The Beta's Witch

Chapter 15: Trust

ADRIANA’S POV

My phone had long since died by the time I made it back downtown. Emberton was a lot larger than I remembered.

My uncle lived in a rather sketchy area on the south side of the city. For a 6-foot-tall vampire warlock with some serious ass-kicking skills, there was probably no where in the bustling city to fear. As I walked down a litter infested street with flashing neon lights indicating where to find alcohol and a good time, I almost wished I had never left the safety of the pack borders. Even if I hadn’t had to raise Daniel on my own, the night life had never appealed to me. There was no way I’d ever allow myself to lose control in a bar surrounded by strangers with ill intentions.

Why the hell did my uncle live here?

I was grateful I had asked to meet in a couple hours. It took me way to long to get even remotely close to the address my Uncle had texted. In that time, I had lost my memories twice. Luckily, I hadn’t wandered too far before I came to my senses.

As I hurried passed a few drunk men stumbling out of the bar, one of them reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling my closer.

“Hey sweet cheeks,” he slurred, breath reeking of cheap liquor. His friends whistled and catcalled, closing ranks around us. “Howsabout you an me take a ride?”

It was then I noticed they were all wearing identical leather vests. Great. I was caught in the middle of a biker gang, with shared inferiority complex. I wasn’t sure the night could get any worse.

The biker, who more resembled a drunken pirate with his bandanna and crooked teeth, pulled me against his body. Simultaneously walking forward, forcing me to take steps backward or lose my balance. As soon as his buddies let us pass, I pried the idiots hands off of me, using his shotty balance to swing him around and send him stumbling back towards his friends. He barreled into them, two of them breaking his fall onto the concrete.

“You b***h!” He shouted. Suddenly I had four, very pissed off and very drunk bikers cracking their knuckles and leering at me like a bad Italian mobster film.

I wasn’t quite sure where I was anymore, but it didn’t matter. Turning my back on the merry crew of drunken morons, I attempted to run. One of them grabbed my hair, nearly yanking out a few strands from my head. I screamed in frustration.

The pressure on my head suddenly disappeared and I heard a loud thud followed by a surprised shout. I whipped around. Taylor had her back to me, staring down the miserable drunks that were slowly backing away, one scrambling backwards on the pavement.

“Her eyes,” one of them whimpered, the four of them fixated on the danger before them.

“It’s really my teeth you should be worried about,” Taylor crooned, tilting her head slightly. From the way they blanched, I imagined she had flashed her fangs. Taylor jerked in their direction, sending them trampling over one another to get away. She waited a few seconds longer before whirling around to face me.  

The moment I saw her face I realized why the men had acted so terrified. Her eyes, which were blood red, were glowing like hot coals, and her fangs glistened slightly. Taylor’s features were both beautiful and terrifying.

“Someone’s hungry,” I noted, inching backwards.

“No,” she intoned. “Someone’s angry.”

“Are you sure that was wise?” I asked. “Revealing you vampire nature to those humans.”

She shrugged indifferently. “They’re drunk, they’re feeble minds will find some excuse if they remember by morning.” Her hands snaked out, slapping my arm. “How could you just ditch me and run off by yourself? We had a plan!”

I took a step back, taken off guard. “You’re not angry that I left,” I guessed. “Only that I left without you?”

“Why else would I be upset?” She shot back, crossing her arms and c*****g her hip.

“I’m sorry?”

“You definitely don’t sound like it.” She accused, fangs still visible.

I sighed. “What was I supposed to do? Time was ticking away while the guys had us sitting on the sidelines. And asking you to help plot our escape is as good as asking you to betray Elijah. Or did you forget that your mate was completely against you coming?”

Her eyes flashed dangerously. “Of course, I didn’t forget. Wolves are insanely overprotective of their mates. Elijah never would have let me leave.” She looked away.

“Then why risk it by coming after me?”

“When we sparred earlier today, you reminded me of the person I used to be, and the thing that most brought me joy. It’s no secret that vampires love to hunt.” She mumbled, still not meeting my eye. “I happily gave all that up when Elijah came into my life.”

“But now you long to have both,” I finished for her. “A balance between who you were then and who you are now.”

Taylor nodded, quiet for a few moments longer before her eyes snapped to my face, glaring hard. “I also came because Aiden would be devastated if he lost you. And despite what you may think, you’re my friend too.”

