From Prisoner to Primordial

CHAPTER 15 - The Bomb in the Box

    Axel, Aryan, Deacon, and my dad grabbed her and led her kicking and screaming to the dungeons.

    Put her in the isolation cell, I told them through the mind link.

    Yes, Luna! They replied.

    “Nova. Nova, what do I do?!” Kane’s voice was becoming frantic.

    “Titus, Roman, and River, take the box carefully away from the pack and figure out how to disable the bomb without it going off,” I ordered my best explosive techs.

    “Yes, Luna!” they shouted, taking the box from Kane while keeping it level.

    “Please be careful,” I said, my voice shaky.

    “We will,” they said in unison as the walked away from the courtyard and towards the lake while I told Jax to take a table out to them for them to set it on. He nodded and grabbed the Delta table and ran out towards the lake to set it down before the Deltas got to it.

    “Cannon, Braylen, and Kate, go search Jane’s home for any evidence that she built that thing,” I ordered, slightly calmer now. They nodded and ran to the east side of the territory where Jane’s cottage was.

    “Kiya, come here baby girl,” I called to her, not caring that I was very pregnant. She jumped up and ran to me, crying. “What did you see? I need you to tell me, my sweet Kiya.”

    She closed her eyes and whimpered as tears fell down her cheeks. “Bri-Bri gone. Babies gone. Jane gone,” she cried into my shoulder as she held on as tight as she could.

    “Jane gone?” I asked her and she nodded.

    “She… she disappeared? Ran away,” she cried into my shoulder some more.

    “Shhh… baby girl, Bri-Bri is safe. You’re safe. I promise,” I cooed into her ear.

    “Why was she gone?” Kiya asked as she pulled away.

    “You didn’t see what happened?” I asked her.

    She shook her head. “I saw Bri-Bri on ground after she opened box,” she paused for a minute before continuing. “But not what was in box,” she added, and I let out a sigh of relief that she hadn’t witnessed the horror I had in my vision.

    Kane came over and wrapped his arms around the both of us as Brielle came up to us and joined in on the hugs.

    “You just saved me,” she told Kiya who looked at her and began crying again as she reached for Brielle’s belly.

    “Babies okay?” she asked, placing her hands on Brielle’s stomach, and smiling as she felt the babies kicking.

    “Yes, the babies are okay, sweet girl. Thanks to you and your mommy,” she said as she placed her own hands over Kiya’s. Gunther came over and took Kiya from me, hugging her as tight as she could handle while pulling me into a side hug.

    “Thank you,” he told me as he walked over to Brielle and wrapped his arms around her, trapping Kiya in between them.

    Axel, Aryan, Deacon, and my dad came back then. “We have four guards outside the cell,” Axel told me as they walked up to me before looking out towards the lake at the three Deltas working on the bomb.

    Even from the distance, I could see Titus grip his head and scream as tears flowed down his face. “Tristan! I can’t feel Tristan!” he cried out.

    Um… Alpha, Luna, we need you ASAP! Cannon screamed through the mind link. Kane and I glanced at each other and then at my dad.

    “Dad, watch them,” I called out behind me as Kane and I took off towards the east side of the territory to where Jane’s cottage was.

    We reached the cottage in record time and burst through the door.

    Axel, Aryan, Deacon, find Ashley NOW! I screamed to them. Ashley was Jane’s best friend, so I knew she had to be behind this.

    Dr. Viotto, Dr. Perez come to Jane’s cottage on the east side of the territory now and bring Titus and Ximena and the antidote for wolfsbane and silver nitrate, I commanded. I cut the link without waiting for a response.

    I ran over to the silver bars that Tristan was being held in. Using my powers, I yanked the cell door off its hinges without having to touch it.

    I ran in and grabbed Tristan who was hanging by silver shackles with a stainless-steel syringe sticking out of his neck.

    Luna, we got Ashley just before she left the territory, Axel informed me.

    Good, take her to the isolation cell on the opposite end from Jane!

    Dr. Viotto and Dr. Perez appeared in the doorway with Titus and Ximena behind them.

    “Tristan!” Titus cried out, hugging Ximena as the two doctors rushed over to him. Kane had found the key for the shackles and once he was free, we laid him down on the floor while the two doctors got to work.

