The Witch Prophecy

by Mary Goldberger

  “Now finish telling me what Jed didn’t,” Abella told him giving him a knowing stare. “Jed came to me in wolf form to watch over me, but why did he when even I didn’t know exactly what was going on?”

  Caden leaned up an elbow and told her, “When Cicely was captured although she blocked you she contacted me to let me know what was going. I, in turn, contacted Jed to keep an eye on you as I was still fact gathering so I was nowhere near here to help you.”

  “Aunt Cicely contacted you?” Abella asked in shocked voice.

  “Remember she wasn’t here to learn what happened and she knew that other than Jed, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,” Caden told her his eyes narrowed slightly. “Jed gave me constant updates while he gathered some more information for me about Leana.”

  Abella looked at him in confusion as she put her hand to her head. “Maybe I’m not fully awake because you are confusing me more and more,” she told him, and Caden saw the weariness on her face.

  He got off the bed and told her, “Why don’t you get some sleep while I go check on how Dr. Olsen is doing?”

  “Did something happen to Dr. Olsen?” Abella asked a look of concern on her face.

  Caden hesitated for a second before he said, “Jenna…”

  “Did they find her?” Abella said leaning forward her eyes filled worry now.

  Caden shook his head as a soft laugh escaped his lips and his hand went out to smooth over her hair as he said, “I’m lucky do you know that?”

  “Huh,” Abella said staring at him in bewilderment and Caden just shook his head at how she didn’t see her own worth.

  “Nothing,” Caden told her as he removed his hand. “We found Jenna in an abandoned shack on the northern end of pack territory, land I bought some time ago to build a werewolf community that I haven’t started yet.”

  Abella’s face paled as the first part of his sentence sunk in. “You found her body, is what you are saying Caden?”

  Caden nodded his head seeing the sorrow that filled her face. “We don’t know what caused her death although Dr. Olsen believes it is poison, but he won’t be completely sure until he finishes the autopsy.”

  Abella shook her head as she said, “Even Jenna didn’t deserve that.”

  Caden didn’t comment as he told her, “Get some sleep and I will be here when you wake up. I haven’t finished telling you everything I learned on my ‘vacation’.”

  Abella laughed lightly at his words but he could tell that the news about Jenna was still on her mind.

  “Jenna made her own choices, Abella, and nothing you would’ve done could change what she wanted to do,” he told her quietly as she made herself comfortable on the bed.

  “She wanted you,” Abella murmured as Caden reached the door.

  “Unfortunately, what she wanted I couldn’t give her,” Caden told her looking over his shoulder at her. “Also she had a chance to have a good man but she chose to hurt and belittle him because of who he was, and in the long run, she is the one who ruined her own life. I will agree on what point, she didn’t deserve for someone to take that life from her no matter how manipulative or evil she was.”

  Abella watched him leave the room after his words and she sighed knowing he was right but still she felt sadness for the young woman who died before she was even given a chance to correct those choices she made.

  She shook her head allowing sleep to come as her hand rested on her stomach and as she drifted to sleep she felt presences around her as if keeping her company until Caden returned.

  Caden headed downstairs stopping when Cato got up from the chair he still sat in waiting for Dr. Olsen.

  “Jed went back to the pack house,” Cato told him with a hard smile. “It seems your mate is looking for you.”

  Caden’s face went stony at the term as Timothy contacted him through the pack link, Caden, Leana and Dave said that they know where Jenna is located.

  I will be there in a few minutes, Caden told him immediately.

  Maybe you will tell us where you went when you return, Timothy told him angrily.

  Caden didn’t reply back but he knew that he owed them all an explanation as he sighed in frustration.

  “Tell the ones that you trust the most first, then the rest of the pack after you have dealt with your mate,” Cato advised him.

  “Do you think I’m making a mistake?’ Caden asked him looking over at him.

  “Do you?” Cato countered and even with his sightless eyes he knew Caden was grinning from ear to ear. “Go and do what you have to. I will stay here with your witch and Dr. Olsen.”

