"Nothing," Killian smiled as he straightened Inez up with a light push to her waist. He turned to look at Inez, who seemed exceptionally pale, and even though what happened was too quick for anyone to fathom, he, on the other hand, had noticed the siren looking at Inez before she died.
There was no mistaking the slight recognition in her eyes when she had looked at Inez. It was as if that woman knew that Inez was a siren and someone she knew very well, but Killian knew that, as a matter of fact, the siren had never met Inez before because he would have known if the two women ever bumped into each other.
He said to Noah, "She is a latent, which is why she has never been to a battle before. The sight of blood must have scared her; forgive her for her human-like reaction."
As soon as he finished speaking, Inez noticed that the contempt in Noah’s eyes turned even heavier. He hummed before turning to look at the guards behind him as he said to them, "Pick up her corpse; I believe we can still use her."
When Inez heard his words, her heart turned even heavier. This was the reality of her own kind. Even though the siren was already dead, even in death, she couldn’t get the peace that she deserved.
Inez wished she could help the siren but she knew that she was helpless. The council would never let her take the corpse of the siren and bury her with respect and peace. Her eyes fell on the lycan whose head was severed and left to rot with no one taking care of him, and she decided to give him a proper funeral.
Even if she could not help the siren, she could at least give her mate a proper send-off.
She turned to look at Killian and said to him, "Bury him in your pack’s territory. He made no mistake other than loving someone."
"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Morrineth hissed the second Inez finished speaking. She turned and glared at her before saying to her, "This man has betrayed the pack by hiding the siren and bringing shame and dishonour to our pack. He deserves to be left here for rogues to rip his body apart."
Edira turned and looked at Morrineth, but she didn’t speak, waiting for her grandson to make the decision.
"Thank you for the two bits of wisdom," Killian turned and glanced at the woman who was speaking to Inez. He said, "However, as the alpha of the pack, I cannot allow that to happen, as you ought to know. Whether he was a traitor or not, it no longer matters, for he has paid for it with his life. We should honour everyone in death, Morrineth. That’s what makes us different from beasts."
Morrineth’s face turned red. She opened her mouth to quibble, but Killian was no longer listening. He turned to look at his beta and commanded, "Ask some of the submissive wolves to bring his corpse back. We will give him a proper funeral, similar to one given to those who sacrifice their lives for the pack in a pack battle."
Dominic glanced at the man as if he were amused by his command. He remarked, "You believe that a fool like him can be placed on the same rank as those martyrs? If I were your pack member, I would be too ashamed to hold my head after hearing this."
Upon hearing his remark, Killian wasn’t the slightest bit offended. He tilted his head to one side and spoke calmly, "What’s braver than dying for love, Alpha Cherith? People often die for money, power and beauty. Only a few would die for love, and I believe that it’s beautiful."
"That’s why you are a fool." Dominic shook his head as he bitterly commented, "Love betrays."
"I beg to differ." Killian placed his hand on the small of Inez’s back as he steered her away from the clearing. "It’s the people who betray love, never quite the opposite, if I tell you the truth."
Inez caught the look of sheer rage on Dominic’s face before turning around and walking away.
"The council will still try to pin some sort of blame on our heads, Kill," said Finn as they climbed up the slope. "We have to come up with a decent explanation. After all, that lycan was indeed from our pack."
"I will speak to them. After all, it is truly the fault of my pack member this time around. File an application to contradict whatever report Noah will be submitting. There is no need to wait because we all know that he will try to vilify our pack at all costs. At the same time, collect all the surveillance recordings to prove that the lycan who died was the only one visiting the siren," ordered Killian as he marched up the slope. "Tell Ajax to examine the rest of the territory. Since a siren was able to sneak in so close, there must be a failure in the defence line."
"I understand," said Finn. He paused and questioned, "Should we take a look at the rest of the lodges that were not checked? What if someone is hiding something else in their lodge?"
"An ogre by chance?" Ryder offered with a sweet smile, causing everyone to turn and look at him. "What? I was just offering a suggestion."
Killian shook his head. He then turned to look at Finn and commanded, "Send a message to the head of the council. Tell him that I want to meet with him as soon as possible. Letting riff-raff like Cherith in the council... I wonder what he is even thinking."
While the men were discussing how to turn the tide, Inez was lost in her own thoughts; her heart was beating like crazy, even though the ordeal was over. What happened today could never happen again; it seemed like she had to hide coral wisps in a place no one would be able to find them.