Trigger warning: This episode contains mention of physical violence and might be triggering to some readers due to its gory nature.
Alpha Jaxon POV
Three more packs were mine. Three more had fallen without resistance, their Alpha falling to the siren's songs as I forced them to do my bidding, their eyes filled with horror as I severed their heads from their bodies, a look of utmost satisfaction on my face. My pack was steadily growing, and as I stood there, observing how large it had gotten, Reggie came up behind me, dragging the woman Marigold to the ground and throwing her in front of me.
Unlike the other women, this one still had some fight left in her. I cocked my head. Despite threatening the little girl, the others in her pack, and the men, she continued to try and resist my instructions, with revulsion, and hostility as constant expressions on her face as she regarded me. I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. She got to her feet, staring at me, her body littered with bruises and scrapes, her face haggard, her frame thin. While I hadn't been starving them, I hadn't been feeding them enough to give them strength to try and escape me either. "What do you want?" she asked me clearly.
I studied her. For a siren woman, she wasn't ugly, but I wouldn't necessarily define her as beautiful. A dress and some food would fix that. "You know Riley."
It wasn't a question. She ducked her head and flattened her lips, refusing to answer. "what is the best way to get to her?"
Silence. She refused to answer the question. I raised my head and waited. I nodded to Reggie who stepped forward and swiftly dealt her a blow to her stomach, causing her to double over in pain. She gasped, clutching at herself. "I find my patience waning" My voice was cold "What is the best way to isolate her from her mate? What can be used as a distraction or a way to get her alone?"
She looked at me, biting her lip. I was not in the mood to play games.
"I barely know her" she cried, but I sensed there was something she wasn't saying.
The girl. Tiana. "The little girl, Riley brought her to you, didn't she? Did Riley have a soft spot for her?"
Instantly she paled. Bingo. Tiana was the key to getting Riley alone and away from her mate. If she thought that Tiana needed her or heard her voice....possibilities whirled through my mind.
"Leave Tiana alone" Marigold begged, her eyes turning to mine as she pleaded with me "Please, she's too young to be used like this."
"Yet you defy me at every turn. I'm willing to believe that Riley would not hesitate to go and save a little girl she's fond of, if she believed her to be in danger" I mused.
"Stop" Marigold's eyes were wide "I'll do it. I'll do anything you want me to if you just leave Tiana out of it. Please. The girl has been through enough. Don't force her to do this as well."
"How magnanimous of you to beg on the girl's behalf" I studied her closely "But if I were to use you, you would betray me the first chance you got."
She shook her head "No, I wouldn't" she said, begging me to believe her "I promise. Leave Tiana alone and I'll do whatever you ask of me."
"Betray a friend of yours?" I asked deliberately.
Her voice was cold "I met Riley once, she's not a close friend of mine. She gave me Tiana and Tiana is all I care about" she said stiffly "I will do anything to ensure Tiana is safe."
"Hmmm" I murmured, rubbing my chin "yet, I don't think I'm quite convinced."
I nodded to Reggie who swiftly brought one of the sirens out. A woman who screamed in fear, flailing and kicking as the men held tightly to her arms. I saw Marigold's eyes widen in panic. "What are you doing?" she demanded "Release her" she cried, trying to surge forward, only for Reggie to hold her back, along with more of my men.
The other woman began to beg and plead, sobbing wildly. I could see Marigold looking over at her, her breathing labored as she realized how helpless she was to help her. Reggie turned to me. I cocked my head and then gave a smile.
"Do it" I said coldly.
The woman's eyes widened as one of the men put his hand around her throat, causing her to gasp as she struggled for air. Another man ruthlessly reached into her mouth and forced her tongue out. Her eyes bulged as she fought, clawing and kicking, while another man approached with a small dagger. Marigold looked sickened.
"Stop" she screamed, while we continued to watch, the man drawing even closer "Don't do this, I'll do whatever you want."
The other woman was crying and desperately trying to move away. I nodded at the man with the knife. It almost seemed like it happened in slow motion as the woman's tongue was separated from her body, flopping to the ground, the woman letting out an agonized scream that abruptly stopped as her tongue was cut out. Blood trickled out of her mouth. Marigold screamed, sinking to her knees as the other woman convulsed, tears trailing down her face.
"Take the woman to the medical wing," I said dismissively, and the other siren was dragged away, her tongue still on the ground, blood splattered all over the ground.
"Why" screamed Marigold, getting to her feet and staring at me with hatred "Why would you do that? What use is she to you now? Without her tongue, she cannot sing..." her voice trailed off and became a faded whisper.
"She served her purpose," I said callously "a permanent reminder of what I'm willing to do if you don't follow my instructions."
Marigold looked sick. I watched with amusement as she bent over and vomited up what measly contents she had in her stomach, clutching her belly and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Oh god" Marigold whispered, "I thought you were a monster before but now..."
I laughed. The wolf inside my mind laughed along with me, his voice growing louder. "Oh, I'm more of a monster than you could ever have imagined Marigold," I said chuckling "What I did to Amber should have shown you what I'm capable of."
"What do you want from me?" her voice was quiet now, her body trembling violently.
There was no fight left in her, I saw with triumph. With that one violent act, I had broken what little resistance or spirit she had left inside of her. "You've seen firsthand what will happen to Tiana and the others if you don't do as I say," I said, watching the blood drain out of her face "and I will do the same to you if you don't follow my instructions precisely. I want you to come to the mating ball with me."
She looked confused "Why? Everybody is going to see that a siren is in their midst. You don't want to take me as a date, you'll stand out" she added.
"I have no intentions of taking you as a date," I said rolling my eyes "I will be in disguise. However, I do require a distraction or a way of getting Riley alone, and who better than somebody she trusts."
Realization dawned on her face. "You want to use me to lure her away from everyone" she whispered in a shaking voice "That's why you want me to go to the mating ball. I'm just a means to an end."
"Precisely" my voice was icy "you will be the one to lure my precious mate out of the pack and away from anyone who might be able to interfere in our reunion. You have both met before, she will be more trusting of you than she will of someone else, particularly when you bring up Tiana being in danger."
My voice was smooth. I had thought of everything and considered all the angles. Marigold looked almost broken as she eyed me.
"Riley will never go for it."
"She will, if you value your life and your tongue," I said mockingly "and those of your small pack in my dungeon. Would you risk them?"
Her shoulders slumped. I felt a thrill rush through me. The more power I wielded over her and the sirens, the more my pack grew, and the more I felt the thrill and adrenaline race through my body. I was beginning to crave it. Desire it. I longed for it. I raked my gaze over Marigold with contempt. "You will need to be dressed for the part," I said with a curl of my lips, glancing to the side where one of my omegas was watching, nodding quietly. "Ensure she has the appropriate clothing for the ball, and do something about the way she looks. She's too pale and too thin. Put her in a guest room, away from everyone else, and make sure there are guards on her at all times" I growled to Reggie who had returned and was listening "As for the little girl, she too will be coming with us" I told Marigold whose eyes widened in fear "as a way of ensuring everything goes to plan."
I watched the woman be dragged away, her body slumped, every part of her broken and defeated. Soon, I would have my mate back in the pack with me, where she belonged and I could feel the anticipation running through my veins. Nobody was going to be able to stop me from becoming the most powerful Alpha and pack in the world. I was invincible, I thought with a smirk and would continue to be so long as I kept these sirens under my control.