I gave the usual tour to Tricia and Jamie, but the more time I spent with them, the more unsure I was feeling. Tricia was more skittish than I anticipated her to be. I realized her life had been completely turned upside down, but she was continually stuttering and looking to Jamie for answers.
Jamie seemed acutely aware of her surroundings and confident, but at the same time, she often stopped herself and reworded sentences. She was way too at ease with everything, and I was starting to get suspicious. When the tour was over, I left them in the kitchen with Courtney to get them some lunch and went to go get Augie.
“How was it with the girls?” he asked when I found him with my dad.
“It was interesting,” I replied. “When we were talking at the cabin, everything seemed mostly normal, considering the circumstances, but now I’m not sure what’s up with them. I want you to come sit with them for a bit and see if you could figure out what I’m missing.”
Augie nodded. “Not a problem. Let’s go.”
I leaned over my dad, giving him a kiss and hug. “Love you, Dad,” I whispered in his ear.
I missed his bear hugs and overbearingness. I missed doing all the things that drove him crazy. I missed my dad, and I missed my brother. Losing Cord so suddenly and watching my dad lay lifeless in front of me so soon after was excruciating. I was trying to be strong, but each time I visited my dad, the armor I was holding up around my emotions weakened.
Augie walked closer to me and took my hand in his. “We’ll get him back, Tay. He’s strong enough to hold on while we figure it out. Try not to worry.”
A few stray tears leaked out as I offered him a smile and wiped my face clean. “I know he will. He’s not ready to be done driving me crazy. We’ve got unfinished father-daughter business.”
I leaned over him once more for another kiss, then left the room with Augie. I would get through this, and so would my dad. I had to think positive, or we’d lose before we even really tried.
When we came around the corner to the kitchen, Tricia and Jamie were right where I left them. “Ladies, this is my best friend Augie. Augie, this is Tricia, and that’s Jamie.”
“Nice to meet both of you. I heard you got a tour of the place. What did you think?”
Jamie smiled sweetly at him. “We like it. We were just talking about what comes next and hope we can stay here when this is all over.”
Augie and I were surprised at that. Tricia had seemed so eager to leave, and if it was me, I’d want to go back to my old life as well. I couldn’t imagine they’d both been alone in the world before being taken.
“There are no family or friends who are missing you?” Augie asked.
A sniffle came from Tricia, but Jamie cut a sharp look at her. “We know we can’t go home like this. No reason to make things difficult.” Jamie was now fidgeting and seeming more nervous.
“That makes sense,” Augie said casually. “When was the last time either of you shifted?”
Tricia’s eyes widened in fear. “Not since the first time. I was supposed to go with a group the following day, but Jam –” Her eyes went downcast at the slip up. “Davis got us out of there.”
I pretended not to notice the mistake and gave Jamie my full attention. “What about you, Jamie?”
Her eyes stayed right at my chin, something I hadn’t noticed her doing before, making me wonder if she wasn’t really a turned human.
Tricia had made eye contact with us when she wasn’t looking to Jamie for guidance. Humans did that, not knowing it challenged our wolf or was disrespectful. Typically, they weren’t dominant enough for it to bother a shifter, which was why I hadn’t paid any attention to it before then.
“It’s been a while, but I’d like to try it again.”
“Jamie, my next question is a crucial one, and we need you to answer it truthfully. If you’re honest with us, I promise you’re safe here, but if you lie to us, I can’t guarantee anything.”
Before I could utter another word, Tricia burst into tears. “Just tell them!”
Well, that was an unexpected turn of events. I hadn’t expected Tricia to break, but I couldn’t say I was surprised, either.
Jamie glared at her for a moment as she collected her thoughts. She straightened her shoulders and sat up in the chair. “I wasn’t one of the humans taken. I was born in the Rocky Mountain pack.”
I knew something was up, but I hadn’t expected her to say she was a full wolf either. I just didn’t understand why she would lie about it to begin with.
I nodded at Augie to question her further. I was slightly pissed and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I wasn’t sure I could do that without offending her. Augie would have a softer touch than me, hopefully making her more comfortable to open up even more.
“Why didn’t you tell Davis when he found you?” Augie asked.