I grinned, feeling the perpetual ache in my chest lessen slightly. Aiden was drawn to me because of the mate bond, something he couldn’t really control, but Taylor was different. She was choosing to be my friend, and for the first time in six years there was no real reason to push her away.

“Okay,” I conceded gratefully. Her eyes softened, returning back to their golden color. She linked arms with me, pulling me away from the bar. The smell of alcohol less obvious, the further we walked.

“So where are we going?” She asked. I rattled off the address, halting as Taylor typed it into the GPS on her phone. As soon as the directions came up, she spun around, pointing to a lone shop with an apartment above it.

Most of the shop windows were boarded up. A pitiful sign above the door read ‘Lost and Found Antiques.’ It looked almost completely abandoned, except for the sliver of light that shone in a window from the apartment above.

I marched across the street and up to the shop door, the glass was so dirty that I couldn’t see if anyone was inside. There were no other entrances on the sides of the building, so I shoved on the door. It didn’t budge. Taylor reached over my shoulder and knocked loudly.

“Do you think he can hear us from up there?” I asked. Taylor shrugged. The sound of footsteps thudded on the other side of the door.

I heard the snick of a heavy deadbolt a moment before the faded blue door swung open, revealing a very tall gentleman casually dressed. He grinned easily when he caught sight of me, then frowned at something over my head.

“You brought company.” He said warily, nostrils flaring slightly. I glanced over my shoulder before turning back to him.

“I’m sorry.” I said. “Who are you?”

 . . . . . 

AIDEN’S POV

Adriana’s phone went straight to voicemail. Again. It had been a few hours since her and Taylor disappeared. Daniel had made it back her safely, paraded to the pack house in a blacked-out SUV and surrounded by Carson’s elite team. Luckily, he was too busy getting excited over the secret service escort, to be worried about the secret service escort to be worried about why he had been pulled from school.

I was currently stalking the border of the territory, where Lucas had banished me after I’d lost it. My sour mood was putting the patrol on edge, but I didn’t care. My first thought was to tear apart the i***t guards who let them leave, but Aerin explained that Adriana had basically vanished into thin air, and Taylor was free to come and go as she pleases.  

I sighed. Unlike Adriana.

Our mate will come back¸ Tobias said. She promised.

I don’t think her and Taylor are prepared for what Sofia has planned.

I wouldn’t want to fight that vampire on my best day, the wolf chuckled. Remember when she used to train with us in the early mornings?

I thought about it. Taylor used to kick some serious ass back when she was still a vampire hunter. She had given it up a few years ago when she and Elijah adopted Henry.

They were great parents and Taylor never complained about spending more time with the kids. Elijah had been downright impossible to deal with when Taylor got pregnant with Victoria. Lucas had been the same with Aerin. Both women were happy with their lives, supporting their husbands and the pack dutifully.

I thought back to what Adriana had said about wolves being a male dominant society. None of it was on purpose. The best way to keep our mates safe was to make sure we were strong enough to fight for them. Not because we didn’t think women were capable, but because we wanted to.

Adriana was quickly breaking the status quo. She wasn’t content to sit on the sidelines while the men worked and plotted to keep her safe. The more I thought about it I didn’t think Taylor would disagree with her. Even Aerin grew up training alongside the warriors in her father’s pack. The ranked members of the Midnight pack had some seriously badass mates.

Elijah was striding purposefully toward the edge of the territory where I was pacing. The patrol had been doubled, but all of them had given me a wide berth.

“They aren’t back yet?” Elijah asked.

I shook my head, continuing to pace so I wouldn’t lose my mind. “Did Carson get a trace on Taylor’s phone?”

“No,” he growled. “She scrambled the signal somehow. A nifty little trick she probably learned from her past life.”

“You mean when she hunted down any supernatural creature who stepped out of line?’ I asked chuckling. Elijah shot me a dirty look, making me laugh harder.

“You’re awfully cheerful for someone whose mate is trekking across Maine to goddess knows where.” He shot back.

“Yeah,” I said, sobering immediately. The Gamma’s shoulders drooped guiltily.

“I’m sorry, man.” He said. “I’m a little on edge too. I know Taylor can handle herself, but I just don’t like the idea of her possibly getting hurt.”

