19. Old Friends #2
Remembering my reason for being there, I straightened and pulled myself together.
Everything was so overwhelming. All the scents and sounds of the shop assaulting my senses after so long trapped in human skin.
I caught my reflection in a mirror on the counter, my eyes back to their normal emerald green that marked me as a shifter.
“Thanks Poppy. I wasn’t here.” I looked at the couple of people in the store and the other employee.
“Council business. You never saw me.” Then I left.
Muscle memory and automatic driving had me back at my little home.
When this was over, I could think about what I wanted to do next.
I’d saved some cash so I could go anywhere I wanted once free.
Except, I was sure both of us, my wolf and me, wanted to stay near Kade and continue to guard him.
This time for his alpha, maybe my alpha.
I wanted to be on the inside of the family that Kade was building as his friend, now that all hope for anything else was gone.
There was just a sense that I was supposed to be near Sweetwater, something that my wolf agreed with.
I’d made my peace with losing Kade for good. I was pretty sure that Kade hated me and blamed me for a lot of what had happened. That was okay. There was plenty I hated myself for and a chunk of blame to come my way.
The alarms pinged for Kade’s house, signaling that he’d returned with three other people. Blake for sure, but I didn’t know who else. Switching into some darker clothes, I ran on silent feet, thanking The Luna for the return of my wolf, and approached the bushes at the back of his house.
Blake’s brother, Axel, was in the kitchen looking through the pantry and Blake paced the floor.
A light was on in Kade’s room, so I assumed that’s where he was.
I rounded the side of the house, thankful for my scent suppressant charm, and peeked through the window.
There, on the couch, was another enforcer.
Judging by his size and attitude, another alpha shifter.
I edged my phone out of the pocket of my tight black jeans and carefully snapped a quick photo.
Sending it to my contact, I made sure my phone was on silent, and waited.
A few minutes later, my phone lit up with a reply. I’d ducked around the side of the house so no one could see me and I pulled up the file that I’d been sent.
C: Kaine Jennings, thirty-two. Enforcer for the Sweetwater pack for the last eighteen months. Promoted through the ranks just before Alpha Blake took control. Father deceased. Mother, no longer a Sweetwater pack member. Uncle was an enforcer under the former disgraced alpha.
Well, none of that was helpful . I couldn’t help but think. A smile hit my face when my wolf chuffed in agreement. Moon help me, I’d missed that fluff ball. A brief caress suggested the feeling had been mutual.
My phone received another message.
C: Proceed with caution. Surveillance suggests unfriendly.
Right, that was better. I dashed back to my house and hastily put together some sandwiches, made a flask of hot tea, picked up a couple of weapons and spells before making my way to my lookout point.
There was no way to explain that I had a lookout spot that covered Kade’s bedroom without sounding like a creep.
A few months after Kade had made his home on the outskirts of Northarbor and Sweetwater, I’d lucked upon a tree that overlooked his house, to the side of his backyard.
In front of it, and partially shielding my tree from view, was an evergreen.
I’d made a perch in a tree and slowly had made it into a treehouse that was cleverly disguised by the branches and leaves of the surrounding trees.
I stored a few things there. An emergency first aid kit, a thick blanket, a lockbox with battery packs, made up the equipment that I kept in the treehouse covered by a heavy duty tarp.
All of it was warded with runes, so it couldn’t be seen unless you had an activation word.
I got myself settled, boredom quickly settling in. There was no chance of hearing anything this far away, even with my wolf’s incredible senses, so I streamed some anime on my phone that I’d watched a few hundred times before so I could check on the house every couple of minutes.
Blake seemed agitated, and I guessed that he and his enforcers had lost Rincoln again. There was no telling how many that the man had on his side now. I hadn’t been able to get into pack territory since I was covered in magic and hadn’t declared myself in the area when I’d arrived.
Technically, I should report to a pack right now, the Sweetwater one, since they were slightly closer and that meant I fell under their jurisdiction. Couldn’t though, and I’d take the punishment when it came.
Hours passed, then it got dark. Each of the inhabitants of the house settled down. Axel took the first watch, and I snuck around the house to check on everyone.
Kade was safely wrapped up in Blake’s arms, sleeping somewhat peacefully. Occasionally, Blake woke and had to soothe his mate. Tendrils of jealousy unfurled as I watched them together.
After midnight, Axel woke Kaine as he slept on the couch. I watched from a couple of bushes that lined the street as Axel headed to the spare room to get a few hours’ sleep.
I was certain that if someone was to make a move, it would be then. Kaine watched TV on low and scrolled his phone. I set a look away ward, a silencing charm, and checked that my scent was locked down tight. The magic of the wards would hopefully shield my magic use.
Now just to wait for shit to head south.
Another hour passed before I heard the sounds of a vehicle rolling in, the lights pouring over me as they approached the house.
The look away charm worked to make sure I was invisible to human eyes.
