She stood at the top of the pack house stairs her blonde hair gleaming with health as it floated across her shoulders and down her back. Her blue eyes shimmered with tears as she looked at Caden before her mouth trembled into a smile and she began to descend the porch stairs heading over to the group.
“I missed you so much, Caden,” she said tearfully as she stopped a few feet from him.
The arm around Abella’s waist slowly fell away as Caden uttered the name that caused Abella’s heart to squeeze in her chest knowing now why Cicely and Janie had done what they did.
“Leana,” Caden breathed out his face pale while his black eyes flared with some unknown emotion although Abella didn’t look at him as she stared at the woman before her. The woman who turned to her with the same trembling smile although for a brief moment a look of malice and triumphant flashed in her blue eyes.
“Hi, I am Leana,” she said lightly. “Alpha Caden’s mate and this pack’s Alpha Female. May I ask who you are?”
Chapter 39
Abella stood frozen as she stared at the woman in front of them her blue eyes bright with tears as she stared at Caden before suddenly she began to sway. Caden moved quickly to catch her before she collapsed to the ground.
“Are you okay, Leana?” He asked his tone hard from what Abella wasn’t sure as he, or she, had put up a block the moment Leana had introduced herself.
“I am fine,” Leana whispered her blue eyes flickering open. “I just felt dizzy for a second.”
“We should get her inside,” a voice said from the porch and Abella turned her head slightly to look at the older man standing on the porch. She noted the smug look in his eyes and she frowned slightly as she wondered who he was.
“Come on,” Caden said helping Leana up the stairs, but he glanced back briefly at Abella although she didn’t notice it as Jessa caught her attention at that moment.
Timothy noticed it though and his frown deepened as he saw the look in Caden’s black eyes before he shielded them putting on his ‘Alpha’ mask something he hadn’t been using since Abella showed up.
“This isn’t good, is it?” Briac murmured next to him.
Timothy shook his head as he admitted in a quiet voice, “Not at all.”
He turned his head to look at Briac noticing the young woman next to him who was staring at Abella and Jessa with intensive eyes.
“This is Natalee,” Briac said his voice rough with emotion. “Natalee,” getting her attention, “this is Timothy, Caden’s Beta.”
“Hello,” she said quietly before she asked. “That woman just now, is she truly Alpha Caden’s mate?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Timothy answered as he started inside as Briac and Natalee followed after a few seconds delay.
Jessa watched her mate go into the house followed by the others and she turned to Abella. Before she could say anything though, another voice chimed in.
“I guess that spoils your plan, huh,” Jenna smirked as she stepped over to them her eyes shining with malice.
“It depends on what plan you are talking about,” Abella answered back absently as she thought of Caden and what the return of his mate met to their relationship.
Jenna laughed before she said, “Did you really think I would let you have him? I despise Leana with a passion, but I rather Caden be with her than someone like you.”
“Someone like me,” Abella repeated back in a soft voice turning her head so that grey eyes met Jenna’s. “What exactly does that mean?”
Jenna sneered as she stepped up a few inches from Abella’s face. “A witch, a curse to any pack or werewolf,” she spat at her. “An abomination.”
“And what does that make werewolves,” Abella asked in a soft voice.
Before Jenna could respond back, Jessa pulled Abella away and said with a warning glare at Jenna, “Timothy is asking for us so we should head inside.”
Abella nodded her head as she and Jessa started into the house.
“Your bags are already packed so don’t get comfortable,” Jenna called out, and Abella stopped for a second before Jessa pulled on her arm.
“She didn’t waste much time,” Jessa murmured to her as they stepped through the door to be greeted by Asilynn.
“Abella, are you okay?” She asked her worry reflected in her eyes as she stepped to Abella’s other side and they headed for the living room together.
“I don’t know,” Abella answered truthfully as they entered the room and she saw Caden sitting next to Leana on the couch handing her a glass of water.
“Thank you,” Leana said with a soft smile at him, and Caden nodded his head as his eyes focused on her lips for a second before he shifted them away.
What’s wrong, his wolf grunted at him. Aren’t you happy that she returned to us?
Caden didn’t respond right away as he stared down at the floor before he said to his wolf, why did she return now after all this time? What is the real reason she is here?
He could feel how he stunned his wolf with these questions because although he had to admit a part of him was happy to see her, another part was insisting that she was there for a reason although he had no idea why he believe that to be so.
“Abella,” a voice said and he lifted his eyes as a member of his pack turned to the grey eyed woman who stood between Jessa and Asilynn.
Abella turned her head and said quietly, “Yes.”
“How did it go? Were you able to track them down?” The she-wolf asked her eyes direct with a hint of concern.
Abella smiled and nodded her head. “We did, and we accomplished what we set out to do.”
“Good,” the she-wolf responded with a relieved sigh, and pack members laughed at her obvious relief.
Jessa shook her head as she jostled Abella from one side and Asilynn jostled her from the other side that Abella threw them both glares earning another round of laughter.
“Abella,” Leana said thoughtfully catching everyone’s attention her eyes on the young woman who seemed to have gained the respect of the pack. “That is a pretty name. Now I know your name, can you tell me what you were doing with my mate?”
