Chapter 66 - Hidden agendas

**James pov**

“What do you mean you need to go? Ina, we need you here! I can’t do this by myself!”

“Jesse, I have to go back to Great Falls. They gather all the white witches to attempt to break through Zandra’s barrier…”

“But you’re not a white witch, are you? I would imagine more of a gray…okay, maybe light gray…”

“I won’t participate if I don’t have to, but I need to be there...for Zara...and for Cathy,” She really knew how to get me to shut me up.

“Hrm…and when are you coming back?”

“If this goes well, I don’t have to come back, Jesse… If this goes well, you put Sasha and Hitch in the car and go to Great Falls. If this goes well, Zandra will be back, and she can help you better than I ever could.”

“Ina…I can’t go back…I promised…”

“I know, you promised to stay out of her life, no problem, she won’t be there.”

“No? Where will she be then?” The question was not mine, Argus was just below the surface and Ina saw him immediately.

“Down boy!... She won’t be there, let’s leave it at that. She asked you not to be in her life, so don’t snoop because I won’t say anything!” She had a firm tone and I made Argus back off. We had promised to do as she wished and snooping into her life was hardly something she would have accepted. But where could she be? And with whom? Had she met someone? Already? Had she really been able to move on? The thought was as painful as hearing her wish during our picnic...it suddenly felt like a very long time ago...

“Can you at least tell me if she’s okay?” I met Inas' gaze and could see the pain in it. Not a pain that was her own but the pain she felt for us, that she always felt for us...two mates who loved each other but decided not to be together.

“She’s okay...she’s doing something that gives her life meaning. She needs it, Jesse…she needs to feel like she’s living for herself before she can live for anyone else…”

Okay, so no new partner I guess. That realization made it a little easier.

“Good…that’s good…you know I just want her to be happy…”

“I know James…Jesse…and you know what I would prefer…but life is hard…” She hugged me and I held her tightly. During these weeks she lived with me. We became close to each other. Ina was cunning and uneven and her mood could go from zero to a hundred and back again in a couple of seconds...but she was still genuine, I had no doubts. Ina was a person who I wanted in my life. I didn’t want to lose her, not her too…

“Okay…go…call me when you get there so I know you’re okay…” I was still holding her, tight. Argus inhaled her scent, he too had come to love her, seeing her as someone who helped his friend and brother, someone he would protect if need be. Another member of his strange pack. Yes, we love Ina, she is the sister we never had.

“I promise! And I’ll send Dean over with more cans if needed.” She held me just as tight.

“Do you want to wait for Hitch and Sasha? To say goodbye?” Ina and Sasha had grown close. Sasha’s wolf, even if she didn’t want to show herself, had on a spiritual plane, appeared to Ina. That is precisely what I was told Freespi had done when Cathy and Ina got to know each other. Ina was a witch...but she was also a wolf whisperer. A people who, according to the stories, were long extinct.

I remember Zandra telling a story about a wolf whisperer once. There weren’t many of us around the fire that night, most wanted to hear the Origin stories of Ambrogio and Aayla and had left to go home and sleep instead…but this story fascinated me for some reason, perhaps because I knew even then that my life would look different from that of most wolves. The story was about a mixed bloodline. A witch and a wolf in Aayla’s army fell in love and Aayla herself blessed their union and welcomed the witch into her pack. After a while and hard life-threatening labor, they gave birth to a child, a girl. Everyone was curious as to which of the Gods in the Great Heaven would claim her. The Mother or Serene? The girl grew up, she never got a wolf, but she did get some of her mother’s magical powers. The conclusion was, she was a witch. It then turned out that she also had something from her father. Although she didn’t have a wolf of her own, she could connect with the wolf of a werewolf, even if the person was in human form. Something that werewolves do among themselves with the help of their wolves. Some thought this was good, but even more, over time, thought it was bad. When the girl’s gifts were passed down, and generations after Aayla’s time, there were pack leaders who wanted to exterminate wolf whisperers for the reason that they were afraid their wolves would turn on them after being bewitched by a whisperer.

