by Bryce Evans
“I’m going to pick up Carina at school, then go to the grocery store!” Rose shouted out.
“You know you’re supposed to take guards with you Rose!” Russ, her little brother, yelled back. Both of her little brothers, Russ and Marcus, went to a different school, and Titan picked them up every day. They usually went to elder training after school, but it had been canceled for today. Carina wasn’t old enough yet, but next year she would be going too.
“They’re late. When they get here tell them where I’ve gone.” Rose knew Carina would worry if she was late picking her up. There were guards at the school, but the council wanted guards for Carina at all times. Today—for some reason—they were very late; she couldn’t wait for them any longer.
As she drove to the school she thought about Knox and how much he looked like his brother Thorn. Yes, they were identical twins, but she could see the difference. She liked the way he looked at her, but it reminded her of Thorn and how he used to smile at her when she caught him staring. He was so funny and tried to make light of everything. She really loved that about him. Even when she didn’t know if she was going to make it, Thorn was always there with a new joke and smile. It wasn’t the only thing she liked about the man, though. He sure could kiss too.
But when she looked at Knox, all she saw was anger and determination. She guessed he had to be that way in the military, witnessing all the evil things he had encountered. All she wanted to do was put a smile on his face or make him laugh. How someone like her was going to do that, she had no idea.
Carina definitely liked him. He was the only one who could make her smile. She even caught him smiling at her sister one day, but as soon as he saw her watching his expression became closed off again. To be honest, she felt like the man didn’t like her much, and she couldn’t figure out why. She tried talking to him on several occasions but he found an excuse to leave.
When Zoey asked about what Carina thought of him, she couldn’t hide it and told her what she thought. Zoey’s explanation surprised her. She said that it seemed to her that Knox liked her and was very attracted to her, but he knew how his brother felt about her and didn’t want to step on his territory. Zoey also said that he watched her all the time. He was very mindful of where she was at in the room, and followed her every move.
Rose burst out laughing and told Zoey she had an active imagination. Zoey told her she was wrong, but the man would run away from her like she was a zombie trying to eat him. And yes, she would like to eat him, just not in the zombie type of way. She laughed at her own thoughts as she pulled into the school.
She had to bring her ID; this was a shifter school, and the staff knew that Carina was to be protected at all times. Every day Rose provided them with her ID, and Carina would acknowledge that Rose was her sister—that was the only way she got to take Carina home. She hated that they had to live this way, but if it kept her sister safe then she’d do it forever.
She walked in the door to the front office. Carina would be in one of the back offices with some of the guards. “Did Carina forget something?” Becky, the secretary, asked.
“Huh? No, I’m here to get Carina,” Rose said.
Becky stared at her, then stood up. “You picked her up early. It was around two p.m. today.”
“No I didn’t. Stop playing games. This isn’t funny, Becky.”
“Oh God, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson!” Becky ran toward the back of the room. Principal Johnson, came running out of the back room, along with the guards.
“What is it, Becky?”
“Rose is here to get Carina. She said she didn’t pick her sister up at two today, but I know she did. I’m the one who checked her ID.”
“Where is my sister?” Rose was panicking now. “Phillip, where is she?” Phillip was a guard with Kayden’s pride. He picked up his phone and called someone without answering her.
“I didn’t pick her up. I didn’t. It wasn’t me.” Rose looked around the office. “Who else was here?” Rose demanded.
“I didn’t recognize the other men with you…” Becky’s voice trailed off. “The guards were busy. We had a water line break and we had to move a classroom to another room. They were making sure everything was okay.”
“Oh my God! They took her. It wasn’t me, Becky. Call someone.”
Rose fell to the floor, panting for air. Carina was gone. They’d taken her. Someone had taken her. “She must be so scared.”
“Rose, we need you to get a grip right now. I’ve called Kayden and he’s alerting the others. He’ll be here in a few minutes. I need for you to sit down in the chair and let’s think this through. Can you do that for me?” Phillip asked, helping her up and pulling the chair over to her. “Tell me where you were all day, starting with this morning.”
