by Vella Day
Only then did she notice the heavy weight around her neck. She lifted a paw and batted at it. Oh shit. While she couldn’t see what it was, from the feel, it was a metal collar—just like the ones she’d seen around the necks of the caged shifters in the back room at the shelter.
Her heart nearly stopped at the implication. Not only wouldn’t she get out of there, no one would find her either. Hell, she bet no one was aware anything had happened. Declan wouldn’t be stopping over until tonight, and even if he worried when she didn’t answer her door, he wouldn’t be running all over the woods to find her—assuming she was still in the woods. The lack of horns honking and wheels zinging on pavement implied she wasn’t in some city warehouse. This seemed to be a house of some sort though.
“Hello, Chelsea.”
A growl erupted from her throat. Sabrina! She should have known. Despite the tight quarters, Chelsea was almost tempted to shift just to give her a piece of her mind.
Sabrina paced around the cage. “Are you wondering why I captured you?”
Chelsea growled deeper, but it took a lot of effort.
“Let me tell you. I’m hoping to lure Kaleena here.”
Chelsea dropped back onto her haunches, in part because her strength was weakening. She did manage a small howl however.
“Mind you, your snooping caused you to be caught sooner rather than later. You never should have gone into the back room. Stick was angry, but I was secretly glad. It just moved up my timeline.”
She wasn’t making any sense. What kind of timeline? Chelsea pawed at her collar—a collar that was probably made of silver if the hot spots on her neck were any indication. Wolves and silver did not mix, but she would do whatever it took to escape. The how was the big question.
Despite the lack of space, she needed to shift. She prayed the collar didn’t choke her since her human neck might be larger than her wolf’s neck.
Concentrating on changing form, Chelsea tried but failed. Maybe it was the drugs that were preventing her, though she’d never failed at changing form before even when under any kind of influence.
Sabrina laughed. “Don’t waste your energy trying to shift. I put a spell on you. You can’t shift.” With that she walked away.
Who was this person? Declan never mentioned anything about Sabrina having any kind of powers. Guess he was fooled. Damn.
As if someone had taken over her body, her muscles gave way first and then her vision.
After flying for hours, Declan and Finn were no closer to locating Chelsea than before. With each flap of his wings, Declan was slowly losing hope. He motioned they return to the cabin to regroup.
“What now?” Finn asked once they landed. “She has to be somewhere.”
“I’m going to talk to Stick again. I’m certain he was lying. We should both go. I can talk to him while you look around, though I don’t have much hope she’s anywhere near the shelter.”
“You believe he’s involved?” Finn asked.
“It seems highly likely.”
“Let me tell Kaleena our plans.” He looked off to the side and communicated with his mate telepathically. “She’ll keep searching and said to go ahead without her. Let’s do this.”
A few minutes later, they landed in the shelter parking lot. The animals were all in their pens, but no one was about. He motioned for Finn to check the back while Declan went inside. Just as he stepped in, Stick exited from the hallway. “Declan.”
“Chelsea’s not home.”
“Like I said, she called in sick. Maybe she’s in the hospital.”
Bullshit. “I found her blood on a trail outside her house.”
Stick stabbed a hand through his hair. “Fuck. Marty must have done something to her then.”
“Marty?” He was just a flunky, according to Chelsea.
“He’s had the hots for her since the moment she came to work here. Marty is a crow shifter. I’ve seen him fly overhead and follow her. I warned him to stay away from her, but clearly, he didn’t listen.” Stick looked behind him as if he could sense Finn rumbling around. “Who else is out there?”
“Finn McKinnon, Chelsea’s twin brother. He can sense her whereabouts.”
“She’s not here, I swear. Talk to Marty.”
Declan wasn’t so sure he believed him, but maybe Marty knew something. “Where does Marty live? Or is he working today?”
“He called in sick too. Convenient don’t you think?” Stick gave him directions to Marty’s place.
“Thank you.” It took all of his control to say those two words.
Declan raced out the door and motioned for Finn to join him. “Anything?” he asked his sister’s mate.
“Nothing. No other shifters on the premise either.”
“He must have moved them then.”
“What did he say about Chelsea?” Finn asked.
“He thinks that his assistant, Marty, might have followed her and done something to her. I have the directions to his house. Let’s check it out,” Declan said.
“Lead the way.”
“I need to stop at the mine for something. It won’t take too much time.”
“No problem.”
From there, it didn’t take them long to reach the house. Marty was outside, washing his car. When he spotted them, fear streaked across his eyes. Too bad accusing him outright would only cause Marty to clam up.
They both landed. Declan strode up to him. “Hey, you’re Marty, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Declan Sinclair, Chelsea’s friend.”
Finn stepped forward. “And I’m her twin brother.”
“Something happen to her?” Marty asked, his gaze shifting from right to left.
“You could say that,” Declan said. “We found her blood on the path near her cabin, and we think something bad happened to her.” So much for sounding non-threatening.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Your boss said you’ve been following her. We were hoping you saw who might have harmed her.”
He glanced down to the ground. “No, I swear. I knew she wasn’t feeling well, so I left her alone.”
