Stone nodded his head after looking at him suspiciously for a few minutes, and as they walked in the house, he noted that Caden’s strides were more assure and confident as if he learned something that made him happy and at ease for the first time in a week.
“Honey, Caden is hungry,” Stone said as they walked in the kitchen.
“About damn time,” she muttered fixing him a plate as Caden and Stone sat down at the table.
She placed the plate and a glass down in front of him before settling next to Stone and said without beating around the bush, “You can talk while you eat so spill.”
Caden and Stone both laughed at her words as Caden began to eat while explaining what happened to cause him to show up at their front door.
Stone and his mate leaned back in their seats as Caden finished speaking and eating, and he settled back still drinking waiting for their reactions.
“Caden, I love you but you can be so dumb at times,” Stone’s mate said suddenly shaking her head as she got up from the chair to clear up his mess.
Caden gave her a shocked look before turning his attention to Stone who shook his head at him, and said, “If I was you, I wouldn’t wait until tomorrow but leave tonight. You will have a lot of explaining to do not including revealing a few individuals real intentions.”
Caden nodded his head as a light of battle lit his black eyes before he asked quietly, “Do you think she will forgive me?”
Stone and his mate only stared at him and Caden could see how they couldn’t answer the question because they were unsure of it themselves.
“Thank you for the hospitality, but it is time for me to get back,” Caden said standing up and the block that separated him from the pack immediately opened back up, and as it did he frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Stone said seeing the frown.
“I have a pack member missing,” he uttered as he made contact with Timothy.
Timothy gasped as he heard his Alpha’s voice in his head.
Where the hell have you’ve been, Timothy snarled at him waiting for Caden to snap back.
I will explain when I arrive tomorrow morning but tell me what is going on about Jenna, Caden told him.
Timothy glanced down at Abella lying on the bed before he turned and walked out of the room not mentioning Abella’s condition to Caden as he began to relay everything they knew about Jenna’s disappearance and even the steps they took to find her.
We have found no trace of her even Gregory can’t sense where she went, Timothy told him.
That doesn’t sound right because no matter what she can’t just disappear from the face of the planet unless someone is doing a damn good job of hiding her, Caden told him bluntly. Where are you at the moment?
Timothy hesitated briefly before he told him we are at Cicely’s house.
He didn’t explain why and neither did Caden ask as he told him Go back to the pack house with Gregory and Briac, and I will see you soon.
Timothy sighed shaking his head as he walked back in the room where the women had stayed after they arrived.
“Honey,” he said going over to Jessa who was curled up on the window seat.
She turned to him with blank eyes and he hugged her tightly before telling her, “We have to go back to the pack house.”
Jessa pulled back and began to speak when he put a hand over a hand over her mouth, “It is Alpha’s orders, but only the men have to return. I think you ladies will be fine here until we return.”
“You got in contact with Caden,” Natalee asked as she straightened up from the chair she was sitting.
“He got in contact with me,” Timothy revealed as Gregory and Briac came in the room. “Caden learned about Jenna and I think he believes something suspicious is going on because he said that no one can disappear unless they have someone hiding them. He wants us,” he indicated Gregory and Briac, “to go back to the pack house where he will meet us in the morning.”
“Does he know about Abella?” Jessa asked looking up at him.
“He didn’t ask about her and I never mentioned her name,” Timothy told her.
Jessa nodded her head as she said softly, “He has to deal with pack issues first then I will tell him personally about Abella and what his actions have done to her.”
Timothy looked over at the occupants in the room as he pulled Jessa in his arms and hugged her tightly before kissing her sweetly and nodding his head to the others.
“Let’s get going,” he said to Gregory and Briac who hugged their own mates before they walked out of the room.
“Why don’t we go down and see if there is anything to eat,” Asilynn said as she stretched and Natalee nodded her head.
“We all need to eat especially you, Jessa,” Natalee said as she walked over and put an arm through Jessa’s to lead her out of the room. “Abella would be pissed if we weren’t taking care of you properly and even more madder at you if she knew that you weren’t doing it either.”
They all laughed as they walked out of the room closing the door behind them so they didn’t see how Abella’s hand shaking badly lifted slowly until it rested on her stomach.
The men walked back in the pack house as Leana and Dave came down the stairs laughing and holding hands. When they saw them, they smiled and Dave said, “I am helping her down because she just had some good news.”
“I’m pregnant,” Leana said in smug voice. “It must’ve happened before Caden left.”
Seeing the look of suspicion on their faces, Dave said, “You can smell the change in her already.”
“We know,” they said as they started for the back of the house.
“Caden will be home tomorrow,” Timothy said passing them, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the fear that flickered in their eyes before they blanked them.
“He will be thrilled to hear about my pregnancy,” Leana gushed following them as they walked to the kitchen only to freeze before they headed out to the backyard.
“Sorry, we took so long, sir,” Gregory stated as they saw the man who they were searching for sitting in a chair as the pack members did their exercises.