“Leana,” Caden said abruptly, and she turned to him with a glare.
“Did you replace me that fast with someone like her,” she said with a touch of scorn in her voice.
Caden’s black eyes narrowed at her terminology as his wolf snarled slightly at the disrespect she was showing but before he could say anything, Abella responded her voice calm but devoid of all emotion.
“Someone like me,” she repeated again sending a look toward Jenna who smirked at her before she walked over to stand next to Briac as he stood near where Natalee sat. “It’s funny that I heard the exact same statement not even two minutes ago so I will ask you the same question that I did her. What do you mean by that?”
Abella’s grey eyes went back to the woman sitting next to Caden noting how her blue eyes hardened slightly before she stuttered them before saying, “I just heard some rumors about you, that’s all.”
Abella shifted lightly on her feet before she asked in a curious voice, “What kind of rumors?”
Leana laughed lightly before she answered, “I don’t really remember.”
Abella looked at her steadily for a second before she nodded her head. “Interesting that you forgot, but if you want to know about me just any question that comes to your mind?”
Leana smiled sweetly as she tilted her head slightly. “Do you know what they are?”
“Yes,” Abella said shortly her body tense and she knew that the two women standing on either side of her could sense her tension.
“Are you in love with my mate?” Leana asked bluntly listening in satisfaction as the pack members drew in deep breaths at her words.
Abella didn’t answer right away as she stared at her before she said slowly but clearly, “Yes.”
Leana sighed dramatically as she turned to Caden laying a pale hand on his arm. “Oh Caden, you should’ve explained
the concept of mates to her so she wouldn’t have gotten herself hurt.”
The room went silent at her words until Jessa spoke up her voice showing how much the reappearance of her brother’s mate was upsetting her.
“I explained it too her,” Jessa said without respect.
Leana turned her smile toward her as she said, “That was nice of you, Jessa, but you should’ve let Caden explain it so that she wouldn’t get her hopes up.”
Jessa’s eyes narrowed at the insult and she growled low in her throat getting a warning look from Caden as Timothy stepped over to her.
“I think,” Abella said sliding her hands into the front pockets of jeans, “that I understand what she told me. In fact, I bet anything I have a better understanding of mates than even you do, Leana.”
Leana’s blue eyes narrowed as the man who spoke up earlier intervened. “Miss Deans, please show respect for the Alpha Female of this pack.”
Abella only glanced at him before she returned her attention to Leana as Caden sighed heavily and said with a touch of regret in his voice, “Abella, please.”
Grey eyes met black eyes, and Abella could read the confusion flickering through them.
“What do you want, Caden?” She asked quietly. “If you want me to leave, then I will.”
Caden looked at her silently as his mind whirled and his wolf howled at him I don’t want her to leave. Caden didn’t know how to respond to that as his wolf paced inside of him and that made him more confused and unsure of himself.
“He does,” Leana said for him as she nodded her head to the man. “We already packed your things from Caden’s room, which I understand you shared with him.”
The man dropped the bag at Abella’s feet and she noted the look of revulsion that crossed his features before he turned away. “I did,” she responded to Leana’s statement as she thought about the man’s look.
She turned back to Leana and said with a slight smile, “We even shared a bed on many occasions.”
Jenna opened her mouth were she stood next to Briac, but before she could even get a sentence out Abella beat her to it.
“And no, Jenna, it wasn’t the bed that you slept on,” Abella told her with a smug look in her direction. “I believe he had that one put in storage before I showed up.”
Jessa and Asilynn sniggered as Jenna’s mouth dropped open at the blunt insult as she turned her eyes to Caden who was trying his best not to laugh at Abella’s quick retort.
“Caden,” Leana said leaning against him as she yawned. “I’m tired. Can I go up to my room now?”
Caden stiffened as she lay against him and his eyes rose to meet Abella’s but he couldn’t read anything in those grey eyes which had him worried. He frowned at that thought as he said, “Of course, Leana.”
“Caden,” Timothy said getting his attention. “We moved everything out of the attic and down in to the room. Now the attic has become the new office.”
Caden nodded his head as he remembered he had told Timothy to complete that while he was gone.
“I can share your room,” Leana said giving him a slanted look from under heavily made up lashes.
“I…” Caden began only to be stopped as Abella bent down and picked up her bag.
“I think I should head home then,” she remarked quietly her face lifting slightly to stare into Caden’s eyes. “I don’t want to cause any more trouble than I have already.”
You haven’t caused any trouble, Caden’s voice rung loud and clear in her head, and her eyes widened slightly before she lowered her lids to hide her reaction.
You are confused right now and having me around will only add to your confusion, she told him softly.
Abella, he began only to stop as he watched her shake her head giving him a soft smile before she turned away.
“Jessa, Asilynn,” she said giving them both a hug. “Call me later.”
She turned and smiled at the rest of the pack before she closed her eyes, and with a low murmured chant she disappeared from the room.
“Abella,” Jessa called out as she scowled. “Now that wasn’t called for.”
