Alpha Jaxon POV
We were prepared but the fight was dismal at best. For a species deathly afraid of outsiders, that had holed themselves up in caves, weary of the slightest trap, they had not foreseen what we had coming. It was laughable. They had been unable to protect themselves as they fell for the witch's song, the siren's voice coming from the shell luring them out, to seek a distressed siren that was not there. Onto the beach, they had walked, in search of one of their own, my men protected from their voices, disarming them as they fought desperately to get away, most of the group was women and children, although there was a male or two in the group as well, which was rather interesting to me.
They lay defeated on the ground, the collars around their necks as I observed them coldly. Of course, Riley was not there, but I had not expected her to be. The children were weeping, one girl about seven years old, or was it five? trying to shush them, her eyes flashing at me with defiance. I steadily ignored her. Children were useless to my cause but would prove useful as hostages to keep the other sirens in line. I had already identified the woman that everybody looked to as the leader, the one that they referred to as "Marigold" and I knelt beside her, smiling as she glared at me, her hands restrained behind her back, her body heaving as she tried to get her breath back.
Her body was littered with bruises and cuts from her pathetic attempt to defend herself. I raised a brow and motioned to the silent group who sat, hands behind them, restrained, sullen expressions on their faces. "Is this everyone?"
There were about a dozen or so if that. More sirens then I could have hoped for, but if I was honest, I only needed two or three to do my bidding. "Why would I tell you?" she spat, her spittle just missing my face.
I stood back up, grabbed one of the men, and grew a claw, slamming it into his stomach, listening dispassionately to the sound of his bloodcurdling scream of pain as Marigold struggled against her bindings with little success. I pulled my claw back out and licked the tip, the blood metallic in my mouth.
"Bastard" Marigold hissed, while I kept a firm grip on the young man.
"Is this everyone?" I asked.
She flattened her lips. "Next it will be a child," I said flatly.
"Monster" she spat.
"It takes one to know one" I snapped.
I dropped the man to the ground and strode over to the children, yanking up the one who was staring at me so defiantly, wrapping her hair around my fist.
"Tiana" the woman cried as the girl began to squirm in my grasp.
My claw grew and the woman's eyes widened. I placed the tip of the claw at the girl's eye. "You don't need your eyes to be able to sing" I purred.
"You son of a bitch" Marigold screamed "fine, everybody is here. I swear" she sobbed, "you got all of us, are you happy now?" she begged as Tiana tried to wriggle away and I touched her skin with the claw, warning her to stay still.
"What do you want from us?" one of the other women cried "we haven't done anything to you" she added pitifully.
She too was covered in bruises and scrapes.
I slowly put the child down, and the girl immediately ran to Marigold who leaned into her "haven't you figured it out yet?" I asked with a cruel smile as they stared at me oblivious "the collars you wear are spelled so that you can't ensnare my men" I explained as they stared wide eyed "but they will work on others. Your voice is what I want" I clarified standing in front of my men and cocking my head "and power. The only type of power you can give me" I added with a satisfied grin.
"You want us to work for you," Marigold said emptily, a sickened expression on her face "you're going to use us to get this so-called power, isn't that right?" she said dully.
"You're not as stupid as you thought," I told her devilishly "I plan to use you to take over other packs and merge them unwillingly with mine. You will be responsible for the demolition of any pack that has even thought about trying to go against me. I want to become the strongest Alpha with the most powerful pack in the country, maybe even the world" I told them as they glared at me "and I'm also going to use you to get my mate back."
Confusion on their faces. I thought about Riley, my hands clenching into fists. What a fool I had been to let her slip from my fingers. How naive I had been not to think about the implications of having a siren for my mate and the strength she could have provided me. I had been stupid, but I was working to correct that now. My eyes gleamed as I thought about how all the puzzle pieces were falling into place. My wolf let out a low growl, his own rage and bloodthirsty surging to the surface. His personality was beginning to reflect mine, perhaps because he was forced to read and listen to my thoughts all day, and sometimes he seemed as though he was slowly beginning to lose his grip on sanity, something that would normally concern me if it wasn't for the fact that I was able to bring him back to reality every time without fail.
"Your mate," Marigold said looking at me in disbelief "if she's rejected you then..."
"Silence" I roared and she fell silent, her expression pale "I haven't accepted the rejection and I don't intend to. She is mine" I snarled, the group trembling in the wake of my anger, while my men remained standing, their arms folded, looks of resolve on their faces "she will always be mine. Nobody is going to take her from me."
"You can't force somebody to love you" Marigold protested, raising her eyes to look at me with a spark of anger "the mate bond doesn't work that way. We can't just sing her into loving you if that's what you're thinking...." she trailed off as I snorted.
"She's a siren herself, so that wouldn't work," I said cryptically "and I happen to have something on hand to make that happen. All I need is to make sure she can't fight back" I said, motioning to my men, who began to roughly yank the sirens to their feet, while the children cried out in fear and pain, clutching each other tightly "and find the perfect opportunity to get her alone."
"Don't do this" one woman begged, her voice shrill as my man began to march her towards the cars "please, I'm begging you. Think of the children" she pleaded, sounding almost hysterical.
"At least let the children go" Marigold argued, Tiana still standing there, refusing to leave her "what use could they be for you?"
I laughed "Do you think I would let my only leverage go? These children are to make sure you do exactly as I tell you to do" I said as they widened their eyes and looked over their shoulders, the men grabbing the children and hoisting them over their shoulders "and I'm capable of hurting each and every single one of them to get what I want" I advised them coldly.
"You're a monster" a woman screamed, "I hope that somebody kills you for your pack Alpha Jaxon" she sneered.
"You can dream," I told her as my man shoved her, watching as the back of the truck was opened and the women were slowly forced inside, the men put in a separate one, their bodies hitting the hard floor as my men were none too gently, the children placed a little more kindly inside, "but right now I would worry more about myself" I added gleefully.
Reggie moved to stand beside me as the trucks began to close back up on the sirens who were beginning to panic, scrabbling at the doors as they were locked. "Stage one of your operation is complete" he murmured with satisfaction "once we get these guys back to the pack, we'll get them into the dungeons, watered and fed and then what's next?" he asked as I began to stride towards my own car.
"Then we choose the first pack to pick. There's a particular Alpha that's been a thorn in my side and attempted multiple times to try and get his hands on my land" I said smugly "let's see what happens when I take his land and kill him for his pack. Anyone not wanting to merge and declare their loyalty to me will be killed" I added "and the new members will then be protected against the sirens and made to attack the next pack."
Reggie said nothing as we climbed back into the cars. I sat back as he started the engine, lost in thoughts, my mind continuing to tick over. The mating ball was coming up and I was already beginning to work on a plan in regards to that as well. Riley would get to see me earlier than she would realize.