Chapter Thirty-Nine

Damon

“She’s in trouble,” Archer said as he put his phone down on the counter.

“How sure are you?” Jared asked him.

“She asked me to give Sebastian a hug and a kiss,” he said and I looked at him.

“Did you hear anything else, any sounds, what else did she say?” I asked him.

“That she’s with a friend and won’t be flying to Los Angeles to see me,” he said, “she never said that when we spoke over the phone.”

“Jared, get your guy to trace that number Finley was calling from,” I said to him.

“On it,” he said and held his hand out for Archer’s phone and walked outside.

“What exactly did she find in order for her to leave?” Archer asked me.

“The Council installed cameras in her house, this is how we handle all protection details, she found the monitors in the spare bedroom,” I said to him.

“Do you love her?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. It was true though, I did love her.

“Tell me everything you know, who would want to take her, because if someone wanted to hurt her they would’ve already. They wouldn’t have let her phone me,” he said.

“You’re right, this is someone that wants her for another purpose,” I said.

“Who knows she’s your bonded half?” he asked me.

“You think this is related to me and not her?” I asked him.

“Shit Damon, anything’s possible at this stage. I know how your world works, well I have an idea, but hurting you works better when it’s directed at your bonded half,” he said to me.

“Jared and Kat know,” I said to him.

“So it can’t be that then,” he said to me.

“Calvin,” I said and he looked at me.

“Calvin, the guy she kept meeting in town?” Archer asked me.

“What?” I asked him.

“There was this guy when I was visiting her, Calvin, he kept popping up everywhere we went, always flirting with her, I even warned her to stay away from him because something about him didn’t feel right,” he said.

“One night I found one of his Zetas at the bar, he was talking to Finley, telling her what a good time they could have together. The next day I went to Calvin’s pack to talk to him, he’s an Alpha too, and he told me that he didn’t want to harm Finley. He wanted to take her as his chosen mate,” I said to him.

Archer made a low growling sound in his throat and looked at me in surprise. I would have laughed if the circumstances were different. The change wasn’t always abrupt and sometimes different emotions brought out different sides of us.

“Damon, the number of the phone…” Jared began as I interrupted him.

“Calvin Williamson,” I said and he smiled at me.

“Yeah, how’d you guess?” he asked me.

“We were just talking about him,” Archer said.

“Jared let’s go,” I said to him and started walking to the front door. Jared stopped at the front door as Archer followed us and he looked at me curiously.

“Alpha,” Jared said as he looked at Archer.

“I’m not staying behind, that’s my sister,” Archer said.

“He’s our way in,” I said and they both frowned at me.

“I am?” Archer asked.

“You haven’t been inducted to a clowder, you smell like a rogue, so that’s what I’ll use to gain entry to his grounds,” I said as I started walking to my truck.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Jared said as he grinned.

“So I’m bait?” Archer asked me.

“Yes,” I said as I climbed into the truck.

“Aren’t you taking more men?” Archer asked me and Jared stifled a laugh. “What?”

“If we arrive with more men, it’ll look suspicious, especially if Calvin really has her. We won’t be granted entry into the territory. But if it’s just me and Damon with a prisoner he’ll believe what we want him to believe. That we need a cell to keep a prisoner in, when we do inspections it’s mostly just me and Damon,” Jared said.

“I see, but they’re a whole pack of wolves right,” Archer said.

“Jared will be going in alone with you,” I said to him and Jared grinned again.

“Where will you be?” Archer asked.

“I’ll be entering illegally from the other side. Calvin knows I’m the Enforcer assigned to Finley, he won’t think twice about letting Jared enter with a prisoner, he’ll be suspicious if I’m there,” I said.

“So you and Kat huh,” Jared said as I glared at him.

“Me and Kat,” Archer said with a smile.

“Don’t,” I said as I looked at him in the rearview mirror.

“What? It’s not like you haven’t been shacking up with my sister,” he said to me.

“He’s got a point there,” Jared said as I briefly closed my eyes.

“Fine, but we’re still going to talk about this whole turning and marking stunt you two pulled,” I said.

