“Cal? What’s wrong?” I hold on to his shoulders as he tries to catch his breath.
“It’s Jack.” He pants the words out, causing my anxiety to spike.
“Did something happen? Is he okay?” I grow desperate and irritated when Cal doesn’t talk right away.
“H-he’s awake, Celeste. He’s awake and he’s asking for you.”
I run out of the library with Cal trailing behind me. It is time to get some answers.
CHAPTER 18
|celeste|
Once I get to the pack hospital, I am told to head to the waiting room while the doctors check Jack’s condition. He was moved to the pack hospital two weeks ago when his body went into shock. Me and Cal decided witches weren’t the best persons to take care of a werewolf.
“Luna?” My head snaps towards the doctor standing before me. “You can see him now.”
Following the doctor out of the small room and down the intricate halls, I find myself standing in front of two large doors in the more private section of the hospital. I knock lightly and enter once I hear a raspy voice whisper for me to come in.
“Jack? It’s me.” I smile brightly at Jack who is sitting in his bed and fiddling with the TV remote.
“Celeste, you’re okay.” He tosses the remote to the side, and opens his arms up for a hug.
I gladly rush over and bury myself into the well-used fabric of the hospital gown covering Jack’s shoulder.
“I’m okay?” I chuckle lightly as I hold back unshed tears. “You were in a car accident and in a coma for weeks. How can you be worried about me?”
I pull back and smile down at him before resting on a nearby chair.
“You were kidnapped by Alpha Roman,” Jack says. “Cal told us. We were on our way back here when the car flipped.”
“He told you and Jake?” I turn my attention towards the witch who is slowly backing out of the room as we speak. “Why would you do that? You knew if they thought one of us was in trouble, they’d be back.”
He holds his hands up in surrender as he begins to speak, but Jack cuts him off.
“Celeste, calm down. I called him and asked to see if you guys were safe. He was freaking out, and I overheard his friend talking about their plans to get you back. Putting two and two together, I called everyone else, and we planned to meet up in the forest.”
Turning my glare on him, I stand up and make my way to the side of his bed. “I told you no stops, no distractions, and no contact with anyone until you are safe. You broke all three rules―rules that I set up to keep this from happening by the way.”
“What is the big deal, Celeste? I got in a car accident. So what? I’m fine, Jake’s fine, and everyone else is probably just sitting around waiting for us.”
I swallow a lump in my throat and exchange a quick glance with Cal.
“You don’t remember?” I ask Jack who looks confused and irritated.
His eyebrows scrunch together as he slowly shakes his head.
“Jack,” I hold his hand and give it a light squeeze. “The car flipped because someone ran you off the road. Someone called an order on everyone in the family.”
His confused face turns calculating as he stares at me intently. “Are they okay? Are they here too?”.
“I don’t know. When we got to the sight of the wreck, no one was there. We’ve been trying to track them, but someone covered their scents.”
“What about Jake? If they didn’t take me then they didn’t get him either, right?”
I stare at him with sympathy, silently giving him his answer.
“Why would they take him and not me? Why would they want to take any of us?”
“When the wreck happened, you didn’t have your seatbelt on, and it caused you to fly out of your seat. You were tossed out of the car and into a field. I guess they didn’t see you or weren’t informed properly that there were two of you. You were the only good news in that accident. With you here, you can tell us everything from that day, and maybe, that’ll help us find a clue.”
“I don’t think I’ll be of any help; I can’t remember much.” Jack looks down to his lap, his face scrunched up as he tries to remember anything from the incident. “It’s too hard, Celeste.” He removes his hand from mine and rubs his temples.
“It’s okay.” I encourage him. “We’ll get you some pain medication. I’ll just dim the lights, and then I’m going to need you to close your eyes and concentrate as hard as you can. Can you do that, Jack?”
He gives a quick nod and I send Cal off to find a doctor while I tone down the blaring white lights surrounding us.
Cal returns less than five minutes later with two tablets and a glass of water in hand. “Here you go, Jack.”
Jack swallows the pills and gulps down the water. We talk for half an hour, waiting patiently for the pain killers to take effect before he closes his eyes and thinks intently about what happened.
“I-I can’t.” He huff’s out in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouts like a child.
“Okay, let’s try one more time. Relax.” I unfold his arms and lay them gently on his lap. His tense muscles visibly relax at the gesture. “Close your eyes and think back to that day. What do you see?”
Jack is silent for about ten minutes before his face twitches slightly. The facial expressions are soon joined by bodily jerks. I silently pray that something is starting to form in his brain and the movements were of him reliving what happened. As much as I didn’t like him to remember any of what happened, this was our only way of finding out where the rest of the family is.
“Fresh air and bright sunlight were coming in through the windshield. The radio was playing soft rock while Jake was driving.”
I give his hand a reassuring squeeze and he grabs mine in return.
“We had been driving for three hours and Jake couldn’t relax. Neither of us could because we were worried about everyone.”
Jack’s voice begins to fade, and my vision begins to blur. I try to blink away the haze settling over my sight, but it just gets worse. Before I can realize what’s happening, I’m sucked into some sort of memory.