From his poor eye contact, he was lying. Beating the answer out of someone rarely ever worked, but Declan was tempted to try. “If you hear of anything, give me a call.” Declan handed him a SinCas card with his number on it.
“Sure thing.” His chest caved, as if he’d finally let out a long held breath.
While Declan was chatting with Marty, Finn had slipped a tracking device under the man’s bumper. It was why Declan had wanted to stop at the mine.
Since Marty hadn’t been helpful, they decided to head back to SinCas and regroup.
“I’ll let Kaleena know to meet us there,” Finn said.
“Sounds good.”
When they arrived, Kaleena had beaten them back. Thane and their dad had returned from fighting the fires, while the rest of the team remained behind. His dad kept saying he was retired, but Declan would never believe him until he stayed home for more than two days.
They met in the conference room. Once they fixed something to drink, the five of them sat down.
“What do we know?” Declan’s dad asked.
He filled him in on finding Chelsea’s blood along the path. “The trail went cold after that, so we headed over to the shelter. While I kept Chelsea’s boss busy, Finn looked around.”
“I saw no evidence of discarded cages or shifters held against their will,” Finn said.
His father dragged a hand down his chin. “Chelsea’s disappearance practically confirms that what she saw was real.”
“I agree,” Declan said.
“When she called to tell me about what Stick was hiding, she was scared,” Kaleena said. “The silver collars around the shifters’ necks imply that the Royals are involved.”
“Most likely,” their dad said. “We’ll have to wait for the rest of the Guardians to return before we fly over the castle. I’m not sure what we
’ll learn though. Any idea what our not-so-friendly relatives are up to? I’ll have to say that as long as they have been in power, I’ve never heard of them incarcerating people in their shifter form.”
Kaleena shook her head. “No, but remember what I went through. They do seem fond of sedating a person and then taking away her powers. The more I think about it, the more this smacks of Sanditra, that bitch dark witch who tried to ruin me when I was held captive by our Royal relatives.”
Declan didn’t care who was responsible. He just wanted Chelsea back. “I know that look in your eye. What are you thinking, Kaleena? I hope you aren’t planning on talking with Sanditra.”
Kaleena laughed, but it held no joy. “Never. She’d probably steal my powers again. But there is one person who might know where Sanditra is.”
“Who?”
“Danita.”
“Is that one of the women who Lily had saved from the bowels of the castle—the white lighter?” Finn asked.
“Yes. She was with Sanditra for weeks after I left. Sanditra might have let something slip about stealing shifters or something.”
“I’m not so sure Danita can help. Griffin has mentioned her often. In fact, I know he checks up on her. She’s never recovered from the trauma.”
“Does she have post-traumatic stress disorder or something?” Finn asked.
“Griffin said it’s something like that.”
“What do you think we should do, Declan?” Kaleena asked.
“I don’t know; we can’t just sit here though.” He picked up the phone and punched in Griffin’s number. Most likely, his cousin would be at work right in the building. His job as head of sales was too valuable to have him fight the fires.
“Where are you?” Griffin said.
“In the conference room.” He explained about Chelsea being missing.
“What can I do?”
He explained Kaleena’s theory. “Listen, we are desperate. We’ve looked everywhere for her. It really does seem that the Royals might be involved, and that means Sanditra could have had a hand in this. We’re thinking Danita might be able to help us.”
“No.”
His cousin’s sharp tone surprised him. The door to the conference room opened, and Griffin marched in with his cell pressed to his ear. He disconnected and then leaned his hands on the table. He glanced from Declan to Finn to Kaleena and then to his uncle. “I know how important Chelsea is to all of you, but there has to be another way. Danita is really fragile right now.”
“We aren’t asking her to confront her nemesis. We just want to know if Sanditra ever mentioned where she lived or what she liked to do in her spare time—when she wasn’t trying to infect people with her darkness,” Declan said.
Kaleena huffed out a laugh. “I doubt the bitch would give anything away, but as I said, Danita was with her longer.”
Griffin pulled up the chair. “Do you actually think Danita knows how to find Sanditra?”
“No, but she might possess a clue to help us. Can you ask her?”
Griffin looked off, his leg bouncing under the table. The three people who Lily helped set free from the prison cell had been treated, both physically and mentally, but apparently Danita was in the worst shape of them all.
“I’ll ask, but I won’t push. She’s fragile.”
Griffin’s protectiveness surprised Declan. “Just give it a try.”
Griffin pulled out his phone, inhaled, and tapped a button. “Danita, it’s me.”
He pushed back his chair and walked toward the door as if he needed privacy. What was that about? Declan wasn’t even aware the two knew each other that well. Clearly, he needed to touch base with his relatives more often.
Griffin returned to the table. “She was hesitant, but when I explained that the Royals might have captured Chelsea, she said she’d come in, though she doesn’t know how she can help.”
“That’s all we can ask,” Declan said.
If Danita couldn’t give them a clue, he didn’t know where to turn next. The Four Sisters of Fate often gave assistance but only when Fate was involved, and since Chelsea wasn’t his mate, he didn’t think they could help. Well, damn.