    Dr. Viotto pulled the syringe from his neck while Dr. Perez administered the antidote to wolfsbane and silver nitrate straight into Tristan’s heart and then both doctors got to work doing CPR on Tristan, alternating between who was doing the compressions and who was doing the breaths.

    Dr. Howard appeared behind Titus and Ximena with a stretcher and an IV kit and a portable AED. He came into the cottage and started the IV while the other two doctors continued compressions.

    “Stop,” I ordered them, and they did. I listened intently and heard a faint heartbeat. “His heart’s beating erratically. Barely, but it’s beating. Do what you do,” I told them, and they grabbed the AED and set it up.

    “Charging to 200, clear!” the voice from the AED said. Dr. Howard hit the button to shock Tristan and his body jerked at the shock.

    “Ohhhhhh,” he groaned in pain, trying to curl onto his side.

    “Tristan!” Titus cried out with relief lacing his voice.

    “Alright, let’s get him to the hospital,” Dr. Perez ordered as Dr. Howard brought the stretcher over. They loaded him onto the stretcher and ran towards the pack hospital.

    “Please tell me there’s evidence incriminating Jane in the creation of the bomb,” Ximena pleaded. I turned and looked at Deacon, Braylen, and Kate.

    “We found all kinds of electrical devices and equipment. But until the criminal lab runs it for fingerprints, we won’t know for sure,” Deacon said.

    Ximena started crying again. “Ximena, shhh. He was obviously held against his will. Even if he did build the bomb, there’s no way he did it by choice. Kate, take pictures of everything incriminating, including the cell Tristan was in. And please tell me you got pictures of him in the cell.” I looked at her and she nodded, holding her phone up.

    “He was alive, but only barely, when we came in. He managed to say ‘Jane’ and ‘Ashley’ before his heart stopped,” she shuddered at the memory.

    “Go, be with your son,” I told Titus and Ximena.

    Dr. Perez, how’s he doing? I asked as Tristan’s parents left the cottage.

    He’s alive and getting better by the minute. We administered a little more antidote, too. But he’s starting to panic, so Dr. Viotto is administering some sedatives via IV, came his reply.

    I sighed in relief while Kate and the other two Deltas went around snapping pictures of anything and everything that could be incriminating. Then they took pictures of every room as a whole.

    “Luna!” Came Kate’s panicked voice from the bedroom. Kane and I ran in to see what was so urgent.

    “Everybody, get out, NOW!” I screamed as Kane, Kate, and I ran from the bedroom and out the front door. Deacon and Braylen were right behind us.

    We had barely gotten 200 feet away when the cottage blew up. We all ducked and covered our heads as debris flew everywhere. Thankfully, there were no other homes within half a mile, so we didn’t have to worry about the domino effect with the fire that broke out.

    We heard sirens fast approaching, and the fire trucks stopped in front of the cottage with the firefighters getting to work quickly.

    Soon enough, the fire was out and all that was left of the cottage was the framework.

    Chief Hunter came over to us as we stood up, turning to face him.

    “What was the cause of the fire?” he asked us.

    “Th…th… there was a bomb in her bedroom,” Kate stuttered out as tears started to fall from her eyes.

    Alpha, Luna, the bomb has been disabled. We’re taking it to the bomb room to disassemble it now, Roman told us through the mind link.

    Thank you, I replied as the firefighters finished up their jobs and left the scene.

    “Deacon, Braylen, you are dismissed for now,” I told them as we made our way back to the courtyard. “Kate, go be with AJ,” I told her, and she nodded, running back to the courtyard ahead of us.

    “What are we going to do about the rest of the gift exchange?” I asked Kane as we walked.

    He took my hand into his and replied, “I guess we can vote on whether to continue it or not.” He shrugged his shoulders.

    When we got back, we noticed that his parents had taken charge of the gift exchange in our absence. “They voted to continue, and it was a good distraction from the explosion we all heard,” Kaiden said as we joined them.

    “Great minds think alike,” Kane said to his dad.

    What was the explosion? Kylie asked me through the mind link.

    Jane rigged her house with a bomb, and Kate found it in time for us to get out safely.

    What about Titus and Ximena’s son, Tristan?

    He was being held prisoner there in a cell made from silver hanging from silver shackles. He had a syringe sticking out of his neck that had been filled with wolfsbane and silver nitrate, but the docs were able to get him back. Ashley was caught and thrown in an isolation cell, too.

