King Bailey POV
I'm in shock. I never would have anticipated that we would find another siren at this place, of all places, or that she would call out to Riley for help. I can sense the power she possesses, even as I watch her and Riley from the shore in awe. The crowd of shifters is gone, having been ordered to leave and as Riley and the young girl, who couldn't have been any older than seven years old, walked onto the sand, I hesitated, uncertain of how the girl would respond to being approached by someone like me, a lycan.
Riley holds the girl's hand and gently leads her to me. The girl's hair is just like Riley's now, silver and blue. Her eyes are like big orbs as she stares up at me hesitantly. I can see the pain in her eyes and fear. I'm careful not to make any sudden movements. Whatever this girl has gone through, it's left more than a lasting impression. For somebody so young, she has a sense of maturity that you don't often see in children unless they've gone through something traumatic or been forced to grow up too soon.
"Bailey, this is Tiana" Riley introduces us with a soft smile "Tiana this is my mate Bailey."
The little girl looks me up and down. She doesn't let go of Riley's hand. Instead, she clutches it tighter. She sniffs me and she takes a step back frightened.
"He's a lycan," she says as I stand there, trying not to appear threatening "they are worse than shifters."
"No, no honey" Riley soothes her "Bailey is a sweetheart. He's kind and gentle. Lycan's are often misunderstood as are Sirens," she tells the girl and that's enough to cause the girl to pause and look at me more closely.
"Really?" her voice is shrill but she looks slightly more relaxed now.
Riley nods solemnly "I was afraid of lycans too until I met Bailey. Now I'm not afraid of them anymore."
The girl studies me uncertainly. I try to smile softly at her. "Hey," I say, exhaling "it's nice to meet you, Tiana."
She smiles and looks down at the sand. Riley looks at me, a troubled expression on her face "Tiana is going to come back to the pack with us. I hope that's okay" she whispers.
I nod. There was no way I would deny bringing a child back to my pack for safety or sanctuary. I glance at Riley and mouth 'her parents while Tiana isn't looking.
Riley's eyes are filled with sadness as she mouths back 'they're dead' and understanding floods through me.
No wonder the girl is so distrustful. I can only imagine that it was a shifter or lycan that killed her parents. I feel sympathetic towards the young girl as I eye her, noting the threadbare clothes she's wearing, the thinness of her frame and the bleakness in her eyes, despite the sparkle. She's gone through hell and no matter how much she tries to hide it, a remnant of its still there. This girl is brave, braver than some of my men, I have no doubt.
"Are you hungry?" I ask.
She looks surprised and then nods just as her stomach lets out a low growl. She blushes as I chuckle and Riley giggles. "I've been surviving on what I could find or the fish I could catch," she says blushing "but I'm starving. Please don't make me go in there though" she adds before I can suggest the pub, "I'm too nervous being around so many shifters."
I glance at Riley who gently nods. "Why don't we get some drive-through then" I suggest, and the girl's eyes light up.
"Really? Can I have a cheeseburger?" she begs.
I chuckle and nod as I begin to turn and gather up our bags. I throw a towel to Riley and then gently hand one to the girl who wraps it around her. We begin to make our way towards the car.
"We'll get drive-through on the way to the pack and then go home," I tell Riley as she helps Tiana into the car and then climbs into the passenger seat.
"How did you know that Tiana was there?" I asked puzzled "can you sense each other?"
"I could hear her song from the ocean" Riley confessed "but I didn't know it was coming from another siren. But isn't this amazing" she turned and looked at Tiana who was glancing out the window, watching the scenery pass by with excitement "I'm not the only one that's left. What if there's more out there Bailey? What if there's more than we thought there was? Tiana and I could be the key to finding the others."
I glance at her "don't get too excited Riley" I warn her, feeling like a bastard "just because Tiana and her parents managed to fly under the radar doesn't mean that there's a large number of you. I wish it was otherwise, but your kind was eradicated by shifters too frightened to befriend your people. I don't want you getting your hopes up and then having them dashed again" I added kindly.
She looks disappointed. I steer the car through the drive-through and quickly grab some food for Tiana, handing it over and getting back onto the main road. The little girl begins to eat the food ravenously. I wonder when the last time she had a proper meal was.
"Your hair," I say with a sidelong glance, "it's still silver and blue. Will it stay that way?"
She shrugs "I don't know. It's never done this before but I've never swam in the ocean either until today. It's always been in lakes."
"It's the salt water" Tiana mumbles between chewing her food "it changes our hair and our powers are stronger. I suppose because it's our natural habitat or something. At least that's what mum used to say."
I shoot a glance at Riley who looks upset for the little girl. Tiana goes back to eating.
"Tiana, did your mother have any other relatives?" I try to tread lightly "sisters, brothers?"
She looks thoughtful "I don't think so. Mummy never told me about any of them. For as long as I've known it's only ever been me and her."
I would have to ask Riley about the girl's father, I thought frowning and drumming my hands on the steering wheel.
"My mum told me to make my way to Coral beach and somebody would help me" Tiana blurts out and Riley and I are still.
Coral beach? It's at least three days of travel. For somebody like Tiana, it would have been longer and far more perilous as she would have had to go through several territories to make it. If her mother had told her to go to Coral Beach, then did Tiana have relatives she didn't know about?
"Did she tell you anything else?"
"Only that I was supposed to go when I was really desperate. That I had to wait until there was a full moon and sit on the shore and wait. I had to be patient and they would come to me. That's all I know."
I frown. It's cryptic. Riley looks puzzled. "Is it another siren?"
Tiana looks lost "Don't know but if it was, wouldn't they have been with my mother? Why would she make me go there if they could have been with us all along instead?"
I cough "Maybe it's somebody like a friend of your mothers who could help look after you," I say quietly "we should go check it out, if only for your sake."
Tiana shakes her head "I don't want to, I want to stay with you" she says to Riley stubbornly "not some stranger I don't know. That's why I never tried to go there."
"We'll go with you" Riley assures her "okay and if you're not comfortable with whoever it is, you stay with us, no questions asked. Do you understand that?"
I can see Tiana hesitating. She looks at Riley closely as though trying to determine if she's lying. But Riley's face is open, honest, and sincere. She gives a slow begrudging nod.
"Fine but you have to promise that you'll take me back with you."
"We promise," Riley said as the little girl eyed her suspiciously "it's a while until the full moon anyway so we have until then to decide on a plan. That's plenty of time."
Tiana's face turns mulish and she reaches into her bag for another french fry which she tosses into her mouth. I can tell that it's going to be difficult to get her to open up to us properly but I had hopes that she might have information, whether knowingly or not, that might explain a little bit more about the powers that Siren's possessed and anything her mother might have told her that wasn't in the research books. Every little bit of information she could give us would help and would go a long way into understanding my mate a little more.