“I…I went to work about seven-thirty this morning. I had a lot of paperwork to do. The girls have a big project due soon, and I’m the one getting the paperwork up for the client.” Rose twisted her fingers together and whispered. “She’s got to be scared.”
“I know, Rose, but we’re going to get her back. Come on, let’s continue. Where else did you go today?”
“I didn’t leave all day; Donnie went out to get us lunch. I left work around one-thirty and went home to meet the guards and come pick Carina up, but the guards never showed up. I just thought they were late, so I left without them. Then I drove to the school.” Tears fell down Rose’s face. She knew she was falling apart. This was her baby sister. Her heart was about to burst. “Where is my sister, Phillip?”
“I don’t know, Rose.”
“What happened?” Kayden ran in with Knox and Zoey.
“I came to pick Carina up and they said I checked her out early. It wasn’t me, Kayden. It wasn’t me. They have my sister. We’re wasting time. We need to be looking for her.”
“She was at work all day, Kayden. It wasn’t Rose. She didn’t leave the office until one-thirty,” Zoey stated.
“I’m not saying she did, baby, but we have to get all the information so we can figure out who it was.” Kayden tried to calm Rose down, but she wasn’t having any of it. They were wasting time trying to prove it wasn’t her.
“Rose, where did you go after work?” Kayden asked.
“Home to meet the guards, but they never showed up. I told the boys that I would be back. Carina gets upset if I’m late. She starts to get nervous, so I didn’t want to be late. I told the boys to tell the guards that I would meet them at the school. Nobody has shown up.”
Kayden looked over at Phillip. “Find out where the guards are at.”
“I tried already, Alpha, and I can’t get an answer. I’ll keep trying.”
Brody walked into the school. “We have a problem. The guards that were on the way to meet Rose were rammed by a truck. Both of them are okay, but their cell phones got crushed. If they hadn’t been shifters, they would be dead. Their vehicle flipped over and rolled into the ravine. They just got picked up on the side of the road. Jack called me immediately.”
“They have her, Kayden, they have my sister.” Rose fell down to the ground. Her head was in her hands as she sobbed. Knox reached down, picked her up, and carried her over to a chair. He rocked her until she started to calm down. She couldn’t believe it. Her baby was gone. She’d be so scared.
“Rose, listen to me. We will get her back,” Kayden promised. “Phillip, stay here and get the video footage of who came in the school. Maybe we can ID the guards or get an ID on the vehicle they used.”
“Already downloading, Alpha. You’ll have it on your phone in a few minutes,” Phillip said.
“We’re taking Rose home and meeting with the others,” Kayden said. Knox picked up Rose and walked with her in his arms out the door. She felt safe and secure in his arms, and almost thought it was Thorn who was carrying her.
“What if they hurt her?” Rose whispered as the vehicle pulled off.
“Don’t let yourself think like that,” Knox answered. He pulled her closer to his
chest. All she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and drift off to sleep, but she couldn’t. Her baby sister was out there, alone and scared. God only knew what they were doing to her.
Kayden pulled up in the underground mines. Her brother Titan was pacing back and forth in front of the door. She reluctantly moved out of Knox’s arms. Her brother ran up to her as she got out.
“Where is she?” Titan demanded. She could see the fear on her brother’s face. They both knew how scared Carina would be.
“They took her from the school,” Rose admitted. She watched as anger came over her brother’s face. He looked toward Kayden.
“You said she’d be safe. Now she’s gone.” Titan’s body started to shake.
“Titan, the person who picked her up from the school looked just like me. Everyone at the school, including the principal, thought it was me. She even had guards, but they didn’t recognize them. There was a water main break, and the guards were getting kids away from the water and into another classroom. If Phillip had been there he would’ve known it wasn’t me, but he was helping.”
