Jessa nodded her head as the door closed behind them, and Jenna stood in the hallway for a second watching them before she rolled her eyes and headed up the stairs allowing a smug smile to cross her lips.
She reached the attic door where she knocked and called out, “Caden” before trying the knob only to be stunned when she discovered it was locked.
“Caden!” She called out louder knocking on the door but when there was no answer a hard light came into her eyes as she turned and rushed down the stairs.
Inside his room, Caden heard the knock and Jenna calling his name but he ignored both as he stared down at the woman lying on his bed.
“I believe we have been in this situation before not so long ago,” he said in a soft voice one hand going out to curve around her cheek.
“She will be okay,” Jed said suddenly from behind him, and Caden’s head spun around at his voice.
Caden scowled at him but didn’t comment as he returned his attention back to Abella. One hand clenched on the bed next to her as the other one reached out gently and caressed her hair.
Jed patted Caden’s shoulder as he told him, “She will be fine, Caden. You can trust me on that, Alpha.”
Caden glanced up at him at the official term and Jed nodded his head giving him a slight smile before he turned away heading out of the room.
Caden shook his head as he watched him walk away before he returned his attention to Abella.
“I wonder what he is really thinking about,” he murmured as a knock sounded on his door.
Caden frowned at the interference and he smoothed back a strand of Abella’s hair before he leaned over giving her a small kiss on the forehead.
“I will be right back, sweetheart,” he whispered as he stood up and headed down the stairs.
Abella shifted her body in her unconsciousness and she flinched slightly as discomfort went through her. Her lips moved slightly before her body relaxed and her breathing eased as a healing sleep claimed her just as Dr. Olsen and Cicely came up the stairs with Caden.
Chapter 28
Later that evening, Caden sat on the bed next to Abella watching her sleep and he recalled what Cicely had told him when she returned earlier.
“She will be fine, Caden, but we have to treat the poison that is infecting the wounds,” she had told him as her and Dr. Olsen came into the room.
“What poison?” Caden had asked sharply as it was the first time hearing about Abella being poisoned and Cicely had sighed gently before explaining what she had discovered after he left.
His dark eyes stayed focus on Abella as the room grew darker and his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness as he made himself more comfortable on the bed. His wolf sighed in anguish but Caden could tell he was relieved that Abella returned to them.
They will pay, his wolf growled inside of him and Caden didn’t contradict his wolf on this statement as his dark eyes went into to mere slits with the anger that reverberated through his body at what had been done to Abella.
As he kept staring at her, he realized it was the first time that he was able to stare at her without anything interrupting him although he recalled that there had been other times but Abella had been snuggled up against him during those moments. Her dark brown hair was still matted although he could see that Jessa and Cicely had done their best to remove any blood from it and he realized absently that she would need a shower when she woke up which made him glance up sharply around the room before returning his attention to her. His eyes landed on her face where he noticed her incredibly long eyelashes as they rested lightly against her pale skin and her nicely shaped lips although the lower lip was puffy from being hit. Her face was oval shape as he traced it lightly noting how cool her cheeks were to his touch and he noted the yellowish bruise that darkened both eyes, and a darker bruise that rested against her high cheekbones that Caden brushed lightly with his fingertips.
His eyes traveled down the rest of her body outlined in his thin t-shirt and a heated look entered his eyes at what the t-shirt revealed from the high thrust of her breast to the shapely hips and long legs that he knew existed although the covers hid them from his view.
“You are not as beautiful as Leana,” he commented softly. “But there is something about you that makes you stunning in my eyes.”
As if she could hear his words, a slight smile graced Abella’s lips before a grimace replaced it as she shifted lightly.
Caden ran his hand down her arm feeling her body relax from his light touch and he let his hand stay resting on her arm as he relaxed back against the pillow eyes still staring at Abella. The sun was just beginning to rise when he slowly slipped out of bed not wanting to cause the bed to shift and upset Abella as she slept peacefully.
He changed clothes quickly as he heard the pack house wake up around him and he frowned when he heard one voice in particular calling his name. After another look at Abella, he walked out of the room closing the door behind him and locking it.
He stilled as he entered the office seeing Devin sitting in his chair behind the desk. Caden closed the door behind him with a decisive click as he sent out a private call to Timothy before asking, “May I help you Devin?”
Devin glanced up from the seat and smiled. “I was just wondering if I could take a look at the accounts,” he asked skimming his fingers over the files on the desk.
“Why?” Caden asked bluntly stepping forward as he heard footsteps outside the office. Timothy walked in a few seconds later with a frown on his face that turned into a harsh look as he spotted Devin sitting behind the desk.
“What in the hell do you think you are doing?” Timothy asked sharply closing the door hard behind him.
“As Caden’s father, I think I should take a look at the pack accounts,” Devin said a hard look in his eyes.
There was silence in the room after his statement and Caden walked over to the window looking out as he said, “I wonder what interest you have in the accounting books?”
Devin laughed as he said smugly, “Some of the pack members were worried about how the money was being spent as they heard rumors of a new house and car being bought.”