“Caden is coming home, I see,” the man stated without turning around to face them.
“Sir, I didn’t know you were here,” Dave said rushing over to him as Leana after giving them narrowed looks did the same.
“I apologize, sir, that I wasn’t informed of your visit,” Leana said in soothing tone.
“Don’t be,” he said waving his hand in a dismissive gesture as he closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Caden will get to the bottom of his missing pack member and at the same time deal with other pack issues.”
“I have some news for him when he returns,” Leana said her eyes alight with triumphant.
Timothy bared his teeth as Gregory and Briac walked away after an ‘excuse me’ as they joined the others in the exercising.
“Then it should be a great welcoming home for Caden,” the man said with a small smile lurking around his mouth and Timothy looked at him in suspicion wondering what did the head of the council know that they didn’t.
“Don’t worry so much, Beta Timothy,” he said catching him off guard. “Everything will be fine.”
Timothy nodded his head as Leana said, “We have plenty to celebrate when Caden returns home.”
Timothy and their visitor both looked over at her in disbelief as Dave murmured, “Leana, the first priority is to find Jenna.”
“Of course,” Leana said giving them a sheepish look. “I’m sorry for my insensitivity but I’m so excited about my news that I can’t help waiting for Caden to arrive so I can tell him.”
“So you shall be,” their visitor stated but there was an undertone to his voice that had Leana glancing at him in confusion, and Timothy watched as she glanced over at Dave who merely shook his head.
Suspicion blossomed faster than ever in Timothy’s mind when Leana immediately relaxed after that look and his mouth opened to ask them when th
eir visitor grabbed his arm in a tight grip.
“Not right now,” he murmured as Timothy glanced down at him in astonishment and shock before he nodded his head once.
“I’m going to exercise with the pack,” Timothy said as the man loosened his hold and he started for the open field where the others were.
“Timothy, where is Jessa and Asilynn so that they can be here when Caden arrives?” Leana called out to him in a commanding tone.
Timothy stilled at her words but he didn’t look around when he answered her, “They already know and they will come when Caden requests their presence.”
With those words, he continued on to the field shifting to his wolf before he joined the mock battle that Gregory and Briac had staged.
“I think the next few days are going to be interesting,” the man with the white eyes said as he listened to the mock battle going on in front of him and lowered voices speaking behind him, and he smiled with smugness that one couldn’t help but wonder at.
A few hours before dawn, Caden walked in the pack house as Gregory and Briac met him in the hallway.
“Timothy went to stay with our mates at Cicely’s house,” Gregory mentioned as Caden looked around.
Caden nodded his head black eyes calm and blank as he said heading for the office, “Where did the pack check before they stopped looking for Jenna?”
He stopped briefly as he reached the stairs black eyes glancing toward his room before he turned heading for the attic door and stairs, and Briac glanced briefly in the same direction as Gregory mumbled, “He must have missed her.”
“Too bad we don’t have a say in it,” Briac told him as they hurried after Caden who was already walking up to the office a hard light in his eyes as he caught their words.
“No, you don’t,” Caden told them as they reached the office doorway and they froze as he turned to face them. “So instead of worrying about my mate, why don’t we worry about the missing pack member?”
Chapter 53
Jessa woke up slowly her eyes cloudy as she looked over at Abella her eyes drifted to the hand that still rested on her stomach that no one knew how it got there although Jessa had a feeling Abella did it herself.
“Good morning,” Natalee said coming in to the room. “Any change?”
Jessa shook her head as she got up slowly stretching her body as Natalee said, “Come down stairs and get something to eat. Timothy has already eaten and left for the pack house.”
Jessa nodded her head as she followed Natalee out the door closing it behind her and on the bed, Abella’s hand moved slightly before stilling again.
“So what’s for breakfast today?” Jessa asked as they went downstairs and Asilynn looked up from the frying pan on the stove.
“Omelets and you have to tell me what you want in it from the ingredients on the counter,” Asilynn pointing over with a spatula in her hand. “Natalee, yours will be done in a few minutes so get your plate ready.”
Natalee grabbed her plate as Jessa picked out what she wanted in her omelet and they were all so intent in eating that they didn’t hear the front door open.
The door closed just as silently as it opened and a shadow crept along the hallway up the stairs until it reached the room where Abella lay.
The figure didn’t step in but opened the door slightly observing her lying on the bed and the hand on her stomach before the door closed gently and the figure went back downstairs.
The front door closed just as gently behind the figure as they left but Jessa heard it and lifted her head walking to the kitchen doorway a frown on her face.
“What’s wrong, Jessa?” Asilynn asked from the stove as Natalee, noting the frown, walked over to her.
“I thought I heard someone at the door,” Jessa said as she shook her head. “I guess I’m just worried about Abella and my mind is playing tricks on me. Let’s eat because I’m starving.”
The other two laughed as they settled down at the table and begin eating as the morning moved on.
A few hours later, Briac showed up at the house and as he walked in the house, Natalee met him in the hallway with a smile.
