Siren Calls (The Rise of Ares Book 1)

by Jade Frances

  Standing just inside the line of trees, the darkness engulfed me. It was eerily quiet, and I was thinking Darryl wasn’t coming, that maybe he had changed his mind. A rustling only four feet away from me had me spinning on my heels with my heart racing.

  “Calm down, Evvy, it’s only me,” Darryl said as he stumbled through a bush to the right of me.

  “What took you so long? And don’t bloody sneak up on me!” I hissed in his direction. I sensed rather than saw an object as it flew towards my face. Luckily, my training had improved my reflexes, and I caught it before it hit me square on the nose.

  “Darryl! What the…” I proclaimed.

  “This is what I took so long for, Avetta made me use it when she took me from the pack.”

  “That’s very nice, but what use is it to us?” I asked.

  “It masks your scent! Useful to get us out of the perimeter and to get close to Adam. No one will sense us coming or going!” I reacted to the glee in his voice with a small chuckle.

  “Smart thinking little one, now can we go?” I teased, Darryl huffed and pouted in my direction, sending another chuckle rumbling through me.

  “Enough of the little one, I might be younger than all of you, but I’m built like a brick house. Spray yourself and follow me. Keep up please who knows how long this will take.”

  Who knew how long it would take indeed. We made it out of the perimeter with no trouble, but now it seemed like we had been walking for hours, with no logical plan as to how we would find Adam.

  “Erm, D, we’ve been walking forever, do you even know where we are heading?” I whined for what seemed like the sixtieth time. The small growl I got in response clarified that I had whined one time too many.

  “I grew up here Evvy, trust that I know where I’m heading, or don’t. You can always turn back!” Darryl bit back at me. It stung slightly to hear the snap in his voice, but I wanted to help, and he knew it. I was just so damn tired. Choosing not to say anything more, I sped up my pace to catch up and walk alongside him. Receiving an appreciative glance in return, I smiled back.

  What started off as a small buzzing in my ears slowly grew louder.

  “D can you hear that? It’s like static from a radio. What is that?” I shook my head as the noise got louder and louder.

  “Evvy clear your mind! Don’t let them in, shut them out,” Darryl shouted at me. I could barely hear him, I’m sure there were voices in the distance. Spinning in all directions, I tried to look around us, tried to concentrate, but the noise was too much. What was that? What was happening? Were we being attacked! Panic set in as I lost my senses. Suddenly I felt something hit the back of my head, then heard and saw nothing but darkness.

  When I came around, the overwhelming urge to throw up hit me hard and fast. I was bouncing up and down, left and right, over Darryl’s shoulder as he ran faster than I could have imagined.

  “Darryl, put me down, I will be sick.” Suddenly I was hurled over his shoulder and held in an upright position, but it was too late, I doubled over retching as I threw up.

  “I’m so sorry, Evvy, I had no choice,” Darryl stated. In between the awful retches I managed a reply.

  “What are you talking about Darryl, what the bloody hell was that?”

  Slowly sinking to the floor, I sat with my head in between my knees, hoping it would help with the waves of nausea that were hitting me hard and fast.

  “Rose was trying to contact you, I felt the change in the air. You would not shut off the connection, hell I don’t think you even know how,” Darryl looked to the floor, shuffling his feet side to side. “I’m sorry, I knocked you unconscious. I didn’t know what else to do, I panicked.”

  It was then I remembered the hit to the back of my head, raising my hand I felt the small lump starting to form.

  “You bloody knocked me out! Help me up.” I held out my hands, waiting for him to take them. Bloody idiot, like I don’t faint enough. Now I was getting knocked out. I half-understood why, though.

  “How long was I out for? Are we any closer?” I asked as Darryl hauled me onto my feet.

  “If I were to take a guess, I would say we are about twenty minutes away, but Evvy I don’t know what to expect. It might not be safe for us,” Darryl was looking at me so intently, I could feel the pressure of what we were about to embark on. I strode past him with fake confidence.

  “We have no choice, the others might be close behind. Let’s go.” I was trying to keep an air of confidence, but I was worrying a bit.