Chapter Seventeen
“Like I told Griffin over the phone, I don’t know where Sanditra hides out when she’s not somewhere torturing her prisoners.” Danita’s bitterness nearly cut Declan in half.
Kaleena reached out and clasped Danita’s hand. “Do you remember where you were when you were taken? I know I was in The Wing’s Bar when I was drugged.”
“I was in the woods taking a hike. The forest centers me.”
“What woods?” Kaleena asked.
“The ones around Sandalwood Lake.”
Declan looked at the others. “How did they capture you?” he asked.
Danita worried her fingers, her gaze unfocused. Kaleena ran a gentle hand down her arm. “Danita? Are you okay?”
She looked up. “What? Oh, sorry.”
“How did they capture you?” Kaleena asked again.
“I was sitting on a rock, enjoying the forest and its surroundings, when I felt something sting me. The next thing I remember is waking up in a cell.”
Declan wasn’t sure if he should push her, in part because his usually calm cousin was glaring at him. “Did Sanditra ever mention a place where she likes to practice her dark magic?”
Danita shook her head. “I spent weeks with that bitch, and it nearly killed me. She escorted me somewhere once, but I wasn’t conscious at the time. I’m a strong white lighter, but she’s something else altogether. So much dark magic and power.”
Declan’s gut nearly erupted. The thought of Chelsea anywhere near her sickened him.
“What happened at this other place?” he asked, keeping his voice low and soft.
“When I awoke, she infused me with her dark powers, but I kept fighting her off. I sometimes feel as if she still has a hold on me.”
“Then what?” he asked.
“She took me back to my cell. I guess I was a hard nut to crack.”
“I’m sorry that happened. I take it Sanditra never mentioned anyplace she likes to go then?”
“Sanditra doesn’t like anything. When I was at that house though, I smelled lake water.”
Declan sat up straighter. “Were you inside or out?”
“Outside.”
“What did the house look like?” he asked.
She glanced at Griffin, acting as if he had the answers.
“Go on,” Griffin urged.
“It was on the small side. White and wooden.” She ran her hands down her face. “I’m sorry. My memory is really bad. For all I know, I never really left my cell. Sanditra can do things to a person’s mind to make you think one thing when in reality, something else is happening.”
Kaleena nodded. “I know.” She looked up at Declan, clearly imploring him to end this discussion.
“Thank you, Danita. You’ve been helpful.”
She lifted her head, and her eyes sparkled for the first time. “I hope you find Chelsea.”
“Me too.”
Griffin escorted her out of the conference room. “So now what?” Finn asked.
“There aren’t a ton of lakes around here. I think it might be time to see The Four Sisters of Fate,” Declan said.
“Chelsea is not your mate. Will they help?”
“I’m hoping they will if it is a matter of life or death.”
With a promise to let everyone know if he learned anything, Declan took off for the Four Sisters Pottery shop. Usually, the Guardians went at night when customers wouldn’t be around, but time was critical. If Sanditra had Chelsea, how long could a non-white lighter hold out?
When the shop came into view, he landed. Two cars were parked in front. Damn. He shifted and entered, careful not to knock over any of the beautiful pots or other trinkets. Magnolia was with two women, so he pretended to look around, but he was so jittery, he worried he might chase the two customers away. So
meone touched his arm, and he jumped. He spun around. “Acacia.”
“Hey, Declan. You seem agitated.”
What gave it away—the fisting of his hands, the pacing, or the clenched jaw? “I am. Finn’s sister is missing. I think Sanditra might have her.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Sanditra? Come into the back where we will have privacy.”
Thankfully, she seemed willing to at least listen, he followed her. Once in the back, they sat at the four-person table that was lightly dusted with dry clay.
“Tell me what’s happened.” For the next few minutes, he regaled her with what they had learned. “You believe Sanditra is involved because Chelsea saw these silver cuffs—the same kind the Royals used on the white lighters, right?” Acacia asked.
When she said it that way, the evidence seemed thin. “Yes. Honestly, I don’t care who has her. I just want her back. I need to find her.”
Acacia leaned back in the seat, her gaze scanning the room. She sat back up and faced him, her lips pressed together. “Okay. I’ll help, but I’ll need something of hers—like a hairbrush.”
“Are you going to extract DNA or something?” Declan didn’t think that was how these sisters worked. Magic was more their style.
“Not quite, but the hairbrush will contain her life force.”
That made more sense. “I’ll get it and be right back.”
Declan rushed out of the store, thankful he didn’t knock anything over. Keeping low to the ground for maximum speed, he raced to her cabin in the woods.
Once there, he entered the house, trying not to picture all of the places where they’d made love. It was hard enough to keep his imagination in check, mostly because her scent was everywhere. Why was he so drawn to her when she wasn’t his mate? Now wasn’t the time to figure that out though. First things first: find Chelsea, and then try to discover why he wanted to be with her so much.
Her hairbrush was in a drawer in the bathroom. He looked around to see if there was anything else he should take, but nothing stuck out. Declan ran out of the house, locked the door, and took off.
