“Let’s get her back to the clinic and I will go from there,” Dr. Olsen said. “We need to stop by the pack house first because I left those instruments in the infirmary as I hoped I wouldn’t have to use them again.”
“We know, Dr. Olsen,” Gregory said in a rough voice although all could tell that he was upset a member died while he was protecting the pack.
“Gregory,” Briac said looking down as the other members got her ready to transport her to the clinic, “I will bet anything minus the fact she wasn’t wearing perfume that Jenna had plans to meet someone only she misjudged the person.”
“But who was it?” Caden asked in a hard tone. “Who would Jenna come out here for when we all know that although she was a werewolf this wasn’t something she would go for?”
He indicated the shack around them when one of the other members said quietly, “You, sir. You would be the only one that Jenna would come here for.”
Caden turned to him as his voice died away and Briac said slowly, “He is right. If Jenna thought you were meeting her here, then she would come here.”
“So who invited her to come here in my name?” Caden said with a frown. “And why dressed like that? Jenna dressed to impress and she believed that the more she revealed or emphasized, the more turned on a guy would be, and yet…”
They all turned to look at Jenna before the cloth was put over her and Dr. Olsen said, “She is dressed and made up modestly as if she had been trying a new seduction technique.”
“Or she thought that the one she was going to meet was seduced by it,” Gregory said getting everyone’s attention. “Think about it, Jenna knew what Caden liked because no offense, Leana wears the same things and as for…” Gregory’s words stopped for a second before he continued. “Jenna wouldn’t have come here dressed like this for Caden, but if she was thinking of seducing someone else…”
“And she believed that person liked this type, she would dress this way to get his attention,” Briac added. “But this is a lot of speculation because I haven’t seen any new members in the area or even heard of any new packs.”
“Which means it may be someone that Jenna was hoping to blackmail,” Caden said thoughtfully as everyone looked at him.
Dr. Olsen saw the looks everyone shared before he said, “Let’s get her back so I can answer the question first of how she died, and then we can go from there.”
Everyone nodded their head as Jenna was carefully lifted up and carried the distance to Dr. Olsen’s vehicle as the others packed up what they had gathered and Caden sent Timothy a short private message.
We are heading back with Jenna, Caden told him giving a brief explanation on how they find her. For now, let’s keep the fact that we find her amongst ourselves not excluding your mates.
Back at the pack house, Jessa walked out of the kitchen where she had been hanging out with some of the other she-wolves as Leana hung up the phone.
“Who was that Leana?” She asked an absent frown on her face.
“Wrong number,” Leana said with a polite smile before she walked away. Once she was out of sight of Jessa, the polite smile turned to a smirk as she muttered to herself childishly, “I wonder what your dear brother will say when Dr. Olsen tells him that you never showed up at the clinic.”
Jessa glanced at Leana’s retreating back suspiciously before she shook her head going up to her room as she yawned wondering when the guys would be home and what they found as Timothy came in the room a withdrawn look on his face.
“They found Jenna,” he told her as he walked over remembering Caden’s words.
“Where was she hiding?” Jessa asked rolling her eyes and Timothy grabbed her lightly by her upper arms.
“Jessa, she is dead,” he told her in a soft voice, and Jessa looked at him in shock as her jaw dropped open in disbelief.
“Do they know what happened to her?” She asked her voice trembling at the news and Timothy shook his head as he pulled her to him.
“Caden called Dr. Olsen out and he will tell us more when they return,” he informed her feeling her body shake in his arms.
“I didn’t think Jenna was that upset,” Jessa murmured not seeing the frown that crossed Timothy’s face.
As did Caden and the others, Timothy didn’t believe that Jenna would take her own life because in his opinion, she was conceited enough to believe that whatever she wanted she could get, which made Timothy think that this time Jenna met someone whose want outweighed her own and somehow led to her death. Unfortunately that was only speculation on his part, so Timothy would wait until Caden and the others returned to see what Dr. Olsen had to say about it.
At the clinic, in the small room where Abella lay her body began to twitch as the black of her eyes begin to fade going back to her normal grey ones and she mouthed one word as the door opened slowly a figure walking in the room.
The figure walked over to her slowly but stilled when he heard a gasp come from Abella, “Caden.”
The male figure smiled slightly as he settled on the bed next to her and whispered “It is okay, young lady. He will be here soon” seeing how the tears filled her eyes indicating she didn’t believe his words. He sighed gently and slowly began to coon to her so she could relax as her body and mind slowly began to come back from the living dead.
Almost an hour later, Jessa came running down the stairs as Timothy came out of the living room his eyes narrowed when the front door opened to admit the pack members that left earlier including Dr. Olsen, Gregory and Caden. Jed was the last to enter as he met the men on the porch and followed them in as Caden quietly revealed what they discovered and that Dr. Olsen was returning to the clinic right away.
When Jessa stopped at the bottom stair breathing heavily from the dash out of her room, Dr. Olsen looked at her in confusion before his face went to worry. “Um…” he began hesitantly as Caden turned to frown at him.