“When’s the last time you saw Taylor get hurt?” I asked him suddenly, stopping to face him.  Elijah frown thoughtfully.

“To be honest, I can’t remember.” He conceded. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Doesn’t it?” I said softly.

“What does that mean?” he demanded. Elijah rarely ever got defensive unless he was defending his family. I was treading dangerous territory with the man.

“Taylor is a badass vampire bounty hunter. Adriana is witch with some serious martial arts skills. And our Luna is a trained fighter. What if we aren’t giving them enough credit?” I didn’t say it out loud, but I was beginning to think that if I had just listened to my mate we wouldn’t be in this situation.

He didn’t say anything, but I knew he read between the lines. I went back to pacing, feeling all but useless. Lucas had looked into Joseph Castor’s employment records with Grey Enterprises, but it looked like the man never actually worked for the company. He only visited Adriana at the office long enough to confirm she was okay and that the spell was in place.

“Carson is actively searching for Taylor’s phone and Lucas sent out as many wolves as he could into human territory without being suspicious.” Elijah reported. “Why don’t we head back inside? There are two little boys who really miss their moms, who I think could use some company.”

 I followed him back to the pack house, passing rows of cottages where our pack members lived. The four of us used to play around these roads as children, annoying our elders and tearing up the neatly mowed lawns. Uncle Xander, Uncle Lewis and our father got so sick of the constant complaints about destroyed flowers, so they made us the pack’s personal landscapers for an entire summer. It was brutal but we never destroyed another property again. I chuckled at the memory.

“What are you thinking about?” Elijah asked, walking beside me.

“That summer our fathers made us mow every lawn on the territory,” I replied, making him laugh.

“Ah, the good old days. When we didn’t have the responsibility of running an entire pack,” he said wistfully. I looked sharply at him.

“What’s up, man? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Nothing,” he sighed. “At least not yet. I have a feeling things are about to get a lot worse before we see peace again.”

I knew better than to doubt Elijah and his intuition. We could only hope that we all made it through the coming trials in one piece. As we neared the pack house Elijah turned to me, abruptly pulling me to a halt.

“Something has been bothering me,” he said. “When Sofia mentioned Daniel, she called him Adriana’s brother.”

“So?” I said, not following.

“How would she know that Daniel is Adriana’s brother if Adriana didn’t even know that until last night?”

“You think she has spies here?” I asked, looking warily around us. The last thing we needed was for Sofia and her witches getting smart enough to hide the wolves they affect in plain sight.

Elijah shook his head. “No. You, Lucas, Carson and I were the only ones in the room. I think whatever’s going on here is connected to Adriana’s past.”

“How could it? Adriana didn’t meet Sofia until a few days ago.”

He shrugged, making his way into the house. “I don’t think we have all the information to connect the dots. We only have to hope that Adriana can fix her memories and fill in the blanks.”

That was all he could say before Henry tackled him to the ground. Elijah landed on his back with his son on top of him, laughing heartily,

Daniel stood a few paces away, looking shy and worried. I walked over to him, getting down on one knee so we were eye level.

“How’s it going little man?”

“I haven’t seen my mom all day,” he said in a small voice. The concern in his voice stirred up protective instincts that were becoming familiar to me. I didn’t like that he was worried, and I definitely didn’t want him to stay that way.

“She’s been a little busy today,” I agreed, trying to be gentle. “But I was hoping we could hang out for a while until she came back?”

He nodded, flashing a small smile. The troubled look never quite left his eyes. I smiled back hoping to reassure him that everything was okay. Daniel was a smart kid, and probably had a deeper connection to Adriana than any of us understood, as a warlock and as a son.

I opened my arms, offering a hug, which he gratefully accepted. In that moment I knew that I would protect him just as fiercely as Adriana had. It may have been unconventional, but our little family was perfect to me. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

I leaned back, studying the boy for a moment. He seemed a little better. “Why don’t we go play some COD? I bet I could take you.”

His eyes lit up, no longer worried about his mother. “You’re on!”

He turned and ran down the hall. Henry zoomed passed me, trying to catch up. I got to my feet chuckling.

Elijah patted me on the back. “You’re gonna be a great dad one day.”

I grinned. “Kinda feels like that day isn't too far off.”