“Yes, out of the tunnel. She was in the basement, just behind me. I was going to drop Ronit and Brio off and go back for you,but the house caved in,” Leaf growls and kneels in front of Ronit, reaching out to lay a hand on Mei’s filthy hair.
I turn and remember we have an audience.
“What was in that house?” Diablos asks Puppy.
“I don’t know. A demon thing,” he says dismissively.
“Beetle,” she says.
I move closer so that I can see her.
“A what?” Stix asks sharply.
“It was a beetle. It’s dead. I took care of it.”
“You killed a beetle, dragged their sorry asses out of danger, saved them from a collapsing house, and then stood guard fighting off an army of monsters just to keep them safe? Why?” Stix growls, his eyes staring at her in a way that makes me want to rip them from his head.
Mei struggles up, her lips thinning into a straight line. “Diablos, go and annoy your mate, I want to sleep.”
“Bath first,” Ronit growls.
She whines.
The room goes electric. I turn on the invading alphas with a feral growl in my throat. I open my mouth and let out a single note of pure and deadly intent.
They all disappear.
“Lirin?” Mei calls.
I gasp and struggle to rein it all back in. What the hell was that? I look down at my skin and see the bioluminescent stripes pulsing upon me in my rage.
“Alpha?”
The word stops me dead. It’s like a chain between me and her. I can’t move, I can’t go anywhere, I can’t see anything else but her. Turning to look at her, my knees bend so I can kneel by her. She can’t see it, but I can’t do anything else.
“Are you injured?” she asks. “Did you get hurt?”
What is this? Am I injured?
“No, I am fine.”
“You should have the site of that bite cleaned-”
“Ronit,” I growl, standing up.
He hands her back to me, and I walk down the back of the house to that room I spent most of my time in. I tear my clothes free, ripping them off, and then I carefully rip off hers before I walk down into the lukewarm water.
She tenses, but I just hold her. It takes me a while to get her clean, but I am methodical, but by the time I’m done, she is a purring mass of putty and almost asleep. I step out of the pool and carry her to her room, but I stand on the threshold, staring in. Instead of going in, I snatch up one of the jumpers that Reed has been wearing lately and a pair of Canto’s shorts, covering her up.
I turn back and bring her into the lounge where I sit on the couch. Ronit passes me a blanket that I tuck around her.
The others arrange themselves around us.
How many times is this strange monster going to save my life? I sigh heavily and look up at the ceiling. I can’t hate her anymore. I can’t even pretend. I don’t have it in me.
“Do you remember when we first became Sirens, and we were so angry? I was actually convinced that there was no one who was as hard done by as us, but I think I may be wrong. Mei is skilled. She is vicious, fast, and deadly. She could have killed us at any time.”
“Where are you going with this, Lirin?” Brio asks in exasperation.