Caden shifted his eyes to Timothy before returning his attention to the window. “I assure you that all the money is accounted for as Timothy and I personally went to handle all the charges that someone used in my name and deducted from the pack account.”
The smile on Devin’s face disappeared as he said sharply, “So you did know about the trip…” his words trailed off as Caden and Timothy both looked at him with smiles.
“I mean…” he started again only to be stopped as a knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Caden said his hard eyes still focused on Devin as the door opened and Trixie came striding in.
“I went to pick up the car and they told me that the order was cancelled,” she told him in an angry tone not paying attention to her surroundings. She left the door open and her words echoed around the pack house. Caden merely leaned back against the window as Timothy sat on the arm of the couch that sat next to the wall. “What in the hell is going on? First our flight for our trip was moved up without anyone telling us, the house you bought suddenly went to Dr. Olsen, and now the car that we specifically ordered isn’t ours although we paid for it. Did that little bitch turn us in?”
“Trixie,” Devin said in a hard tone getting up from the chair.
“Don’t try to shut me up,” Trixie said in an angry tone. “You told me that when we came here, your son would take care of us and yet that bastard has done nothing to see to our comfort. As the rightful Alpha of this pack, you should be the one running the pack and handling the pack funds.”
Jed and Cicely suddenly appeared in the doorway as Trixie continued ranting, “We even got rid of that witch so your new play thing could get closer to Caden and yet she hasn’t been able to deliver on anything she has promised us.”
“That is a damn lie,” Jenna said hotly pushing past Jed and Cicely as she
stormed into the room her wide eyes revealing the fear that Caden would hear these accusations.
Trixie turned around and gave her a glare that caused Jenna to back up, and Caden shook his head.
“Weak she-wolf,” Timothy said without surprise.
Both Trixie and Jenna turned to him in surprise but their eyes grew wide when Caden spoke up, “Which one?”
Trixie flushed in anger at the insult as Jenna paled before she rushed over to him in her attempt to wrap her arms around him.
“Stop,” Caden commanded in his Alpha voice, and everyone in the room immediately froze.
Trixie turned her head to look at Devin with hard eyes as she said, “Why don’t you do something, Alpha?”
Before Devin could respond, Jed stated from the doorway, “I don’t know where you got the notion that Devin was Alpha of this pack but he never was the Alpha of this pack and he never will be.”
Trixie’s eyes widened as her head spun around to look at Jed as he and Cicely entered the room.
“But he is their father,” she said in confusion.
“He isn’t my father,” Jessa stated from the doorway her book back resting on her shoulder. “My father was a fighter wolf from a different pack.”
Devin’s eyes widened as he stared at her and then his head swung to Caden who merely stared at him.
“I was her second mate,” Devin said heatedly.
“Wrong,” Caden said quietly although he didn’t go into detail of how he knew that as Devin’s face paled and he stepped back.
Trixie went to laugh when Jessa said with smugness, “Besides, how can Devin be mom’s second mate when Trixie is his real mate?”
Trixie turned panic stricken eyes to her as she walked into the room Jed and Cicely moving so she could walk closer to Trixie.
“Mom knew that you and Devin were mates,” Jessa told the two of them which further shocked them. “In fact, she even knew when you mated with each other but at least you waited until after I was born to mark her.” Jessa didn’t know if that was the truth or not, but by the way Devin’s face flushed with embarrassment she knew her assumption was correct.
She growled at them and when Devin decided to growl back both Timothy and Caden reacted as Timothy snarled at him pulling Jessa behind him.
Caden grabbed Devin by the throat and slammed him up against the wall behind the desk.
The room went silent as Caden spoke in deep, dark tone, “Our mother accepted you into our lives because she thought you were good for me not knowing that you didn’t give a damn about either one of us. Once she realized it, she let you save face by not calling you out when you tried to run the pack behind her back. Then when she finally find someone that made her happy like my father did, you had him killed afraid that he would take the Alpha position away from you. Just so you know, Devin, he never wanted the position only the company of our mother after losing his own mate. Ever since your return, you have done nothing but spend the packs money and if I hadn’t gotten wind of the money you spent almost three weeks ago then the pack would’ve been in the hole.”
Devin couldn’t breathe to deny any of the charges and Jenna took the chance to shift the blame from herself. “He forced me, Caden,” she sobbed letting tears fall from her eyes.
Trixie looked at her with glaring eyes as she said, “You bitch, you were more than willing to help us especially when it came to getting rid of that damn witch.”
Caden’s eyes flared darker causing Devin to still in his grasp and he was the only one to hear Caden whisper softly, “You are damn lucky that my wolf and I know that she is safe, or breathing would be the last of your worries.”
Without a second thought, Caden threw Devin across the room and Timothy easily sidestepped him as he slammed against the wall above the couch.
“Did you know that stealing from one’s pack is punishable by exile?” Jed said in a conversational tone. “Of course that is only for pack members of the same pack.”
“We are members of this pack,” Trixie said urgently as Devin slowly got to his feet.