“Yes, what is it Dr. Olsen?” Caden asked wondering what else he had discovered on the ride back to the pack house.
Jed turned to him with a slight frown on his face as he glanced around the hallway before they went back to him as understanding dawned.
Dr. Olsen turned to Jessa who looked at him in confusion. “What..?” She asked glancing over at Timothy who shrugged his shoulders.
“Didn’t you get my message about going over to the clinic,” Dr. Olsen said.
“What message?” Jessa asked looking at him with bewilderment.
Dr. Olsen stood up straight as he said, “Caden, I need to get…” his voice dying away when he noticed that Caden along with Jed where no longer in the hallway with them.
“Where did he go?” Timothy asked as everyone looked at each other in confusion as Leana came down the stairs.
“It’s about time,” she said with irritation at being kept waiting her bathrobe flopping open revealing the skimpy lingerie underneath. “I was just about to go to bed when I heard that Caden arrived. There is something I need to talk to him about.”
Her eyes scanned the room before a frown flickered across her face as Gregory stated, “He is busy at the moment.
Other pack members joined them in the hallway including Asilynn and Natalee as they both walked over to their mates.
Leana missed the glances they shared with their mates or the looks that crossed their faces as they understood what they had discovered as she cursed loudly, but it was her words afterwards that caught everyone’s attention.
“I know where Jenna is,” she said in full confidence although she saw the way they narrowed their eyes at her. “I just learned recently where she could be and have been trying to get of hold of Caden to tell him.
Dave came in as she finished explaining and continued on where she left off. “I can take you to her,” he stated walking through the group to stand in front of Timothy and Gregory as Briac stood off to the side. “I heard some talk about the north end of the pack house not being in use and that it probably wouldn’t be searched due to the wild ani
mals that rove around there.”
“Really,” Timothy asked his voice devoid of all emotion as Jessa glanced up at him noting how a muscle in his jaw was twitching and although his eyes were shielded she could sense a struggle within him to control his wolf.
“How did you come about this information?” Briac asked where he stood frozen near the door as Natalee put her arms around him. Briac wrapped his arms around her tightly as he thought to himself that she was the one he chose but Jenna had still been his first mate and for a while she had been the one he wanted so he mourned her loss.
I am sorry, he told Natalee through their link.
Natalee tightened her arms around his waist as she told him I understand Briac.
Thank you, he muttered as his wolf howled in sorrow for their first mate who hadn’t been satisfied with what she had been given.
“I would like an answer to that question also,” Gregory said as Asilynn stood next to him leaning her head on his shoulder feeling anger and sadness tremble through him. “How did you come about this information and how accurate is it?”
At his words, Dr. Olsen glanced over at him realizing that all three men who Caden trusted the most were staring at Leana and Dave with blank eyes.
He wondered what that meant as he turned back to the two in question as Dave opened his mouth to speak.
At the clinic, Jed hurried up the stairs worry and fear in his eyes as he headed for Abella’s room.
He rushed through the door only to freeze at the sight before him.
“Hi Uncle Jed,” Abella said her eyes still distant but the grey of them shone brightly.
“She is fine, Jed, although she will be disoriented for a while,” Cato said by the window where he stood. He turned with a slight smile on his face and after a few seconds said quietly, “Are you going to stay out in the hallway all night or are you coming in the room?”
Abella tilted her head in confusion until suddenly the doorway was filled with one person and her eyes widened in shock.
Caden stood there for a second before he rushed over to the bed and gathered Abella in his arms unaware of the glass that she been holding spilling all over her and the sheets.
“Stop scaring me like that,” he muttered in her hair as his wolf literally danced and howled with joy. “Do you know how worried I was when I learned what happened to you?”
Caden pulled back to look in her eyes and he could see how confused Abella was as she stuttered, “What…you…”
She shook her head hard to clear it before she said with a slight catch in her voice, “I don’t understand what is going.”
Jed cleared his throat and chuckled as he walked over to the bed sitting down on the edge.
“Well, you see sweetheart Caden planned everything from the day he issued his order,” he told her as Cato retook his seat and leaned forward white eyes shining with curiosity as Jed began explaining starting from three weeks ago and Caden stared at Abella watching her closely as she listened to Jed’s words.
I hope she will forgive us, his wolf told him and Caden added his own wish to that as Jed continued on revealing how Caden had, from the very beginning, orchestrated everything to protect Abella until his return.
Chapter 55
Three Weeks Ago
“I think there is something you need to know, Alpha Caden,” the council member said as he walked beside him.
Caden didn’t respond but nodded his head eyes shielded as he gave the man a shrewd look noting the smug look on his face as he begin to talk.
“You know of the story of the first werewolf, of course,” the man said glancing over at Caden who nodded his head again wondering where he was going with this. “Did anyone ever tell you about the witch he met after his mate left?”
Caden had to stop at these words before continued on to the pack house. “Go on,” he said quietly eyes focused ahead of him although he could feel satisfaction coming from the man next to him.