    The firefighters got the fire put out? Kylie asked, and I just nodded.

    “Since you guys have a handle on this, mind if we go visit Tristan in the hospital?” I asked Kaiden and Kylie.

    “Go right ahead,” Kylie said.

    Kane and I walked through the packhouse to the hospital where Dr. Viotto was outside one of the rooms talking to a nurse.

    “Dr. Vi, how is Tristan?” I asked as Kane and I approached him.

    He looked at us for a moment before motioning for us to follow him into Tristan’s room.

    “All things considered, he’s doing well. Once the wolfsbane was out of his system and his wolf could come to the surface, he began to lose control over his senses and began to have a panic attack, so we sedated him.

    “The sedation has already worked its way out of his system since we gave him such a low dose and we have such a fast metabolism. When he woke up, he was able to reign his wolf in and regain a sense of where he was and that he was safe. Now he’s just sleeping.

    “He’s probably going to need some therapy because he was in there for several days, but everything else looks good,” Dr. Vi said to us just as Tristan began to stir.

    His eyes shot open, and he looked around the room frantically. Upon realizing he was still in the hospital, he calmed down.

    “Alpha, Luna?” he asked, his voice soft. You could hear the terror in his voice.

    “Tristan,” I said softly. “You’re safe now. Do you understand me? This is not a dream; you really are safe now.”

    “But… but she killed me. She gave me the final dose of wolfsbane and silver nitrate, just like Jane told her to.”

    “Ashley?” I asked, and he nodded. “We got to you in time, Tristan. Yes, your heart stopped, but the doctors gave you the antidote and did compressions until we got you back.”

    “There’s an antidote?”

    “Only one that light witches know,” his eyes widened as soon as I said ‘witches’ but I continued. “And thankfully, my dad knows a light witch who gave us the recipe for it years ago. Tristan, did Jane have a dark witch helping her?”

    He nodded. “She created the… the cell I was in. She gave Jane all the wolfsbane and silver nitrate… From what I heard Jane sold her soul to her for her help. And… and Ashley just helped Jane because that was her best friend,” he paused before muttering, “I don’t get it.”

    “You don’t get what?” I asked.

    “All of it. Why Jane was so hellbent on getting Gunther back. As if killing Gunther’s mate and pups would win him over. Like she expected him to come running to her once they were dead. How Ashley could just willingly help Jane when she knew the plan all along.”

    “Tristan, I have to ask… did you build the bombs? The one meant for Brielle and the one in Jane’s room?”

    His eyes widened. “There was a bomb in her room?! No, she forced me to give her step-by-step precise details on how to build it after she gathered all the materials the witch conjured up for her. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt but… but she kept torturing me until I gave in.”

    I let out a sigh of relief at the same time Titus and Ximena did. “How did she get you into her cottage?” I asked him.

    “She drugged me with wolfsbane, I think. One minute we were talking outside of the library, the next thing I know, I wake up in the cell in her cottage. She told me she knew I was studying to follow in my dad’s footsteps, to become one of the best bomb techs there is.”

    “How long did she have you, Tristan? I know why you couldn’t mind link for help, but I need to know how long she had you.”

    “A few days. She took me on the 22nd. I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere until the Christmas gift exchange, so I knew my parents wouldn’t even know I was missing,” he said with tears in his eyes.

    “I’m so sorry, son. I’m so sorry,” Titus said.

    “It’s not your fault, dad. It’s Jane and Ashley’s fault. And the dark witch’s, too. What’s going to happen to them?”

    “Well, not only did they attempt to kill the beta-female of the pack, but they also attempted to kill three innocent lives. On top of that, they attempted to kill you and multiple other ranked members of the pack. They’re going to be put to death once the Elder council is presented with your testimony and the forensic proof.”

    “Testimony?” Tristan asked.

    I held up my phone. “Because you are over 18, I didn’t need your parents’ consent; however, I got it anyways. I’ve recorded this conversation, so you don’t have to retell everything to the Elder council.

    “I couldn’t inform you beforehand because that technically could have caused you to change your story. Even though I know it wouldn’t, it’s just something we have to be cautious about.

    “Now, as for this dark witch that helped Jane, do you know her name?”

    “Steve… Stevie, I think it was. Jane only ever said her name once, and I have no way to know whether that’s even her real name.”

