Alpha Battle (Isle of Paradise)

by Marquaylla Lorette

  When Ace closed her door, Jadelyn turned to Chelsea before they started to read the letters. “I am sorry for running off and not talking to you when I realized Eli was my mate.”

  “It’s okay. I know you like to bottle things up inside until you are ready to let them out, and I know how you like your space. I wasn’t worried. I knew you would come to me when you were ready to talk. Believe me, I have learned over the years not to force anything out of you until you are ready,” Chelsea said sincerely as she looked back at Jadelyn.

  “It is not okay. I should have been able to let all my frustration out in front of you guys. My problem is I have been trying to hold everything I feel back so others wouldn’t think I was weak because of my latency. So instead of telling Eli how I felt or letting you comfort me, I ran away.”

  “You have been through a lot over the years. It's okay, but know that we are your friends, and you do not have to hide anything from us. So how do you feel about all of this?”

  “I don’t know, since the only reason I was mad at Eli was because I thought he wasn’t writing me back. I'm confused right now,” Jadelyn said as she let out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes.

  “I think reading the letters will help you understand Eli now and wipe away some of the confusion. You still will have questions, as Eli will as well, but you two can discuss it tomorrow.”

  Jadelyn and Chels lay on Jadelyn’s bed as they read Eli’s letters from the past decade.

  “Chelsea, I read the letters from the first few years he was away, and it seems as though Ella turned on him as soon as they got off the Isle. Do you think she could be behind all of this?”

  “She could be, you never know. You should tell Eli what you think tomorrow. In the letters I have here he is starting to get frustrated from you not responding so he threw himself into different activities trying to get over the hurt.”

  “Why do I have the feeling someone was trying to either mess up our lives or keep us apart, and Ella is involved?” Jadelyn asked Chelsea as she picked up more letters.

  “I don’t know, but I am starting to think the same thing,” Chelsea said as she started to skim over the last few letters.

  They both began to notice when Eli became frustrated from Jadelyn not responding to his letters. Three hours later, they passed out on Jadelyn’s bed with letters all over the place. Jadelyn fell asleep with many questions running through her mind.

  ***

  Baron made his way to the secured hospital to visit Jake after fastening the necklace on Jadelyn’s neck. The necklace had triggered the past in his mind. His heart was heavy just thinking about what happened over the last seventeen years. Not only did he lose his mate from the accident, but he also lost his best friends in the span of two days. Not only were Jake, Eli’s mother, Kasey, and Ella his best friends, they were also his First Betas. When Jake and Ella left, Baron had to pull Ace's parents up from Second Beta to First Beta and pull Chelsea's parents from Head Enforcers to Second Beta. Baron couldn’t remember doing so since he was wallowing in grieve for the first two years after his mate's death. Until he really looked at Jadelyn one day and realized not only had she lost her mother, but him as well. He wasn’t being the father his mate, Lynn, would like him to be, so he shaped up for Jadelyn. Hell, he wasn’t being the father even he felt he should be.

  He ran his hands through his hair when his anger took over him as he thought about everything this Isle put Jadelyn through when they learned she was latent. They forgot about the nice, tough girl who faced danger, even as a kid, to help others out. Baron couldn’t believe how the Isle turned their backs on Jadelyn, especially after his grandfather had saved some of their parents and grandparents. As a Father, he wanted to rip apart the whole Isle to protect Jadelyn, but as the Alpha, he had to remain neutral. It didn’t mean he liked it, just something he had to do, but he made sure Jadelyn was protected from them at all times. Some of the fear he had for Jadelyn had washed away when Eli stepped back on the Isle. Baron knew Eli would protect Jadelyn, as he would, with everything he had.