  Caden walked over and put a hand on his shoulder before he walked to the door. He hesitated at the door before he asked, “Why are you helping me, Cato?”

  “Honestly, I like happy endings,” Cato said without embarrassment. “And I think you deserve some happiness as well as Abella.”

  With those words, Caden smiled and walked out of the house shifting to his wolf as he headed for the pack house.

  I don’t want to leave her, his wolf growled.

  Neither do I, but Abella will understand why we did, Caden told him hoping that his words were right as his thoughts drifted to Abella.

  Do what you have to, she thought back to him even though he knew she was sleeping and he stopped turning his wolf head back in the direction he came before he tilted it back and let a loud howl that reached the pack house getting reactions from everyone who knew his howl.

  “What…” Jessa said glancing over at Timothy who could only shake his head unsure himself what was going on, but he did know one thing though was the howl they just heard was one filled with happiness and joy.

  “When he arrives, you can ask him,” Timothy told Jessa as they headed to the living room where Leana and Dave waited for Caden.

  A few minutes later, Caden walked in the house a hard look on his face as Leana looked over his naked body with aroused look before Gregory came in the room with a pair of shorts and boxers for him.

  “So what is that you wanted to tell me?” Caden asked as he got dressed nodding his head as Briac and the others walked in the room.

  “We know where Jenna is,” Dave said as he stood up giving him a look. “We told Timothy and Gregory the same thing, but they told us to wait for you. Where did you go anyway?”

  Everyone looked at him in shock as he questioned their Alpha’s whereabouts as Caden raised an eyebrow at him as Leana said sharply, “He is merely asking for me. Where the hell have you been?”

  “Do you plan on telling me where you have been for the last three years?” Caden countered without missing a beat getting a shocked look from Leana. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me where you have been then I don’t think where I’ve been is any of your damn business.”

  Returning his attention to Dave who was looking at him in stunned disbelief, Caden said, “So where did you get this information?”

  Dave opened his mouth twice before he cleared it and said, “From a lone wolf that came through a week ago. He said he thought he heard some noises in a shack out in that direction one night when he was camping in the woods.”

  “So he came to you to tell you about it,” Timothy asked from where he stood in the doorway.

  Dave gave him a dismissive look as he turned back to Caden. “He only wanted me to relay the information to the Alpha as he didn’t want to get in trouble for being in the area.”

  “That’s interesting,” Gregory said giving him a long stare. “Most lone wolves know that Caden has no problem with them in the area as long as they don’t cause any trouble and are only passing through.”

  Dave blanched slightly before he said, “I guess he was new to the area.”

  Caden nodded his head giving him benefit of the doubt on that one although he seriously doubted his words. “Where is this shack located?” Caden asked folding his arms over his chest leaning back against the doorframe of the living room.

  Without taking his eyes off of Da
ve or Leana, he sent Jessa a private message. Abella is at the clinic. Tell Natalee and Asilynn so you three can go over and keep her company until I return.

  Jessa gasped her eyes flying over to Caden although he never looked at her and she linked Timothy with the news before linking to Natalee and Asilynn who both gasped getting their mates attention. They shook their head as Jessa nodded her head and walked out of the room followed by Asilynn and Natalee.

  “How did he know?” Natalee asked as they headed out to Jessa’s car.

  “That is a good question and one I will ask him as soon as I can,” Jessa told them her eyes narrowed as they sped away from the pack house heading to the clinic.

  Gregory and Briac looked over at Timothy who only shook his head letting them know now wasn’t the time for the questions that were running through their heads.

  “We are wasting time,” Leana snorted as she jumped up from the couch. “I thought you said that finding Jenna was your top priority.”

  “Oh, it is,” Caden told her in deceptively soft voice. He turned to Timothy and said, “Timothy, Dave is going to take Gregory and myself to where Jenna is while you and Briac check on Dr. Olsen to make sure that everything is okay.”

