Poisoned Connection

Aidan

I paced the office as Jack did his intel.

“I can’t get in touch with Angela, and she’s not answering me.”

I didn’t have the heart to say it, but I knew I had to.

“I think she was captured, Jack, I’m sorry.”

“Captured? What the hell is going on?” he yelled. His temper was getting the best of him again.

“She stumbled across their little setup when I was talking to her,” I said.

I wanted to give him the details, but I wanted him to stay calm.

“Jack, look, I get it. Trust me, I do. We’re gonna get her out of there, man.”

He didn’t look convinced. “What else, Aidan?”

“She got cut off mid-sentence. The mind-link was cut.”

Even as I said the words, I knew that her chances of survival had just been cut dramatically.

“Okay! I got something!” he called out. His eyes still zeroed with a focus on the computer in front of him.

“Okay, shoot.”

“Well, looks like the Kendricks have some curious folks in their employ,” he said, clearing his throat, “check this out.”

He turned the monitor to face me. “What the hell is this?”

“This, Alpha, is a list of sorcerers in the territories. They’re nomadic, and they’re for hire.”

“I thought witches had covens, isn’t that how it goes?”

“In the old days, yeah, but now I think it’s easier to roll solo.”

“Yeah, they must be making good money,” I agreed, “I wouldn’t want to share the spoils of war if I didn’t have to.”

“So, what are we thinking? The Kendricks have a witch working to persuade their wolves?” I asked.

“No, I think they have her in place to persuade one wolf in particular,” he replied, turning the monitor back toward him.

He could tell I was out of my element.

“See, only so many witches still cast these types of spells. That’s how I was able to narrow it down.”

“It’s weird there’s a database, I’m gonna be honest,” said Jack as he got up to help himself to a drink from the fridge.

“Agreed,” I added, looking to him to debunk the mystery.

“Well, think of it like paranormal social media. There’s far fewer of us than there are of them.”

“Do we know which is which?” I asked in earnest.

“Not specifically, no. I can see that Belladonna is a prevalent option for these matters.”

“Shit, she’s practically advertising it,” I noted.

“Well, there’s no one to stop her, and who knows how long she’s worked for the Kendricks. She’s probably made some serious bank over the years.”

“You’re a rockstar, man! Okay!” I said, feeling a little more inspired now that we knew what we were up against, “What’s next?”

I wanted him thinking, sharp, on his toes. But he remained silent.

“Come on, man! We need some good ideas! What do we do with this?”

“Well,” Jack began, “this Belladonna creature is probably using a potion or something, right?”

“Yeah, but Kiarra isn’t stupid, and if Angela got to her in time, she’d know better than to accept anything funny.”

Would she, though? I cringed inside as I recalled my words to Angela.

I breathed out heavily. Jack looked up. He never missed a beat.

“What’s up? What are you thinking?”

“I told Ange to avoid telling Kiarra anything.”

“You did what?!” Jack screamed, “Where is your head? Sorry, Alpha, but this is a fuckin’ garbage call!”

He wasn’t wrong, “I know,” I nodded, “but if I’d sent her to Kiarra and stirred the pot, who would be backing them up? We can’t get a hold of Angela now, can we?”

It was enough for Jack, at least for now.

“Who’s the closest to Kiarra? Rose, right?” Jack asked. I wanted to say yes until the chocolate wolf popped into my mind.

“The sister. If anyone will slip my mate something, it will be Melody. She’s one of the big reasons Kiarra even went.”

“Fuck, this is getting worse and worse. We have a goddamn witch, no way to warn our mates. How the hell are we going to get out of this one!”

“Jack, man, come on, take a seat.”

The low growl in my belly resounded in the room.

“Jack, there’s a way, trust me. At least we know where we’re going.”

“What about this sister? Is she one of these purest weirdos?”

“Angela mentioned the sister, and I know she was suspicious about her.”

“But why? What was in it for her?” he pushed.

He was right. What ~was~ in it for Melody?

“She was arguing with the parents; maybe it was jealous sibling bullshit? I don’t know,” I replied.

That was the truth. It was hard to figure any of this out. I sat in silence and considered Melody’s role in all of this.

“You know, now that I think about it, there’s always been something off about Melody,” I said, “not in the way you’d think either. It was like she went to fuck with her parents right from the start.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jack.

“Well, the Kendricks knew the consequences for unauthorized breaches in the territory. They tried to sweep it under the rug, but she was a kink in their otherwise perfect plan.”

It was only a theory, but I was willing to grasp at any straws I could.

“All I’m saying is, maybe she’s the wild card.”

“An ally?” Jack asked.

“I’m going to tell Kiarra,” I suddenly blurted. I missed her and needed to hear her voice.

~“Kitten? Plans need to change, there’s some serious shit coming down on everyone’s head.”~

“~Aidan? Not again! Please don’t ruin this!”~

~“Kiarra, you need to come home. I’m serious!”~

~“Aidan, will you calm down? You just saw me. You know I’m okay! I’m just having tea with my sister.”~

That was it. The link was cut.

It was happening in real time!

They were about to poison my mate against me!