“No, no,” she muttered to herself although pack members outside heard her. “After all our plans, this isn’t happening now.”
She started back to the house in fully stride and as she entered, she called out sharply, “Caden we need to talk now.”
Her demanding tone echoed around the house and pack members stopped what they were doing as Caden in his office lifted his head and Abella who was sitting on the couch said dryly, “I do believe someone is pissed off.”
Caden glared at her as he got up from his seat and said in a hard voice, “Who the hell does she think she is?”
“Your mate and the Alpha Female,” Abella said with a nod of her head as Caden turned to her.
He walked over to her and leaned down pressing his forehead against her as he uttered in a clear voice, “Then she is sadly mistaken because I only have one mate and Alpha Female for this pack.”
After a kiss on her nose, he hurried out of the office as the door opened and Jed said, “Dave is almost ready to head out and it looks like he is taking a few members with him.”
“Really,” Caden said in a dangerously soft voice as he walked out.
Jed went up the stairs as Abella looked up from the couch. “Are you ready?” He asked as he walked over to her.
“This should be easier than bringing you from the library,” Abella said teasingly as she stood up.
“Smart ass,” Jed said shaking his head as Abella laughed before Jed took them to Leana’s room.
Jed walked over to the door leaning lightly against it to listen as he told Abella slowly, “Go ahead. Be careful but don’t take too long.”
Abella nodded her head as she positioned herself next to the bed and taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on Jenna who was still in Dr. Olsen’s makeshift autopsy room fully dressed as she was when Caden and the others found her.
Abella blocked everything else out as she chanted under her breathe and Jed looked over a few minutes later as Jenna’s body slowly began to come in view on the bed.
His silver eyes narrowed as Abella waited a few minutes more before she came out of her trance and she opened her eyes looking down at the body on the bed.
“From a woman’s perspective, she was actually a pretty woman,” Abella said as she backed away from the bed.
Jed nodded his head as he walked back over to her and as Jed took them out of the room Abella asked, “So what happens now?”
“We wait,” Jed replied as they reappeared in Caden’s office. “Besides, while we wait, I have some good news for you and something to give you.”
Abella stared at him confusion as he smiled making himself comfortable on the couch as he patted the space next to him inviting Abella to sit down.
She sat down and he smiled as suddenly a box appeared in his hands and Abella’s eyes widened as he told her, “We, Caden and I, had it fixed.”
Tears filled Abella’s eyes as Jed handed it over and Abella smoothed her hands over it as she thought about her mom, and she smiled at Jed with bright eyes, and he laughed before he told her the good news.
“What do you want Leana?” Caden asked as he went downstairs meeting Leana in the living room.
“Oh, honey,” Leana said with a giggle giving him a sultry look. “I only wanted to see when we are going to hold the marking ceremony.”
Caden folded his arms over his chest as he said, “Well, we haven’t find Jenna’s body yet…”
Leana waved her hand as she told him, “Dave has already said that he is going out today with a small group of people to look for her so you don’t need to worry there.”
“I don’t believe Dave has talked with me about taking any pack members with him,” Caden mentioned his tone light but his black eyes were narrowed in anger.
“I gave him permission as Alpha Female,” Leana told him with a smile and a nod to Dave who came in the room.
Cade glanced over at him as he bowed his head slightly but there was a mocking look that flashed through his eyes which was caught by a few pack members. Caden saw how the pack reacted and although he hadn’t caught it, he was sure that they were reacting to a look on Dave’s face.
Caden decided, for now, to ignore it as he nodded his head before he turned back to Leana. “Well, I guess that takes care of one problem I am having, but now about the answer to my question.”
Leana let her lips wobble a little as she said softly, “I was really confused during that time, Caden. I had learned that you were a beast, and although I said I was fine with it, the closer it came to the wedding the more worried and scared I got. Finally, on our wedding day I just couldn’t handle it and I took off. As for you not finding me, I met someone who knew about werewolves and after I told him a little about my problem, he helped me to disguise my scent so you wouldn’t be able to find me. I know that I hurt you, Caden, but I was scared.”
She walked over to him her eyes shining with tears as she reached him allowing her hands to settle against his chest.
“I’m sure that you can forgive me for being scared,” she breathed against his lips as she stood up on tiptoe.
Before she could kiss him, Caden pulled his head back as his wolf growled inside him and Caden hid the smile as his wolf and he came to the same conclusion. They didn’t want Leana touching him much less kissing him.
With that thought, Caden stepped back from her as he said, “I can forgive you for being scared of what you were getting into by marrying me.”
A smile of satisfaction crossed Leana’s face as she said, “So we can commence with the marking ceremony?”
Caden opened his mouth and before he could say anything as it was prearranged Natalee came in the room.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Alpha Caden, there is a phone call for you,” she said nodding her head holding out her cell phone. “I guess Alpha Stone tried to call the pack phone and your cell but didn’t get an answer.”
Caden let a frown cross his face as he walked over to her and took the phone from her. He glanced at Leana before speaking in the phone and told her, “We will arrange the marking ceremony for tomorrow.”