  He smiled as he thought about the carefree younger Jadelyn, who did whatever she wanted no matter what others thought. She stood up for what she believed in, even if she was the only one who believed it. Like the time half of the Isle thought Eli’s grandmother was manipulating her visions into the outcomes she wanted them to be. At just fourteen, Jadelyn went in search of someone who could prove Eli’s grandmother was giving everyone the correct vision he or she were to receive and live by. Jadelyn went to the cat shifters of the Isle and found a cat with the power of truth. Who proved Eli’s grandmother was relaying her visions to them just the way she saw them in her mind. Jadelyn was the type to fight for everything she believed in, even as a child, and he wanted the true Jadelyn back. The Jadelyn, who believed in herself no matter what others said about her. In his heart, Baron knew Eli would be the shifter to bring the real Jadelyn back, not the shell of a shifter she was now, or maybe it was just a father’s wishful thinking.

  Baron wondered where Ella was as he stepped out of the car in front of the secured hospital. He had left word with her parents about Jake's change in hospitals. It wasn’t like Ella not to be concerned with what was going on with her mate. Baron made a note in his head to check on her as he stepped into the elevator.

  Jake was happy to finally be back home where he belonged. He shouldn’t have let Ella talk him into moving away from his home, family and friends. Jake was grieving at the time so it made it easier for Ella to talk him into anything back then he realized, as he thought back seventeen years ago. He also realized he never saw Ella grieving the death of Kasey, as he and Eli were. At first, he thought maybe she was grieving in private, but as the poison wore off, he realized that wasn’t true either. It was as if Ella was a totally different person after Kasey’s death, and he didn’t like nor understand the person she had turned into.

  She gave him an ultimatum the first time he suggested they go back home to the Isle of Paradise, only two weeks after being in the human world. Ella would tell him it was either they stay in the human world together or he and Eli go back to the Isle of Paradise alone. He couldn’t lose Ella so soon after losing Kasey. Jake already felt as though his heart was ripped out of his chest after Kasey’s death and didn’t want to feel it if he left Ella.

  Jake could hear footsteps approaching his room and listened closely to them. He could tell it was Baron coming back by the way the shoes hit the floor and the sound of his keys jingling. Jake smiled, his friend hadn’t changed much over the years, but he was worried about Jadelyn. Jake wanted out of the hospital as quick as possible in order to help protect Jadelyn. If Baron hadn’t told him he would do more harm than good, as sick as he was, he would be at the Alpha house now.

  “What is with the smile on your face, Baron?” Jake asked.

  “Oh nothing, just our kids have finally discovered they were mates,” Baron said.

  “What?” Jake asked. He knew they were best friends but not mates. “Wow, that explains a lot, Baron, doesn’t it?”

  “No, their wolves would only have figured out they were mates when they turned fourteen. They wouldn’t have figured it out until their sixteenth birthday, when the dreams of their mate’s scent surfaced, so it was just a true friendship connection all those years,” Baron answered.

  “Speaking of my boy, how is he and where is he at?” Jake asked with concern. Eli had never been out of his sight for this long. Well, only when he spent the night at the Alpha’s house.

  “He’s in a tent sleeping under Jadelyn’s window. Ace told him about the time someone tried to sneak into her room while she was in there,” Baron replied.

  “I should have known. Remember the time when they were ten, and he slept under her window since she was mad at him?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, he spent half the night throwing rocks at her window trying to explain why he wanted her birthday present to be a surprise, especially since it was a week later,” Baron
said with a smile on his face.

  Jadelyn had argued her valid points as to why Eli should give her her birthday surprise early. The points were so good Baron was tempted to give Jadelyn her surprises from him early until Eli argued his valid points and told her no. Jadelyn ran up the stairs and locked everyone out. She was never a patient person. Later on, Eli had argued his points as to why he should be permitted to pitch a tent below her window to Baron and his parents. They agreed as long as he took an Enforcer with him.

  “We have some smart kids. I just wish Jadelyn would get her spunk back,” Baron said as the memory washed away.

  “She will, you know. They have always brought out the best in each other, just give her some more time. I think Jadelyn has to prove or see something for herself in order to believe she is the same person she always was. My mother wrote me a few years ago when Jadelyn went out to prove everyone wrong about her. Remind me to thank Jadelyn when I get out of this place,” Jake said.

