Chapter 25 Witch Runner
It was evening when Kian finally allowed his mate to rest and recover a bit. He didn’t want to be away from Raina now that she finally told him she was off her monthly bleed, but life unfortunately still continued beyond their bed. She needed to eat, realizing she hadn’t even eaten yet through the entire day.
When her belly gave her away, she had blushed in embarrassment at her belly’s growls of protest, but he only chuckled while he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Her cognac eyes gazed up into his and he wished they could just come clean fully. He wanted her to know that he knew, but she still held so much doubt in her heart that they needed to work through before she put her full trust in him.
She had been fighting him on the idea of her becoming his Luna even after she had accepted the role already. He had asked her to trust him, but her full trust in him was a gradual process. It was like breaking open and thawing out the ice around her. Those were the walls she built around herself, but he’d turn up the heat to slowly get to her.
It was the only way. He needed to build her trust in him. She trusted him to care of her, but she didn’t trust him with her heart. That was an entirely different battle he was fighting.
“C’mon,” he murmured to her, gently encouraging to stand. “How about you go take a shower and I’ll mindlink Sasha to make us our plates for dinner?”
She had agreed with a smile. When she had walked in their shared bathroom and started her shower, he mindlinked Sasha that they’d have their dinner in his office nearby the training grounds. He still had work to do and Sebastian wanted to fill him in on what was found out. He mindlinked with Sebastian to let him know that both he and Raina were coming down soon to be brought up to speed.
Sebastian had quickly mindlinked back: Good, maybe Raina can help us talk with the rogues too. She has a better rapport with them.
As much as Kian didn’t want her involved, he knew he couldn’t keep this from her and she had been sorely missed. Nobody could fill her role as Beta. She was his trained warrior and she had been a warrior first before his Luna. It would be ridiculous to deny her that and he was wrong for doing so.
After squaring everything away, he joined her in the shower to her surprise. He helped her wash her back and her hair, enjoying the feel of her soft skin even underneath the spray of hot water. The only way for her to understand how he truly felt was to show her with small acts of affection that he hoped wouldn’t scare her away.
Actions spoke louder than words and she was the type that lived by that. She showed loyalty and respect by standing up in the face of the world to stand by him. She went through hell and back training to become an unstoppable force to show her worth and value to him. He’d be foolish not to let her flourish in her natural environment. She was right. He hadn’t asked her. He assumed that she would fall in line, because she was in fact his Beta and she understood her role.
He hadn’t thought the Elder Council would go ahead and force him to pick a Luna too, because he was assuring his bloodline would continue. He should’ve known the Elder Council would follow old outdated traditions regulated by the World Council.
It was always going to be Raina in the end. He would’ve chose her for everything and it was sad that he didn’t realize how naturally he gravitated towards her.
As she pulled on her burgundy sweatpants then tugged a matching sweatshirt over her blank black t-shirt, he finally gave into her wishes. Maybe, it was the high from sex that was influencing him to make foolish decisions, but they both needed to bend a little and she had already.
“Sebastian is going to fill us in what’s going on while we eat,” he finally told her, glancing over at her while he tugged on a black sweatshirt.
She frowned. “Fill us in?”
“We had an uninvited guest last night trespassing on our territory,” he informed her. Her eyes widened at that. “They were able to outrun us and outrun both Twin Silver Crescent and Nightclaw when they were in their territories. They disappeared without a trace after. Nightclaw sent their footage. Both Alpha Jayce and Alpha Ridley are coming tomorrow.” He chewed his bottom lip before he took a deep breath. “Do you think you could talk to your brother about any activity within the rogues?”
“Sure,” she said, digesting all the situations. “It sounds like a witch runner though or maybe even a vampire.”
“A witch runner?” he repeated. He understood why she mentioned a vampire, but they would’ve smelled a vampire fairly quickly. A witch runners haven’t been around since the Rogue King’s demise.
She nodded. “I’d know by how they were dressed.”
“We have footage you can look over.”