A bump and the low hum of an engine catches my attention. Where am I? I was just at the pack hospital. I sit up from the laying position I find myself in. I’m in the backseat of a car. I look out the window, and all I can see are trees surrounding me.
In the front are Jake and Jack, both staring off into the distance, lost in their thoughts. Jake reaches over and shuts off the music, leaving us all in silence.
“Jack? Where are we? How’d we get here?” I try to tap Jack’s shoulder, but my hand passes through him.
“Jake? Jack!? Can you hear me?” I call out frantically to the boys I consider my family. Neither of them answers. They just ignore me instead.
“We shouldn’t have left.” Jake breaks the silence.
“What?” Jack snaps his head towards his brother.
“We shouldn’t have left Celeste and Cal. What if something goes wrong? What if they capture Celeste and hurt Cal? Or kill him? What if…”
“No what ifs, Jake. Celeste made a decision that was for the best. We would’ve just gotten in the way.” Jack snaps at his twin, cutting off his argument. “Getting everyone out of there before a fight could break out was the best and safest idea she could’ve come up with.”
“Can we at least call Cal to see if they made it out okay?” Jake asks his brother.
“You know we aren’t to use our phones until we reach a safe location.”
“Using the phone one time in open territory won’t hurt, Jack. Nothing bad will happen,” he reasons.
Jack’s strict facade cracks as he thinks about Jake’s words. “Fine, one time. That’s it.”
Jack got phone the out from his back pocket and dials what I assume is Cal’s number. “Hey Cal, is everything okay over there?”
It was on speaker and, all that can be heard on the other line is arguing.
“Cal?”
Jack tries one more time, successfully catching the witch’s attention.
“What Jack? I’m busy.” I can hear the stress in Cal’s voice as he releases a heavy sigh.
“Cal! Hang up the phone and help us figure out how to get her back!” The shout of what I think is Cal’s friend, Zack, comes from the background.
“What is he talking about? Did something happen?” Jack asks frantically.
“Everything’s fine. Just get to the safe house.” From the tone in Cal’s voice, I can tell he is about to hang up, and I’m guessing Jack knew that too.
“Don’t you hang up on me, you sneaky little witch. Austin got Celeste, didn’t he?”
There’s nothing but silence on the other end, confirming Jack’s thoughts. He gives out a low growl and ends the call.
“Austin got her.”
Jake’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. “Give me the phone,” he says, holding out his hand to his brother.
“What are you going to do?”
“Stop asking questions and just give me the phone, Jack.” Jake demands, his tone harsher this time.
Jack complies, placing the small phone in his brother’s large hand. Jake presses a few buttons before holding the device to his ear.
“Crowley, Warren? Celeste was captured. Jack and I are going back to help Cal. Meet us in the woods where we burned down the cabin if you want to help.” Jake ends the group call and gives the phone back to Jack.
“We’re going back?”
***
We’ve been driving for over an hour now, and Jack and Jake continues to discuss their plan.
“So, it’s settled. We’ll distract Austin while you and Crowley break in and find Celeste?” Jack speaks into the phone’s speaker. He is currently talking to Warren.
“Yes, and Cal will be talking to us through a Bluetooth speaker in our ears. He’ll be conducting a tracking spell to tell us exactly where she is,” Warren replies.
“Okay,” Jack concluded, “we’ll see you in two hours.”
They say a quick goodbye before ending the call.
Jack puts the phone on the center console and turns to his brother. His eyebrows scrunch together when he sees how tense his brother is. “What’s wrong?”
Jake’s gaze focuses on the rearview mirror then back to the road in front of them. “That car has been following us for the last half hour.”
I turn my attention to the back. There is indeed a black SUV.
“Can you lose them?” Jack turns his attention back to his brother.
“I’ve been trying to.”
“Well, speed up. There should be a dirt road on the right half a mile away from here. Turn there and then take a left.” Jack informs his brother who follows his directions, his foot pressing down on the gas.
“They’re gaining on us,” Jack calls out, his focus switching from his brother to the car behind us.
“Open the glove compartment. I hid a pistol in there.”
Jack complies, digging around, tossing papers and trash before finding the shiny black weapon.
“Now, roll down the window and try to shoot out their tires,” Jake says as he turns to the dirt road.
The SUV follows and bumps our car. Jack goes out of the window with his left hip leaning on the door. He faces the car behind us and aims for the tires. The only problem is there is no sound of the bullets hitting tires or metal.
“I can’t hit them. You know I have shitty aim!” Jack grows frustrated as he pulls his body back into the vehicle.
“Damn it! I told you to practice!”
Before any of them can argue further, the SUV rams into the rear of Jake’s car again, causing him to lose control of the wheel and making the left hood of the car collide with a tree.
Time begins to slow as I watch Jack crash through the windshield. Jake tries to grab on to him, but as the car hits the ground, he is slammed into the steering wheel.
I blink, and I’m standing in a field next to Jack’s limp form. My vision begins to blur again, and a pain shoots through the back of my head. I think I’m feeling Jack’s pain.
