The Beta's Witch

Chapter 20: A Fly on the Wall

CARSON POV

Something inside me warmed at Adriana’s reaction to seeing the village for the first time. I couldn’t help but sneak glances as we walked down the forest path. The lights that floated over the pathways gave off a soft glow. When I was a kid, I imagined this must be how fairies lived, except on a much smaller scale. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like seeing it for the first time. Though I expected it was quite the magical experience.

I slowed my pace slightly so she could take it all in. When she finally looked up, her soft expression of wonder made me chuckle. I led her to my cottage on the farther side of the village, the location was perfect in case we needed to evacuate the area. My team and I would bring up the rear and make sure no one was left behind.

Though Lucas had wanted me to live closer in case of emergencies, I argued that my wolf, Logan, could get to the pack house in less than a minute if needed. The cottage was a decent size, I never planned on leaving so the guys decided I needed a place big enough to fit a family.

I pushed my way through the door, inwardly scoffing at the idea. It didn’t seem like settling down was anywhere in my future at all. Sometimes I wish I had been as lucky as my brother. Any woman I seemed to want always found their way towards him, starting back in high school. I spared a surreptitious glance at Adriana, who was lagging behind, taking in my barely lived in common area.

Most of my time was spent downstairs anyway. I left her to explore, taking the stairs down to my office where I knew Marcus would be. Before I went off to back the girls up, I had asked him to stay behind and monitor the search for Sofia. He had just enough knowledge of software skills not to mess up my system and I knew I could trust him to alert me when he found something.

Marcus was a bit like my beta. He was the closest thing I had to a best friend, though he didn’t know all of my secrets either; only that it was important that I find Sofia. We were friends growing up, a year behind my brother, Elijah and Lucas. When I had been promoted to Captain and placed in charge of security and training to back of Aiden who was now spending more time traveling for Grey Enterprises, Marcus had stepped in to support me. With his help, I trained the wolves and gained their trust. Together we established a core team of wolves who were above average fighters and good for the trickier missions the Alpha needed complete.

Marcus was the only member of that team who hadn’t been with us tonight.

“Hey man,” he muttered, focusing on a monitor to his right. His fingers dashed across the keyboard, changing the code sequences for the features the computer was scanning for. I had tapped into the city’s camera feeds. If Sofia crossed one of these cameras we would be alerted in real time. It was completely illegal, but I was too good to get caught and I really didn’t care.

“Any updates?” I knew there would be none, but I asked anyway. Dropping into the office chair next to him, I began checking the feed around the areas where Joseph Castor lived.

He shook his head, leaning away from the screen. “She’s smart, I’ll give her that. The system hasn’t located her phone, so it’s most likely using a scrambler. We haven’t locked in a location for her since she ditched the phone two weeks ago. She didn’t stay in the area after you traced the call this afternoon.” He went back to typing, completely emersed in the coding sequences that raced across the screen.

“I don’t understand how she keeps slipping away.” I murmured, distracted by the playback of the men we encountered. “It doesn’t make sense. None of our other targets have ever been this hard to track.”

I sensed, rather than heard, Adriana enter the room. Quickly I pressed a button on the keyboard, ending the playback and switching the screen to a detailed map of Emberton. She was studying the screen over, Marcus’s shoulder and the wolf had yet to realize she was there.

“You’re tracking Sofia!” She blurted, making Marcus jump. He swung around to face her, equally tense and annoyed. I suppressed a smile. Adriana was insanely good at moving silently. Over the years I had to learn not to get so caught up in my work at the office, after finding her just sitting there quietly a few times. I rarely ever heard her enter.

“I thought they would have locked you up after that stunt you pulled,” he said thickly, studying her critically. When his gaze dipped below a respectable area, Logan growled in my head. My hand snaked out, whacking him across the back of his head. The wolf flinched, shooting daggers at me while rubbing his head.

 “Hey!” he whined.

“That’s your Beta female, Marcus,” I said firmly, making sure he got the point. “Show some respect.”

He focused on her again, offering a grudging respect. I was about to tell him off again when Adriana’s eyes went wide, drawing my attention.

“You’re the wolf that tackled me,” she accused, scowling hard. The proud smirk on Marcus’ face made me roll my eyes. He asked for it, Logan’s voice floated from the back of my mind. I agreed, tuning them out as best I could.

“The very same. At your service.”

I became keenly aware of Adriana coming closer and a faint prickle that I began to associate with her doing magic.

