by Sydney Addae
Zoe’s heart fell. She hadn’t wanted to believe her father had anything to do with this. Silvia said he would kill Raven who was innocent. “Really? That’s... that’s unbelievable.”
“He’s going to be angry when he learns what happened. Would you like to drive down to the beach for a few days? My treat.”
“You think he’ll hurt me? Beat me?”
“I’ll kill him and his people if he tried it,” the Queen said immediately. “No. It’s... this is disappointing. We really wanted to make him pay.”
“He’s dead. Alpha Ricardo is dead and has been dead for a few years. That’s punishment enough. Didn’t you guys research him at all? It took a few moments for me to find that information online,” Zoe said, disgusted.
“Sacha handled that part of it.”
“That’s... I can’t... I’m going for a walk. We’ll talk later.”
“Do you want to go to the beach or somewhere for a few days?”
“No. If he’s that angry, I’ll come home,” Zoe said.
“Oh. Right. Good idea.” The Queen sounded happy.
“Thanks for the flight and getting me out of there, Mom. I appreciate it.” Zoe stepped out the car and left the detached garage where she had gone for the private conversation. She headed toward the meadow near the orchards.
“Any time my baby calls for help, I’m there. You’re a strong woman unfurling her wings so she can soar. I wasn’t ready. I’m still not but, I’ll always be here for you.”
“I’ll always be there for you, too. I made that very clear,” Zoe said.
The Queen chuckled. “Yes, I heard. So proud of you. Be careful.”
“Will do. Talk to you later.” Zoe disconnected the call as she turned up her music and continued walking. A truck she didn’t recognize drove toward the orchard and stopped.
Between Zoe’s sunglasses and the tinted glass on the truck, it was difficult to see whoever was inside.
The door opened and Biloga, the Amazon, stepped out the truck. She stuffed her hands into her pocket and glanced at Zoe. When Zoe got closer, Biloga held out her hands.
“I know you told me to stay away from you. I’ll be leaving in a second. Just wanted to tell you someone was asking questions about your sire in town. Nobody told them anything, we don’t do that around here. Just thought he should know.”
Zoe thought of Raven and wondered if this was some kind of backlash. “Human or full-blood?”
“Full-blood.”
“Young? Old? Describe him,” Zoe said.
Biloga described him as a young pup who had been sent by his Alpha to ask questions.
“Has he ever been here before?”
“No. I don’t think so,” Biloga said, with brows furrowed.
“Anyone ever come asking questions about my sire before?”
“No. Never heard of it,” Biloga said.
“Thank you. I appreciate you letting us know.”
Biloga smiled, turned and walked back toward her truck. Once she reached the door, she looked at Zoe with admiration. “Not only can you kick ass, but you’re also smart, strategic. Will your father return to Honduras for your land?”
Hearing Honduras shook Zoe. “What?”
“Yeah, the new Alpha sent word that anyone who lost land because of Alpha Ricardo could reclaim it. We’re thinking about returning to reclaim my sire’s land, maybe build a few homes, rent them out or something like that for additional income. Right now, we’re doing okay here, but who knows about the future, right?”
What? Were they buddies or something now? Zoe thought.
“Sounds like a good idea. Land never loses its value. Best investment,” Zoe repeated what she had heard her mother and Gerry say.
Biloga smiled wide. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks.” She slid into the truck and drove off.
Zoe stared at the dust and wandered into the guava orchard. Her beast was unsettled and she didn’t know why. It had been this way since the airport in Honduras. She sat beneath a tree, placed her buds into her ears and tried to relax.
“Kira!” her father called several minutes later.
She didn’t reply.
“Answer me.”
“Yes?”
“Where did you take the female bitch?”
“To Honduras.” She was positive the Queen told him everything already.
“Why?” he yelled.
She didn’t respond.
“Answer me,” he yelled.
“Do you realize you’re yelling at me?” she asked a few moments later.
He didn’t say anything.
“Why did you get involved with matters that didn’t concern you?” He spoke in a calmer tone although she felt his beast’s agitation.
“Didn’t concern me? Wasn’t she here because of me, Mam and Suri?”
“No.”
“No?”
“That was a part of it. A small part,” he snapped.
“Did you plan to kill her?” Zoe asked.
“What?”
“Did you plan to kill her?”
“No. I just found out —”
“She’s home. But I’m here. Let’s live in the present, enjoy each other now. How does that sound?” Zoe hadn’t planned to let him know her true feelings about their time together but the dam leaked and she wasn’t sure how to stop it.
“A lot of time, resources and money —”
“I’ll pay it back. Will that make you happy? Will it make it better? Will you look at me differently?” It hurt to speak of her disappointment and pain over his treatment of her but she wasn’t a coward.
“What?”
“If you want me to remain here, you need to spend quality time with me. Talk to me. Open up so I can get to know you. Otherwise, we’re wasting each other’s time,” Zoe said. Her heart bled as she put everything on the line but she couldn’t continue the way they were.
“You promised me six months.”
