Branches of the Willow 3 (13 page)

“My brother was definitely the better choice for you.” Evan lamented under his breath.

“What?” I wasn’t sure why I asked, but a part of me wanted to know what he meant by that.

“He’s unhappy that we’re telling you about more bad stuff, but he’s sitting here letting it happen. I’m not so sure I would have let you out of the room yet.” The growl that came from Mikael then was beyond ominous. “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean, I don’t think I’d be okay with you being out here talking to people, let alone talking about going back to work as the white wolf. Not yet, maybe not ever after all you’ve been through.” Evan shrugged his shoulders sheepishly then, and looked away.

“Well, Serena did warn me that one of you would be a good partner while the other would destroy me, so maybe that’s what she meant.” I moved over to where Mikael still stood, and I leaned my head against his chest. “I hope the food gets here soon, I’m starved.” Just like that, the doorbell rang, and Evan was on his feet, heading for the door.

“Come on, let’s go get you settled in the kitchen.” Mikael pulled me into his arms, and walked all the way to the kitchen with me tucked into his side. “I love you too much to stifle who you are.”

“Hmm?”

“The only reason I didn’t do exactly what my brother just said he would…” Mikael kissed the top of my head. “It’s because I love you too much to take away who you are.”

“And who am I?”

“The woman who cares more about what’s going on with those women my brother brought back than what’s happening with her.” Mikael sat me down in my chair. “I’m willing to make you a deal though.”

“Oh? What kind of deal?”

“We work through your issues, and you talk about what happened. When you do that, I will put one hundred percent of my time and effort into helping you accomplish whatever you need to with the others.” I had to smile at him then. Mikael was making sure I was taking care of me first, then everyone else. He certainly was my balance.

“Okay.”

CAPTIVES

Over the next couple days everyone filled me in on the things that had been happening during the time I was held captive by Sophia and Zach. I took my time telling Mikael what happened, but eventually I told him everything I remembered. Mikael took it better than I thought he would. He chose to focus on the fact that I killed Zach, rather than on what almost happened. It helped me to be able to do the same thing.

It also helped me motivate to get my butt up out of the house, and back to the pack lands so that people could see I was okay, and I could lose myself in some work for a while. That’s where I was, getting caught up by my father, when Andy Wallace came strolling in his office. “Andy, long time no see.”

“I know. I was planning on coming back to talk to you sooner, but with everything that happened…”

“It’s okay. What’s going on, and why have you been hanging out over at Avery’s so long? He wanted to talk to me about you before everything happened, but obviously he didn’t get a chance.”

“That’s a long story.” The grin that spread across Andy’s face told me he was reliving some of those memories. “I do have some important news from Avery to pass along before I get into that though.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“I’m not sure if you were aware of the issues Avery was having with interlopers on his lands before?” Andy looked thoughtful a moment as I nodded my head to confirm that I did. “That’s right, it’s why you told me to take the pass through the caves.” The grin was back again before Andy continued. “Well, as it turns out, they’re not just average humans. Avery says he thinks we have a problem with actual Hunters.”

“Hunters?” I questioned. “They don’t come after our kind. They’re supposed to hunt the dark ones.”

“Yeah, I know. Avery sent me to warn you about what’s going on. He’s not sure if the hunters grew bored with the dark ones, or if we have more visitors on our lands than we thought we did, but he figured you should know immediately, so we can be prepared for anything.”

“Well, damn, Andy! Did you bring me any good news?” Dark ones were basically vampires, and not the cute and cuddly kind from recent pop culture. They were crude, sinister beings who preyed on humans mostly. From what I gathered from Sophia’s stories while I was held captive witches seemed to be a bigger target for them though.

Andy hung his head, and I knew whatever else he had to say was going to be something I didn’t much like. “I’ve put in for a transfer to Avery’s pack.”

My jaw hit the floor for a minute. When I composed myself again, I looked over at my father, who had been sitting quietly, watching me acclimate to being back at work. “Seriously? Why? Did something happen?” The questions erupted from my mouth in a less than eloquent purge that came over more as word vomit than anything coherent.

“The St. Marks Pack has been wonderful to me, Jess. I met someone though. She’s a part of Avery’s pack, and doesn’t want to leave there just yet. I’m trying to be accommodating, and I thought I could be the liaison between the packs. I’ll still be able to keep ties with both, see my family here, and be with my girl there. That is, if it’s acceptable to both you and Jameson.”

My dad was trying to hide a smile when I looked over at him. “Well, I’m definitely not going to stand in the way of your relationship. Speaking for myself, I’m happy to have you working with us in any capacity.” Andy bowed his head to me in respect, and then turned to my father to await his answer.

“I think you have enough trouble from Avery these days, son. I’m not going to add to that. You make yourself useful however you can, and you know you are always welcome here.”

“Thank you, Jameson.”

“Go ahead, let Avery know that it’s agreed. Also, I’ll be sending some men out further to patrol the area. We haven’t seen any activity from the dark ones, if they’re out there, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t just keeping a low profile.” My dad turned back to me then. “If we don’t find evidence that the dark ones are hanging around these parts, we’re going to have to figure out why the Hunters have suddenly changed tactics and targets. Can you get in touch with Serena? We need a witch’s take on this.”

“I can try.” As Andy left the office, Mikael walked in with his brother, Evan. I smiled up at the both of them, and Mikael walked over to plant a kiss on the top of my head.

