Branches of the Willow 3

by Christine M. Butler

  “It’s okay. I’m fine.” I patted his back as a signal that he could let go now, but he continued holding on. “Um, Evan, I need to breathe.”

  “Oh! Right.” He continued to hang on as the words left his mouth, but then he slowly let go. “We were so worried about you, especially when we couldn’t find where they’d taken you.”

  “It’s okay. I’m here now, and I’m fine.” I offered a small smile, and tried to clear my throat a little bit, as it was still raspy.

  Evan looked between me and Mikael, trying to figure out just how bad things were. He knew me. I was tougher than I looked, and the fact that I hadn’t put up a fight to see anyone for days, probably told him all he needed to know. “Well, we need to get this girl some food. Jesus, Jess, your pants are about to fall off of you.” He turned without so much as a suggestive comment or smirk thrown at Mikael, and walked into the kitchen. “Shit! Mikael, when was the last time you went shopping, man?”

  “We’ve had a lot going on here, brother.”

  “Okay, well, give me a few minutes and I will have food here for you.” Evan walked out to the living room talking on his cell phone. “I am tipping big if you get it here in twenty. What do you mean how big?” Evan sighed into the phone. “The tip’s going to be bigger than the bill. Good enough for you?” He clicked off his phone and tucked it back into the front pocket of his khaki pants. Evan was dressed impeccably, as usual. He had on khakis that hugged his thigh muscles and his butt just so, and he topped it off with a bright blue button down shirt. The top three buttons were undone, and I could see what must have been a white gold chain hanging down inside his shirt. Had it been silver, it would have burned every time he moved. His hair was longer than I remembered, and he probably needed to get it cut soon, or it would start looking unkempt. Instead of his normal tied back look, today he wore it down, and it made him look younger and a bit wild despite the pressed appearance his clothes gave him.

  “So, what did I miss while I was gone, and recuperating?” I finally asked when everyone else was just standing around looking awkward.

  “Well, you missed the big man-hunt.” Asi told me. “We searched high and low for you. No mountain was too high, or river too deep…” Asi was snickering as he spoke.

  “You’re real cute, Asi!” I beamed at him, because he was the first in the group, including Mikael, to treat me normal. I appreciated the hell out of that gesture. Mikael was standing behind me, hands wrapped around my middle, chuckling in my ear.

  Ashley looked stricken. “I can’t believe you just said that.” She whispered the words as if Asi was the only person in the room who could hear her chastising him.

  “Sorry, Jess.” He apologized, more to appease Ashley, because it was clear he didn’t think it was warranted. He was right, but that was an argument for the two of them to have in private. I wasn’t about to get mixed up in the middle. Ashley felt bad enough for not realizing how truly screwed up I was when I first got back.

  “Okay, besides the search and rescue, what else did I miss? How did your trip go?”

  “Obviously, it was cut short, but we were able to wrap things up there before we left anyway.” Evan started.

  “We brought some people back.” Asi added. I waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn’t, I gave him a huff, and looked towards Ashley and Evan, who surprisingly, had a bit of a blush creeping into his cheeks.

  “Who did you bring back?”

  “There were these women…” Ashely started in a small voice. I knew it wasn’t going to be a happy story when her shoulders slumped forward even further than they already were. “They were being held in a prison beneath the main house.”

  “Prisoners?” I asked, even though I knew by everyone’s demeanor that it couldn’t be the case.

  “No. They were slaves, Jess. They were there for the King to use and abuse however he saw fit.”

  I sucked in a breath, not sure I fully grasped the scope of things, but knowing that didn’t sound good. “How many?”

  “There are 17. Apparently, there were a few more, but a few were taken before we got there.” Ashley cringed at a memory that was clearly playing itself out in her mind. Then, she shivered involuntarily, and I had to wonder what the hell they had seen to make her react that way.

  “Okay, well, you might as well start telling the story while we wait for the food to get here.”

  “It might be better just to show you, after you eat.” Ashley mumbled from across the room.?

  “Ashley,” I called to her as I walked towards where she stood. “I am fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. Please, if anything, I need some normal back. This,” I gestured to her posture, “is not normal.” I reached over and hugged my best friend. It took a minute, but finally she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed back.

  “You don’t hate me?”

  “How in the hell could I ever hate you?”

  “Well, there was that dress you loved, and I spilled nail polish all over it…”

  “Shut up!” I hugged her tighter for a minute. “Wait. What dress??”

  “Oh, never mind.” She was grinning now.

  “We’ll talk about that later. Come, sit with me.” I walked to the couch, hand in hand with my best friend and we simultaneously plopped down on it. Finally, I felt like I could crawl back into my old life, just a little.

  “Jess, you don’t need to do this right now. It’s your first day getting back to socializing with people. Work doesn’t have to be on the table.” I could see the worry on Mikael’s face as he spoke. It didn’t deter me though.

