He slid his fingers through his hair a couple of times, gathering his thoughts on how to explain it. Finally he gave up and plowed in. “Have you ever heard of the term 'fatavoce' ?"
Everyone shook their heads, so he continued. “It means song maiden and according to Councilor Gretchen, Zandria is one. In fact, she's the only one known to exist for more than 800 years. They are extremely rare and extremely powerful. A fatavoce is always a female and they are always, without exception, a wolf.”
“I've never heard of such utter crap,” Larry's face twisted in anger. “Why are you doing this? Why are you getting their hopes up? The only thing we ever wanted was for her to be normal. Instead, she's weak, helpless, blind without even an inner beast to help her. You call yourself her mate? Then where were you? Why weren't you protecting her?”
Cayson snapped. Jumping up he glared at him, showing him his own inner beast. “I'm telling you that she's special. And yes, I failed at my job of protecting her because I was trying to support her and not treat her like a helpless human. As for her being blind, I suppose it never occurred to you to take her to an eye specialist? We found out that she's not blind, she has congenital cataracts that could have been removed when she was a small child. Human children born with them are often corrected before they are old enough to walk. Her vision is fine and once I do find her, I will get her eyes corrected – something her family should have done years ago!”
Adam stood up and moved between the two men, both angered and hurt. “You two need to calm down. It seems to me that everyone failed that girl in some way or another.” The two eased back slightly and sat back down. Adam continued. “I, myself, have never seen a song maiden, but I also have never seen a whale before. It doesn't mean they don't exist. Alexandria has always been special. There was always something about her that most didn't understand. I'm thinking that since you called her a song maiden, it has something to do with how she sings?”
Cayson nodded but didn't take his eyes off of his mate's father. This whole thing had gone much more wrong than he had ever anticipated. “The way Elder Gretchen explained it, she's like a dreamer in a way, except instead of just being able to see a person's stream, she can actually interact with it. I'm not sure exactly how except it has something to do with her ability to vocally manifest a person's stream. She sings and things happen.”
“I knew it!”
Everyone looked at Willow. “Daddy, remember two years ago when I broke my ankle falling into that gopher hole? I had to limp home on it and by the time the healer got to the house, it was the size of a grapefruit and all black. That night it was hurting so bad I couldn't sleep. Tigger heard me and came in and sang to me while she laid her hand on it. The next day all the swelling was gone and it was healed. The healer said it was the fastest healing from a bone breaking he had ever seen – fast even for a wolf. I knew she did something but when I asked her she said she just wanted me to feel better so she sang me a song.”
Cayson grinned in triumph. “See. She can do things with her voice. Last fall, my sister was kidnapped by a rogue wolf. Zandria was able to tell us where she was by use of her voice. If it wasn't for her, we would never have found Carson in time.”
“Okay, let's say I believe you. Why do you think she would be stupid enough to come back here?”
Cayson looked around the room, thinking before he spoke. His eyes fell on each one of her family and he sighed. These were his mate's family and therefore, would one day be his family. Making up his mind to mend the already fragile relationship between them, he continued. “Even though we are mated, we haven't bonded yet. Like I said, I was waiting on her to get comfortable with it – or at least that's what I thought. Now I think she was so afraid of getting close that she drew away so that none of us would get hurt. When Simon showed up in Virginia, she found out somehow and ran off. We went looking for her and got a lead she was heading to New Orleans so we followed. Then a couple of nights ago, just before getting to New Orleans...” He stopped for a minute “I know you are going to find this hard to believe but I knew he had caught up with her. I knew it as well as I know my name. We turned around and headed this way. My father is alpha of our pack, so I called him. He went to the council and urged them to come here. We were afraid if he had her, he may not stop this time.”
“What do you mean 'this time'?” Veronica's face had gone white.
“When we found her in Virginia, she was near death. She was mauled from head to foot and had lost so much blood, she almost didn't make it. It took my sister, our healer and myself to hold her in this world until she stabilized enough to heal. At the time, we had a rogue wolf in our territory so we thought he had done it, but she denied it. Knowing what I do about everything that has happened, I don't have a doubt that Simon Winstead either did it himself or had it done to her.”
“If he did it here, how did she get there in that shape?” Dakota had pulled his mate up into his lap and she buried her face in his shoulder. They could tell she was crying softly.
They hadn't known how badly Zandria had been hurt. A little of the fury in Cayson has dissipated. “I don't know,” he stated simply. “She never would say anything about her past no matter how many times we asked. We just accepted her into the pack. I figured one day she would tell me.”
“So it's just your gut instinct that she's even here? “
“We came here based on that instinct. We are close and even without the blood bond, I can sometimes feel what she's feeling. But once we got here, we got a call from a truck driver in Dallas. He had picked her up outside of Vicksburg. He said she had been taken by two men in Shreveport. One of them was described as having a scar across his nose and face. The other one had an earring in his left ear – a big flashy one.”
“Bobby and his buddy, Leon.” Adam swore softly. “Yeah if they have her, then Simon does; they won't do anything unless the alpha is pushing their buttons.” His eyes glinted dangerously. “If they so much as touch a hair on her head, I'll kill the whole bunch myself.” He growled.
