~Kade~
The sun set over the wall that surrounded the house. People were still out having picnics in the park and walking around town with their friends. Others had called it a night and were sitting in their homes watching tv or having a family dinner. It always amazed me how differently we lived our lives even though they were all connected by thin threads that clutched to the soul of every one of my pack members. One thing my father always reminded me of as a child was that my decisions weren’t mine alone; anything I did would reflect on my people. They would suffer my consequences just as they would celebrate my success. I stood leaning against the stone wall of the stairs outside our doors and looked at the open gates. Layla told me how much she loathed when they were closed, how she didn’t like the separation, but I never got a chance to tell her that I closed them to protect her. I didn’t want anyone knowing what she was out of fear of what they might do to her. I needed to come up with a plan to protect her, but it all went to hell the second that Danielle came back. Everything was put on hold, and Layla was put on the sidelines. I knew now how she felt, but why couldn’t I see it sooner? Everything from day one; telling her not to shift, asking her to stay within the walls, and closing the gates to everyone else, iy was all for her.
My pack members waved at me as they got up form the grass when it turned dark, and they walked home.
The guards on top of the wall were mind-linking the patrol to see how the border watch was going. Angus, the guard on the right tower, turned halfway and bowed his head, indicating that everything was in order. I walked back in and closed the doors behind me. As soon as the doors closed we knew that the words spoken would not leave the walls of this house and that the people who were listening were only our most trusted.
I walked on the marble floors over to the living room, and just as my feet crossed the strip on the floor the hollow sound of the doors opening up caught everyone’s attention.
Everyone turned around, and we greeted the warriors who were back from the search.
“Alpha,” Odin called and bowed his head. His hands were clasped behind his back, and the others stood upright with disappointment in their tired eyes.
No good news I see.
I clenched my jaw and raised my chin.
“Tell me,” I said, and he lifted his head.
“We didn’t find them. We searched the woods, scoured the towns, and looked in every passing car; there was not a single trace of where they had gone,” Odin exclaimed with a monotone voice.
“So why are you back?” I fumed.
“Kade, they’ve been searching for a week without a single trace—“ my mother said. Her eyes turned dark, and her shoulders went rigid. “—they don’t want to be found and we must operate under the assumption that they still have allies who will hide them,” She said.
I looked at the five warriors I sent to find Sebastian and Dimitri. The shame on their faces as they returned empty-handed was little to ease my worry regarding the information that Sebastian sat on. If he got to Nathaniel and the Emberclaws before we were ready, the whole table could shift and we would be blindsided.
“Go clean up.” I told them. They didn’t move; their feet were cemented to the floor, and they watched me.
“Alpha, we didn’t finish our mission but the fight isn’t over. What can we do?” Nina asked.
I nodded my head and looked around the piles of information, but it was futile. What we needed wasn’t here in the books and the papers; I was missing something. There had to be something that I could use against him. Everyone had something to lose, but what was Nathaniel’s weakness?
I looked at Justin, who slowly placed down the book and gave me his unwavering attention.
“You know your king better than any of us. What is the one thing he has that he doesn’t want to loose?” I asked him.
“Power,” Justin said.
“Except for that, something tangible, something he would give many lives to protect.” I said. A glint passed in Justin’s eyes; he lowered his head, and his eyes flickered in thought. His eyebrows shot up, and his jaw dropped to the floor.
Bingo.
Everyone stepped closer when Justin had his epiphany. A man obsessed with power has ways of ensuring that he will never loose it. Contingency plans put in place so that whatever happens, he knows he can continue his ruling.
“There’s a woman, I only met her once. Nathaniel never allowed anyone else to go to her; she is his biggest secret and most protected asset,” Justin said. He brushed away the papers and rolls from the desk and put away the computer before he leaned back against the desk.
Anna crossed her arms over her chest and sat on the chair by her desk. Cara and her mate walked over to the sofa, and my mother circled her arm with my father’s as they listened.
You could never see on my parents how they felt about something; their faces never gave away any emotion until they decided to show it.
“That time when I met her it was because Nathaniel was held up by some other business-“
“What other business would have him send you to a person that nobody else could meet?” Cara asked.
Justin looked at her and nodded his head.
“He was busy tracking down Layla,” Justin said. Me and Anna locked eyes, and I saw the glittering pain from the tears she was holding back.
“Continue.” I said, and Justin bowed his head.
“She lived in a cottage deep in the woods. Finding her wasn’t easy, not only because of the tight-knit woods but because she didn’t give away any scent,” he said and his face contorted in confusion.
“How is that possible?” Mason asked. Justin shrugged his shoulders.
“I have no idea but something told me even back then that Nathaniel had played some part in it.”
A cottage in the woods?
’It doesn’t make sense that I would be her’ Or maybe it makes perfect sense
“This woman creeped me out from the first time I saw her. Not because of her appearance or anything, it was just that the first time I saw her she told me that I had the power to make things easier and to help make things right. She said that I would be at a crossroads, and the decision I made would either aid or break someone’s will. She could see the future and was worried about what I would choose. She told me that my loyalties would shift and that I shouldn’t fight it,” Justin clenched his jaw, and his eyes darkened in pain.
“Your loyalties would shift to whom?” Mason asked.
“I didn’t understand it at first, and it seemed unfathomable to even think about because of my blind loyalty to Nathaniel, but then…yes, they shifted, they shifted when I met Layla.” His eyes bored into mine and he wanted me to see where he stood. The raging fire that gulped within me was heating up my veins and my fingers rolled into my palms.
’Kade, she could see the future’
I calmed myself enough to speak. “What is the woman’s name?” I asked.
“Analise.” Justin answered.
