. “I mean, that really was quick for her to move on like that.”
"Well… She’saround, but they’re not official,” Nia said, as if having to think about it. “They spend a lot of...Alonetime, together. She always smells of him. Especially now since he is the Alpha. I don't think she ever sawthatcoming. Everyone thought that Aldric would be the Alpha for a very long time and that his sons would vie for it, but he bored no children. Shereallywants to be a Luna and to be his mate. But now that there are unmated Alphas and Silvers… She knows that Ronan has to take one of you. It’s a huge mess, honestly. She is hard to replace, and she knows it, which is why she lingers.”
"I have so many questions," Rem quickly said.
She didn’t know what to do with the feeling of being threatened by another female that still held his attention and affection so well. How was Rem supposed to win Ronan over now? Was he truly going to leave Jemma to secure a Silver mate?
"That's why I told you for another time. There's a lot of history to go over there," Nia whispered.
"Your kind has a penchant for drama, too, you know," Rem said whimsically, playfully grinning at Nia.
It had been Rem’s first teasing gesture since being here. It made her sad, like she was officially assimilating to the shifters. She was supposed to defend her brother, not meld to this new society. But these shifters clearly got lost in throes of jealousy and passion, and it made her want to belong, to feel human again.
"We are very passionate," Nia defended.
Rem smiled, having little else to add as the tension ahead of them settled, a calmer conversation following. Marcus glanced at Rem periodically, and every time he did it was like trickling frigid water down her spine, his eyes rife with judgement, like she was dirty and unwelcome.
"Doeshehave any Silvers?" Rem asked, leaning closer to Nia once more.
"I think so."
"Thank the gods I am not one of them, then. He reminds me of Jackson.”
"Yes, youshouldbe thankful," Nia said severely, although the tone was less directed at Rem and more at something unsaid.