    “Well, we will inform the witch’s council as well and let them handle her.”

    “Witches have a council, too?”

    “Every supernatural being has a council, Tristan.”

    His jaw dropped. “I never knew that.”

    “Not many do. Dark witches don’t abide by their council’s rules, so they get put to death for being a dark witch. That, however, means that anyone who has sold their soul to a dark witch will also die. But for every dark witch put to death, it seems like another is born to take their place,” I sighed. “I’m going to ask my dad to contact his light witch friend, Ariadne, to see if she knows of Stevie. The name sounds familiar.” I pushed the button to stop recording.

    “Kane, stay here with them, please. I’m going to go see my dad. I’ll be back shortly.” He nodded in response.

    Dad, can you meet me outside the pack hospital, please? I mind linked him.

    Sure thing, be right there.

    I walked to the doors of the hospital that led outside and waited for my dad. Not even three minutes later, he was there.

    “What’s wrong?” he asked.

    “Ariadne, your Wiccan friend. Can you contact her and see if she knows of a dark witch named Stevie?” I asked him, and his face paled.

    “Why?” he asked.

    “Stevie is the dark witch that helped Jane in the kidnapping of Tristan and the attempts on multiple ranked members lives.”

    “Stevie is her sister,” my dad said, and I gaped.

    “Her… her sister?”

    “Well, half-sister, but yes.”

    “Dad, you know what this means for Stevie, right?” I asked, and he nodded.

    “I’ll contact Ariadne and let her know,” he told me before pulling out his phone and dialing a number. “Ariadne! How are you?” He asked her.

    “It’s been a while, Cooper. I’m doing well. What’s going on?”

    “Well, there’s been some uh… trouble at Blue Moon, and one of our pack members consulted a dark witch for help.”

    “Do you need help finding this dark witch, Cooper?”

    My dad gulped audibly. “No, Ariadne, we know who it was.”

    “Well, who was it? Cooper, you know my patience wears thinner as time goes by. I don’t like suspense.”

    “It… it was Stevie, your half-sister, Ariadne. I’m sorry, but my Luna has already told me what’s going to happen. They have to contact the council. I’m sorry, Ariadne.”

    “I knew she would help the wrong person one day, Cooper. It seems that day has come. She will have no one to blame but herself. Don’t apologize. I don’t feel sorry for her.”

    “I understand, Ariadne. We need to catch up sometime. Maybe I can come visit you and Khonsu, or you two can come here if I can clear it with my Luna,” he said, looking at me. I nodded in answer.

    “Isn’t the Luna your daughter, Cooper?”

    My dad laughed. “Yes, yes she is, Ariadne, and she has already approved your visit here if you choose.”

    “Very well. I will have a talk with Alpha Andrew, your brother. I’m sure he’d love to come visit his long-lost niece, too. Just have your Alpha give Alpha Andrew a call once everything has been resolved.”

    My dad nodded as if she could see him. “Will do, Ariadne. Hope to see you soon.”

    “You, too, my friend. Hope to speak with you soon,” she said before disconnecting the call.

    “Well, that went better than expected,” my dad said, rubbing his forehead.

    “Let me talk to Kane and we’ll work out the details of their visit,” I told him as I turned and walked back to Tristan’s hospital room. Kane was standing in the hallway on his phone.

    “Yes, Elder Simmons. I understand. We will prepare for your arrival in a days’ time,” Kane said into the phone.

    “Thank you, Alpha Kane. We look forward to seeing you. Try to enjoy the rest of the holiday,” Elder Simmons said.

    “I will try,” Kane said before hanging up. He looked up at me and I gave him a rundown of what had been said between my dad and Ariadne.

    “You want to invite them here?!” he exclaimed in surprise.

    “I get the feeling that Ariadne feels slightly responsible for her half-sister’s actions and would like to apologize to Tristan. I know it’s not the same, but it’s the least we can do, Kane. Her sister is going to be put to death. And I’d like to see my uncle, too,” I added.

    “Very well. After the Elders arrive tomorrow and we discuss the plans for Jane and Ashley, we can contact Alpha Andrew and schedule a visit. Also, we need to schedule a visit from Alpha Regis and his son, Kai, to find out if Kris and he are actually mates.”

    “We can set that up when we schedule the visit from Alpha Andrew.” Kane nodded.