“And yet,” Cicely added, “you two aided rogues in attacking your pack.”
At Cicely’s words, Trixie and Devin shifted into their wolves as Timothy pushed Jessa away ready to shift himself and Caden put out an alert to the pack although the pack had heard everything from the moment Trixie stormed in the office.
Jed moved his hands and before anyone could blink, he had created a barrier encasing the two wolves and Cicely mumbled a few words before she asked, “So where are we taking them?”
Jed didn’t say a word but only looked at her and she grimaced before she finished whatever chant she had been mumbling and before they disappeared, Jed looked over at Caden.
“We will be back, Alpha,” he said softly. “You need to make a choice soon because the time is almost up.”
Caden nodded his head although he didn’t think Jed saw it as they were gone after Jed’s last word.
“Well that was entertaining,” Gregory said from the doorway, and Caden chuckled as Timothy and Jessa laughed aloud.
Gregory shifted his eyes in Jenna’s direction before sending a questioning look at Caden. He shook his head at the look before he walked around to sit behind his desk.
“Caden,” Jessa said a frown covering her face. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Caden nodded his head and Javier said without having to be told, “We will continue looking out for those rogues.”
“Gregory,” Caden said not breaking his sister’s stare, “get in touch with Alpha Stone as I believe he may know something about this rogues.”
“Yes Alpha,” Gregory said sending Jenna a hard look which she missed as she walked slowly toward Caden.
“Caden, I promise you that I had nothing to do with what your fath…Devin and his mate did,” she said in a tearful voice.
Caden shifted his look for a second to her before he nodded his head and asked, “Please leave Jenna as Jessa and I are about to have a family discussion.”
Jenna nodded her head as she headed for the door unable to hide the smug smile that crossed her face which Timothy caught and he shook his head as she left the room and he closed the door behind her.
“I wonder if she really listens to what people say,” Jessa murmured leaning against Caden’s desk.
Caden didn’t care as he asked, “So what is the matter, Jessa?”
The frown returned immediately as she stated, “I was talking with my history teacher today and it seems that Abella may not graduate.”
“Why?” Timothy said walking over to them. “You said yourself that her grades were better than average.”
Jessa nodded her head at that before she explained, “She has missed too many days which is weighing heavily against her. If she doesn’t return to school by next week, then…”
“Will they let her make up any work?” Caden asked his voice reflecting nothing of his feelings.
“Yes, but it won’t help her graduate,” Jessa informed them. “Although my history teacher told me that if she completes the made up work then she could take a few summer courses that will enable her to graduate at a later date.”
“It doesn’t seem fair,” Timothy murmured.
“It isn’t, but there is nothing else we can do,” Caden said on a sigh. “Jessa, can you get anything that Abella needs to turn in before the end of school term?”
Jessa flinched as she nodded her head slowly. “I can but it’s a lot of work that she needs to turn it before then.”
“Maybe we should talk to Ms. Helms,” Timothy said absently, and Jessa’s eyes widened before she turned around and kissed Timothy soundly.
As she rushed out of the room, both Timothy and Caden laughed at her reaction before Caden stared down at the desk. He was about to say something when Jessa said through the pack link, I think Cicely was right you need to temporarily move rooms until she is better preferably a room with a bathroom and I know just the right one. When Abe
lla wakes up, I think you two should change then.
Caden shook his head as Timothy said, “Busybody.”
“She is right though,” Caden admitted as the phone rang. “I was planning on doing that today anyway. Jessa just helped me from worrying about that and allowing me to focus on any pack issues at the moment.”
Timothy watched as Caden lifted the phone to his ear and saying, “hello” noting that there was a light in his friend, and Alpha’s, eyes that he thought went out when his mate left him three years ago.
Timothy smiled as Caden frowned and waved him to a seat listening to the person on the other end of the phone.
A few hours later, Caden and Timothy exited the office with heavy frowns as Jessa came bouncing through the door. The smile on her face caused the both of them to stop and stare at her in confusion.
“I talked with Ms. Helms as my loving mate suggested,” Jessa said giving Timothy another kiss. “It seems that Abella actually doesn’t have to attend class to graduate because she actually met all of the requirements to graduate early. As long as she turns in the assignments and make up tests then she is allowed to graduate at the end of the semester.”
“That’s good,” Caden said with a smile his eyes going down to the backpack in Jessa’s hand and she grimaced.
“All the work that Abella needs to complete,” she told them watching them shake their heads as she unzipped it.
“I think Abella won’t have any pr…” Jessa’s words died off as she saw the absent look on their faces. “Is something wrong with Abella?”
Caden shook his head as Timothy told her, “Neighboring packs have been attacked by a group of rogues and Stone believes that it is the same rogues from last time.”
“I thought they were all captured,” Jessa asked her voice lower.
Caden shook his head as he confided, “No, Jerry and his pack were hunting for them. One of the reasons I sent Briac to Jerry’s pack, and although we believe Devin originally organized the group since he ditched them, they find someone stronger to supervise and lead them.”
The Witch Prophecy Page 27