  “Erm Evvy this way,” Darryl chuckled. I felt my cheeks go red and turned toward him, following in the complete opposite direction that I was about to head for.

  “Haha Darryl now let’s get going,” I retorted back, and we fell into step, side by side. The silence was nice and peaceful as we walked on, entering yet another tree line. This time, though, the trees surrounded us, engulfing us in their enormous presence. They towered over us so high that they blocked any form of natural light coming through. Taking in the sheer beauty of our surroundings, I hadn’t noticed Darryl come to a halt right in front of me until I walked into the back of him.

  “Ow Darryl, why’d ya...” I started.

  “Shhh Evvy, he’s here,” he whispered. Looking around him, I couldn’t see anything.

  “Darryl,” I started again but was interrupted with a blood-curdling snarl. I jumped back. Not knowing where it had come from was unsettling. This magical place I was just admiring was now becoming dark and cold. It felt empty like someone had sucked all the magic out.

  “A… A… Adam, we just want to talk, nothing more,” Darryl stammered. A guttural growl was the response he received, although this time it sounded much, much closer. I quickly shuffled closer into the back of Darryl, my breathing rapidly increasing.

  “Evvy, don’t move and try to calm down, he will pick up on your fear,” Darryl whispered. Leaves rustled close to my left and I let out a small whimper. Startling myself, I clamped my hand over my mouth. Darryl was right, I needed to calm myself down. It was so dark, and it terrified me.

  “Adam, please, I know your still in there. Speak with us, we are no threat to you,” he pleaded into the darkness. I felt eyes on me before I saw them, exactly where the leaves had been rustling. They were glowing a deep green, silently watching, and waiting for our next move.

  “Follow and copy my every move Evvy, this isn’t Adam we are dealing with. Not yet, anyway,” Darryl told me as he slowly started lowering himself to the ground. Once there, he lowered his head and held his hands out in front of him. Confused about what this would achieve, I followed suit. Keeping my movements as slow as I could and calming my breathing. Once I had got into the same position, I chanced a look over towards the shrubbery we both knew he was concealed in. Sure enough, those green eyes were still there, staring straight at me. A low growl emitted from him and I snapped my head back down, taking that as a warning.

  I honestly felt like I had been staring at the forest ground for ages before we heard movement. What were we doing? What would happen? I could feel beads of sweat traveling down my forehead and I could sense the panic rising within me. Then I felt it. Warm breath at the back of my neck. I froze. How had he gotten within inches of me without me even knowing? I could hear his panting and feel his breath making my spine tingle. If I just reached out, I could touch him.

  “Evvy no!!” Darryl shouted and hit my arm with such force I cried out in shock and pain. Adam reared back, snarling and snapping in Darryl’s direction. He would hurt him, again. Screw slow movements, I thought and rushed to get up. I threw myself in between them and held my hands against each of them. Which was weird seeing as one was a bloody wolf and one a human.

  “Adam, stop,” I roared, which made the wolf pause and look at me. “Please,” I lowered my voice, silently pleading with him. With no hesitation he turned and started heading towards the same bush area he had come from. Turning his head ever so slightly to look back at me, he continued on, then disappear
ed. “Oh god, I’m so sorry Darryl.” I sobbed.

  “How the hell? It’s fine, Evvy, we follow.”

  “What? Are you mad?” I shouted.

  “Evvy look, he’s back, he wants us to follow.” Darryl nodded towards where Adam’s eyes had suddenly reappeared. With a half sigh of relief and a little more confidence, I headed in that direction.

  Once at the heavily forested area, I looked at Darryl quizzically.

  “And how do you expect me to get through that?” I raised my eyebrows and pointed towards the thick brush in front of me. With a cheeky grin, Darryl replied.

  “Act like a wolf. Two left, one forward and one right. You will be fine.” With that, I felt the shimmer of magic in the air and covered my eyes as I realised Darryl was about to change. Sure enough, when I uncovered my eyes, a wolf was stood where Darryl once was. With what seemed like a small nod of its head, he trotted past me and disappeared. Act like a wolf, act like a bloody wolf. Guess all fours it is then. Crouching down to the ground, I crawled over to where it seemed like they had both vanished. At this level I could see the small gap.