Dave was watching him closely as he spoke in the cell, “Hi, Jerry, is there another problem?”
Alpha Stone’s voice could be heard over the phone as he laughed before Caden walked out of the room, and Dave sent Leana a satisfied smile before he turned to walk out of the room.
“Dave,” Timothy called out stopping him as he walked over to him. “Would you like a few extra bodies to help you in your search?”
Leana smiled smugly as she looked over at Jessa who was watching her with narrowed eyes before she said, “I think I should go and see what I have in my closet for tomorrow’s ceremony.”
With a light laugh, she walked out of the room and up the stairs.
“Now that was easy,” Natalee whispered as Jessa began to smile and Asilynn laughed.
“Easy girls, we don’t want to give away the game yet,” Briac mumbled next to them as he leaned against the doorframe watching Timothy and Dave talking from the corner of his eye.
Suddenly there was a loud scream from upstairs and Gregory murmured, “Showtime” as Dave darted up the stairs following a few others who had reacted to the sound.
“Interesting,” Timothy uttered as they caught up with him going up the stairs.
“What is?” Jessa said behind him as were Asilynn and Natalee.
“Before he took off, Dave muttered ‘damn woman is a nuisance’,” Timothy told them as they reached the room as the other pack members parted.
Only the few who had entered the room saw who was lying on the bed and those were ones that Gregory had picked himself so when they entered he gave each of them a slight nod.
“YOU BASTARD!” Jenna screamed as she picked up a vase and threw it at Dave who was looking shocked.
“Close the door,” Timothy muttered as pack members began to back out although they made room for Caden as he silently walked in the room.
&n
bsp; “Why did you put her body there on my bed?” Leana screamed at him one shaky finger pointing to the bed.
“Shut up,” Dave said through clenched teeth as his eyes focused on the bed.
“After everything I did for you,” Leana said not listening to him her face pale and her body shaking, “you do something like this to what, keep me in line. Since the day you seduced me and took me away from this damn pack, I’ve done everything for you even gotten pregnant just so you, not your child, could control a pack.”
“I DIDN’T DO THIS,” he yelled at her his eyes showing there fury as his wolf came to the surface.
“Yeah, right,” Leana scoffed. “You probably learned about Abella being pregnant and decided to create a situation where Caden would have to take care of me like a sudden reappearance of the dead she-wolf that I helped you kill.”
Dave was breathing heavy his eyes still focused on the bed as Leana stared at him neither aware of the audience they had as Dr. Olsen slipped quietly in the room.
He looked at Caden who wasn’t even paying attention before he transferred his attention to Natalee and she shook her head.
“Hell,” Dave began. “I don’t know how her body got here, but you were right along with my idea to kill her especially after she found out that you were pregnant with my baby.”
“It was your idea to sleep in every damn room in the house to see if anyone caught on,” Leana sneered. “Just your luck one did because she happened to walk in on us. I know why I didn’t notice her but you, the great werewolf leader, should’ve been able to tell that someone had been watching us.”
Dave’s hands were clenched into fists as he said, “But you were the one who got the silver nitrate to dose her with after doing a little research, Alpha Female.”
The sarcasm on the term ‘Alpha Female’ had everyone looking at each other as Caden finally spoke up.
“I could forgive you for being scared at that time, Leana,” he said stepping forward as Dave and Leana spun around in surprise. “But if only you were truly scared. You ran away with Dave, a council member and werewolf himself so you weren’t scared only conceited. As for your story, it actually had some grains of truth about disguising your scent because I learned that Dave is very good at making sprays for hunters who are tracking werewolves. It isn’t so hard to create a smell so that a werewolf thinks that they are approaching another werewolf when actuality they are coming upon a hunter.”
There was silence at his words even from his own pack members as Timothy said, “Caden, when did…?”
“I told him some things that I learned,” Jed said stepping forward from the other side of the room with Abella.
“What are you doing here?” Leana screeched.
Abella shrugged her shoulders as she truthfully, “I asked to come because I wanted to learn the truth.”
“Truth?” Leana scoffed at her words. “The truth is very simple Caden is my mate no matter how you look at it.”
“I know,” Abella said with a nod of her head.
“Yet I still choose Abella,” Caden stated with confidence.
“You can’t,” Leana and Dave yelled together.
“Why can’t I choose the one I want to spend my life with and to help me take care of my pack?” Caden asked lifting an eyebrow.
“Because she is a witch for one and it goes against the laws of werewolves,” Dave said smugly although Caden noticed that he was agitated.
Jed, Caden said without shifting his eyes in his direction.
I see it Jed replied taking hold of Abella’s arm and pulling her behind him.
Timothy, Gregory, Briac, Caden continued as Leana said. “We all know that the chosen mate is the one who will be Alpha Female.”
See it, they replied in unison.
“Maybe Dave should’ve done a little more research or he would’ve known that the first werewolf fell in love with another,” Cato said surprising everyone as they all turned to him.
“She destroyed his mind,” Dave argued his agitation becoming stronger as his eyes darted around the room. “You should know that, sir.”