“Hi beautiful,” he said giving her a kiss that lasted longer than either one anticipated.
“Hi Briac,” Asilynn said loudly as her and Jessa stood on the stairs watching them and they broke apart with a blush on Natalee’s face and a roguish grin on Briac’s.
“Sorry ladies,” Briac said giving his voice a slight accent that had them laughing before he became serious. “Caden wants the three of you back at the pack house.”
“Wait,” Asilynn started.
“No, I’m…” Jessa began.
“He can’t…” Natalee argued.
It wasn’t a request, Caden’s voice echoed through their heads and Briac watched three pairs of eyes glare at him.
Briac, seeing their disgruntled and upset looks, told them, “Abella will be fine. We will lock the door behind us and Timothy already said he will get hold of Jed as soon as possible so she won’t be alone for long.”
They looked at each other before they nodded their heads having to be content with that for now.
“If something should happen to her while no one is here, then I blaming you along with my brother,” Jessa told him with another glare as the other two nodded their heads in agreement.
Briac couldn’t help the sigh that came out at her words although all he said was, “We should go now before Alpha Caden decides to get more vocal.”
Jessa and the others laughed lightly as they walked out of the house and Briac closed the door behind them making sure that it was locked before he joined the ladies at the car.
Almost ten minutes after Briac drove away Jed pulled in to the driveway and got out of his car.
Using the key he got from Cicely, he went inside the house and up to the room where Abella laid staring up at the ceiling.
“Hi Abella,” Jed said walking over to the bed. “We have been in this situation not too long ago but this time I don’t have a story to tell you.”
He sighed leaning down to brush her hair from her face when he froze staring in to her eyes.
“Abella,” he uttered hoarsely noticing that the black of her eyes that was burned in his brain was lighter than before. “Are you coming back to us?”
There was no answer from her and Jed sighed again before he gently lifted her in to his arms. “I am taking you some place where you will be safer and hopefully what Oden told Cicely is true.”
He walked out of the house putting Abella in the backseat where he covered her with a blanket before going back to lock the door behind them.
Jed drove for forty minutes before he stopped the car and opening his door, he said, “You will be staying here until you get better.”
He lifted her out of the car and started for the house as it was opened and Dr. Olsen said, “Bring her in, Jed.”
Once inside and Abella was placed in a small room on the second floor, Jed said, “Thank you, Mac. I hope that it won’t get you any trouble.”
Dr. Olsen looked at him and shrugged his shoulders. “I have been in the pack long enough to understand a few things. I don’t know what game Caden is playing but something tells me he is playing for keeps.”
A knowing smile crossed Jed’s face but his only words were, “I will come back tomorrow to check on her.”
Jed drove away ten minutes later after checking on Abella one more time and Dr. Olsen after sending him off shook his head and muttered, “What is going through your head, Caden?” as he went back inside to do his work.
Caden was walking down the stairs going through some reports of she-wolves in the area but he found nothing about Jenna which he found suspicious.
“Caden,” Leana said catching him as he hit the ground floor and she was coming out of the living room. “Why didn’t you come see me first after you arrived? I have something important to tell you.”
Caden glanced up at her briefly noticing how loud her voice w
as echoing through the pack house.
“At the moment Leana, I am trying to find a missing pack member so I am busy,” he told her as he headed for the kitchen.
As he entered followed by Leana, Jessa looked up from where she was sitting at the table with their visitor who was still there, and Caden stilled when he noticed him.
“Sir,” Caden said bowing his head before he lifted it giving Timothy a look when he came in through the back door. “I didn’t know that you were here.”
“I know, Alpha Caden,” the man said with a smile. “You just returned and learned that you have a missing pack member so I can understand your distraction. I am sure that you have other things on your mind as well.”
The man turned to look squarely at him, or so it seemed, and Caden felt as if the man sitting in the chair was looking straight through to his soul, and he wondered what he could see.
“You would be surprise what I can see, and what I know, Caden,” he said as Caden looked at him with narrowed eyes. “We still need to talk but I will wait until you are ready. For right now, I think I should head back because I have overstayed my welcome.”
“Not true, sir,” Timothy told him sincerely as the others nodded their heads.
“Sir, you don’t have to go,” Caden told him. “If you would like to stay, we will find you a room for your comfort.” He nodded his head in Jessa’s direction only to be told already fixed up. You should know me better than that, brother.
The man was quiet for a few minutes when Dave came in to the kitchen saying, “The car has arrived for you, sir.”
The man smiled as he said, “That will be okay, Dave, because I will be staying for a little longer. Lead me to my room, Caden.”
“Yes, sir,” Caden said walking over and offering him his arm as Dave tried to protest only to be ignored as Caden led him out of the room.
They headed upstairs where Jessa had already cleared out a room for him and Caden said, “My sister knows me very well.”
“So this wasn’t done by your mate,” the man said as they walked in the room, and Caden didn’t comment right away. “You don’t have to come up with some excuse, Caden.”
The Witch Prophecy Page 52
