Moonlight in your eyes- The prince's Selkie mate

Purple

Greer

I send the mind link out, and everyone is quiet momentarily. Then I enter the room, dropping my voice an octave and holding my hands by my head- just like with the animals at the shelter or the clinic where I work. Show you are not a threat, get them to trust you, and exude calm, plays on repeat in my head.

And I instantly feel bad for comparing the girls to the shelter dogs.

“Hey… my name is Greer and those… are my brothers and father. We are here to help you.” I try my most calm and confident smile, even though I have no idea where any of them are. All I hear is shallow breathing. It’s almost pitch black as soon as my body shuts out the light from the door. But my vision adjusts quickly, and I get an idea when I see a light switch.

“Would it be OK if we turned on the light?” A low murmur goes through the room, and a second later, the bulb above our heads flashes with just a small push of a button. And I see the women squint their eyes, some scrambling back a little. I let my gaze roam their faces, still putting on a calm face that isn't betraying how I feel. They all look frail and sick. As soon as the murmur dies down, I do a head count as inconspicuously as I can. Eight total... OK. Sometimes my visions are off. Killian starts to move suddenly, and Khai stiffens at my side.

“What’s he doing?”

“Should we stop him?” Jordan raises a brow looking after the panther, but none of us step in. And we are rewarded the moment we hear him call a girl’s name.

“Kayla Vaughan?”

A blonde in the back looks up, and Killian hurries over to her, kneeling in front of her. He stretches out a hand toward her, and I can’t help but like how he holds himself.

“Your Dad sent me to get you.” The second he finishes that sentence, she lunges forward, winding her arms around his neck, almost knocking him off balance.

Still somewhat restless, my gaze sweeps the room. And when they look back at me, it suddenly dies down. That unease, that anger. Apparently, I was just looking for a certain pair of eyes. Purple. They are Purple.

_______

Noemi

I hold onto Valentina’s hand as tightly as I can. The past two hours have drained almost all the remaining strength from my body. Being rescued isn't all that I thought it would be. It feels like my skin is buzzing, and I haven’t let go of her since she returned with one of the brothers.

My head is spinning, and there is too much noise, too much information. Just a lot to remember. Well, that is not entirely a problem. I have no issues remembering one name. Reflexively my gaze moves over to the light grey, almost silver eyes. When Greer looks at me and smiles (like he has done since I first saw him), I feel a calm envelope me—followed by my heart rate spiking when I look at all the other people around me.

It’s been… weird. I can't really put it any other way. Words are hard to come by right now. Just...Pretty much from the moment I laid eyes on him, this weird calm settled in my stomach. I don’t trust easily. It took months for me to let Valentina close to me, but with him, I can’t shake the feeling that I should do just that: trust him.

‘Pathetic. Why would he want to keep you safe? You’re nothing.’

The mean voice in my head is usually right. Also, it sounds an awful lot like my mother. So I lower my gaze, leaning into my friend and focusing on how the sweatshirt they gave me sticks to my arms and stomach. I feel dirtier than I have in the last ten years right now. In this clean car, smelling their perfect scents. I don’t know why, but I have always had a thing for smells. Ever since I was a little kid. And I don’t just mean the specific scent every shifter or any other supernatural being has. I mean stuff like gasoline, wet wood, fresh dirt when you plant something. The forest, sea foam, that smell of wet algae, when they get washed to shore.

Dirty carpet: the smell of my childhood. And now: sandalwood air freshener, shiny grey leather, the PVU of the seat belts. Valentina and the little bit of basement and the quiet brother with the scars on his face sticking to her. The girl, Jade, and the fresh scent of something flowery and spice I can’t place.

She’s avoiding the one with the glowing eyes. That man gives me the creeps. I breathed a sigh of relief when he got into one of the other cars as I squeezed in with Valentina. The tiny lady with the different colored eyes ( I think she’s the mother) and Jade followed us. The scared-up one- Silas, I have to remember that - and Greer, who hasn’t left our side since they first burst through that door, had to fit in as well.

The tires drift on what feels like a driveway, and when I look over and out the window, I see the biggest house I have ever laid eyes on.

“Wow, nicht schlecht.” I hear Valentina murmur next to me, her eyes wide as she takes in the blooming bushes and the sand-colored facade of the enormous building.

Greer’s Mom throws us a wide smile. She seems nice but then again…

“Welcome. Please make yourself right at home." That wide smile with the small dimple. "Let us know if we can help you with anything. ANYTHING." Her gaze softens a little when she continues.

"I think… since you two haven’t been able to reach family so far, we'll get one of our guest rooms done for you.” Looking down at my hand clutching Valentina’s, the Queen adds: “Together.”

She gives us a second one of those radiant smiles, and something cracks in me. If they are doing an act, they are pretty good at it… They seem really genuine.

‘Of course, they do. Keep your guard up.’

I stiffen a little and shift in my seat uncomfortably before I let myself be pulled out of the car by Valentina. We entered a huge garage, and the gasoline smell has me close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then, on impulse, I let go of Val’s hand and just stand there, taking everything in for a minute. I’m twenty-two, and I haven’t been outside in ten years. And for some weird reason, standing in a garage between a bunch of parked cars makes me weirdly happy.

‘Goddess, you truly are a piece of work, nut case.’

My Mom’s favorite nickname for me. C**kroach, little rat, or a**wipe were a few more she liked to use. Especially when she was drunk. The garage was the one place in our house I was safe from her. Because that was the only place neither she nor Dad hid drugs. No point in going there. So it became my safe place.

“The smell is strongest over by Silas’ workbench.”

I flinch, my eyes popping open, head whirling around to see Greer stand at a distance, his hands by his sides. His palms are up-turned, and I-

He has been doing that since they first entered that room. Like he wants to make sure everyone knows he’s not a threat.

‘Men hurt. You know that. HE’S. NOT. DIFFERENT.’

A lump forms in my throat, and even though I take another step toward Valentina and away from him, I disagree with the voice in my head.

‘He is…and… you have to be..q-quiet now. Please.’

I can hear Mom laugh at me in my head, and I screw my eyes shut to not see her face so close to mine. Like it was countless times when she came looking for me after a full day, I got to spend in solitude. Smelling of whisky and meth.

The air shifts, and when I open my eyes, I see that Greer has taken a step away from me and is looking at a workbench on the other side of the vast space. His hands are stuffed in his pockets, and I can’t help the urge to stare at him for a moment since he’s not looking at me.

He’s the only one out of the siblings whose hair isn’t some shade of brown. Takes after his mother with her blonde hair, one greyish-blue eye, and one hazel.

Greer’s are grey. No, they are silver. The shade of moonlight hitting the ocean. And when he smiles, I swear I see the color of his pupils ripple—-sh**. I’m staring at him… and he caught me.

Letting my gaze drop, my face heats up. Well, good thing no one will see anything under the dirt on it.

“Noe.”

A hand moves into my line of vision, placing itself on my forearm. Valentina brushes over my skin, and I let her pull me into the corridor leading to the biggest entrance I have ever seen. Goddess, I really don’t belong here. Staring up at the way-too-pretty wall scones and shimmery wallpaper, my steps stagger a little.