"What I don't understand is, if she has this gift and someone has her," Larry interrupted, "why doesn't she use it to get away?"
Cay shrugged. "Who knows? She's such a gentle soul, so full of care for others, maybe she is unwilling? Maybe she's unconscious and unable to do anything?" He pushed his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. "Perhaps she's terrified and unable to do anything."
There was a knock at the door. The Rogers' women all jumped, fear bright in their eyes. Larry pointed towards a bedroom and the three went without a word, closing the door behind. The click of a lock said they were secured. Dakota got up and stood beside Cayson who took a place just behind Adam giving him deference as elder of the family. Once Larry was sure everyone was ready he opened the door.
Rachel stood in the doorway but took a step back when faced with the four of them. Cayson moved around Larry, “She's part of our pack. Rachel, this is Larry Rogers, Zandria's father, Adam, her grandfather, and Dakota, her sister's mate. This is Rachel Frost, my sister's best friend and the pack's resident smart ass..”
She growled at him, “I'll deal with you later.” Giving the others a sweet smile she said, “Mr. Rogers, you and Mr. Benson are being summoned before the council. If you'll follow me, I'll take you down to the room.” She glared at Cayson again and made a motion of pointing to her eyes with two fingers then to him then mouthed, “I'm watching you”.
Larry looked back at the still locked door. “It's okay, sir. Dakota and I will stay right here. Nobody is going to hurt our family.” Cayson assured him.
“Please keep the door locked,” Adam turned and followed Rachel out of the room. After a moment hesitation, Larry nodded and walked out with him. Cayson closed the door and locked it as Dakota went to the bedroom door. “You can come out. It was just a council summons.”
SEVENTEEN
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On the exterior, Simon Winstead was calm, co
ol and collected. On the inside, however, he was seething. How had things gotten so out of control? He knew that Jeff Hennison, that arrogant alpha from Virginia, had requested an emergency hearing from the council and somehow managed to drag them all the way here from their compound in upper New York. However, what he didn't understand was why they seemed to believe the accusations. He smiled pleasantly at them as they sat behind their table waiting for the appearance of Benson and Rogers, seemingly unperturbed by the summons, but the truth was he was shocked to discover they not only were still alive, but that they were close by. That was something he was going to have to rectify as soon as this silliness was concluded. He forced himself to relax and project innocence. The last thing he needed was Enforcers snooping around his pack.
The door opened and a young woman with dark red hair stepped in, holding it open for the two ex-members of his pack. He frowned. They seemed to be in much better condition than he expected. Perhaps they had ignored his warning and found shelter with a neighboring pack after all. That was another thing he was going to have to take care of. He may not run all the packs in the area, but they would bend to his will as the strongest.
Elder Abernathy nodded as they walked in. “Thank you for responding to the summons so quickly. There have been some allegations concerning a member of your family, Alexandria Rogers. We will be asking you questions and we require short succinct answers. Do not expand unless asked to. Are you ready to proceed?”
“We are, Elder”. Adam gave him a nod of respect. At his side, Larry followed suite.
“Leeco pack has asserted that the girl in question was a human living in their pack for eight years until such time as she left in the late summer of last year. Is this correct?”
“Yes, Councilor Oliver, that is correct.”
“It's also said that she has no inner animal therefore classifying her as human?”
Larry cringed at the question. If they had asked it only an hour ago, he wouldn't have hesitated in answering. “Yes Elder, that is correct. But..”
“Do not expand unless told to do so, keep your answers short.” Carl barked in reminder. Simon hid a grin behind his hand.
“There was an incident that took place on August 6th of last year involving Alexandria and a member of the Leeco pack, Laura Winstead resulting in the death of Laura. Are you familiar with it?”
Larry licked his lips. “Yes, Councilor Molly, I am familiar with it.”
Archie leaned forward. “There is an accusation put before the Council that a member of your family stood in the way of the alpha in ascertaining Alexandria's guilt or innocence in this matter. It's been suggested that she was removed from a locked cell and transported away from the compound in a bid to hide from justice. Is this true?”
Adam shook his head. “No, Councilor, it is not true.”
“Lies!” Bobby hissed from his place beside Simon, who put a hand on his shoulder. Immediately he sat down. “Forgive me for my outburst,” he mumbled sullenly.
They turned their eyes back to the two standing before the table. “I remind you that lying to the Council is punishable by permanent banishment, so pick your words carefully. Tell us, in your own words, what you know of the day that she disappeared.”
Adam squared his shoulders. “It was a few days since the incident involving the death of Laura. My family and I were under house arrest while an inquiry was being handled. During that time, none of us left the confines of my house, not even one time. On Wednesday, Alpha Winstead came to the house and demanded to know where Alexandria was. I told him we hadn't seen her since the previous Saturday – we weren't even allowed to visit her in the cell. He said that he knew one of us had smuggled her out and that he would banish the one who had. I talked to every member of my family and they all denied any knowledge of her whereabouts. That is the complete truth. I swear to you on the grave of my dear departed Alma.”
