Riley POV
We had gotten back to the pack just in time. Bailey would have killed the elders, but not before there had been casualties on both sides. It looked as though the fight was going to become more bloodshed than anything else if we hadn't intervened and, while I wouldn't have cried to see the elder's losing, the thought that Bailey might have been injured in the melee or even my brother Damien had been enough to cause me to suck in a breath sharply. Now as I sat with my mate, embraced in his arms, I relished the feel of his skin against mine, the tingles running through my body, a familiar comfort as he placed a hand on my stomach, a worried expression on his face. I knew what he was going to ask, I could see it in his eyes even as he opened his mouth to say the words I anticipated.
"The babies" he said quietly, looking down at my stomach, his expression grim "are they, did they..." he trailed off unable to finish the sentence, fear present in his eyes.
My wolf spoke quickly in my mind, our pups are safe. I can sense them and while they were in danger, that has long passed, and now they rest comfortably in your womb. Rest assured they are safe and well. Our pups are strong, like their mother and father, and I have no doubt that their powers will be just as amazing when they are born.
"Our children are fine" I assured him, placing a gentle hand on his arm as he exhaled in relief. "Thankfully they didn't harm them back at the compound."
At the reminder, his expression contorted into one of fury. "I cannot believe that they have been experimenting on different races all this time and keeping it secret" he scowled, "let alone that they had the nerve to take Tiana right from under us. Their arrogance is astounding", he declared with a frown, "and their justification for doing it is skewed."
"It's a miracle that nobody else found out what they were doing. I guess they managed to take so few at a time that nobody was able to put two and two together, at least until they were foolish enough to take a vampire prince and kill him. No doubt the Vampire King is going to want his revenge," I told my mate with a hint of sadness, "to lose a son so horribly, I cannot even begin to express how devastating that must feel. I expressed our condolences, but I fear that was not nearly enough."
"I cannot imagine either," Bailey told me, shaking his head with a solemn look on his face "I have already reached out to his pack but do not expect to receive a reply right away. I would not be surprised if I was blamed either for not having knowledge of what the elders were doing, as king, it should have been blatantly obvious."
"It was not your fault. How were you to know that the elders could be capable of such duplicity or be so conniving?" I protested as he smiled sadly at me "they even kept the truth from you, because they knew what your reaction would have been."
"Still they can't blame you" I said thickly, but he merely shook his head, a wry smile on his face.
I understood his logic. As King, he should have been aware of what was happening under his very nose. But the elders had kept this under wraps for many years. It was entirely possible they had been doing this long before Bailey had come into the role of King.
"If I have to become a scapegoat, then so be it" Bailey told me seriously, "but I would hope that they would be willing to understand what's gone on and be willing to move forward and form a pact that nothing like this ever happens again, to any creature or race, no matter who they might be."
"I think that is a wise decision" I said, thinking back to all the frightened faces I had seen back in the cages, the looks of despair, the pleads for help with their eyes.
It would be a long time before I failed to see those haunting expressions in my dreams. A very long time, if ever.
"This should have been discussed between the leaders of the races before now", Bailey mused "I guess none of us ever thought we would have to decree such a thing. I guess it shows how naive all of us were," he added.
"Not naive", I corrected him as he smiled "trusting."
He hugged me tighter. "When I think about how I could have lost you or how I might never have found you again" his voice was muffled against my shoulder "I get so angry that all I can see is red."
I patted him gently on the shoulder, causing him to pull away slightly and look at me. "But I did manage to find my way back, and I did manage to escape."
Thanks to a scientist called Gerald who had given up his life and died alongside the building, rather than live with the knowledge of what the elders had forced him to do. In the end, he was noble enough to allow me to survive and free the others. His sacrifice had not been in vain. It was a shame I could not convince him to join me and live to see what he had managed to save in the end. I sighed. His memory will remain with me forever.
