The Beta's Witch

Chapter 14: Jail Break

AIDEN’S POV

“Aiden?”

“Sofia? Baby, where are you?” I said into the phone.

We had relocated to Carson’s secret lair; a room in his house full of complicated technical equipment. It was technically his home office, where his company Emerald Tech Inc. was born. A small white table was located in the center of the room not far from the wall of screens that Carson was monitoring. Elijah and Lucas both sat on either side of me, quietly listening in on the phone call.

“Where is your w***e, Adriana?” Sofia demanded. I worked to stay calm. Hearing Sofia disrespect my mate made me want to wolf out again. “I know you have her at the pack house.”

I glanced at Lucas, he nodded, signaling for me to continue.

“Sofia we need talk. I didn’t get a chance to explain.” I had to force out the next part. “Adriana isn’t my mate.”

It felt like I had swallowed battery acid and thrown it back up again. I hoped Sofia took my disgust for desperation, but I doubted it. She was silent for a few moments. I met Carson’s eyes. He shook his head. Damn it! Looks I needed to get her to agree to meet in person.

“You’re lying,” Sofia said quietly.

“What?” I stuttered.

“Do you think I’m an i***t?” she screamed into the phone. “I know Adriana is your mate. Just like I know you probably have Carson attempting to track the call. Good luck, I ditched that phone weeks ago.”

Lucas slammed his hands down on the table, growling loudly. “Sofia, get your ass back here now.” He commanded in his Alpha tone.

 She laughed maniacally. “Not yet Alpha,” she mocked. “Not until I have Adriana. And if I can’t reach her, I’ll make her come to me. She doesn’t seem like the type to let her loved ones suffer on her behalf, especially her sweet little brother Daniel.”

“Don’t you dare touch him,” I yelled into the phone. Elijah growled viciously. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucas put his phone to his ear. 

“If I don’t get Adriana in the next 24 hours, someone will end up dead.” The line went dead.

Lucas immediately began barking orders. “The wolves watching Daniel’s school are pulling him out now,” he informed us. I heaved a sigh of relief. “Carson lock down the borders. No one leaves the premises unless given permission by a ranked member. Once Daniel is safe in the pack house, we are locking that down too. No one enters until we neutralize the threat.”

 “Carson,” Elijah called urgently, “Did anything good come out of that call.”

He looked back at the screen, furiously typing. A map on the center screen zoomed in on a location. Three cell towers formed a triangle around the location that Sofia’s phone was closest to, within a five-block radius of Berkley Elementary.

“Send an extra squad to meet the team retrieving Daniel.” Lucas commanded. Carson’s eyes went unfocused, mindlinking his teams.

I turned toward the door, feeling an urgent need to find my mate. Elijah was a step behind me, he was about to say something when Aerin burst through the door.

Elijah and I had to jump back. Lucas pushed past us and hurried toward her. Aerin was breathing heavily, looking panicked.

“Adriana’s gone.” She panted. “Tay followed her.”

. . . . .

ADRIANA’S POV

The Midnight pack’s garden was severely lacking. Whoever had been in charge of maintaining it clearly had neither the patience, nor the talent to care for plants. The girls and I sat under a large oak tree that was situated a little way away from the sad little plants.

I dug my fingers into the soil, feeling at home for the first time since I had stepped foot onto this land. Witches were meant to maintain the Balance that nature so precariously teeters. So, naturally, we were drawn to it. The roots beneath the ground were in perfect health. I mentally followed the flow of it’s essence, into the core of the tree. Plants were the least respected living beings on the planet. Human’s would not be alive if it weren’t for the breath of our little green friends. The oak tree was connected to many living things. I felt the insects that borrowed into it’s bark, the birds that nested in it’s branches and the leaves that were preparing to fall from the branches. It was still too early for Autumn, but in a few weeks the leaves would change colors. I hoped I was around to see it.

“Adriana, I thought only witches could sense nature. Why did you think Aerin could do it?” Taylor asked, interrupting my reverie.

I turned to Aerin. “What is your mother’s name?”

“I don’t know,” she said sadly. “I never knew her. My father told me she died giving birth to me. He would never tell me anything more about her.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “I believe your mother was a witch.” I said bluntly.

“No,” the Luna shook her head adamantly. “My father would have told me.”