“Knock it off,” I drawled. Even though Marcus could use a good lesson, Adriana using her powers on wolves wouldn’t do any favors for her among the pack. “I said no practicing on my men.”

“He started it,” I heard her say under her breath. I went back to tuning them out.

“These circles are all the places that Sofia has been?” She questioned curiously, her irritation with Marcus forgotten. I knew exactly what she was seeing. All the circles on the map where places that Adriana had been. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her what happened after she left but knowing her, she wouldn’t be satisfied until she had the truth. For whatever reason she was here with me, instead of talking to Aiden. I wouldn’t hide this from her.

I prepared myself, knowing that no matter how I told her she would still be upset. “Earlier today, before we realized you left, we attempted to call Sofia so we could track her phone. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. But she threatened to start killing pack members if you didn’t turn yourself over to her within the next twenty-four hours.” I glanced at my watch, stalling. “Eighteen hours now. That’s what the Alpha, Beta and Gamma are doing now.”

“That doesn’t explain why she was near my son’s school,” she prompted dangerously. The woman was downright scary when she wanted to be.

“She threatened Daniel,” I began, holding up a hand to halt any angry outbursts. “Lucas already had a team surrounding the school for his protection. The moment she said it, we had him taken out of class and brought back to the house. He’s safe and seemed to think it was cool.” Before I had left, I had made sure Daniel was safe on the property. He had been a huge ball of excitement, being escorted by the pack warriors. Though that quickly changed when he found out his mother wasn’t there. They probably hadn’t spent much time apart these past six years.

I watched her cautiously, knowing the lengths a mother would go to protect their young. Adriana had been ready to attack Elijah when he came to close to her back at her house. Hearing that her supposed mate’s ex-girlfriend was threatening her Daniel was a lot to handle. Her chest heaved with every deep breath she took, containing her emotions as much as possible. Though I could smell a hint of her fear, she did an amazing job of hiding it. Even Marcus’ eyes shone with repressed admiration, he who had very little awareness of other’s emotions.

“Okay,” Adriana said quietly almost as if to reassure herself. She slid back onto the table, eyeing the screen analytically. “Is there any other way to track her?”  

Marcus let out a low whistle, no doubt surprised with how quickly she worked through her emotions. I had a feeling she hadn’t so much worked through them as buried them deep down. One day she was going to explode with all the things she didn’t want to face, but Adriana was a runner. It’s how she survived as long as she had. The only problem was, there was only so far you could run before those things caught up to you. I searched her face a few moments before following Marcus back to the screen.

“Until she shows her face on the streets there isn’t much I can do from here. Her phone isn’t trackable.” I explained, then stopped, and idea forming. “Unless you can track her magically.”

She immediately shook my head. “You saw what I did to your wolves,” she said shuddering slightly. “My magic isn’t trustworthy at the moment. I need more practice.”

Marcus’ eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What did you do?”

I winced inwardly. Right. For whatever reason, the girls had declined to answer any questions about what happened with Joseph Castor. Though Adriana’s magic was still messed up somehow.  

She looked like she wanted to say more but slide a furtive glance at Marcus. I understood immediately.

“You can speak freely,” I said. “He’s my second. And a good friend.”

“Good friend?” Marcus shot back, offended. “I’m your best friend.”

The gears in Adriana’s head turned as she likely contemplated the dynamics of our friendship. I swore I saw a flash of jealousy, but it was quickly subdued. “You said you hadn’t had a location on Sofia for two weeks,” she recalled thoughtfully, directing her attention on Marcus. “Sofia has only been a problem for a few days, why would you have been keeping tabs on her for longer?”

“Huh? What?” Marcus said distractedly, feigning ignorance. “When did I say that?”

Not one to give up, I felt Adriana’s stare burning the side of my head. I silently cursed my so-called best friend. He was a terrible sidekick. I hadn’t planned on telling anyone that I had been keeping tabs on Sofia since her and Aiden had broken up. I hadn’t told a soul why I really needed to find Sofia before anyone else did. Though Sofia had made a mess of her life, I suspected Adriana wasn’t like everyone else.

“Because Sofia has been my problem for much longer than a few days.” I admitted reluctantly.  

“That doesn’t make any sense. In what world does your brother’s girlfriend become your problem?”  

“I think I liked it better when we didn’t ask questions,” I shot back, peeved by her boldness. Why must I divulge all my secrets when she’d had a treasure trove full of them since we had met? That was all she was going to get out of me. I though maybe when the mystery of her past had started to become known that I wouldn’t have to be so careful about asking her questions, but it seemed that the more she learned about herself the more tight lipped she became; only ever divulging what we needed to know when we needed to know it.