  “I will, but you know she doesn’t like anyone thanking her for something she feels as though everyone should have done,” Baron said as he thought about his selfless daughter.

  Something has been bothering Jake since he learned Jadelyn was latent, and he had to let Baron know. “Baron, I have been thinking we have to go hunting for some truths when I am finally released out of the hospital. Jadelyn shouldn’t be latent, since both of her parents have Alpha blood. There has never been an Alpha in all our history to produce a latent, especially from two Alpha parents. I could see it happening if Lynn had Beta or Enforcer blood running through her, but it shouldn’t have happened since she didn’t. We have to dig and see what we can discover so we can document this for history because when a wolf pup is first born, they are born in their wolf form, whether they are latent or not.

  We'll never know, but maybe another Alpha’s pup was born latent like Jadelyn, and they never documented it. Baron, we have to find out if this is the case why they didn’t write it down, and what happened to them,” Jake said as his mind started running rapidly.

  “You are the historian, Jake, but I will go help you. This is something I always wondered as well. We can dig as deep as we have to, after you get out of the hospital and the Battle Finale,” Baron said as the nurse came in to give Jake his medicine.

  Jake's eyes began to get heavy as the nurse shot the medicine through his left arm with a needle. He wanted to talk to Baron some more, but knew he had to stay on schedule in order to get better.

  “Don’t worry, Jake, we will talk about it in the morning. The nurse is bringing me a bed in. I will stay here with you since Eli is there protecting Jadelyn.” Jake heard Baron as his eyes dropped closed.

  ***

  Eli waited on the Alpha’s house front porch for Ace after he watched Baron leave to visit his father. He had no clue where Jadelyn had stored their tents and couldn’t ask her right now since she was still pissed at him. Eli couldn’t wait until after she read the letters and they talked to each other. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough for him. He couldn’t believe what was going on with Jadelyn while he was away. Eli would have come home with or without his father if he knew what was going on with Jadelyn. He couldn’t believe someone wanted to keep them apart as well. Fuck!

  Eli stood up and walked toward the driveway when he heard Ace getting out of the car. He had to talk to him in front of the house, he couldn’t risk Jadelyn or Chelsea overhearing the conversation. If Chelsea heard what he was planning, she would tell Jadelyn for sure. He learned his lesson when they were younger and Chelsea told Jadelyn what he got her for her birthday one year.

  “Hey, what you are doing standing on the front porch?” Ace asked when he saw Eli approaching him.

  “Shhh, I need your help with something else now,” Eli said.

  “Why are you shushing me and what do you need my help with?” Ace asked.

  “I am shushing you because Jadelyn is still mad at me and would pitch a fit if she knew I was still here, so don’t tell Chelsea. I don’t know where Jadelyn put the tents, and I need you to get them. No, I am not going to look myself so she could discover me in the house, before you ask,” Eli said.

  “You don’t have to go in the house, they are in the garage now. Jadelyn put them there years ago after you left. She hasn’t been camping since the last time you took her. For some reason she wouldn’t go with anyone else,” Ace said as he raised the garage door and got the tent and sleeping bags out for Eli.

  Eli felt bad when he heard Ace say Jadelyn wouldn’t go camping after he left—she used to love it. “Ace, remind me to take her camping after the battle, also, I will call you before I leave here in the morning. Hurry up and get in the house before Chelsea comes out to discover what is taking you so long and ruins this,” Eli said as he made it to the side of the house where Jadelyn's window was.

  Eli quietly put the tent together then climbed into the tent with his sleeping bag. He had already hidden his bike from plain sight as he was waiting for Ace to get home. Eli felt content as he drifted off to sleep—he was finally home.

  ***

  Jadelyn woke up two hours later with letters sticking to her body. Jadelyn never got a full night of uninterrupted sleep since she caught a shifter trying to break into her room. She woke at least three times a night to check every corner of her room and to make sure her door and windows were secure.

