The Alpha's Siren Song

Chapter 18

I woke up to the sound of low voices talking. And, like every other time I woke up in an unfamiliar place, I stayed as still as I could, gathering information. I immediately assessed the high ceilings with exposed wooden beams and the smell of left over Thai chicken. I was still in Easton's house, right where I had fallen asleep.

"Can you stop staring at her?" a woman hissed. It was a voice I didn't know. My whole body tightened.

"I'm not trying too," a man, Elliot I think, protested. "There's just something about her that makes it super hard to look away."

"I get it," the woman snapped. "She's hot."

"I mean...fuck, I can't get out of this without you or Easton killing me," Elliot sighed.

Easton let out a little laugh and at his soothing, rumbling timbre, I felt a little bit of relief. So far, this man had done nothing but protect me. As much as it went against my instincts, I was starting to trust him.

"Hazel, you have nothing to worry about. Kaia pointed a gun at him less than twenty four hours ago. To be really honest, she doesn't want anything to do with me either and I'm her mate. The likelihood that she's going to be all cozy with another man seems slim," Easton sighed. "Plus, when I was at my dad's place I saw her down by the sea. She said something about having some kind of affect on people."

"Ah, so that's why you think she has powers," Elliot replied, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Elliot, I'm serious. She has some kind of gift or something."

"She's a strong swimmer, so what?" Elliot shot back.

"No one in this pack has ever swum in that river and you know it. You were the one who dragged me out of the water. You know that the current almost killed me. And she ordered me around. She told me what to do and I just did it, twice!"

"Shhh, you're going to wake her up," Hazel scolded. "I'm just being honest with you, it sounds like the mate bond overwhelmed you at first, making you careless in the water and more willing to do whatever she asked."

Easton let out a disgruntled noise and there was the soft clatter of dishes bumping against each other. If the voices hadn't woken me up that surely would have, but knowing that I was safe and feeling so exhausted, I decided to remain still, my head cradled against my arm. Besides, this seemed like the best way to unravel some things I wouldn't hear otherwise.

"Easton what are you so nervous about? She's here now and you keep running into each other, even when she's laying low and slipping under the radar. Hell, she tried to get away from you and just got deeper on your packlands," Hazel pressed.

There was a heavy sigh and someone slurped a liquid, probably the tea that Easton kept referencing. 

"Well, for starters, look at her. I literally didn't think she was real. She's gorgeous. And I know that everyone says that about their mate, but every time I have seen her, I've also seen a dozen guys gawking at her at any given time. One time I chased some kid away when he kept hitting on her."

"You're a handsome guy!" Elliot protested.

"I have acne scars from my teens and I'm not particularly tall and I'm not exactly ripped either. You should have seen the other guys, I could never compete with them. And even they were scared to approach her. The only people who ever went up to her were either helping her or so out of her league that it didn't matter. How is she even mated to a guy like me?"

"Easton, it's not all about looks, and you aren't exactly losing in that category," Hazel insisted. "What is this really about?"

There was a bit of silence, only the sound of breathing and shuffling on wooden chairs.