There was a sound of laughter that drifted through the room before it went silent, and Leana her face pale whispered, “What is she?”
Jessa turned to her as Asilynn answered the question, “A witch, but you knew that already.”
She didn’t wait for Leana to respond as she turned to Jessa and said, “I thought we were going to bake tonight.”
“Oh yeah, although I had hoped we could get Abella to help us,” Jessa responded with sigh as her eyes alighted on Briac and Natalee.
Jessa walked over and stopped in front her as she tilted her head lightly. “Natalee, right?” she asked.
Natalee looked at her stunned before she glanced at Briac who smiled briefly and nodded his head. “Yeah.”
“Jessa,” Jessa said holding out her hand. “I am Caden’s sister and Timothy’s mate. It is nice to meet you.”
Natalee looked at her astonishment written clear on her face before she shook Jessa’s hand only to be surprised when Jessa pulled her to her feet, “How are you with baking?”
“Terrible,” Natalee said honestly still too stunned to lie as she stumbled slightly after Jessa pulled her up almost knocking her to the ground. “Sorry.”
“Well, then you will fit right in,” Jessa said first giving her a smile her eyes kind as Asilynn chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I trip all the time too.”
“Neither do we,” she said as Jessa and Natalee walked over to her giving her a confused look, “know about baking. By the way, I am Asilynn as you probably know by now and don’t feel bad about stumbling. You should’ve been here earlier when a fell down the last few steps on the stairs.”
They all laughed at that as Natalee looked at them and realized that she may like it here after all.
Natalee nodded her head as Jessa said, “That’s why we should’ve talked to Abella before she disappeared on us. Oh well I guess we can struggle through as we have the recipe.”
Timothy and Gregory both flinched slightly as the other pack members laughed before Caden spoke up.
“We will hold the ceremony for our lost pack members tomorrow evening,” he said his black eyes scanning the room before they landed on Jessa who nodded her head lightly at the message he sent her.
“Yes, Alpha,” the members murmured as Leana said with a yawn, “Caden, I am ready for bed.”
Jessa looked at her with narrowed eyes before she murmured, “Let’s go to the kitchen before I do something that I won’t regret but it will upset my brother.”
The other two women nodded their heads as they walked out together and Natalee looked back once at Briac noticing how Jenna had shifted closer to him as he talked with a few others. Natalee grimaced at that before she shifted her eyes to Caden and his mate, and a thoughtful look crossed her face as she stared at his mate for a few minutes. Why did she get a weird feeling from his mate as if…Natalee shook her head clearing it of her strange thought as she followed behind Jessa and Asilynn to the kitchen.
Abella finished putting away her things thirty minutes after she had appeared in her living room and she chuckled without humor at her childish antic. She shook her head as she walked to the kitchen where she stopped and glanced around before sighing knowing that she wasn’t in the mood for something to eat as she grabbed a glass and filled it with water.
She sipped the water as she thought about Caden’s mate and wondered if her ancestral witch had felt the same thing that first time they met each other.
“What should I do now?” She asked herself closing her eyes at her own question. The obvious answer would be to leave as the witch did so many years ago, but Abella didn’t know where to go even if she had the money for it.
She finished the glass of water before putting it in the sink and heading upstairs. She stripped down to her underwear too weary and unsettled to worry about putting on any night clothes as she slipped underneath
the covers already missing Caden’s warmth as she had done ever since the day they parted.
She sighed unhappily as she started to drift off to sleep until suddenly her mind went to the man that Caden told her about at the hotel and it replayed what she had seen earlier except this time it was as if he was speaking directly to her.
“Are you going to run away like the women before you?”
Abella shot up from the pillow her eyes wide in fright as she scanned the room because the man’s words were so loud that it was almost as if he was in the room with her.
She shook her head not understanding his words if indeed those were the words he spoke at that time. “Women,” she murmured a hand on her head as she lifted grey eyes again to scan her room. “What did he mean by women? Or did I merely imagine that was what he said?”
She put her head in her hands as confusion wrecked through her before she said aloud, “Who the hell is he?”
Abella knew more importantly if she wasn’t imagining things, what did his words mean?
Chapter 40
Abella tapped the pencil against the pad she wrote on gazing down at the figures in front of her. She shook her head throwing down the pencil as she closed her eyes putting her head in her hands.
“I can’t think,” she moaned aloud her mind constantly thinking about what happened three days ago and the confusion on Caden’s face. She hoped he would’ve called her, but she hadn’t heard anything from him. After their brief words before she left the house that day, she had closed the connection not wanting to sense or hear anything between him and Leana.
She sighed heavily as her house phone rung and she got up answering it. “Hello,” she said absently her eyes going to the paper still sitting on the table.
“Abella,” a tired and irritated voice said, and Abella’s head snapped up her eyes softening although she told herself to be calm.
“Hi, Caden,” she said in a soft tone unaware of how Caden sagged in his office chair satisfied to hear her voice.
“I wanted to hear your voice,” he admitted roughly as his wolf kept quiet which caused a frown to come to his face.
The Witch Prophecy Page 38