“The water main breaking was a way to get the guards over to another point while she walked in and took her, but what I don’t understand was why Carina would have left with her?” Knox asked.
Rose shook her head. “I don’t think Carina would have. She’d know if it was me or not,” Rose answered.
“Then why would she go with her willingly?” Titan asked.
The garage door opened and Ryder drove in with London and Me-Len. Immediately, London ran up to Rose and hugged her. “We’ll get her back. They haven’t hurt her yet.”
“How do you know?” Me-Len glanced over at her granddaughter, and she knew they were keeping something from her.
“Rose, there are some things I can’t tell you right now, but be assured that she hasn’t. I can’t share with you some information, but I wanted you to know that. I promise when I find something out I will tell you,” Me-Len answered.
Rose nodded, but her brother wasn’t satisfied. He wanted answers. He didn’t know Me-Len that well, and he didn’t trust easily.
“I want to know how you know that. If you know that, then you can get her out,” Titan spit out.
“Titan.” Rose put her hand on her brother, trying to calm him down.
Kayden walked forward and stood in front of her little brother. She knew what was coming. She had seen it before in her old pride. People were tortured for saying something wrong to an elder or the Alpha. That was under Kayden’s father, but Kayden Lynn wasn’t like his father. She trusted Kayden and knew he would do the right thing. Titan had disrespected Me-Len, and that wasn’t tolerated. He knew better.
“Titan, listen, son,” Kayden said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear him. “Do you remember what I told you when you got here to Alpha City? That night Thorn brought you to my house. Do you remember what I told you, son?” Very rarely had she ever heard Kayden sound so official but dangerous. She knew Titan was just upset, but he needed to learn to respect others in the pack. Me-Len was a witch and considered an elder, someone everyone looked to for answers. He should’ve known better, and now he would have to learn the hard way.
“I remember you saying that you would protect us with your life, and that meant Carina. Now… ”
“We have a lot of things going on, Titan, and you’re not privy to all that information. The fewer people who know what she is doing to help us the better, but I would put my faith in what Me-Len says. I don’t question how she knows it, all I know is that she is working to get your sister back.” Kayden kneeled down in front of Titan and stared him in the eyes. She knew that Titan was an Alpha too, but he had a lot to learn. At least he had the sense to lower his eyes. “Remember this, son: Carina is our family too, and we are doing everything we can to get her back. It won’t be easy, but you need to trust us.” Rose watched as Titan bowed his head in shame to his Alpha. This was why she wanted her family here in Alpha City. Kayden could have hurt him or disrespected him in front of everyone, but he wasn’t that kind of Alpha. He truly loved his pride and he loved her brother. He spoke to Titan as the man of his house, instead of a kid acting out in anger.
“I’m sorry, Alpha.” Titan spoke with his head still bowed to his Alpha.
“I think it’s Me-Len you need to be apologizing to, son,” Kayden addressed him.
She watched as Titan walked over to Me-Len. “I’m sorry ma’am. I meant no disrespect.” Everyone smiled when Me-Len reached out and hugged Titan to her.
“None taken. I understand why you’re angry. You should be, but I promise that I will get her back,” Me-Len said.
The garage door opened and Nolan, his Beta, pulled in with Brody behind him. Kayden pulled out his phone when it started ringing. “Hello. Okay, we’re headed into the conference room now.” He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. “That was Phillip; he sent the video footage from the school to my e-mail. Let’s go in the conference room to view it.”
Kayden brought up the footage and they watched as a black SUV pulled up to the school. It looked just like the ones the guards were using to pick Carina up. Two guards got out and opened the back door. Rose had to grab hold of the chair and sit down as someone who looked just like her got out of the vehicle. “That is Claudia Blackwood,” Me-Len announced.
“How do you know?” Ryder asked.
“Look at how she’s treating the guards.” Everyone watched the look of disgust that came over her face when the guard forgot her purse. “I know you don’t make them carry your purse, Rose.”