“No, Dave, she didn’t destroy his mind,” Cato told him a touch of sorrow in his voice. “What destroyed him was that he chose his mate over the one who helped him to get over what his mate did to him. His mate left with only a note not giving him a chance and I believe when it was convenient for her, she returned. He did what he was thought was right to ensure the pack but sacrificed his own heart in the process. So did the witch because she let him choose his mate as her own heart broke and she walked away without looking back. That is the reason the Fates decreed the Witch Prophecy.”
“It’s nothing but a myth,” Dave yelled stepping back.
“And yet, there have been two cases of it happening,” Cato said. “The second like the first chose his mate and caused his entire pack to be destroyed with the exception of two, one which became a rogue wanting vengeance.”
“It’s a lie, a lie,” Dave said repeating it over and over again before he shifted and the first person he went after was Leana but Abella protected her.
“Timothy, Gregory, Briac,” Caden yelled a second before he shifted to his wolf and not even a half second later there were three more wolves.
“Abella, we need to get the females out of here,” Jed said as Abella’s eyes focused on what was going on realizing that they weren’t trying to hurt him but detain him.
“Abella,” Jed said sharply, and Abella nodded her head as she rushed forward grabbing Leana’s arm pulling her to the others.
“Jed, take care of them,” Cato said his white eyes focused on the wall but they could tell he was listening to what was going on.
“He won’t quit, will he?” Abella asked in a soft voice.
“No, young witch,” Cato told her just as quietly. “Dave has been conditioned since he was a child and those hunters that Caden talked about earlier where Dave’s way of trying to keep the werewolf bloodline pure.”
“Only werewolves can mate with other werewolves,” Abella murmured.
Cato nodded his head as he said, “I thought when he accepted his human mate that his father’s teachings hadn’t warped him but now knowing what truly happened with her death…”
He sighed and shook his head as Abella laid a hand on his arm before she, at Jed’s urging, left the room with the others.
Leana was pissed at being pulled out and she said with a snarl, “That was all talk so don’t go getting happy. I know the laws of the werewolf society and I know that he can’t choose anyone other than his mate.”
She literally spat at Abella as she said this before she stormed off and Jessa said warily, “I guess sometimes she doesn’t understand.”
“Oh, she understands,” Natalee said her eyes slightly narrowed.
“But like Jenna, she doesn’t want to believe it,” Asilynn said before they all turned and looked at the door waiting.
Almost ten minutes later, the door opened to reveal Cato who shook his head sadly walking out of the room followed by four bloody men although Abella knew that Caden was the one who killed Dave from the look on his face.
“You did what you had to,” she told him softly as she walked over to him not thinking, or caring, about the blood as she slid her arms around him.
The other women followed her lead as pack members who hadn’t left asked, “Alpha is everything okay?”
Caden nodded his head before he smiled softly although there was sadness in his eyes. “We will be having a marking ceremony tomorrow,” he told the pack and he was surprised when they let up arguments until he added. “Abella is the one that I will be marking as my mate and Alpha Female.”
The pack went suddenly silent before there were loud growls and howls of approval, and Caden smiled squeezing Abella to him.
“What about Leana?” Abella asked quietly laying her head on his chest and watching the pack around them.
“Oh, I think Oden and Cicely will be happy to have her unti
l the baby is born because I don’t think she will keep him, or her, but I think Oden and Cicely will do a good job raising the child,” Caden told her. “Even if they are getting along in age.”
“So she was the other witch,” Abella said a note of a smile on her face, “although she doesn’t actual fit the prophecy.”
“To be honest, she does,” Cato said next to them. “Cicely’s mother was actually one of the granddaughter’s from the witch who fell in love with the first werewolf.”
Cato turned and looked at Abella before he smiled and told her, “As your grandmother was another granddaughter.”
“Cicely and I are related,” Abella said in astonishment.
Cato laughed as he nodded his head, and Caden laughed. “Well, it explains why she worried about you and made sure that you knew what you needed to know.”
Abella’s grey eyes were sparkling with joy and happiness. “So I still have family that I can count on,” she murmured.
“And you just added to it,” Jessa added giving her a grin as Natalee and Asilynn nodded their head in agreement.
“Caden,” Leana said as she walked over to them.
“Leana, do you want your child?” Caden asked getting his answer by the sneer on her face. “Cicely and Oden will be here tonight and you will be going with them until your baby is born, and after that you can do whatever you want.”
“But,” Abella said her eyes narrowed and her voice cold, “if I hear anything about you causing trouble for our pack or any other pack then I will personally hunt you down.”
Leana’s eyes widened in fear before she scrambled back to her room and Jed said quietly, “After the baby is born, I think we should erase her memories of the pack.”
Abella nodded her head as Caden said, “I will make sure Oden and Cicely know so after the baby is born they can contact us.”
Caden glanced around the house before he smiled and said, “So how about we get started in arranging a marking ceremony for tomorrow?”
There were cheers as Caden lifted Abella in his arms swinging her around as Jed glanced over at Cato.
The Witch Prophecy Page 58