  “Ok. I can do this,” I told myself whilst trying to remember Darryl’s instructions. Shuffling forward, I continued to mutter to myself “two left, one forward and one right.” Just as I took the last right, hands reached for me and hoisted me up. As my eyes adjusted to the sliver of light, I took in the small clearing we had entered. I could see a quaint little hut with a fire burning just outside. How you couldn’t see this from the other side of the bushes amazed me. Through a small window I saw the form of a man and gasped as I noticed his back was heavily scarred all over. Starting forward, I felt Darryl’s arms wrap around me, stopping me in my tracks.

  “He will need some time Evvy, we don’t know how long it’s been since he was last in human form,” he explained. Taking another look through the window, I could see Adam doubled over as if he were in pain.

  “He’s hurting Darryl, I might be able to help,” I whispered, scared I would cry if I said too much.

  “Trust me, he needs time. Come sit by the fire,” Darryl gently stroked my arm, understanding my turmoil. Resigning, I followed him. I no longer felt fear or worry, I just wanted to help, to comfort. I knew he had somehow recognised me, he had listened at least.

  Just what were we going to be dealing with when he walked out of that hut, I thought. Sitting by the fire, I hadn’t realised just how cold I was until the warmth spread through my hands. I watched the flames flicker and dance, lighting up anything that was close enough to it. I was so mesmerized by the flames; I jumped when Darryl started speaking.

  “My dad built this place for us, a little hideaway we could escape to. Amazes me no one else has found it to be honest.” Darryl’s voice sounded weird. Through my own adrenaline, I hadn’t even thought about how he would be feeling. Moving closer to sit beside him, I took his hand in mine.

  “Are you ok?” I asked him. Darryl looked to the floor.

  “It’s hard Evvy, so many memories…” he trailed off. A small growl came from above us. We both looked up to see Adam towering over us, now fully dressed. Glaring down towards our hands. Quickly, I let go of Darryl’s and edged slightly away.

  “Memories, pain, brother.” Adam spoke in a broken sentence as if it were hurting him to talk. None of us moved, nor spoke for a good few minutes. The silence was excruciating and deafening at the same time.

  “Adam,” I started and shuffled on my bum toward him. He recoiled away from me, and it was obvious he wasn’t able to look me in the eyes. I looked towards Darryl for some support, but his eyes remained firmly fixed to the floor. Not looking in his brother’s direction at all. A small rage built up inside me, something I hadn’t felt in a while. What was the point in coming all this way, risking friendships, and putting ourselves in danger just to sit in silence! I threw my hands in the air.

  “This is ridiculous, we trek all the way here and no one’s speaking,” I shouted, visibly making both guys jump. “If this is how it will be, we are wasting our time. I’m leaving,” getting up, I stormed toward the way we came in.

  Before I reached it, I was pulled backwards. Forcefully. Landing, painfully, on my backside. Pretty much right back next to Darryl.

  “S... Sorry,” Adam held his hands up, backing away from us. Jumping up, I winced as pain erupted at the bottom of my spine. Darryl caught me before I fell back down, which gave rise to yet another animalistic growl from Adam.

  “No! You do not get to act that way.” I could hear the spite in my voice, but I welcomed it. “You two need to talk, or we finish this. It is not a game! Or a pissing contest.” Feeling my rage resurface, I sat back down slowly and focused on some deep breathing. Head in my hands, I wasn’t shocked that it was Darryl who spoke first.

  “Ordering an alpha, what is happening? Evvy’s right, Adam, we need to talk. We need to know what has happened and why you are here. Why were you at home?” Darryl asked calmly. It was only a minute before Adam replied, although he was so quiet, I barely caught it.

  “You attacked brother, challenged.”

  “I was protecting Evvy! We didn’t know what you wanted,” Darryl protested. Adam sat down opposite, resigned to the situation at hand.

  “Just watching brother, just watching,” Adam sighed. I could feel the frustration emanating off Darryl and looked towards him with a look of concern.