  “Yes,” Timothy said nodding his head but his eyes were narrowed on Caden as he turned to Gregory with a nod before he turned back to Dave.

  “Whenever you are ready, Dave,” Caden said with a slight smirk in his voice.

  Dave smiled at him smugly. “Oh, I have been ready, Alpha.”

  Caden nodded his head and turned around about to head out when Leana called out to him. “Caden, I have some good news before you leave. I’m pregnant.”

  Caden turned his head to meet her eyes as everyone gasped all eyes staring at him and Leana.

  “I know that makes you happy,” Leana gushed striding over to him only to stop when Caden spoke.

  “It would,” Caden told her turning back around, “if I was the father.”

  He walked out of the room after the announcement and Gregory followed behind him with a smile as Briac and Timothy chuckled silently doing as Caden requested.

  Leana stood were Caden left her mouth open and eyes wide as the pack members around her begin to talk aloud talking about what Caden just revealed.

  Dave gave her one look before he rushed out following Caden and Gregory as they waited for him on the front porch.

  “Alpha,” he said with a frown an angry look in his eyes. “Your mate…”

  “What don’t we just get going, Dave,” Caden told him giving him a cold stare. “So we can find Jenna and I will worry about my mate later.”

  Jessa pulled up to the clinic and before she turned off the car Asilynn and Natalee were rushing out of the car in the house.

  “Hey,” Jessa called out as she turned off the vehicle but neither woman turned around to look at her as she scrambled out of the car rushing after them.

  Running in the house, Cato pointed up the stairs from the chair he sat as he came down the stairs after hearing the car pulled up to the house.

  “Smallest room on the second floor,” he told her with chuckle as Jessa rushed up after them with a hastily ‘thank you’.

  “That is what you call friendship,” he muttered focusing his white eyes on the hallway listening for the sound of Dr. Olsen’s footsteps.

  Upstairs, Jessa ran in the room as Abella looked up from the bed and smiled. “Hi Jessa,” she said with a small laugh.

  “I want to strangle you,” Jessa told her storming over to her before enveloping her in a hug.

  “So how are you feeling, any problems?” Abella asked looking down at her stomach before she glanced back up at Jessa.

  “Don’t you have something to tell us?” Natalee asked with a narrowed look at Abella not giving Jessa time to answer the question.

  “We know, Abella,” Asilynn said with a soft smile.

  “So are you going to tell us anyway, or make us say it?” Jessa asked leaning back on the bed.

  Abella sighed as she laid a hand against her stomach before she said, “To be honest, I don’t know how far along I am but I do know that I’m pregnant.”

  The three women started to squeal as they tackled Abella on the bed before another voice said, “What is going on here?”

  They all turned to see a weary Dr. Olsen standing in the doorway before he smiled. “I hear that congratulations are in order, Abella, but first let’s do an exam.”

  Abella nodded her head but her eyes were solemn as she asked, “What killed Jenna, sir?”

  Everyone froze and glanced over at him as a harsh look came over his face and Jessa said in a quiet voice, “It’s not good, is it?”

  Dr. Olsen shook his head as he stated, “Jenna didn’t kill herself.”

  The four women looked at each other before Jessa said with the agreement of the others, “We thought she wouldn’t. Jenna loved herself too much to take her own life.”

  Dr. Olsen laughed weakly at their words as he said, “She was dosed with silver nitrate and although the concentration was low, it was injected in her bloodstream destroying her blood cells immediately.”

  “Silver nitrate,” Jessa murmured. “Who would have access to that?”

  “It can actually be used for medicinal purposes, but for werewolves even one gram of it can be toxic to our bodies and I estimate that she was given almost five grams,” Dr. Olsen told them his eyes hard with rage.

  “Who would do that to her?” Abella asked in shock her grey eyes narrowed.