"Everything is such a mess" I said, leaning my head on his shoulder as he stroked my hair. "What do we do now? You've invited all the leaders of the races, but how long is it going to take them to respond? Not to mention, it won't be long until the other elders arrive, looking for a fight and trying to free the ones we have in the dungeon" I added, looking into his eyes.
"The vampires are quite far out, so it's a trip, along with the bear shifters and fae. I would expect it to take at least two weeks or more. As for the elders, it will be days if we're lucky before they come here, demanding that we set the ones in the dungeon free. It's not going to happen, but it's also better than us taking the fight to them. If they're angry, they are less likely to be able to control themselves."
I smirked. "Well, it's hardly likely that they have sirens on hand in their packs, not if they kept them locked up at the compound."
"No" agreed Bailey tiredly, "my dungeon might be overrun by the time we've gathered them all, but I don't think killing them is the answer, not when the other leaders have the right to say what they want to happen to them. Our race or the shifter race", he amended quickly, "was the least affected and therefore should not have the last say."
I silently agreed. The fae had their wings torn off and ripped, the sirens were forced to wear collars that silenced their voices and spread pain throughout their bodies. Vampires were experimented on and blood taken without their consent. So many have been killed in the name of science. I felt tears prick my eyes as I thought about it all, remembered that room stained with dried blood, the vials carefully labeled. It had been so clinical, so cold and yet, had reeked of desperation and tears of those who had died, unable to free themselves from the restraints as they were prodded and probed, drained and sedated. I felt nauseas, swallowing past a lump in my throat. Anger rose through me as I tried hard to keep it under control, my siren voice attempting to lash out, to sing them all to sleep and never wake up.
"I know what you experienced is something I can never take away from you", Bailey's voice is sincere, filled with sorrow, "and I'm sorry for what you suffered at their hands. I wish there was something I could do" he said in frustration. "Some way to take those images out of your mind or wipe away the memories so that you never have to see them when you close your eyes again."
"Bailey" my voice is gentle, "even if you could, I wouldn't let you," I told him as he looked at me confused. "Our experiences and our memories are what shape us into the person we are today. To take those, would mean you would be taking what is me, in essence, changing my personality and my uniqueness. I will never forget, for as long as I live, what I saw in that compound and I don't want to. I have to remember it, because I, as Queen, must ensure that this never happens again. I have to be compassionate, not just for my own kind," I told him softly, "but for every race out there. I want to be remembered for the good deeds I accomplished rather than the bad ones. I want to be remembered as the queen everybody wanted, not the one who failed her people."
"You amaze me, you know that" Bailey's voice cracked slightly. "When I knew we were mates, I knew that you were going to change things for the better. I had no doubt that you were the one for me, none whatsoever" he said, taking my hand and kissing the palm of it as I relaxed and smiled at him. "I knew you were going to turn my world upside down and make me all the better for it."
"I was surprised that you accepted me so readily" I breathed as he hovered inches from my lips "but now I'm glad that you did."
His lips swooped down and kissed me lovingly, my arms reaching up to wrap themselves around his neck, my eyes closing in bliss, my body humming in delight as he deepened the kiss, leaving me moaning as I felt his tongue caressing my own, pulling back as I gasped for air and panted.
"I love you" he told me, "now and forever, Riley."
"I love you" I whispered as he began to pick me up and sweep me off my feet, cradling me against his chest, bridal style, his eyes darkening slightly with lust.
I felt my own body beginning to respond to him.
I missed him. My body craved him. It had been so long since we had been intimate, in that way. I stroked his arm with my fingernails, feeling my core beginning to throb between my legs as I became aroused. I saw his nostrils flare slightly as he began to walk determinedly towards the stairs. We glanced at each other, communicating silently without words, and he held me tighter against him as I snuggled against him, making our way towards the bedroom without interruption, where we proceeded to show each other exactly how we felt without needing to use words. I loved him as only I knew how, and he did the same, leaving us both collapsed in the bed in a haze of desire, satisfaction and the type of love that one only ever reads in fairytales and never dreams they would discover for themselves.