I shook my head, frustrated. Searching for something to do, I took over reinserting the codes from Marcus, trying my best to ignore the anger burning in my core.

You good bro? Marcus asked through mindlink. I was sure he could feel the anger rolling off me. I’ve never seen you this worked up before.

Adriana was so quiet behind us I had to resist the urge to check if she was still there. I wasn’t sure if I would hear her leave.

Yeah, I’m fine. I grumbled. Why don’t you take off? There’s not really anything we can do here until the system catches something. If I get an alert, I’ll let you know.

He didn’t respond, instead he got up and left the room, patting me on the shoulder as he left.

“It’s uncanny how you wolves silently communicate.” Adriana said, confirming she was in fact still in the room.

I shrugged, it wasn’t really a secret. “Wolves can communicate telepathically with other members of their pack. It’s called mindlinking.” Had Aiden really not explained anything to her yet?

 “You’re angry with me.” It wasn’t a question. Her tone reminded me of a time when we didn’t ask questions, instead listening to each other’s silence and implying what we already knew. Except now, I hadn’t really realized just how right she was.

“Does it matter?” I asked, evading the subject.

“It does to me,” she pushed, determined. “You’re the closest thing I have to a best friend at the moment. I can’t do any of this if I don’t have you on my side.”

Her confession shocked me, but not enough to stall my response.

“Best friends don’t keep secrets from each other.” Though it was just as much directed at me as it was at her I felt a helpless, longing for the time where my friendship with Adriana was less complicated. I didn’t see how it would ever be the same. I didn’t really have a best friend either. Marcus was a very good friend, but he didn’t know me, not all of me. Adriana had also been the closest I had come. I knew she listened to my silence just as closely as I had listened to hers. She read me pretty easily most of the time.

“I can’t tell you what happened with my Uncle.” she whispered. I faced her then, noticing how she kept her eyes cast down, hands fidgeting. “It’s too dangerous.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Though I wanted to know that too.

She scrunched her face, thinking hard, before her eyes snapped up to meet mine. “You’re upset because I told Aiden my secret.”

I looked away, my jaw working. Part of me hadn’t wanted to admit it, even to myself, but once she spoke the words it seemed clear as day.

“You didn’t trust me to help you. We’ve known each other for three years and you never said anything.” No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be the cold, aloof person I made myself into with Adriana. I needed to know why she didn’t trust me.

“I imagine if it was your mate asking, you wouldn’t have the ability to keep your secrets either.” she exploded, frustrated. Her fingers clenched as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. She was about as good with feelings as I was.

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied bitterly. “I’ve never gotten the chance to find out.”

I knew how I sounded but I didn’t care. Adriana didn’t have an answer for why she didn’t tell me first. The mate bond was something I couldn’t understand, but if I had to guess, she wouldn’t have told Aiden unless he had really pushed her too. Good, I thought, surprising myself. Adriana needed a push.

Her fingers reached out, seeking my temple. I jumped slightly, though her eyes searched mine, asking permission. I prayed to the Moon Goddess she was in control enough for whatever she wanted to do.

I was shocked when the image of a young Sofia Evans appeared in my head, it was fuzzy but still I knew it was her. She seemed genuinely happy, smiling and laughing.

Adriana and Sofia knew each other?

Along with the vision cam feelings, but they weren’t Sofia’s. They were Adriana’s. She was afraid for Sofia, not of her. The image sputtered out, only lasting a few seconds.

“That was-” I began, before she slapped her hands across my mouth, a terrified look on her face. She didn’t want me to say it out loud, I realized, pulling her hand away.

So many questions burst into my mind, but the connection between Adriana and Sofia was confusing and a tad bit frightening. If that was a memory, then the two girls were friends. So why was Sofia trying to hurt her? Had Adriana done something? What did this have to do with Aiden?

“I think we want the same thing.” Oh yes we did.

“You haven’t told anyone else?” I confirmed, trying to pry the truth from her with my stare. She shook her head adamantly. “Why not?” It didn’t make sense.

She sighed. “Attempting this could put the people I care about in danger,” she nodded toward the screen. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“And me?”

“I find I don’t fear for you as much,” she replied, giving me a sly grin.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said grinning easily letting go of her wrist.

