Chapter 11 - Silas
“She needs water.”
Silas did not pay attention to Rael's words as he led Elle back to the truck with his hand resting on her back. She was trembling so much that he could feel it against his palm, and her breath was coming out in short gasps.
But Elle, being Elle, did not stop talking.
“The back room,” she said, in a strained and thin voice.
“There was a back room. Small. That's where they took her. A brunette who fought.” Her words tumbled after one another.
“The buyer was a bear shifter. On his right hand, between the thumb and forefinger, he had a scar shaped like a crescent moon.”
Silas opened the door leading to the truck and helped Elle to get in. She was clinging to the edge of the seat, her knuckles were white, and she was still talking. Like if she stopped, the memories would eat her up.
“One of the men who picked me up from the street had a scar on his face. He was the same man who took her to the back room.”
“Elle, I'm so sorry about what happened. And I honestly wish you could understand this clearly. You're not at fault. So, breathe.”
August appeared behind Silas. They were all out of the warehouse at this point. “She's going into shock.”
“I know.” Silas agreed painfully. He would have liked to take Elle in his arms and console her, but he also understood that she was holding on by a thread and any unexpected action could tear her into pieces. “Elle, we're going home now. You can say more when we are there, all right?”
“But I have not mentioned the van,” Elle replied, her eyes wild and unfocused. “The van that brought me here was white, and I got a glimpse of the license plate. Maybe three letters. I think it was R-E-something.”
Rael moved to the other side, holding a bottle of water. “Drink this.”
Elle held the bottle with shaking hands and took a sip.
“She's giving us good intelligence,” Javi walked over to them. “But she is becoming unstable.”
“I can see that,” Silas snapped. “We're leaving.”
He got into the driver's seat and switched the engine on.
Elle kept on giving information as they drove.
Information about the way the handlers looked, their heights, the number of women in each cage, and the way the warehouse smelled.
Every minute detail that her mind had memorized during the time she was terrified, caged, and prepared to be sold.
His eyes flickered to the rearview mirror. Rael, Javi, and August drove behind them. They were most likely discussing the information Elle gave them.
Good intel, Javi had said. And it was. Elle was providing them with better information than they had accumulated in months of research.
But it was ruining her.
“There was also some sort of chemical odor,” she continued. “Like bleach and cleaning supplies, which they probably used to clean up blood.”
Silas clenched his hands on the steering wheel. The thought of Elle there, with what they had done to other women, made him feel like turning the truck around and setting the warehouse on fire.
“The windows were covered with boards. But I could see sunlight through the cracks. Which means the warehouse faces east or south, because the light was strongest in the morning.”
“Elle, you can stop now.”
“No. I must tell you.” Her voice cracked. “I need to help.”
They eventually got back to pack territory, and Elle continued to speak, but it was getting more jumbled.
Silas immediately turned off the engine, got out of the truck, and circled round the front to open the door for Elle, but she did nothing. She sat motionless with her mouth still moving.
“The floor was concrete and stained. The cages were nailed to the floor with industrial bolts.”
“Elle.” Silas reached for her hand. “We're home. Let's get you inside.”
Finally, she looked up at him and stared. Silas saw the exact moment the adrenaline ran out. Elle's face crumpled, all the strength and determination that had been holding her together evaporating in an instant.
“I can’t do this any longer,” she shook her head.
“You don't have to. You did enough. I got so much information from you.”
“It's not enough. It's never enough.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Those women are still out there. Still being sold. Still being hurt. I informed you of a warehouse and some handlers, but that doesn’t do them any good. That doesn't save them.”
Silas lifted Elle out of the truck. This time, she didn't fight him. She threw herself against his chest, and her entire body shook with the tears that she had clearly been holding back.
He took her to the house and up to her room with the knowledge that his brothers and August would arrive soon. But he did not care. Elle needed him right now. Nothing else mattered.
When he got to her bedroom, Silas gently kicked the door open and sat on the edge of her bed, with Elle still in his arms, her face pressed to his shoulder. She was crying so much that he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt.
“I should have done it sooner,” she sobbed. “The first time Javi asked me I should have said yes. I should have pushed my anger and my trauma aside and helped. Maybe things could have been different.”
“No, no, no,” Silas pulled her tighter. “This is not your fault.”