At first, I wasn’t sure, but I knew she could handle Argus even if they started on a bad foot. But then one day I noticed her and Sasha. They sat in silence and painted each other’s nails in rainbow colors, but from the look on their faces, they were having a lively and, apparently, amusing discussion. I agonized over whether to bring this up with Ina, but I decided to wait. So much else was going on right now that required her involvement. Maybe she even knew what she was and knew her history, that would explain why she didn’t talk about it.

“Tell them I promise we’ll see each other again soon...”

“Sasha will miss you, she doesn’t have many in her life and does not do well with breakups, so it’s best for you to keep that promise, she can be very annoying if she gets grumpy.”

“I’ll keep it and hopefully all goes well, and you can be on your way to Great Falls soon! In a week maybe!” Her eyes sparkled with how happy that thought made her, so I said nothing and hugged her a little tighter before finally letting go of her and watching as she left my home which we had shared until it became ours.

The ceiling’s pattern should be etched in my brain considering how long I’ve been staring at it...But that’s not what I saw. I saw Cathy in different settings. *“She’s doing this for herself”* That’s what Ina had said. Doing what? Had she gone back to Europe? Maybe even to San Marino and Alfonzo?...though Ina said there was no one else, or at least that’s how I interpreted her words. What if I misinterpreted them, and she was actually with the charming, gooey spaghetti eater...What if they found common ground, neither of them were with their mate...what if they found comfort in each other... The thought scared me and, without thinking I reached for my phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Aurora…”

“Jesse?”

“Yes, the one and only…”

“Wow… that was a surprise…how have you been?”

“Good…I’ve been good…and you?”

“Good…worked a lot, dad might be thinking about sending me to Italy again soon…”

“Oh?...but it’s good, isn’t it?

“I don’t know…it depends on who he sends with me…”

“Ah…anyone in particular in mind?”

“...” I listened to her breathing and could almost hear her brain working to come up with the right answer.

“I’d love to…hrm…we had fun Jesse, right? We can have it again…” To my surprise, my lower regions twitched a little when I understood what she meant. Yes, that night had been memorable, but it was nothing I intended to repeat. Not to mention how Argus growled at me in my head.

“It would have been nice, but I have way too much work here at home, even on the personal plane. A friend is sick, and I will have to take a lot of time off in the future...but can’t Alfonzo escort you? You guys seemed to get along well…” Please take the bait…please please…take it…

“Mmm…Alfonzo and I have a…what to call it, complicated relationship…”

“But you like him?”

“Of course I do, I’ve known him pretty much all my life!”

“Yeah, but I mean, like him more than a childhood friend?”

“I don’t know why we talk about him, well, he will always have a special place in my heart, just like he has his home on the other side of the globe.”

I understand how it can be difficult…

“Although I have heard that he is on his way to visit the United States soon.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, probably to meet that girl he was with when we met him…what was her name? Cassie? Callie?...”

“Cathy!” I did my best to keep my voice neutral although I hated her ignorance.

“Right! Cathy!.. You danced with her, didn’t you?”

“Yes, well, I did…nice girl…”

“Probably just a sweet gold digger like everyone else…everyone knows how much Alfonzo is worth!” I could hear the jealousy dripping from every word. She could say what she wanted, but I knew she wanted her mate!

“Why don’t you call him and ask? Perhaps he would rather visit you?” I tried to plant the idea with her while my brain worked feverishly to find reasons why the wolf mafia from San Marino would cross the ocean... Why would he do that for Cathy?... He has a mate and apparently, the bond is still there... But at the same time, Cathy is an Alpha daughter of one of the strongest packs in America. If he could convince her to be his chosen mate…then he would soon be as strong here as in Europe, only Luna, Hope and Callum would have more power than him, but if they were to be family... Argus growled, whimpered a little and I myself felt drops of a cold sweat forming on my forehead.