Chapter 31: The Voice

~

I used my voice. I sang, my eyes trained on Atticus the whole time.

I knew there was power ringing out with every note, but I didn’t mind because I was in control. I felt where Dorian and Zachariah were. I felt where Taylin was. Each pack member, I felt them. I knew where in the crowd they sat.

Every moment I sang, I felt the connection between me and the alphas grow. Power hummed so powerfully beneath my skin, the sound of my voice carrying with it. Atticus played his instrument with me, so connected to the magic I portrayed with my voice. It kept us linked, weaving through every member of each pack.

I wasn’t even sure if I was singing words, or if it was just a hum. I couldn’t tell. I was too stuck in the moment. I thought that using my voice would mean I would hurt someone, be out of control, but it was different.

I felt every part of my voice, where it wanted to go, what it wanted from me. And it did not want pain or chaos. It wanted peace. And it gave me that.

Finally using it after so many years, letting it out without resistance, it was seamless. Like an extension of me. Atticus strummed his strings to whatever I put out to the realm, and I smiled at him. I was content.

Our souls were linked. Atticus, mine, Dorian, Zachariah—they were all so prevalent inside me in those moments. And it felt exactly right. So I risked a glance at the crowd, scanning the packs for their reaction.

They didn’t seem angry. They were nodding along, almost entranced. Their eyes were wide, the ale forgotten. It gave me hope that maybe we weren’t fucking everything up by revealing what we were. They even looked like they were humming.

It was such a rush to feel like I could finally be accepted for everything that I was. And Atticus—he could be himself, stop hiding the true parts of himself behind locked doors. It felt like a new beginning.

I eyed the crowd again. Dorian’s pack and especially Zachariah’s pack were lost to our song. The power radiated off us, flowing out in soundwaves that helped me feel everything they did. And they felt that power—they were absorbing it with us.

Atticus and I weren’t just creating music; we were generating energy and power that we were giving back to the realm and the packs. When our song finally ended, I was breathing hard. So was Atticus.

I looked over at the other two alphas. They had heat in their eyes, and I smiled. Atticus pulled me in for a kiss. I met his lips, and our power was tangible between us. It had me pressing myself against him, needing more.

But before I could get it, Atticus led me off the platform, away from the burning flames that seemed even more orange than before. Zachariah and Dorian were there when I jumped off, and they swarmed me. I kissed them both.

Zachariah spun me around, growling as he pulled me back down his body, kissing me roughly. “You have no idea just how much power you hold in that little body of yours, Little Red,” he panted, still kissing me.

I pulled back as Dorian stole with a rumble of his chest, warning Zach from trying to steal me back. “I do. Enough to have me on my knees for the rest of my life, Sweet Siren.”

I grinned and kissed him back, loving the way he tasted after being so desperate for me. He had waited for me to finish my song, but I could tell it had been hard for him just by the taste of him.

When I pulled away, Atticus was there. He smiled and nodded to the members of Dorian and Zachariah’s pack, who nodded to us, thanking us for our power to the realm and for honoring the realm so well. It was an entirely surreal experience.

And they were not who we were worried about. I looked at Atticus with a wary expression, then we broke through to where his pack was. My heart sank as I saw the looks on their faces. They were not as welcoming.

Atticus squeezed my hand as we faced them together, the entire crowd going tensely silent. “I have siren magic. But I can only harness it through my instruments,” he admitted to them.

They stayed silent. All of them looked confused, wary, like they didn’t know where to begin—until one of them figured it out. A pale woman with long blonde hair and a blue dress glared at me. “This is your fault. You have put a trance on the alphas. A spell with your siren magic,” she snarled.

A few nods from the other water pack members were all it took. “I didn’t,” I argued, watching as a few of them started circling us. The others stood back, not daring to come closer.

Atticus growled a deep, low growl that warned the ones circling us. “Do not start what I will have to finish—this is your only warning,” he said.

My heart raced harder, and my stomach dropped. I couldn’t believe the low I had gone to after such a high. But I should have expected it. I had used my voice. Again. And it was going to get people hurt. Again.

Atticus was getting ready to fight his own pack for me. The other alphas were preparing to back him up; even the packs were dividing. So much division, so much tension. And it was my fault. All because I had used my voice again.

How had I not learned? I slipped back as Atticus growled at a pack member who snarled at him. “Siren magic is forbidden. She has tainted you,” one said.

“She is the reason all three packs stand here now, overflowing with power,” Atticus snapped back, his body hulking and trembling. “Power from a voice that should not be used. From music that should not be made.”

“Does it feel wrong to you, Jareth? That realm power that now flows through our packs, that connection you feel to the packs we have been estranged from for years, does that feel wrong?” Atticus demanded.

Dorian and Zachariah shadowed him, their packs coming up behind them as I stepped further and further back. I couldn’t stand it—seeing them at odds because of what I had done. I should never have come to them or agreed to stay.

This choice was going to rip them all apart. How could I initiate that? Tears stung in my eyes as the packs went back and forth, arguing, fighting over what had just happened. I couldn’t be here if that’s what was going to happen.

I swallowed hard, and my tears fell. I loved the alphas. I hadn’t experienced much love, but I knew it was in my heart for them. I wanted them—all three of them—in there forever. But I couldn’t have that if all I was good at was destroying things.

So instead of staying, arguing, and fighting for something that would only lead to resentment, I took one last look at my alphas. They were defending the magic, but it was only convincing them that I had led them astray.

So with a heavy heart and tears I wished weren’t on my face, I turned and ran with no idea where I was going.

~

```

```