There was a hushed murmuring that was quickly stilled by a glare from Elder Abernathy.
“What about you, Rogers. Do you have anything to add?”
“No, sir, it's exactly how Adam said. We were all locked up in the house until we were banished right after Thanksgiving.”
Carl's head snapped up. “You were banished? I don't recall any reports about a banishment of an entire family. Are you sure you weren't just asked to leave?”
“The words were very specific, Elder. We were told to leave, banished from any pack for the duration of our lives.”
“What do you say about this, Alpha Winstead?”
Simon stood up and tucked his tie into his suit. “Perhaps they misunderstood me. I removed them from my pack but would never enact a banishment without first consulting the council as banishment often leads to rogues.” He plied his charm with a smile and spread his hands, then sat back down. "It was an obvious misunderstanding."
He nodded. "Now that we have cleared up that misunderstanding, we'll move back to the issue at hand - whether or not Miss Rogers was taken illegally from Leeco. Benson, are you and your family aware that Alexandria somehow arrived in Virginia where she was found in the afternoon of August 10h of last year, just a couple of hours after her disappearance?”
“I was just made aware of that fact today.”
“And how were you made aware of that fact?” Gretchen's eyes twinkled as if she knew something that nobody else did.
“Her life mate, Cayson Hennison, told us.”
The room went totally silent as his words sunk in. Simon jumped up and yelled, “That's impossible! She is not a wolf so she cannot be mated to a wolf!”
Carl called for order which took several moments to take effect. “While it is true that only wolves can become life mates, there is a question that still remains concerning whether or not Alexandria Rogers is a wolf. We have heard testimony that suggest she is not, and testimony that suggest she is. Since nobody seems to know where the girl is, or if she is alive, we cannot rule on the legitimacy of Alpha Hennison's claim that the girl is a member of his pack and as such is entitled to his protection. This, in turn, negates his claim that the girl was hurt by Alpha Winstead while under his care in Mississippi. Until such time as the girl is found, we cannot rule on this incident.”
Simon grinned broadly. As soon as he returned to Leeco, he would make sure that the girl was never found. He started to get up when he heard a voice call out from the back. “Maybe I can help find her.”
He whirled around and saw a woman rise from her seat. Beside her the Sapphire Lake beta was shaking his head. “No, Carson, I'm not going to let you do it. It's too dangerous.”
“Carson Hennison, approach and explain how you can help.”
She shrugged his hand off and made her way to the front. Simon saw her stomach was extended just a bit, signaling she was pregnant. She placed a hand on her belly and patted it lovingly. “Carson Blackston, Elder. As you may recall, I am a dreamer and would like to attempt to dream her.”
“You can't do that, Carson,” Manna stood up. “She isn't here and you know very well that dreaming requires physical contact.”
“I've done it before. I was able to connect to her and talk to her last week and she was hundreds of miles away.”
There was a gasp and more whispering, especially from the smaller table to the side. Chase joined her and shook his head. “It's too dangerous. Please don't let her do it again. The last time we almost lost her.”
She smiled at him. “I know what I did wrong last time. Please let me try. Manna can anchor me this time, I'll show her how to keep my own stream viable so I can pull back out. I promise you I won't get lost.” She looked into his eyes and whispered, “Please?”
Slowly he sighed then nodded. “Alright. I'll go get Cayson.”
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The darkness had become almost comforting to Zandria once she realized that the only thing that could hurt her came into the room from outside. She had managed to maneuver herself around until her back was agains
t the wall furthermost from the door. Once again she tried to pull the bindings apart on her arms. They held but she felt as if they had loosened just a bit - surely it was just her imagination. However, she did pull her feet up beside her and worked on the knots that held her feet prisoner. She had been working on them some every chance she got, but they seemed to be just too tight. Never the less, she refused to give up and felt her way down the bindings until the knots were under her fingers. She hissed when she jostled her broken pinky then gave up leaning back against the wall.
She had no idea how long she had been in this hellhole. There was no light anywhere, no cracks that would give her any inkling as for how long she had been held prisoner. She did know that the food given to her was cold, flavorless and did nothing to slake her hunger. The drink was tepid water and never enough to do more than tease her. If she could count on her being fed once a day, she had been here three days. If she measured it in the number of times she had cold water doused on her to wash away the stench of her own filth, it was four days. However, she felt it was probably closer to the number of times she had been beaten which would put her confinement at almost a week, that is, if she counted the one today.
She closed her eyes and relaxed. It all seemed hopeless. She wished she could lick her parched lips, but the gag prevented it. How much longer could she hang on like this? Every bone and muscle in her body ached but nothing hurt as badly as her heart. Once again tears welled in her eyes and she fought against them. She would not cry no matter how badly she missed Cayson.
There was a prickling going down her back. It was something familiar but yet alien in the back of her mind.
“Zandria. Please, can you hear me? It's me, Carson.”
She held her breath. Now she was hearing Carson. Great, she had definitely gone off the deep end. But then again, she had felt her once before when she was at that diner in Knoxville. She concentrated. “Carson? Is it really you?”
Broken Melody (Luna's Children) Page 15