They’d turned off the engine. Then the two men pushed it towards Kade’s house, stopping just outside at the curb.
One approached the door that opened before he got to the front stoop.
Kaine stood illuminated by the dim light of the hallway.
He stepped back to let the other man in, who promptly was pushed back.
Kaine tried to invite him in, but that didn’t work, since the spell only allowed Kade to give entry to his home.
They argued in low voices until the man waiting with the car approached them, phone to his ear. They passed a bag over along with a gas mask, then went back to wait by the car.
I watched Kaine enter the living room, pull on the gas mask, and activate the bag.
A spell pouch dropped to the floor where some sort of vapor started to rise from it, quickly filling the room and moving deeper into the small house.
It took maybe ten minutes, but it covered all of Kade’s home in the spell.
I rushed around to his bedroom window and saw that Kade no longer moved in a light doze, now deeply asleep.
Moving swiftly, I returned to the front of the house. Kaine came to the front door and threw two sets of car keys to his companions. “Move the vehicles and disable them so they can’t follow when they wake up. Move the van closer so no one sees.”
“How long we got?” The stocky one asked the one he’d arrived with, a lanky, mean looking motherfucker.
“An hour tops, depending on their tolerance to magic,” he said with a shrug.
They moved the vehicles, and I pulled out my phone and began recording.
Kaine moved back into the house and I left the safety of the bushes, trusting Poppy’s magic to hide me from sight and hearing.
As soon as they were parked, I put a tiny tracker under the wheel arch of the van and would connect it to my phone as soon as I stopped getting the proof we needed to end Rincoln.
Standing in what should be the full view of the door, I watched Kaine carry Kade over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes to the waiting van, the side door open and ready.
The only reason I left Kaine to live was that he was careful as he placed Kade in the back on a bundle of blankets. I could have sworn I heard him say, “I’m sorry,” as he closed the door and settled their fate.
“Let’s get him to Rincoln,” the stocky shifter said.
They got in the van, started the engine, and drove away with Kade.
Wasting no time, I stopped my recording and sent it to my council contact marked urgent. I needed to follow the van, but I had to leave Blake with something.
Dashing back to my treehouse, I found some paper and wrote a brief note, ever thankful that Poppy had formed the alarm spell with a password so I could get into the house without setting it off.
It deactivated the alarm so was only to be used in dire emergencies such as this one.
I placed the note on top of the discarded blanket, sure that Blake would spot it easily:
Don’t trust any of your enforcers. I’m tracking Kade. Hired by the council. Roan.
I also left my number and hoped Blake would be willing to work with me since I knew I could help reunite the mates. So much depended on it.
Hours later
After delaying as best I could, I headed into the location that Rincoln had sent me. I’d already been there waiting hours before staking the place out, trying to get a sense of numbers.
When I’d left the note for Blake, I’d followed Kaine to the house where they were keeping Kade, but now I had to make it look like I’d made the ten-hour drive from Greenbriar on my motorcycle. I couldn’t arrive too quickly or Rincoln would be suspicious.
They needed to hear my approach, so I’d driven my bike a distance away and ditched all my concealment spells, nullifying them, then buried them deep so they couldn’t be found. Now they’d see, hear and smell me coming.
As I started up the engine to head back to the house, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Random number: Roan, beers later? You, me and the crew, so like, nine of us? We’ll try out that sports bar just down from my apartment. Just text me back the time.
My lips lifted in a grin. Clever. So Blake was bringing friends.
I didn’t know where he’d found allies and hoped he’d gotten over any issues with Dakota.
The bears would be useful. I’d counted seventeen shifters, but there could well be more and that didn’t include Rincoln, who had been absent from the house when I’d staked it out.
Roan: New number, dude? I’m meeting with my father-in-law today. If this is who I think it is, that bar doesn’t open till the 17th.
I hoped they understood my meaning. I had to leave it vague enough that if my phone was taken off me. There could be nothing that would give me up. The messages from my contact were always read and deleted. Habit making sure I left no trace.
Nerves filled me as I made the short drive to the house.
There was so much at stake. I couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong.
I had to hope that Blake and his allies could trace my location.
It would be easy enough to get a general location after sending that text.
The house was in the middle of nowhere, an old abandoned looking farm, the rumble of a generator sounding as my motorcycle engine cut off.
Swinging my leg over the bike, I turned to head up to the house, but was halted by two burly alphas. “I’m Roan,” I told them, “Rincoln is expecting me.”
Despite that, they still gave me a firm pat down and, as expected, took my phone. These guys weren’t playing around. They escorted me into the house where Rincoln came upstairs to greet me.
“Perfect timing, Roan. He was out a little longer than expected.” He said cheerfully, like he hadn’t had his only son drugged and kidnapped from his bed.
“Out?” I had to go along with acting clueless and give Blake time to get here.
“Nothing to worry about. Come on, I imagine you’re eager to see him. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Too long.”