  Jadelyn gathered all the letters off her bed and placed them in a secret box she kept with everything Eli ever gave her. Sometimes, when she was alone at night, she would gather the box and pull out everything Eli had given her one by one, reliving the moment and occasion surrounding the gift. Jadelyn shoved the box back into her secret hiding place, she wouldn’t pull out the gifts while Chelsea was sleeping in her room. She couldn’t let Chelsea see it since Chelsea could hardly hold a secret, and everyone already thought she got rid of everything Eli gave her.

  She shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly trying to check the emotions that were trying to surface. Jadelyn stood up from the position she was crouching in to make sure the door was secure enough for her to feel safe while sleeping then moved on to the window.

  Jadelyn could see something green through the reflection of the window as she approached it. She slowly opened the window and peeked down to see a tent below her window. Jadelyn knew without a doubt it was Eli. It was just the person he was and what he'd do if he felt someone was in danger. She would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. This made feeling angry with him even harder and confused her emotions toward him when he did something thoughtful for her. On one hand, she wasn’t mad at him anymore when she noticed the 'Return to Sender' on the letters he wrote, but damn if she wasn’t mad it took him this long to come home to her. They were going to have a long talk and soon, if she had anything to say about it.

  Jadelyn left her window cracked and slipped back into bed. She had always liked sleeping with her window open so she could feel and smell the night breeze. Something she hadn’t been able to do in years, but she knew that with Eli out there standing guard for her, she could. Jadelyn couldn’t understand how she could be pissed at someone she hadn’t seen since she was twelve and could still make her feel secure and loved. Jadelyn closed her mind of all her confusing emotions and fell into the most peaceful sleep she had in a while.

  ***

  Ace woke Jadelyn and Chelsea up the next morning after he received a phone call from Eli, who had been trying to reach Jadelyn for a few hours. Once Ace and Chelsea left her room, Jadelyn hurried to her closet and pulled out some clothes and her bathing suit. She hated when she was late to something, and decided to take a quick shower and dress quickly before she started to panic. She didn’t know why, but every time she was late to something she always started to feel anxious, and sometimes that led to panic attacks.

  Looking at the clock on her phone, she noticed she took a half an hour shower instead of the fifteen minutes she was shooting for. Jadelyn hurriedly dried off, thre
w on her bathing suit and clothes before quickly throwing her hair back into a messy ponytail. Jadelyn grabbed a bag with a change of clothes and towel, just in case she needed them after the swim.

  Jadelyn hurried down the stairs. She had so many questions for Eli when they were finally alone. Just as she reached the last stair, Jadelyn heard the sound of his bike as he pulled up and hurried toward the door. Before she could make it off the last stair, Chelsea handed her enough food for her and Eli. “Ace and I will meet you guys at Paradise Theater in a few hours.”

  What is going on? First the food, now we are meeting them at the Theater, Jadelyn thought as she put the food and drinks into her bag.

  Chelsea had no clue what was going on either. All she knew was that Ace and Eli had made plans over the phone earlier. Ace had told her everything Eli had planned for Jadelyn, and Chelsea felt as though she could help a bit by making them brunch. She knew they had to talk before the battle to get everything they learned out in the open, or else it would affect Jadelyn during the battle. Chelsea could hear Eli as he approached the door and decided to follow Ace into the kitchen to give them their privacy.

  Jadelyn was thinking about changing her mind about going with Eli until the doorbell rang. The first thing Eli did when he entered the room was take the huge bag from Jadelyn and awkwardly kiss her on the forehead and put his arms around her. Jadelyn stiffened for a moment then relaxed into his arms, staying that way for a few moments before he pulled away. He didn’t know what to say to Jadelyn so instead he turned his attention elsewhere. “We will see you guys in a few hours. Ace, I will call you before we head over to the Theater so you guys can meet us there,” Eli said loud enough so they could hear him in the kitchen as he led Jadelyn outside of the house to his motorcycle.