“I didn’t know where he was from at first, and by the time I found out he was taking us here, I was afraid he would leave me and only keep Tricia. I promised her I would take care of her, and I knew wherever he could possibly take us had to be better than with Declan’s pack, so we went with him.” She paused, glancing at both Augie and me. I smiled, hopefully encouraging her to continue. I wasn’t as upset as I thought I would have been at the lie. I could now see why she did what she did.
“I was one of Declan’s guards. My parents were killed when I was young. Declan took me in and trained me to be one of his staff. I had been with him for almost ten years. Once I found out what they were doing with the humans, I tried to figure out a way to get them out, or at least the ones that wanted out.”
“There are humans with him who wanted to be turned?” I asked, astonished. Even though I had the same thought earlier, it was still hard to believe humans could be so naïve.
“Yeah, there are.” Jamie rolled her eyes. “They watch these movies and read books about how badass the paranormal can be, but they have no idea.”
I grunted in agreement. She said almost the same thing I had earlier. I felt for her. Losing her parents at such a young age, then being taken in by a psycho, wasn’t something I’d wish on anyone.
“Tricia wasn’t cooperating. She couldn’t shift on demand like the others could. I overheard Declan saying that if the sorceress couldn’t make her shift by the time he was back, then they were going to dispose of her. I couldn’t let that happen, so on my rounds that night, I snuck her out. I had no idea what I’d do with her, but I had to give her a chance even if she was on her own.”
Okay, my anger at her not telling us was officially gone. She was one tough wolf. She risked a lot for someone she didn’t even know just because it was the right thing to do. I could understand that, and it gave me a new appreciation for her.
“It was pure luck we ran into Davis. I thought we were caught and both going to die, but then he held his hands up and smiled at us. Once he told us what he was doing, I quickly made up the story that we had both escaped, so he wouldn’t leave me behind. I hadn’t ever tried to leave before, because I was afraid all the other packs were like Declan’s. I didn’t see the point in leaving one tyrant for another.”
Caleb and Liam walked in, causing our conversation to be cut short. Caleb walked around the counter and pressed firmly to Jamie. “Hey there, gorgeous.”
Jamie blushed and glanced at me for some sort of approval.
“Caleb, leave her alone,” I said. “These are the girls Davis brought back.”
He backed up slightly, but the grin remained. He was such a playboy.
Liam stood next to me at the counter, his closeness causing shivers to run down my body. My wolf perked up as well, urging me to touch him and leave my scent on his body. I promptly shut her down, though. It was not the time nor the place for marking territories.
“Jamie is actually one of Declan’s pack members,” I said, seeing no point in keeping it from them if they planned to continue helping us. “She was just telling us how she was trying to escape with Tricia the night Davis found them. Jamie, these guys are helping us. You can trust them.”
I surprised myself with that last statement. I don’t know when I started to trust them, but I knew I could now. It felt good to have more people we could count on for help when we needed it most.
“What can you tell us about Declan that we don’t already know?” Augie asked.
“He’s grown powerful from the sorceress over the last couple months. He’s using her power.”
“What do you mean ‘using her power’?” Liam growled.
I didn’t understand it either. I’d never heard of such a thing, but then again, witches and shifters hadn’t associated in my lifetime. I had no reason to ever ask about our history with them.
“I don’t know, but he had powers like her sometimes. If he got irate, his eyes would get a silver ring around the middle and sparks would shoot out of his fingertips.”
Our situation just seemed to keep going downhill. It was so much worse than any of us thought it could be. If we couldn’t get the witches to help us defeat the sorceress, I wasn’t feeling near as confident about stopping whatever Declan’s plans were.
“How long has the sorceress been with the pack? Do you know her name?” I asked.
“Her name is Jaye. I think she started coming around about a year ago. She stays with Declan permanently now unless he has alpha business, then she takes off, so nobody sees her. I don’t know where she goes during those times.”
“And by ‘stays with Declan’, do you mean she stays in the house as a guest, or something more?” Caleb asked.
“I can’t be certain, but she is very hands-on with him. Even in front of others. He doesn’t dismiss her affections, either. He seems to quite enjoy her company.”