  “Close for just watching, brother,” he spat back. Adam flinched ever so slightly, noticeably hurt with the animosity coming from Darryl. Then he looked straight at me.

  “I protect, I watch, I hide,” he directed towards me.

  “Adam please. We need to understand,” I pleaded with him.

  “It’s useless, he’s been in wolf form for too long, we are wasting our time.” Darryl stood, I figured to leave. I looked over at Adam, he was just watching his brother, his eyes wary.

  “Time brother eat,” he said.

  “Stop calling me brother! You gave up that right when you gave me up,” Darryl roared. Running over, I took his hands.

  “Calm down, what’s another half hour, can we not just give him that? Then we can go if that’s what you want,” I told him.

  “Fine.” He huffed and took his backpack off to rummage through it. In the corner of my eye, I saw Adam retreat into the hut.

  “Come back by the fire, Darryl, it’s chilly.” He joined me, pulling out Tupperware dishes full of all fresh foods. He was more prepared than I was for this brief trip. We sat eating a mini feast of chicken, rice and even asparagus as we waited for Adam to re-emerge. When he eventually appeared, there was a new energy around him, a small buzz in the atmosphere.

  “Darryl, can we speak?” Adam asked in the rational voice I vaguely remembered from our very brief encounters. A small tingle ran down my spine as I recalled the first time we bumped into each other.

  “Anything you have to say can be said in front of Evvy,” Darryl snapped back.

  “Is all hope lost for me, brother?” Adam calmly replied, while timidly looking at the floor. This must be difficult for him, we have to give him some credit for trying at least, god knows what he had been through. I swiftly gave Darryl an elbow to the ribs and what I hoped was a glare of disapproval.

  “Fine,” he sighed. With little enthusiasm, I watched as he followed Adam reluctantly into the hut.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Isat around the fire, by myself, for what seemed like hours. Realistically, it had probably only been an hour max. Darryl appeared first, looking white as a ghost and subdued. Adam followed closely behind. Both of them just stood there staring at me in complete silence.

  “So?” I directed towards Darryl. Not feeling brave enough to look at Adam yet.

  “You better come inside, Evvy,” he replied as he turned to walk back into the hut. Standing and walking over, I passed Adam. Our arms brushed and the heat I felt when we had first touched made its way through me. A quick glance his way told me he still wasn’t looking at me pro
perly. What was his problem?

  “Idiot,” I muttered. I haven’t done him any wrong. Shrugging it off, I walked into the hut.

  At first, I had thought it was just a quaint little thing but standing inside I could see it was actually quite a decent size. We were in what looked like a living area. I took a good look around. It had a nice hunter’s hut vibe to it. A deer’s head hung on one wall above a fire. The furniture was old and beaten but looked homely. Antiques lined the walls, along with pictures on shelves that were dotted about. A small kitchen area sat at the back; I could see the basic appliances one would need to survive here. I could just imagine the guys wreaking havoc in this place and the woods that surrounded it when they were younger. A little family hideaway just for them. It was… comfortable; I thought. Walking over to the shelf closest to me, I looked at the first picture that had caught my eye. It was four boys, arms draped round each other, standing in front of the hut. They all looked so similar, other than the range in height. Handsome young men they were, their faces beaming with happiness.

  “Me and my brothers,” Adam whispered from behind me, startling me slightly. I wasn’t aware of how close he was to me.

  “Nice looking brothers,” I replied as I moved a little away from him and onto the next one. This one was a family portrait taken in Moorway House.

  “That’s the four of us with my parents, leaders of our pack,” he pointed out to me.

  “We don’t have a pack anymore, Adam,” Darryl stated sadly. He was sitting in an armchair in the middle of the room. “Come, sit down Evvy, time for you to know everything.” I had never heard Darryl sound so deflated. Angry, moody, rude, mostly cheeky really, but never the disheartened tone he had now. Walking over, I took a seat on the beaten sofa. I sunk right in getting comfy. I had a feeling I wouldn’t like what I was about to hear. “Tell her what you told me, Adam. All of it.” Adam strolled over, casually taking the seat next to me. His eyes never left Darryl’s as he started speaking.