“But if I'd helped right away—”
“You were a victim, too, Elle. You were taken away and put in a cage. You were also trying to live through your trauma. You do not owe anything to anybody. Certainly not to the pack where you were treated so badly.”
“But those women—”
“Are not your responsibility.” Silas cradled her face, forcing her to look at him. “The traffickers and the buyers are at fault. What happened is on them. Never on you.”
“I saw her.”
“What?”
“The brunette. The one who fought. I saw what happened to her.” She sniffed. “When I touched the wall, I saw it in the warehouse. Like a vision. He pulled her to the back room, and that bear shifter, he…”
Silas stared at her, completely shocked. “You had a vision?”
She gave him a short nod. “I've had them before. Years ago. Just flashes, nothing clear. But this one was different. I saw everything. I felt everything. It was like I was there watching it happen.”
“When did this start?”
“When I was seventeen. On the day I asked you to tell me whether we could be mates, or not.” Elle lowered her voice to a whisper.
“I had a vision of a golden thread connecting us.
That's how I knew. But when you rejected me, I thought maybe I'd imagined it. Maybe I was just desperate to belong to something, someone.”
Silas's chest ached. That day in the library. When Elle had asked him that, he had laughed in her face and mocked her, calling her pathetic.
She had a vision. She'd seen the mate bond. And he'd destroyed her for it.
“God, I'm so sorry,” he sighed, caressing her cheeks with his fingers. “I am so sorry about how I treated you that day.”
“That doesn't matter right now.” Elle pulled back a bit, causing Silas' hands to drop and wipe her cheeks. “It does not matter that I had a vision at the warehouse because I was unable to do anything about it. I couldn't save her. It already happened.”
Silas pulled Elle back against him, holding her while she cried again. His mind raced, trying to process what she'd told him.
Elle had magic. She was a Seer.
This changed everything.
But seeing Elle, shattered and weeping in his arms, his brothers could wait before they found out.
“It is not your fault,” he muttered, stroking her hair. “None of this is your fault. You are doing everything you can, and that is more than anyone has a right to demand of you.”
Elle cried for a long time. Through all of it, Silas held her in his arms, murmuring and comforting her the best he could. The sobs eventually quieted down to hiccups, gasps, and then silence.
“Thank you,” Elle mumbled against his chest.
“For what?”
For not asking me a million questions about what I told you. For just... being here.”
“I will always be here,” he said softly. “Whenever you need me.”
Elle didn't respond, but she did not pull back either. She stayed curled against him, drained and worn-out. Silas allowed himself to embrace her. He allowed himself to imagine that she willingly chose to rest in his arms.
The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Silas?” Javi's voice filtered from behind the door. “We need to talk.”
Silas tensed. “Not now.”
“It's important.”
“I said not now.”
The door opened anyway. Javi stood with a serious expression on his face. “I heard what she said. About the vision.”
Silas's eyes flashed amber. “You were listening?”
“The walls were thin, and she was speaking loud enough to be heard.” Javi glanced at Elle, who laid still in Silas's arms. “We need to have a meeting. Now.”
“Get out,” Silas growled.
“This is important, Silas. And in case Elle possesses magic, if she can see something—”
“I said get out!”
Silas's Alpha voice rang through the room. Javi flinched but didn't retreat.
“We must know,” Javi continued, stubborn as ever. “The pack needs answers. And Elle’s powers could be used to get them..”
“Then we'll discuss it later. When Elle is ready. Not now.”
Elle shifted in Silas's arms. “It's okay. We can talk now.”
“No,” Silas said firmly. “You're exhausted. You need rest.”
“I need to get this over with.” Elle stood, rubbing her eyes. “Let's talk. I'd rather not let it hang over my head.”
Silas had to force himself to bite his tongue. He knew Elle well enough at this point to realize that once she set her mind to something, that was it. And going against it would only result in her being more stubborn about it.
“Fine,” Silas said. “However, we do this in the sitting room. And if Elle feels like stopping at any moment, we stop.”
Javi nodded. “Agreed.”
Twenty minutes later, they were all seated in the sitting room. Elle was seated on the couch between Silas and August. Rael and Javi sat on the opposite end, and the tension in the room was palpable.
“Tell us about the visions,” Rael started the conversation. “How do they work?”