Page 58 of Siren in the Rain

The younger woman steps forward, tossing her hair behind her back. “And I’m Anemone Silverstorm, your aunt.”

“It’s good to meet you both.” Shae winces. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really remember either of you.”

“It’s understandable,” his grandmother says.

Shae seems to break free of his daze and studies them curiously. “Not to be rude, but is it normal for sirens to age the way that you two have?”

Coral chuckles. “Sirens are gifted with considerable longevity. Although you’re not a full siren, you still possess some of those genetics as well. You may not live as long as a full siren but certainly much longer than a typical human.”

Shae digests that information quietly and gives a slight nod.

“Thank you for coming, ladies,” Harper interjects smoothly, bringing in a tray of tea. “I have prepared some tea for everyone to enjoy while we discuss important matters, then we’ll break for a bit of lunch.”

Once everyone finds a spot to seat themselves, Dallas begins the meeting. “On behalf of my team, I want to thank you both for coming here today and following our security protocols. I know this can’t be easy for either of you, but Shae is currently under our protection, and we need to keep him safe from the ongoing threat against his life and well-being.”

“We understand,” Coral replies. “Shae’s safety is our top priority as well.”

Dallas nods and turns to my mate. “Even though it will be difficult, can you tell your story to your grandmother and your aunt? Just whatever you feel able to handle.”

Shae takes a couple of hearty gulps of his tea—to which, I strongly suspect from the smell, Harper added a shot or two of whiskey—and sets down his cup.

Taking a shaky breath, he once again recounts the story he told us. Seated next to each other and holding hands, his grandmother and aunt listen with identical expressions of disbelief and shock.

When Shae gets to the part about his mother’s death, they both look at each other, seeming to communicate something without words before returning their attention to him.

Once Shae finally gets to the end, he looks drained, and I work to comfort him with all the soothing vibes I can muster—SCSS to the max! Once he relaxes again, I wrap my arms around him and cuddle him close, touched when he leans into me with a sigh of relief.

“Child,” Coral says in soft tones, “I am more sorry than I can say to learn what you have endured, alone and unprotected.” She closes her eyes in obvious pain. “I tried to warn your mother about Bryce, your father, but she could not deny the bond she had with him, always remaining hopeful that he would come to see the truth of their connection and be able to look past their differences. But I’m afraid he was a small-minded man and could never accept what it means to be fated mates.”

Anemone shakes her head, her hands balling into fists. “To think that he would do such a thing to his own son. There can be no forgiveness for that.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Coral agrees and then turns to Shae. “But what I want to know is, what happened to Tempest?”

My mate blinks at them in confusion. “I already told you. She died. I mean, I don’t know what my father did with her… body, but she was murdered when I was ten.”

Coral sits up straight, her eyes glowing an eerie silver color. “My sweet boy, perhaps your mother never told you what happens when a siren dies. Their spirit returns to the sept, waiting to be reborn into a new life. We receive a mystical confirmation of this with every passing.” She glances around the room. “The details of how this works is not something I can share with everyone here, but suffice it to say, we would know if she died.”

“I don’t understand…?” Shae’s eyes reflect his bewilderment.

Coral studies him carefully. “Your mother is still alive. If she had died, we would have known instantly.”

We all gape at her.

Coral regards each and every one of us before returning her gaze to Shae. “So, my dear boy, it begs the question—if Tempest isn’t dead, what has Bryce done with her?”

Chapter

Thirteen

Shae’s List of Life Goals

7. Have lots of sex. Lots of good sex.

(Addendum: Maybe have all this awesome sex with a smoking hot Wolf Boy.)

Shae

There’s a strange buzzing noise in my ears and everything around me fades away as I try to process what my grandmother said.

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