Page 109 of Siren in the Rain

“Mom?” I whisper.

“Shae?” she croaks out.

Then I have to catch her as she faints in my arms.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Griff: What did the surfer say when he was asked if he could ride the wave?

Shae: Do we even want to know?

Griff: “Of course, I’m a shore thing!”

Ruby: The puns just keep on punning. This is why Em still refuses to join this group text.

Griff: *sad face emoji*

Shae: Are you getting these off the Internet?

Griff: Maybe…

Dallas: Cat jokes are much better! What do you call a cat prom?

Harper: Is prom that formal dance high school teenagers attend?

Dallas: It’s a fur ball! Get it?

Ruby: Cue sad clown noise.

Shae: I never got to go to prom.

Griff: We’ll plan out our very own MEOW Squad prom just for you! Right, friends?

Dallas: Sounds like fun. Let’s do it.

Harper: I’m a very good dancer. I can’t wait to show off some of my moves.

Cal: What have I just woken up to?

—MEOW Squad Group Text Thread

Griffin

We’re all stunned for a moment when we finally see Shae’s mother, but we quickly spring into action the instant she collapses in his arms.

She’s in far rougher shape than any of the others we’ve freed already, and once out of the water, her sad-looking siren tail morphs into stick-thin human legs covered in what looks like a skin infection of some kind. Her body is emaciated and has a disturbing gray pallor to it.

And just like all the others, she’s wearing one of those wretched collars.

The conditions she’s been living in are beyond inhumane, and I fear the effects all of this may have had on her mind. If she’s been held captive in such horrific squalor for the last fifteen years, then she might not even be sane anymore.

I immediately pull out my phone and shoot Grandma Coral a quick text to let her know we found her daughter and that she’s alive. I can only hope that, if and when we can get her there soon, the healing power of Silverstorm Island can help her like it did Shae. For now, though, I just start pumping out the SCSS so my special pheromones can give Tempest and the other survivors some relief and a little bit of peace.

I know the human authorities and the Otherkind Council are going to want to talk to Tempest and the others we rescued about everything that’s happened. Tempest’s testimony will be vital to bringing down Shae’s father and stepmother, the ringleaders of this whole operation.

My mate is stronger than he looks. He carries his mother in his arms and hurries her out of the horrible room she’s been trapped in for far too long. As we exit, I see Ruby and Emma are already treating the others we’ve freed. Cal uses his magic hacker skills to deactivate and remove Tempest’s collar, revealing a similar raw and painful scar to the one Shae had when we freed him from a similar kind of device. Cal squeezes my mate’s shoulder and then quickly heads over to free everyone else from their collars. Dallas and Harper join him to offer their assistance as well.

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