“Jake…” Jack calls out softly to his brother as our SUV comes to a stop after doing a series of tumbling across the area.
Four men covered in army gear begin to pile out from the SUV that bumped our car.
“Alpha? We traced the call. J. Albin has been acquired. We’re heading back to base now.” The tallest man from the car reports into a phone while the other three drag Jake out of the wreck and set him in the trunk.
“Good work, Sergeant. Report if there are any problems. See you in thirty,” a raspy voice replies through the phone. Before I can see anything else, my vision begins to blur again, and my feet begin to sway.
Then I fell down, my vision going black.
CHAPTER 19
|austin|
“What’s going on?” I ask as I burst through the E.R. doors. I was on my way over here when I got a call from Cal.
Five minutes earlier...
“Have the warriors found anything on Jack’s car?” I ask Aston as he walks beside me.
“No, sir. Something or someone is covering up the scents. We can’t find any. Some of the warriors did find tire tracks and a nearby traffic camera. We’re working with that right now.”
“Good. Call me if you find anything.”
Dismissing my beta, I walk to over to my car, so I can head to where Celeste is. My phone rings. It was Cal.
“Cal,” I answer gruffly. I’m not really fond of the witch, but Celeste likes him, so I begrudgingly let him stay.
“Austin! Good. Something is up with Celeste, so get over here now.”
He hangs up immediately and I’m left staring at my phone, stunned.
Then everything sets in, and I bolt, making my way past the trackers as fast I could.
***
“Where is she? Where is Celeste?” I ask as I approach the front desk.
“Who, Alpha Roman?” the small blonde questions.
“Celeste, your Luna. She was here to visit a Mr. Albin.”
She frantically flips through the visitors’ list at the urgency in my voice. “Third floor, Alpha; first room on the right.”
After saying a quick thank you, I make my way towards the elevators. After repeatedly pushing the third-floor button, the doors close and take me up at an antagonizing pace. I tap my foot constantly in worry as I tried to stay calm.
The small beep of the elevator echoes around the tiny cube, signaling the arrival at my floor. Squeezing out of the halfway-opened doors, I head straight to the first door on the right
Without bothering to wait for an answer to the knock, I enter the room and take note of the scene in front of me. Celeste is in a chair next to Jack, both just sitting and staring off into space.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know!” Cal answers. “We were talking to Jack about what happened when they just froze. I called you when I couldn’t snap them out of it.”
I walk slowly towards Celeste, snapping my fingers in her face but she doesn’t blink. “Their eyes are clouded over; kind of like when we talk to our wolves or when we do mind link. Have the doctors assessed their condition yet?”
“I didn’t call any doctors in; you’re the first person I called.”
I let out a loud puff of air while mentally counting to ten to stay calm. “And why in the hell would you not get a doctor in here as soon as something goes wrong?”
“Because if the doctors start running tests on Celeste, they’re going to figure out she’s not a full-blooded wolf. I’m assuming everyone knowing your mate is part demon isn’t something you would want, especially considering your packs history with one not too long ago.”
“Shit.” I run my hand through my hair and close my eyes in frustration and annoyance at myself and the situation. “What are we going to do? I mean, hardly anyone besides the pack’s council knows about that demon who attacked our hunter, but the council’s opinio
n is the only one that actually matters. If they find out about her heritage, no matter if she’s the luna or not, they’ll send her to the Royal Kingdom for experimentation.”
“Seriously? They’d send her to the royals?” Cal scoffs in disbelief at my words.
“Yes, the royals,” I say. “They will do anything to figure out rare species’ abilities and weaknesses.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Roman. No one will be harming my granddaughter, not on my watch.”
I spin around quickly to see a relaxed-looking Zeke standing next to Celeste, assessing her.
“What’s wrong with her Zeke?” I mutter, and I slap his hand away from Celeste’s head.
“She’s in this one’s memories,” he says, pointing towards Jack. “How long has she been like this?”
Zeke questions Cal, and I give the witch a small nod to tell the older man.
“About fifteen minutes, maybe a little longer.”
Zeke smiles at the news given to him. “Well, either she is one extraordinary demon, or this is not her first time entering someone’s memories.”
“What do you mean “not her first time”? Don’t you think she’d remember doing something like this?” I question.
“If she lasts this long in someone’s memories without passing out or dying, she’s done it before; probably multiple times. And as for remembering, going through a person’s memory puts you in a dream-like state; if she didn’t know what she was doing, then that was probably all she thought it was—a dream.”
“Then how do we wake her from this dream state?” I ask quickly.
“You can’t. She has to come out of it herself.” As he finishes his statement, he plops down onto an overstuffed waiting chair and pulls out a magazine from a little basket.
“So, we just sit here while they’re all frozen? They’re not even blinking,” I ask again.
“Correct, my dear boy. We just sit and wait.”
Taking a look towards Celeste, I grab myself a chair and pull it in front of Zeke. “Why isn’t she blinking? Or even breathing for that matter?”
The Devil's Daughter: A Paranormal Romance Page 9