“To learn Pack. All I’ve learned is my sire would murder an innocent for something she didn’t do. You could’ve told me that on the phone,” Zoe said. Her heart broke at the thought of him harming Raven or anyone who couldn’t defend themselves.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right.” Zoe didn’t have it in her to argue. “Keep telling yourself that.”
“I’m heading home, we’ll talk when I get there.”
“Biloga said someone had been asking questions about you in town. You may want to swing through there first.”
“You talked to her?” he asked.
“She came to warn you.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Thought you might,” she said.
“We’ll talk later tonight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Lucian arrived at the corner of Lloyd’s street and was surprised by the number of people standing in the front yard. Were they having a party of sorts? Tempted not to intrude, he slowed his walk while hoping to pull Lloyd from his company for a few moments to ask the question.
He hadn’t taken two more steps before the men turned and watched him. This was not what he wanted.
“Alpha Lucian, perfect,” Lloyd said with a wide smile. “Please, these are a few men who have questions regarding reclaiming their land.”
Lucian bit back a groan. The land was the last thing he wanted to discuss. “Of course, Lloyd. What kind of questions?” He stood on the street watching them.
“Did you mean it?” one of the men asked.
“Yes.” Lucian didn’t appreciate his word being questioned.
“I didn’t mean to imply you lied or Lloyd lied... I just...”
“You didn’t believe he would try to make things right. I keep telling you, Alpha Lucian and Duke are more like their sire, Alpha Josef and not Ricardo. Things are different now. If you want to return to your land, you can.” Lloyd looked over his shoulder at Lucian. “Isn’t that right, Sir?”
Lucian smiled. “Yes. I asked Lloyd to help
in finding you and passing on the news. Until he told me what happened during the time my Uncle was Alpha I didn’t know. On behalf of my den, I apologize for what you and your dens suffered beneath his care. As long as I’m Alpha, it will never happen again. May the Goddess destroy me first.” he vowed.
The men looked at him for a few moments and nodded.
“A school’s been built on my land,” one of the men said.
“Either I’ll pay you for the land or give you another parcel. You won’t lose anything,” Lucian promised.
“How soon can we move back?” Another asked.
“Whenever you’re ready, make an appointment to pledge fealty to Alpha Duke, and he’ll write you a deed.”
Eager to get Lloyd alone but unwilling for any of the others to listen in, Lucian patiently answered questions and sent them away.
“Thank you, Sir. The word has spread far and wide. I’ve been getting all kinds of calls for information. That group will pass on what they learned, that’ll help.”
“Is it causing a problem?” Lucian asked concerned.
Lloyd grinned. It was obvious he was in his element. “No. It’s just been a long time since we’ve seen each other. Home is... well, it’s home. Honduras is in the blood and no other place will do. It’s good.”
Pleased, Lucian spoke. “Do you remember an Alpha named Sacha Hidalgo?”
Lloyd’s entire countenance changed. Sorrow and pain leaked from his pores. A feeling of foreboding washed over Lucian.
“Sacha... that was your Uncle at his worst.” Lloyd paused. “It hurts to think about it.”
Lucian wanted to stop and not hear but he had to know.
“Alpha Ricardo hated Sacha. Maybe because Sacha was also BlackWolf, there aren’t many around here you know.” He peered at Lucian. “But I think it was because Ricardo was attracted to Sacha’s mate. She was beautiful from a powerful clan with a Priest who served in the Goddess temple for decades. Ricardo threatened Sacha’s Pack, swore he would use them in experiments if they didn’t either take the drugs or allow use of his lands to transport his illegal things. He bullied Sacha’s Pack more than the rest of us.”
Lloyd took a deep breath. “Sacha got tired of it. Told Ricardo to back off, did in front of that military guy. Ricardo blew up, they fought and Sacha kicked his... well, he beat him really good. While he fought Ricardo, someone took his wee one. We searched everywhere for her. When Sacha went home, his mate and other pup had been ripped apart, and lay dead on the porch.”
Lucian’s stomach clenched. He couldn’t believe it.
“We all knew Ricardo’s Pack did it, but there was no one to report it to, no one to make that Pack pay for what they did. Sacha searched everywhere for his pup, never found her. After he buried his mate and pup, he moved away. Haven’t heard or seen him since.”
If anyone had a reason to hurt Ricardo’s family, Sacha Hilgado did. “Any idea where he moved?”
“Somewhere in Colombia, he’s got a Pack there I heard.”
“Make sure you get word to him about reclaiming the land. If his mate is buried here, I don’t want anyone else to have that land. Enough has been taken from him already.”
Lloyd’s eyes widened. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll get in touch with Silvia, she’s related to his mate and ask her to pass it on.”
“In fact, have them come soon, in the next few days if possible to reclaim the land. I’ll hold it until then,” Lucian said growing excited.
“I’ll contact her tonight. There was a break of sorts. Sacha’s mate’s family blamed him for her death and the death of their pup. Sad all around.”
Lucian was sure there was a lot more to it but didn’t want to push. “You’ve been a tremendous help in all of this. Let me know if you need anything.”
Lloyd’s smile widened. “Yes, Sir.”
“Oh, what was the name of Sacha’s pup, the one who disappeared?” Lucian turned and asked.
“Cutest little thing. Kira. We called her Kira.”