  “It does when there are other women who were being held against their will, like I was.” I took a few minutes to catch my breath. It was not an easy thing to admit that you were held prisoner, even when others knew about it. “I wasn’t…” I started, and stopped again. “I was lucky that Serena got to me when she did. I’m sure some of those women you brought home weren’t. If I can help them in anyway, I am going to.” Mikael’s anger at my admission was palpable. I hadn’t talked to him about how close I had come to being raped. I still hadn’t talked much about what happened to me, how my powers were stripped, and I was kept doped up. I still wasn’t sure how to deal with all that, considering I was pregnant when I was drugged, I had an entirely new level of worries to go with it. Evan closed in on his brother and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “My ordeal is over and done with. Let’s get these girls fixed up, so they can move on too. That’s what I need to do in order to get back to normal.” They were brave words for me, because honestly I wasn’t sure I could handle listening to the stories of seventeen other women who had also been held against their will. This was going to be one hell of a challenge. “Now, please, someone tell me what’s been going on so I have an idea of what I’m going to be working with when I head back to the pack.”

  “We were checking out the main house, and I heard something behind one of the walls. I thought it was mice or whatever and I freaked out a little. You know how I am with rodents.” Ashley shivered slightly. “Asi came over to check it out, and he figured out that there was a lever to move part of the wall. It became a door , and when we walked through it, the smell was.” I could almost see Ashley turning green just from the memory, so I could imagine how bad it had been.

  “They’d been locked there for almost a week without anyone coming to check on them. Luckily, they had a stocked pantry down there when they were abandoned, or it could have been far worse.” Asriel had taken over telling me what happened while he rubbed his hand up and down Ashley’s back, offering her comfort.

  “Some of them didn’t have access to bathrooms. There were a few who were being segregated for whatever reason. They were the reason for the stench. Two didn’t make it, they were already gone when we got to them, there were a couple more on the brink of death. They were not able to come back with us, because their health was too bad. They were taken to the local healer, but not expected to make it. You know how it is with the
weaker wolves. If they give up, that’s it. There’s no bringing them back.”

  “So, you brought back seventeen women, and there had been more that weren’t expected to live, and even more that had already perished?” I asked Asi, but honestly, I wasn’t sure I could comprehend that.

  “Yes, we lost a few.”

  “Suddenly, I feel guilty for every stolen moment of happiness I’ve had over the past year. While I was laughing and having a good time, what was happening to these girls?” My inner thoughts turned a little dark. I knew exactly what had been happening to them. I knew because it almost happened to me. If it weren’t for Sophia’s need for revenge, Zach would have had me drugged and used long before he attempted it.

  Evan’s voice finally made it through the cacophony of emotions and thoughts that were plaguing me. “Hey, Jess.” I tipped my head a little, acknowledging that I heard him. “Don’t do that to yourself. You’re not the one who put them there. Too many people in the world face different atrocities every day. You can’t make yourself responsible for those things simply because you were happy living your life while they were miserable. Thinking like that will sink your spirit. Those girls had it rough, but what they aren’t going to want to see from you is pity for what they’ve been through. They’re going to want to see someone who can show them the light at the end of it all. I don’t think you should even try going over there until you’re ready for that.”

  Mikael looked as though he both agreed with and wanted to deck Evan at the same time. His low growl made it seem likely that option two was the one he would go with. “I don’t think you need to worry about the women anyway. Your mom is taking care of that situation, and doing a good job of getting them sorted.”

  I smiled up at Mikael. He was worn around the edges these days, and I didn’t want to fight with him. “I’m not pushing myself into anything right now. I just wanted to know what I’ll be dealing with when I’m up to getting back to work.” Mikael finally smiled back.

  “My brother was definitely the better choice for you.” Evan lamented under his breath.

  “What?” I wasn’t sure why I asked, but a part of me wanted to know what he meant by that.

  “He’s unhappy that we’re telling you about more bad stuff, but he’s sitting here letting it happen. I’m not so sure I would have let you out of the room yet.” The growl that came from Mikael then was beyond ominous. “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean, I don’t think I’d be okay with you being out here talking to people, let alone talking about going back to work as the white wolf. Not yet, maybe not ever after all you’ve been through.” Evan shrugged his shoulders sheepishly then, and looked away.

  “Well, Serena did warn me that one of you would be a good partner while the other would destroy me, so maybe that’s what she meant.” I moved over to where Mikael still stood, and I leaned my head against his chest. “I hope the food gets here soon, I’m starved.” Just like that, the doorbell rang, and Evan was on his feet, heading for the door.

  “Come on, let’s go get you settled in the kitchen.” Mikael pulled me into his arms, and walked all the way to the kitchen with me tucked into his side. “I love you too much to stifle who you are.”

  “Hmm?”

  “The only reason I didn’t do exactly what my brother just said he would…” Mikael kissed the top of my head. “It’s because I love you too much to take away who you are.”

  “And who am I?”

  “The woman who cares more about what’s going on with those women my brother brought back than what’s happening with her.” Mikael sat me down in my chair. “I’m willing to make you a deal though.”

  “Oh? What kind of deal?”