She sat in the chair Marcus had vacated, and we sat in a companionable silence for a while. There must have been a very good reason why Adriana and Taylor hadn’t said anything about what happened during their meeting with Joseph. Unfortunately, Adriana couldn’t mindlink. . . but Taylor could.

Because she was a vampire, she couldn’t be accepted into the pack, but she was marked by Elijah and they could mindlink each other.

Adriana yawned making me realize it was the middle of the night. I offered to walk her back to the pack house, determined to find Elijah and Taylor. Before I had arrived, Elijah had warned me that there were discussing the pack’s safety and I knew Lucas wouldn’t be satisfied until they covered all their bases. Meaning, they were most likely still up in Lucas’s office.

I left Adriana on the Beta’s level, offering a quick good night, before taking the stairs two at a time, to the top floor of the pack house. Hopefully I would get the answers I needed.

. . . . . 

ELIJAH’S POV

Elijah. Carson called urgently through mindlink.

I sighed dramatically, causing Lucas and Aiden to glance in my direction. We were all tired. Lucas had us trying to figure out ways to fight witches when the only witch we knew still had issued with her own magic. We had only just received news that the two wolves she zapped were feeling like themselves again. So far, we had no new ideas.

I sprawled on the sofa, wishing it were my bed, and that I was laying with my wife.

What’s up, Carson? I thought you’d be asleep by now.  

Are you in the Alpha’s office?

Sadly. I responded. We’ve been here since the kids went to bed. I haven’t even gotten to see Taylor yet.

She’s good man. Your wife is badass. He reassured me. I’m almost there.

I relayed the message to the guys just in time to hear Carson knock on the door. He pushed his way into the office before Lucas could say anything. We all snapped to attention. Carson was the most restrained guy I knew. If he was abandoning formality this was important.

Without addressing us he turned to face me. “Have you spoken to Taylor yet?” He asked in a rush.

My eyes widened in surprise. “No, I told you I haven’t seen her yet.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Did I interrupt something?”

I huffed in annoyance.

“Not really,” Lucas said tiredly. “We were just discussing strategies to protect the pack when Sofia’s deadline expires.”

His eyes widened slightly, before going slightly unfocused. I don’t think that’s a good idea. He linked us all at once.

I was immediately back on alert, fatigue forgotten. What do you mean Carson? Aiden demanded, including all of us in the link. Luckily, it wasn’t too much of a strain, after six or seven wolves is when it became almost impossible.

Adriana and Taylor have been very secretive about what happened at Joseph’s. I thought they didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t realize until now that it may be because they can’t. Carson turned to face me. Elijah can you wake up Taylor?

I nodded, though I was reluctant too. Like Aerin, Taylor enjoyed her sleep, and after a solo mission into the streets of Emberton she deserved the rest. I closed my eyes, pushing past my wife’s subconscious to wake her.  

Taylor? I need you to wake up for a minute baby. I could feel her begin to stir, so I continued to gently prod at her mind until I felt her become more alert.

Hey beautiful I cooed, happy to talk to her despite the fact that this was important.  

 What’s the matter? She still sounded groggy, but it would have to do. The guys waited patiently, and I was grateful I didn’t have to push her.

Carson seems to think there’s a reason why you and Adriana didn’t tell us about what happened earlier. I explained. We’ve been using mindlink for the past few minutes.

Suddenly she was fully awake, though she paused for a moment. Through the link I could tell she was feeling torn. Whatever had happened she didn’t want to keep it from me.

I’m so sorry Elijah, I can’t tell you everything, but I will tell you why Carson is feeling the way he is. You must be careful. She pleaded. If it becomes obvious you know then you lose the advantage.  

It’s okay sweetie, just tell me. I didn’t like that she was feeling this way, or that she had been put in this situation, but I trusted my mate.

Joseph said that the witches working with Sofia could hear anything we said through scrying. We don’t know when or where they could be spying on us. Though he has a solution, he can’t help us until next week. I was about to interrupt her when she hushed me. That’s all I can say.

From the worried feelings I was getting from her I could tell she was upset by it. But she had helped us majorly. Now we knew how Sofia found out about Daniel. I quickly reassured her and let her go back to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, the guys were staring at me, waiting to hear what happened.

Carson’s right.

I told them everything Taylor had told me. Lucas realized the longer we sat in silence through mindlink, the more obvious it would become to Sofia that we were onto her. Instead, he sent us to bed. Though it didn’t feel like enough, the best we could do was what we had already been doing. It was up to Sofia to make her next move.