“You, are part witch.” I continued. “That’s why you sensed something was wrong with the orchid, I felt it this morning when you touched me.”

Aerin stayed silent, stunned. Taylor studied me with eyes narrowed.

“Wouldn’t she have exhibited powers or had some kind of magical outburst by now, if she was a witch?” She asked doubtfully.

“Not necessarily,” I shrugged. “Some witches don’t use magic in the way you think. Aerin did you plant this garden?”  I asked abruptly.

She nodded, taken by surprise. “Uhh, yeah it was a project I took on a year ago. I was hoping to start growing the pack’s food. I kind of lost patience with it a while ago,” She scowled at the garden.. “Why? What does the garden have to do with me being a witch?”

“A witch?” I asked, incredulously. It was definitely too early for Halloween.

“Adriana,” the other woman said cautiously.

“I don’t know who that is.” I said. Who were these two? And why were we sitting on the ground in this strange little garden?

The first one swore, then addressed the second. “Should I link Lucas?”

“No, just wait. It should only last a few minutes longer.”

“What are you too talking about?” I demanded.

“Adriana, think about where you are.” The second woman said to me. “Remember the people you love, and who love you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snapped. “My name isn’t Adriana.”

“Then what is your name?” The first one challenged.

I paused, thinking hard. Why the hell couldn’t I remember my name? Both of the woman looked at me expectantly, waiting for something.

“I don’t know,” I said defensively, inching backwards. They exchanged looks.  

“Okay maybe we should link the guys.” The second one said.

I gasped, a weird sensation causing me to double over. The pressure in my head was intense. A glimmer of knowledge broke through the confusion. Fight back, it said. I mentally pushed against whatever it was invading my mind, clutching my head as the pain built. It stopped as quickly as it came.

“Adriana?” Aerin whispered, uncertainly.

“Yeah,” I croaked. The episodes were getting scarier than I wanted to admit. A part of the spell invited me to just give in. I knew if I did, I may never get all my memories back.

“Are you okay?” Taylor asked, rubbing my arm.

I shook my head. “I need to find my Uncle. It may never be safe enough for the men to let us leave and I’m running out of time.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket, signaling an incoming call. “Speak of the devil,” I muttered when I saw who it was. I answered quickly.

“Mr. Castor,” I drawled, feigning annoyance. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Taylor and Aerin’s eyes widened. I held a finger to my lips, asking them to remain silent.

“You weren’t at work today,” He said worriedly. “And your office was completely empty.”

“Ah. I got promoted,” I lied. “I’m on a different floor.”

“Oh,” he said relieved. “Well in that case why didn’t you tell me you got promoted?! I could have thrown you an office party. I’m going to get you a plant.”

Suddenly he was back to being the very obnoxious Joseph Castor I knew since I started at Grey Enterprises.

“Mr. Castor I need your help,” I blurted out. He was immediately on guard again. I cringed at my blunder. Taylor nodded in reassurance, urging me to continue. “I have this case, and I want it to be perfect. They guy is a hard ass and I want to be one hundred percent prepared.”

“No problem sweet cheeks.” He sang. “Email me the deets and I’ll look it over for you.”

“Actually,” I said quickly. “I was hoping we could meet in person. It’s a complex case and I could use someone to bounce ideas off of. This will make or break my career.” I crossed my fingers, praying to the Moon Goddess above that he believed my shift in behavior was due to my obsessive need to succeed at work. 

“Sure,” Joseph said slowly. “When’s a good time for you?”

“Tonight. In a few hours. Your place.”

“I’ll text you the address then. See you soon.” The line went dead. I took the phone away from my ear and stared at it. My hands were shaking.

“Adriana! Why did you do that?” Aerin scolded. “Elijah asked you to give them until morning to figure this out.”

“I don’t have time to wait for them to catch Sofia.” I said, steeling myself. Magic pulsed under my skin waiting for me to command it. I looked at Taylor. “Take care of Daniel for me.”

I whispered a spell, making myself completely invisible. Both of the ladies gasped. I waved my hands around myself, using magic to make my movements silent. There! I was completely undetectable. I trusted the girls to keep Daniel safe, so the only thing left for me to do was get back to the city.

As I was walking away, I heard Aerin speak to Taylor. “Go after her. If anyone can track her, it’s you. I’ll tell the guys.”

Crap.