I then wondered whether this whole debacle was Declan’s idea or if he had been seduced by the sorceress and she had an ulterior motive. Either way, it wasn’t good that they were working so closely together. Though, if the feelings Jamie thought they had for each were real, maybe we could use those feelings against them.
“Is there anything else you can think of that would help us?” Augie asked.
Her hands twisted together, and she dropped her gaze. Tricia placed her hand on Jamie’s back, offering her silent support. Finally, Jamie spoke, her voice much stronger than I anticipated. “There are people helping Declan who had no other choice. Their families were threatened. Not all of them are bad. Yes, some of them are, especially those closest to Declan, but you can’t just storm in there with the intention of eliminating them all.”
“We understand that, Jamie. I promise you that is not our intention. We hope with your help, we can save as many shifters and humans as possible,” I said.
“He has two more homes. One is unknown to me and the second is deep in the mountains. I’m not sure where it’s at exactly, but I’ve heard it’s about two hours from the pack.”
“I’ll be right back,” Liam said as he pulled out his phone and walked out of the kitchen.
I hadn’t seen Aiden yet, so I hoped Liam was going to relay all this info to him. He seemed to be the research guy of the three. He had been spending a lot of time on a laptop he’d brought. I wasn’t going to question it as long as it got us closer to finding the witches and Declan. At this point, I would take either of them. The witches to make my dad better or Declan to avenge my family while letting out some pent-up emotions.
I brought my attention back to the others and noticed Jamie’s interest in Caleb, as well as his in her. I’d have to make sure I mentioned to him to be careful. I didn’t want his playboy personality leading her on and causing drama in my pack, not when we had so many other things to worry about.
“Thank you, Jamie,” I said. “You didn’t have to trust us, and we really appreciate you being honest. Nothing changes for the two of you. You’re still welcome in our pack. I’ll have Augie put in for an official transfer if you decide to stay permanently, but I’m sure you’d be welcome anywhere, so it’s up to you where you’d like to start over at. The same goes for you, Tricia. You have our full support.”
Caleb brushed her shoulder. “Make sure you check out the Catskills pack, too. We have plenty to offer there, as well.”
I grunted at his emphasis on plenty but didn’t comment. “I trust you girls can find your way back to the cabin after your tour this morning?” They both nodded. “Alright, then.” I turned to Augie. “We’ve got plans to make and people to call. Let’s go.”
I was halfway out the kitchen door when I decided to turn around. I pointed at Caleb. “You come with us.”
“What do you need me for?”
“Don’t be difficult.” I glared at him while he grinned back.
“Whatever you say, Firecracker.” He slid off the stool and followed us out. When we were out of earshot, he began laughing. “So, want to explain what that was about?”
I glanced over at him and rolled my eyes. “That girl has been through a lot. I don’t need you flirting with her and messing with her likely already-fragile emotions. I’ve been subject to your smooth words. Thankfully, I was immune to them, but I know not every warm-blooded female is. I don’t feel like having a heartbroken shifter to deal with when you guys decide to leave.”
“Maybe I’m ready for something serious. Did you ever think about that?” Caleb asked, tone very somber.
I stopped in the hallway and gave him my full attention. “If you're sincere and this wolf calls to you, I won’t be the one to stop you, but only if nobody gets hurt in the process. The moment I sense anything insincere, I will step in and put a stop to it. Do you understand?”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I sure do, you little firecracker. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
We turned the corner and almost ran into Liam. He stopped and growled at the contact between Caleb and me, but quickly recovered. His wolf was getting very territorial.
“Aiden wants us to meet him in the front room. It has the most space for us to spread out and do research, and there’s an extra computer in there.” His hand shot out and grabbed mine, tugging me toward him. “He’s already in there setting up, so let’s go.”
Caleb shook his head as laughter left his lips. “You two are perfect together. Bossy as shit, the both of you.”
Augie lifted his hand and high-fived him. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
That was what I got for hoping they’d all get along. I should’ve guessed they’d team up on me. Another thing to deal with for a different day. I pushed all other thoughts from my mind and readied myself to spend however many hours it took researching the sorceress Jaye.
No matter how dangerous the mission was, we were coming for them. Wherever she and Declan may be hiding, we would risk our own capture to find them.