“Of course not. And I wouldn’t be caught dead in those clothes.” The woman was wearing a long bohemian skirt, for goodness sake. It wasn’t her style at all. “Why didn’t anyone recognize that? I’ve never dressed in anything like that.”
“Some people just don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff,” Brody answered. “To be honest, I would’ve thought it was ugly, but I sure wouldn’t have said anything to you about it. But Me-Len is right, it’s not you at all.” Rose wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. Claudia Blackwood had her little sister. The woman was the mastermind behind this whole thing, and they still didn’t know how they were going to find out where the coven was hiding out.
“How did she make herself look like Rose?” Kayden asked.
“A masking spell. She can only hold it for a brief time, then it would start to fade away,” Me-Len answered.
“Why would my sister go with her? I know my sister well enough to know she would have known that it wasn’t Rose. I don’t get it,” Titan asked.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t look like she put a spell on her,” Me-Len answered as they continued to watch the footage from the office when Claudia walked into the room. “Look at Carina and how she’s studying her.” They watched as Carina narrowed her eyes at the woman, studying closely as she seemed to smile. She reached into her book bag.
“What is she doing?” Me-Len asked as she walked closer to the screen. Rose walked up and stood beside her. It appeared she got something out of her book bag and put it in her pocket. Claudia wasn’t paying attention to Carina. She was too busy talking to Mr. Johnson.
“Does Carina have a cell phone?” Ryder asked.
“No,” Rose answered.
“Then what could it be?” Me-Len asked.
They watched as Carina put her book bag on, then walked over to Claudia and held her hand. The look on Claudia’s face was different. At first she just stared down at their entwined hands, then she turned around and walked with her out the door. When they got to the door, Claudia hesitated, then pushed Carina into the car.
“That bitch is dead!” Kayden yelled toward the screen.
“Me-Len, do you think your contact inside the coven could help us out? We can’t leave her there,” Ryder asked.
“I don’t have a way to contact them; they have to contact me. It’s too dangerous,” Me-Len answered.
“We can’t leave her in there by h
erself,” Rose begged, fresh tears shinning in her eyes.
“We’re not, Rose. Listen, let us work on this.” Kayden looked over at Rose and Titan.
“Please don’t leave us out?” Titan answered. “We want to be involved in getting our sister back.”
Hesitantly, Kayden glanced over at them and nodded. “Go get something to eat, Rose. Let us talk.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sage watched as Claudia commanded the little girl to open the book. She made sure she was hidden using the Cloak of Edengraf. She still had to be careful that Claudia or Jamal didn’t feel her presence. She made sure to keep her breathing very shallow. She didn’t want them to get suspicious and go looking around the room. The cloak made her invisible, but Jamal was a dragon, and like most shifters, could scent your presence.
Claudia walked around the little girl, whom she had tied to a chair. “If you open the book, I will let you go home. Just tell the book to open.” Sage could tell that Claudia was going to kill the little girl even if she did open the book. She watched as the little girl’s eyes rolled back and commented, “The Elves are coming for you. Thoth is coming for you.”
Sage’s eye’s widened. Who was this little girl? She could see the magic surrounding her, protecting her from the darkness that continued to strike her walls. Claudia was pulling out every spell she knew to make the girl speak the words, but this one was strong.
Claudia leaned right up to the little girl’s ear. “You think the Elves are coming for you? To help you, Carina? Nobody knows where you are.”
Her name was Carina. Shit, shit. Carina was part of the Order. She was part of the Stone. Claudia would never let her go. She needed all the parts of the Stone—for what, Sage didn’t know, but she’d heard that much.
Jamal just sat in the corner watching, with his legs propped up. She knew that if Carina didn’t give her what she wanted, he’d start hurting her. Claudia repeated another spell that would make any other supernatural give her what she wanted. But Carina was different; she was stronger. She continued to sit silently, watching Claudia get angrier and angrier.