“What stunt? She told me the truth and I accepted her and I agreed when she asked me if I wanted to turn. She brought this old woman to my house and she performed the turning ceremony. Kat and I marked each other that night,” he said.

“An Oracle you mean,” Jared said and Archer nodded his head.

“Yeah Oracle Bloomer, weird old woman,” he said.

“Bloom,” I said to him as he smiled at me.

“So that’s why Kat hasn’t been home, she didn’t want you to see that she was marked,” Jared said.

“We were planning on coming back after my book tour,” Archer said.

“Where does my sister think you are?” I asked him.

“Emergency with my publisher,” Archer said and Jared laughed.

We drove to Hinesburg in relative silence, broken only when Jared or Archer asked a question, but they mostly spoke to each other as I got lost in my thoughts. It was actually to my benefit that Kat had turned Archer. Finley would take it better now that her brother was one of us, he could help her with the acceptance.

I pulled off to the side of the road and into a natural clearing and switched the truck off. We all climbed out and I threw the truck keys to Jared. I started to take my clothes off and Jared threw me a pair of shorts as he took my clothes.

“What happens now?” Archer asked.

“I’ll come in from the other side where their patrols aren’t as frequent and search for Finley. Your hands will be tied now but you’ll be able to break them if you concentrate. Jared will lead you in asking for a temporary cell for the rogue he caught until he can get the Council Warriors here and stall for time while I do my thing.

“Kill order?” Jared asked as I tied the shorts around my leg.

“Only if you have to, if you smell her ask about a human presence, don’t go for submission without me, you can’t subdue the whole pack on your own,” I said to him.

“I’ll link you,” Jared said as he walked back to the truck and I shifted.

“Shouldn’t we give him a head start?” Archer asked as I flicked my tail and growled lowly at him.

“Axel can run at about a hundred miles per hour for about two hours straight,” Jared said with a laugh as he started the truck and Archer climbed into the back with his hands bound.

I watched them drive away and then sprinted through the trees passing the truck two minutes later as I swiftly moved in between the trees and circled Calvin’s territory. From numerous inspections I knew that his warriors didn’t patrol the western area as frequently because it was bordered by a stream. Rogues hated water and they wouldn’t attack from that side.

I crossed the stream and shook the water from my fur as I entered the forest and perked my ears listening for patrols but it was quiet except for the natural sounds of insects and a few rabbits that I could hear.

Nonetheless I still masked my scent and made my way towards the back of the pack house, trying to focus on Finley’s scent. It was a unique blend of pomegranate and thyme and it would stand out stronger than any other scent because I’d marked her.

I quickly climbed a tree and looked down at the two warriors as they came running past the tree where I had just stood. They didn’t even stop and carried on through the tree line as they did their patrol. I concentrated on the house in front of me and searched for Finley’s scent. Either she was locked in the dungeon or basement or she hadn’t been allowed outside.

“They’re stalling us at the gate,” Jared linked me.

“Probably giving them time to hide her, take particular note of Calvin’s scent,” I said to him as I surveyed my surroundings.

I jumped down from the tree noiselessly and took two steps backwards as I shifted back to my human form and pulled the shorts on just as a young teen ventured into the forest. He rounded the tree and his eyes widened when he saw me.

I grabbed him in a choke hold as my eyes changed color. “Altum somnum,” I whispered as his body went slack against mine and I laid him down on the ground.

“Finley’s here,” Axel said as he growled in my head.

“I know,” I said.

“She’s afraid,” he said slowly as I ran from the cover of the trees towards the side of the house.

“We’re parking in front of the pack house now, only the Beta’s here.

“I can see you,” I said to him.

“Beta Jared, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Beta Arthur said.

“Beta Arthur, I’m in need of a temporary cell for the rogue I captured. I’m having trouble getting through to the Council to arrange transport for this one,” Jared said.

“I can smell the rogue on him from here,” Arthur said.

“Is your Alpha available?” Jared asked him.

“He is unfortunately occupied at this moment, how long do you need the cell for?” Arthur asked him.

“Stall, I’m in the house,” I said to Jared.

“Maybe if I could just use your landline to contact them to make arrangements,” Jared said.