“Not too long after his mate left, a witch wondered on to pack territory although many say that she had been lost, there are a few who believe that she planned the whole thing,” the man said making his tone light. “As for me I believe that it was a plan but one could never be sure. Anyway, he fell in love with her and he had plans to mark her as his when his mate returned. Once his mate returned, those feelings and that bond for one’s mate returned full force so he told the witch the truth and he accepted his mate back in his life. The witch, upset and jealous over what happened, cursed him before she left so that his pack would never survive under his leadership, and then she disappeared. After she left, things begin to happen and the pack would’ve crumbled if his mate and Beta hadn’t stepped in to pick up the pieces. It seems that the first werewolf became unable to command or even make a single decision so his mate and Beta continued running the pack. Unfortunately, many pack members begin to lose faith and decided to move on creating their own packs so they could survive.”
The man glanced over at Caden a shrewd look in his eyes as he said in what he considered a sincere voice, “I don’t know how much of this is true but ever since then, Alphas have been cautioned to stay away from witches and to always stick with their mates, the ones that the Fates had chosen for them.”
They reached the pack house as he finished this sentence and walked in as Leana met them in the hallway.
The man gave her a slight bow and a look that Caden missed although he didn’t miss the slight nod of Leana’s head before she turned to him with a smile.
“Thank you, honey,” she said laying a hand on his arm. “But I think you should get on to her because she was rude even though I was polite to her for bringing me back to the pack house.”
Caden muttered something as he removed her hand from his arm and headed up the stairs to his office his mind whirling around in confusion.
Caden, what he told you was bullshit, his wolf growled within him as he reached the office sitting down behind the desk.
A few minutes later, Jed appeared in his room a worried look on his face although his eyes were narrowed as Caden looked up at him.
“Caden,” he began. “Don’t do anything rash.”
Caden held up his hand and then closing his eyes he opened the pack link including his link to Abella as he said this, from this moment on, no one will have anything to do with the witch Abella Deans.
He didn’t open his eyes right away as he felt Abella’s anguish and heartbreak rush through her at his words and his wolf snarled at him for hurting her.
Caden opened as Jed said in a cold voice, “You bastard.”
“I know,” Caden said looking up at him and Jed’s eyes narrowed at the unhappiness and sorrow he saw reflected in those eyes.
“Caden,” Jed began bewilderment threaded through his voice.
Caden shook his head as he asked, “Did the first werewolf’s pack fall apart after he met and fall in love with a witch?”
Jed looked at him in astonishment as he began, “You haven’t…” he stopped and shook his head. “No, Caden, his pack didn’t fall apart. In fact, the first werewolf chose his mate when the witch in question created a spell that dimmed the feelings he had for her.”
Caden glanced up at him as the news settled in his brain and Jed continued on. “She wanted him to be happy and she believed that his mate was the one that made him happy.”
Caden nodded his head as he put his hands together and said, “But that is only popular belief, right?”
At this, Jed actually laughed as he told him, “No, it isn’t because in all honesty, the story of a werewolf falling in love with a witch has become a myth.”
“Really,” Caden said his eyebrows lifting. “So the rumor that the witch cursed the first werewolf’s pack to die under his leadership is nothing more than a myth?”
Jed frowned at those words before he said, “That has never been part of the myth because the pack never fell apart under the first’s leadership.”
“Isn’t that because of
his mate and Beta taking up the reins for him?” Caden asked as his wolf howled at him wondering what he was doing, but Caden ignored him as he focused on Jed.
“Caden, I don’t know where you are getting your information, but the first’s Beta not too long after his mate returned, find his own mate and actually with the first’ s permission created his own pack.”
Caden shook his head as he said, “I knew that there was something about his story that didn’t make any sense. My mom talked to me about the first werewolf although she didn’t go in detail about it, but she always told me I would learn more when it was time. Yet nothing she told me coincided with that man’s words.”
“Then why?” Jed asked him confusion on his weathered face as he sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
“Why would this council member,” Caden began only to stop looking at Jed as if waiting for something and Jed automatically knew what he wanted as he stated, “Dave.”
Caden nodded his head as he continued, “Why would Dave tell me something that I could easily learn if it was true or not?”
Jed sighed as he said, “Because Dave may not be aware that there is actually documentation of the first’s life or if he is, he may not know that it goes in more detail than most know about.”
“That still doesn’t answer the question of what his objective is,” Caden told him thoughtfully as he leaned back in his seat. “And how did he find Leana when I couldn’t although I had the best trackers on her scent from the day she disappeared?”
Jed only shook his head because although he had a suspicion on that, he had no proof so he didn’t know what to tell Caden.
“There is something different about Leana,” Caden revealed getting up from the desk. “But I’m not sure what it is.”
Jed continued staring at him as Caden looked out the window and then he said slowly, “It wasn’t an Alpha order.”
Caden glanced over at him and smiled smugly as he stated, “You and I both know that Alpha orders through the pack link can only be effective if the Alpha in question truly means them.”
The Witch Prophecy Page 54