Lucian had assumed Zoe was the Alpha’s pup. Confused, he nodded his thanks and walked back toward the Alpha house.
If Zoe was his mate, where was Kira? How did Zoe fit into all of this if she wasn’t the Alpha’s pup? If Sacha came, who would come with him, Kira or Zoe? None of it made any sense.
“Raven’s up and asking for you,” Duke said.
Lucian broke into a run and headed toward the house.
Minutes later he strode through the living room, followed her scent and entered the dining area where Raven and Duke sat at the table eating.
“Smells good in here. I hope you saved me some,” Lucian teased.
“Just the crumbs,” Raven said pushing the half-full bowl and platter toward him. She sounded so much like the old Raven he grinned.
“Missed you,” he said without thinking.
“Duke told me I was taken from here. Lucian, I don’t remember any of it. How’s that possible?” She stared at him.
“Our links are working again, that’s good,” Duke said.
“I didn’t know it was possible for them to break,” Raven said. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not. No one should be able to break our links. I’m looking into it.” Lucian had mentioned it to the Goddess and She promised to investigate it.
“What did I miss?” Raven asked, her gaze flew from Lucian to Duke and back to Lucian.
“You just got home, let me look at you and enjoy you first before you go all business on us,” Duke teased.
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I know but a week. We had a lot going on. Projects. Staff.”
Duke sighed. “Can we at least eat dinner first? I promise to bring you current afterward. Okay?”
She smiled. Her dark eyes sparkled making her look less vulnerable. “Thank you. I need to know where we are, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made.”
“An hour or two reassuring your brothers you’re okay won’t hurt,” Lucian said and covered her hand.
“I know.” She leaned back. “It’s hard to believe a week of my life is gone and I have no memory of it.”
“What about the flight home? Do you remember more about that?” Duke asked. He glanced at Lucian before looking at Raven.
“Not much, other than she was really pretty, polite, asked if I was comfortable, made sure I had something to eat. She didn’t talk much, no idle chatter. Came across confident, positive.”
“Old? Young?” Duke asked.
“Young, 20’s or 30’s I’d guess or she could have good genes and be much older, it’s harder to tell these days. I do not want you to go after her. She got me out of there, so leave her alone,” Raven said.
“Who should I go after?” Lucian asked conversationally.
Raven’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You were taken out of the country, right? Someone did that,” Lucian said.
She opened her mouth and snapped it shut. “Well, yes... someone did.” She frowned. “It wasn’t her. Her scent, I would’ve remembered it.”
Duke frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea but my beast was at ease with her the entire time. When I sat in the limo, it wasn’t at ease with the driver. Once I came here, my beast eased again. Makes no sense, but none of this makes sense to me.” She shrugged and looked at Lucian. “I feel okay. Duke said you examined me and everything’s good.”
“I didn’t see any anomalies. You may want Quinn to look you over whenever he and Jackie return to the clinic,” Lucian said.
“Nope. No one knows I was taken and I want to keep it that way,” she said.
“If there are any lingering effects—” Lucian said.
“Then I’ll get examined. Right now, I want to know what I missed.” She looked at Duke.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TWO DAYS AFTER RETURNING Raven to Honduras, Zoe, her father, Biloga, Thiago, and a few others from Colombia exited the airpor
t and picked up their rental cars.
Dressed in snug-fitting jeans and a navy and gold print top, Zoe pinned her long braid high on her head to remain cool. Ignoring the stares sent in her direction, she pushed her sunglasses up her nose, pulled her carry-on behind her, and slid into the front seat before Thiago could, forcing him to sit in the back. Her father glanced at her, shook his head but didn’t say anything.
After their very long discussion yesterday, she hoped he was done trying to make her feel guilty or sad about anything she had done. Killing an innocent was wrong, period. If the Alpha who had killed her Mam still lived, Zoe would go after the man herself. If his replacement was just as evil, her father should have gone after him instead of Raven.
Her father disagreed.
They would never see eye to eye on that matter, nor was he ready for her to leave. He insisted she return to Honduras with him to reclaim the land where her Mam and sister were buried. The idea of going to see dead people horrified her, but what could she say? He had shared his feelings, and this was important to him. It was his olive branch. A compromise of sorts.
She had no idea a group of them were flying together until they reached the airport. Biloga talked about farm life the entire flight without taking a break. Zoe had gone to the restroom, twice, sat on the commode for 10 minutes only to have Biloga pick up where she left off.
Thiago tapped her shoulder.
She glanced at him.
“Biloga fears flying. She talks to keep her mind off the plane falling out the air or something like that. I’m surprised you didn’t tell her to shut up or something,” Thiago said.
“What? You don’t think I’m sympathetic? I figured that out when she told the story of her favorite cow twice,” Zoe said.
“She’s your new best friend,” Thiago teased.
“At least I have a friend,” Zoe said.
“Ouch,” Thiago said grinning.
“You’ve never been to Honduras, right?” she asked Thiago.
“I was born here, left when I was six, why?” he asked.
“Just wondered why you’re coming to claim land, that’s all.”
“I’m not claiming any land,” Thiago said.