  Jessa and Natalee shook their head as Asilynn said, “After Briac rejected her and claimed you,” indicating Natalee with a nod, “someone noticed that Jenna was giving them narrowed looks but when they caught her on it, they said she made some remark about why would she want a fighter wolf when she could have better. At the time, the member thought she saw Jenna glance toward Leana and Dave as they left the room.”

  “What is going on?” Abella asked as they all looked at each other.

  Dr. Olsen shook his head as he repeated, “I’m not exactly sure but I do know this much. Jenna was killed by a lethal injection of silver nitrate.”

  Chapter 57

  Caden and Gregory followed Dave as he led the way looking at each other when he showed them right to the spot where they found Jenna almost two hours ago.

  “She is in this shack,” Dave said as they walked up to it after shifting back in their human form.

  Gregory glanced over at Caden noting the narrowed black eyes before he said quietly, “Caden.”

  Without looking at him, Caden shook his head as he said to Dave, “Are you sure that she is in this shack? It looks deserted to me and also isolated, somewhere I don’t think Jenna would be found in.”

  Dave turned away from them with a smirk before he looked over his shoulder with a sad face. “I’m positive,” he said before turning back around and heading for the door.

  Caden nodded his head to Gregory giving him permission to follow first and Caden brought up the rear as they entered the shack.

  Dave entered first and as Gregory and Caden entered behind he began, “She is right…”

  Gregory and Caden looked around the room as if it was their first time being there while Dave’s voice trailed off and Gregory frowning said playing along, “Where is she?”

  “I…she…” Dave said a stunned look on his face as he stared around the room.

  Caden walked over to the bed of leaves still laid in the middle of the room and knelt down. “It could be possible someone used this as a shack to meet their lover,” he suggested with a thoughtful look.

  Gregory who was watching Dave closely as Caden spoke saw the shock and apprehension that flashed in his eyes.

  “Well, if she was here, she’s not anymore,” Caden said standing up wiping his hands together. “We should look around outside for any clues that could tell us in what direction she may have taken once she left this place.”

  Gregory nodded his head as Dave stood staring i
n shock at the bed of leaves.

  “Dave, are you coming?” Gregory asked as he and Caden started out of the shack.

  “Huh,” Dave said absently glancing over at them. “Oh yeah, I’m coming. I thought for sure this was the place, but maybe he had been mistaken about the area where he heard the noise.”

  “That could be possible, but let’s look around anyway while we are here,” Caden suggested as they got outside and with Gregory going one way, Caden went the opposite both knowing that nothing would be found as the members from earlier did a damn good search.

  “I found something,” Dave called not even two minutes in their searching unaware of Gregory and Caden’s surprise as they went towards his voice.

  “What did you find?” Caden asked his voice calm not showing any emotion although Gregory sensed the tight control he had on his wolf.

  “I found this,” Dave said holding out an earring which Caden knew was Jenna’s as he was the one who bought it for her.

  “It is Jenna’s earring,” Caden confirmed as Dave wanted him to. “I bought it for her about a year ago.”

  “So she went in this direction,” Gregory commented his eyes narrowed.

  “Or carried in that direction,” Caden said bluntly getting a startled look form Dave.

  “I don’t think…” Dave said getting looks from both Gregory and Caden so he sighed. “Okay, it could be possible but we won’t know anything to the body is found.”

  “No we won’t, will we?” Caden said his voice tight with anger. “Let’s get back to the pack house,” he glanced over at Gregory knowing that Dave was watching him closely, “and we will form another search party.”

  Gregory nodded his head although he wondered what Caden had up his sleeve as they headed back to the pack house.

  Once they reached the pack house, Caden and Gregory went up to the office as Dave went off in a different direction.

  Before he left them though he asked, “Have either of you seen Cato?”

  “No I haven’t, have you Caden?” Gregory asked but Caden was already striding up the stairs and he didn’t answer his question. Gregory turned back to Dave with a shrug of his shoulders as he gave him a narrowed look before he followed Caden up the stairs.