The Beta's Witch

Chapter 16: Fix Her

CARSON’S POV

I am loyal to my pack. I will always be loyal to my pack. Nothing could ever divide my loyalty to my pack.

I had lived by this code from the moment I became a man. It meant something to me and the men I trained to defend the people I cared about. Lucas knew it and that was why he made me a ranked position in the group. I took pride in taking over the responsibilities my brother was too busy to manage while working for Grey Enterprises.

The pack’s defenses were entrusted to me and I took it seriously. I knew all of my men by name; as well as their strengths and weaknesses. In every training I pushed them beyond their limits and drilled into their thick skulls what it meant to fight past your means.

Someone things were just to precious to lose to weakness.

These men respected me and trusted my word. It was a bond that couldn’t be broken.

 My team was obedient to the Alpha, but they were loyal to me.

I signaled for Gerard to continue on. He strode casually down the street towards a dingy little bar that no one in their right mind would be caught dead near. He nodded to Alfred across the street, who was smoking under a lone light pole. I had three more guys waiting out of sight, surrounding a rundown building.

“Are we all in position?” I asked, speaking into the inconspicuous earpieces I’d created.

Gerard and Alfred both grunted, the others whispering verbal affirmation. I focused on the dingy little antique shop that I had tracked Taylor’s phone to. It wasn’t technically a lie when I told the Alpha that Taylor was messing with the tracking features on her phone. About an hour ago she had used the GPS and I was able to get a location on her. Amateur move for someone who wasn’t familiar with technology, but Taylor wasn’t one of those people.

Right before I was about to alert everyone that I had found the girls I received a text from our Gamma female.

Bring your team. Come alone.

She hadn’t wanted me to tell her husband where she was. Prior to her retirement Taylor used to help me train the men and I trusted her judgement. If she felt this was the best way to approach things, I wasn’t going to argue. So, I told the Alpha the best way for me to track them down was to take a small team in the field and see if I could get a better signal with proximity. I used a whole bunch of technical terms, hoping he would be too confused to try to relay it to my brother.

Adriana and Taylor had been inside for a while. I prayed Adriana’s Uncle was able to fix her memories. Truth be told I could use a friendly to help me with a little problem of my own.

“Hey, uh, Cap?” Alfred spoke softly, sounding wary. My head snapped up. Cursing myself for daydreaming, I focused on the street. A group of four men were striding purposefully down the sidewalk, toward Alfred. They were dressed in tactical gear, wearing all black and looking conspicuous as hell.

“Hold your position.” I muttered.

As I suspected, they paid him no mind. They stopped in front of the antique shop. All my men tensed, ready to attack. I scratched my ear, causing a muffled sound to reverberate through the comms. Our signal to remain alert but do nothing. Our unwelcomed guests were staring at the building, but nothing more.

Well not I guess you could call it staring. They looked confused. Their eyes trailed up and down the length of the property as if they couldn’t quite focus on the building itself. Almost like they didn’t see it at all.

If Joseph Castor was a vampire who could use magic, it wasn’t a stretch to think he could cloak the building. He’d done a very good job hiding from us wolves in our own company. I was itching to figure out how he’d done it, when I though I knew just about everything there was to know about Adriana’s pseudo-life. Address, karate classes, her favorite coffee shop, but no mysterious lawyer friend who visited her regularly. Then again, Daniel had been a surprise too.

Maybe I was losing my touch.

The four goons walked around aimlessly for a couple more minutes before walking back the way they had come. By this time Alfred and Gerard had rotated positions. The intruding party had a clear path to leave.

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Whatever they were looking for, they certainly didn’t find it. I just wondered why we could see the building if those guys couldn’t.

“Buckle down boys,” I said into the comms. “Looks like it’s going to be a long wait.”

. . . . .

ADRIANA’S POV

“What do you mean, ‘Who are you?” the man demanded. Opening the door wider. He loomed over me, exuding a deadly aura, but for some reason I wasn’t scared. The man looked like a model for a designer motorcycle brand, total mysterious danger vibes; the dark chocolate curls and intense grey eyes making him look exotic.  

He was glaring at something behind me.

“Joseph Castor?” a voice said behind me. I whirled around. Coming face to face with a pretty brunette who looked torn between frustration and leeriness. I instinctively took a step back. Large hands closed around my upper arms, gripping firmly. I felt a small static shock at the connection.

“Who’s asking?” the man shot back over my head.

“A friend of a friend.” The woman said cattily, baring her teeth. Her canines where slightly curved and pointed to perfection. I wasn’t sure friends looked at each other like they were snacks. “Word on the street is you know a little something about memory spells.”

Why did that sound familiar? I worked to remember what I was doing here. The man’s grip on my arms tightened slightly, making me wince.

“What’s it to you?” he said gruffly.

“I should think that obvious.” She dipped her head in my direction. I was having a hard time following the conversation. Memory spells? What the heck was that?

Fight back.

I clutched my head, feeling the pain and pressure of my will and the spell fighting for dominance.

“Uncle Joey, please!” I gasped. He spun my around to face him. It was a trippy experience seeing his face shift from someone recognizable to someone I was sure I didn’t know. He studied my face looking completely bewildered.

“What the hell?” he muttered, pulling me inside. “Come on in, Friend of a Friend.”

“I’ll tell you my name if you fix her. Now.” Taylor demanded, closing the door behind her.

The antique shop looked more like an enormous study, or a small library. There were stacks of books, gadgets and loose paper everywhere. Most of it was covered in a fine layer of dust.   

Joseph pulled me over to a round table shoving a pile of papers onto the floor. He clicked on a lamp, then reached over and lifted me onto the table easily.

“I’m not a doll!” I complained, shrugging off his hands. The movement sparking a flare of pain, making me groan.

He smiled, attempting to mask the tight concern in his eyes. “It’s been a while Addie. I missed you.”

“I saw you a few days ago,” I snapped, still battling the spell. Every time I took my focus off the encroaching magic, it snatched more memories away.

“You know what I mean.”

He walked around the table, pulling a leather-bound journal off a nearby shelf. I watched him flip through a couple pages before finding what he was looking for. He set the book on a small stand resting on the table and slide it next to me.

“Don’t panic, alright?” he said to Taylor. She narrowed her eyes but nodded anyway, never once shifting her gaze from Joseph.

Placing his hands on either side of my head, he referenced the book once more before closing his eyes. He began chanting softly. As soon as the magic hit my head, I screamed.

It felt like every neuron on my brain was being fried and rewired. Memories that had been just out of my reach before came flooding back in. It was all too much for me to handle. Joseph gripped my head tighter, continuing to chant as I swayed dangerously.

“Hold on Addie.” He grunted, pouring more magic into me. “Don’t fight it.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I welcome the feeling of letting go as I sunk into darkness.