Just like that, they fell into natural step with one another. He hated that he actually missed it, because it meant that she was needed and that she excelled at it. Oh, well, he tried to reason with himself, it wasn’t like she was trying to lose her bodyguards anymore. Meridian had become her shadow and the other four Elites shadowed them from afar.
Raina couldn’t stop the excitement zipping through her. Kian was finally going to let her get involved with pack affairs again. She couldn’t stop the smile from crossing her face as she followed him to his office nearby the training grounds.
Most of the time after they had sex, she would often be too embarrassed to show face right away, but tonight, she didn’t care. All those whispers and gossipy tongues could speak in hush tones about what happened behind closed doors, but she wouldn’t let it sour her good mood.
The moment they walked in, the smell of mouthwatering food distracted her and she immediately dove in. Kian followed suit, obviously having developed an appetite too. They were halfway done when Sebastian finally made an appearance.
He had come in with his laptop and started immediately going over everything. Apparently, at Nightclaw, they had managed to corner this mysterious person. She had asked to see the footage and Sebastian was quick to play it for them on his laptop. Her eyes watched the video footage play out. When they cornered the person, the footage went dark for a moment with only the sound of voices. The image cleared and the person was no longer there.
“That was black mist,” she muttered, frowning for a moment. Both Kian and Sebastian looked at her. The person was wearing hooded robes. “Ask the surveillance team to put the blacklight filter on the video footage.”
“Why?” Sebastian asked her as he looked down at the laptop screen.
Her eyes met his. “If they’re a witch runner, symbols will be revealed on their robes and the black mist they conjured.” She sighed, looking over at Kian. “If it is a witch runner, I’ll definitely need to speak to my brother.”
Kian nodded and glanced over at Sebastian. Sebastian immediately nodded his head and moved towards the door before he paused for a moment to look over his shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he told her, offering her a small authentic smile. Raina gave him a smile in return. “I’ll be right back with the updated footage.”
When Sebastian left, she could feel Kian’s eyes on her before she looked over at him. She raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his lips before he turned his attention back to eating his dinner. Her eyes swung to her plate and she quickly tucked right back in until Sebastian came rushing back in.
“You were right,” he gasped as he quickly put the laptop back on Kian’s desk. He pressed play and the footage began to play again, allowing her to see the neon symbols come to life. “What does this mean? Why are there witch runners here again?”
She swallowed down her bite of food. “Witch runners are always hired,” she said with a sigh. “They are hired to perform a ritual of some sort.”
“Who would hire a witch runner and why?” Sebastian asked, glancing back and forth between her and Kian.
Kian took a deep breath in and out. His muscles already tensed, stiffening under the weight of reality. “Someone is targeting us,” he finally growled out. “And we’ve been pissing off more than a few people as of late.”
“True,” Sebastian muttered. “But why a witch runner and not an assassin or something like that?”
“They don’t want anybody dead,” she pointed out. She pushed her plate away slightly, no longer hungry. A witch was either a powerful foe or a powerful ally. A hired witch was more savage and more mercenary. “You only hire an assassin to take someone out.”
“So what ritual did they perform?” Sebastian asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea, but I can talk to someone who had been a part of their guild.” Her eyes swept to Kian and his eyes held her. “I’ll need to speak with Mack and Jacqueline.”
Kian only nodded in agreement. Her brother, Mack, might not have any answers, but Jacqueline would know more than anybody else. Jacqueline had been a witch runner before she settled down with Mack. Mack and Jacqueline had quietly become the new rogue king and queen. They had been hiding ever since Mack had killed the old king and had taken over the throne in the underground city within the rogue territory.
Nobody was supposed to know. The only ones that did were the ones in this very office, the Elites that were with them during the mission, and Sterling. Mack had been an Elite before becoming the king of the rogues. They knew if the World Council ever found out that they would be hunted down and assassinated. Years of peace had followed in its wake and soon the savageness of rogues had become myth. They were now seen as wayward transient folk that were leaderless and powerless. Little did they know, that the strongest ally of Crimson Moon was the kingdom of rogues.
Neither Mack or Jacqueline would like this, but she knew they’d rather know what was going on before the storm hit and Crimson Moon badly needed answers.