  “We work through your issues, and you talk about what happened. When you do that, I will put one hundred percent of my time and effort into helping you accomplish whatever you need to with the others.” I had to smile at him then. Mikael was making sure I was taking care of me first, then everyone else. He certainly was my balance.

  “Okay.”

  CAPTIVES

  Over the next couple days everyone filled me in on the things that had been happening during the time I was held captive by Sophia and Zach. I took my time telling Mikael what happened, but eventually I told him everything I remembered. Mikael took it better than I thought he would. He chose to focus on the fact that I killed Zach, rather than on what almost happened. It helped me to be able to do the same thing.

  It also helped me motivate to get my butt up out of the house, and back to the pack lands so that people could see I was okay, and I could lose myself in some work for a while. That’s where I was, getting caught up by my father, when Andy Wallace came strolling in his office. “Andy, long time no see.”

  “I know. I was planning on coming back to talk to you sooner, but with everything that happened…”

  “It’s okay. What’s going on, and why have you been hanging out over at Avery’s so long? He wanted to talk to me about you before everything happened, but obviously he didn’t get a chance.”

  “That’s a long story.” The grin that spread across Andy’s face told me he was reliving some of those memories. “I do have some important news from Avery to pass along before I get into that though.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “I’m not sure if you were aware of the issues Avery was having with interlopers on his lands before?” Andy looked thoughtful a moment as I nodded my head to confirm that I did. “That’s right, it’s why you told me to take the pass through the caves.” The grin was back again before Andy continued. “Well, as it turns out, they’re not just average humans. Avery says he thinks we have a problem with actual Hunters.”

  “Hunters?” I questioned. “They don’t come after our kind. They’re supposed to hunt the dark ones.”

  “Yeah, I know. Avery sent me to warn you about what’s going on. He’s not sure if the hunters grew bored with the dark ones, or if we have more visitors on our lands than we thought we did, but he figured you should know immediately, so we can be prepared for anything.”

  “Well, damn, Andy! Did you bring me any good news?” Dark ones were basically vampires, and not the cute and cuddly kind from recent pop culture. They were crude, sinister beings who preyed on humans mostly. From what I gathered from Sophia’s stories while I was held captive witches seemed to be a bigger target for them though.

  Andy hung his head, and I knew whatever else he had to say was going to be something I didn’t much like. “I’ve put in for a transfer to Avery’s pack.”

  My jaw hit the floor for a minute. When I composed myself again, I looked over at my father, who had been sitting quietly, watching me acclimate to being back at work. “Seriously? Why? Did something happen?” The questions erupted from my mouth in a less than eloquent purge that came over more as word vomit than anything coherent.

  “The St. Marks Pack has been wonderful to me, Jess. I met someone though. She’s a part of Avery’s pack, and doesn’t want to leave there just yet. I’m trying to be accommodating, and I thought I could be the liaison between the packs. I’ll still be able to keep ties with both, see my family here, and be with my girl there. That is, if it’s acceptable to both you and Jameson.”

  My dad was trying to hide a smile when I looked over at him. “Well, I’m definitely not going to stand in the way of your relationship. Speaking for myself, I’m happy to have you working with us in any capacity.” Andy bowed his head to me in respect, and then turned to my father to await his answer.

  “I think you have enough trouble from Avery these days, son. I’m not going to add to that. You make yourself useful however you can, and you know you are always welcome here.”

  “Thank you, Jameson.”

  “Go ahead, let Avery know that it’s agreed. Also, I’ll be sending some men out further to patrol the area. We haven’t seen any activity from the dark ones, if they’re out there, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t just keeping a low profile.” My dad turned back to
me then. “If we don’t find evidence that the dark ones are hanging around these parts, we’re going to have to figure out why the Hunters have suddenly changed tactics and targets. Can you get in touch with Serena? We need a witch’s take on this.”

  “I can try.” As Andy left the office, Mikael walked in with his brother, Evan. I smiled up at the both of them, and Mikael walked over to plant a kiss on the top of my head.

  “How are you doing, baby?” He whispered in my ear as he took the chair beside me.

  “I’m doing good. What are you two up to?” I asked, noting that Evan seemed a bit exhausted as he took a seat too.

  “We dropped in to see what the news was from the Daniels Clan, and to discuss what we’re going to do about our estranged family who are still out there running loose.” Mikael was picking at a tiny little piece of the table in front of him that had been nicked at some point before.

  “We also need to discuss what’s going to happen with the women Asi, Ash, and I brought back. One of them is pregnant, and apparently it’s not my father’s baby.” Evan added.

  “Then whose baby is it?” I asked, wondering who would have the nerve to even think about touching one of the King’s women.

  “She said it was Malachai.” Evan dragged his hand over his face, as if he could wipe the disgust away. “Apparently, dear old dad was sharing the women with his eldest son.”

  “You’re serious?” The shock was evident in my voice. “Every time I think I’ve learned the worst about that whole situation, it goes downhill just a bit more.” When I looked around the table I noticed my father was shaking his head, and texting into his phone.