CHAPTER 8
Stracey
The last forty-eight hours have been a blur for me. I’ve tended to the chores I had, kept up to date with the elders in the pack, and tended to anyone who was ill or needed my healing hands. I so desperately wanted to tap into my magic to see Jasper, to tell him that I do love him, to let him get his mind on the job, but I’m afraid to lay my heart on the line. I don’t think I can take any more heartache.
“Stracey!” I hear my name being yelled from a small distance away, so I open my front door and stand on my path. Running towards me, blond locks flying through the air, I spot Chardonnay. “Thank God! You need to come with me. Carlos needs you! Come on!” Chardonnay pulls my hand and I just manage to pull my door closed as the air flies past me.
“Chardonnay, what’s the hurry? Who’s hurt?”
Worry crosses my features and my mind works overtime. Chardonnay is usually a calm person, even in an emergency, so I know something terrible is wrong.
We stop dead in front of the Alpha’s cabin, and I try to get my breath back. I bend over just as the front door opens. Chardonnay leaves my side to go to her Alpha, and I smile when his arm circles her shoulders and a small kiss is placed on her forehead.
“What’s going on?” I puff and pant like an old woman.
“Come in, little one. I need to talk with you.” Carlos turns and leaves me standing at the bottom of his stairs. I climb them slowly and enter the cabin. My heart is pounding in my chest as every scenario enters my overactive brain.
Carlos turns to me, holding his hand out for me to take a seat.
“I’m fine standing, thank you.”
“I’m sorry to drag you here in a hurry, but I need to tell you something important…”
“Don’t. Please don’t tell me Jasper’s hurt.”
“He isn’t. The council have assured me of his safety, but this is a matter for you to think about.”
“What is it?”
Carlos leans against his table and grips the sides with his hands. His knuckles turn white, and I can’t take the suspense anymore.
“I’ve just come off the phone to Julian. Now, please hear me out, because it’s very important.” Carlos pauses. “Jasper and Kevin have been locked in the cells for forty-eight hours.” I gasp and hold my hand over my mouth. “They’re fine. In fact, they’re flying out to Canada at 1300 hours.” I look down at my watch and notice he’ll be leaving in forty-five minutes. “The thing is, Jasper, Kevin, and Callum, have agreed to go to Canada to help on a very delicate case. If they do this, their punishment will be over with. They’ve all agreed to do this mission.”
I let out a breath. Chardonnay is back by my side, squeezing my hand in reassurance. “I get the feeling there’s more to this.”
“There is. They need a witch to go with them.”
“But I can’t leave your pack without a healer. I also don’t associate with the council.”
“Not even to help Jasper come home sooner? Besides, Lisa has agreed to come and help until you return.”
“Lisa hasn’t got a grasp of her power yet. It isn’t fair to throw her into the deep end head first without a float.”
“She knows how to heal shifters. She healed Markus. She’s healed a couple of the pups’ scrapes and bruises. She can cover until you get back.”
I shake my head and pace up and down the room, biting my nails as I go.
“It’s up to you, honey. Jasper did tell the council not to ask you. I believe he told them to use their database.” Chardonnay breaks through the fog that was clouding my judgement.
“So, Jasper doesn’t know that they’ve asked me.”
Carlos shakes his head. “I think he’ll be furious at Julian and Braxton for going against him. However, it’s for a good cause.”
“Can you tell me what the cause is?”
“I can tell you what I know. There’s an issue in Canada regarding rogue wolves. They’ve been kidnapping young girls between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. Shifters, vampires, and any other paranormal beings are targeted. They’ve been kidnapped, raped, and abused. Some disappear with no trace, which is why Lelland and Lavina couldn’t intervene before.”
“Now they need the council’s help,” Chardonnay finishes off for her mate. “We know this is a big thing for you. We don’t particularly like putting you in this position, but Carlos had to be seen as asking you.”
“Okay. I’ll do this for Jasper and Kevin. I want you to make it clear that I’m not doing this to help the council. I return home when this is over with and I never get asked to help them again.”
“Agreed. I’ll tell them now. Do you want to go pack and we’ll get you to the airfield? It’s about thirty minutes from here so we need to act soon.”
“Okay. I’ll go now.”
I can’t believe I’m doing this. Not only am I helping the council, but I’m going to see Jasper. I get to make my peace with him. I get to tell him how I really feel. The Goddess really does want us to be together.