“How are you doing, baby?” He whispered in my ear as he took the chair beside me.

“I’m doing good. What are you two up to?” I asked, noting that Evan seemed a bit exhausted as he took a seat too.

“We dropped in to see what the news was from the Daniels Clan, and to discuss what we’re going to do about our estranged family who are still out there running loose.” Mikael was picking at a tiny little piece of the table in front of him that had been nicked at some point before.

“We also need to discuss what’s going to happen with the women Asi, Ash, and I brought back. One of them is pregnant, and apparently it’s not my father’s baby.” Evan added.

“Then whose baby is it?” I asked, wondering who would have the nerve to even think about touching one of the King’s women.

“She said it was Malachai.” Evan dragged his hand over his face, as if he could wipe the disgust away. “Apparently, dear old dad was sharing the women with his eldest son.”

“You’re serious?” The shock was evident in my voice. “Every time I think I’ve learned the worst about that whole situation, it goes downhill just a bit more.” When I looked around the table I noticed my father was shaking his head, and texting into his phone.

“I’m trying to get Eileen over here. She’s spent a lot of time with the women. I think her input on this is necessary.” He explained to all of us. “I also asked Debbie to bring us some food. I think we’re going to be here a little while, catching Jess up on current events.”

“Speaking of current events…” All three men turned their attention to me. “No one has bothered to tell me what exactly happened here when I was taken. I’d really like one of you to fill me in on that, and what’s been done since to those involved.”

“My family is in the wind, Jess. I told you that.”

“Yeah, I know, but how exactly did that happen? One minute I was there to see Annabelle, who supposedly had some new information she wanted to share, and then something was blown into my face before the lights went out completely. All I remember after that was waking up in a cage, again.” I shivered, and every man in the room wore a pained expression.

“When the food was delivered here that night, and you never came back, I called your mom. She told us you went to have a chat with Annabelle.” My father started the story.

“I went to go check on you, but the door was wide open and no one was there.” Mikael added.

“We’re still not sure how they managed to slip past the guards we had stationed everywhere. Everyone has been vetted.” My father’s frustration showed as he spoke.

“I was thinking maybe they had help from Sophia in that regard.” Mikael stated simply. “We had Serena locked up, and decided to keep her where she was until we got to the bottom of things. I figured, wrongly, that she was involved somehow. I mean her timing for showing up here couldn’t have been worse.”

“I get that.” A weak smile spread across my lips. “She told me how she spent those days trying to convince you guys that she could help.”

“I wish we had listened sooner.” My father said as the door to the meeting hall opened to reveal my mother and Debbie with trays of food in their hands. Evan was closest to them, and jumped up to help.

We ate in silence for a little while, and Debbie came back in to take all of our mess away. Once she was gone, I looked at my mom. “Tell me about the women. What do they need most right now?”

“Tatianna is around seven months pregnant. She needs to have someone bond with her a bit before she goes into labor. She’ll need someone she can trust advocating for her. I thought…” My mom was cut off by the ringing of a cell phone. Dad got up and walked over toward the corner to take the call.

“You thought what?” I prompted her to continue.

“I thought, maybe, this is where Sierra could be useful.”

“You think having a woman who had the ability to have babies taken from her would be the person we should ask to help a pregnant woman?” I know everyone there must have seen the disbelief in my eyes, but I pressed on further. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I remember Sierra when she found out. She was devastated.”

“I know, Jess. I just think, this will give her something to focus on for a while. Sierra has a lot of compassion for people, and those girls can use that. With Jack gone, it might give her a new purpose.”

“I guess, we can try. I think I’d really like to go meet these women as soon as possible, myself.”

“We can arrange for you to do that in just a bit, Jess.” Mikael smiled at me when he spoke. I’m pretty sure he was hoping visiting with the women would take my mind off the fact that his evil family had slipped through our grasps once again. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it didn’t really matter at the moment. I had to jump in with both feet, and get busy helping someone else, or I was going to lose my mind dwelling in my own memories.

“Why don’t we head on over to the meeting hall so you can see them for yourself. I’m sure that will help clear up some of your questions, and give you a better idea of what needs to happen with them.” My father stood, and stretched out his muscles.

“Where are they being kept? I can’t imagine we have a place large enough to accommodate seventeen new people in the pack.”

“We don’t. They are being housed in the meeting hall. We brought in cots, and have tried to make them as comfortable as possible, but as you know, space is short. Another reason to go ahead and get you over there, so we can discuss their options.” My father lead the way, out of his home office, and the rest of us trailed out behind him.

~*~

The meeting hall was heavily guarded. While I understood the precaution, I also couldn’t help but wonder what the girls inside must think. They went from being captives elsewhere, to prisoners here. Maybe no one was trying to force them into sex here, but they still had to feel caged. I knew from my own experience that it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

When we walked inside the other problem immediately hit me. Body odor was a thing. “I know there aren’t any showers in here, but please tell me these women haven’t been denied shower privileges somewhere else?” My nose wrinkled up against my will. I didn’t want the first impression the women got from me to be that of a higher than thou attitude. I just couldn’t help my reaction to the strong, pungent odor.

“We haven’t been able to convince some of them to leave long enough to shower, and yesterday the air conditioner broke. It took a few hours to fix it, so it was a bit stifling in here.” Evan explained without a hint that the scent was bothering him at all.

I suppose I could totally blame my pregnancy hormones, and over active olfactory sense for my reaction if anyone else knew I was pregnant, but that was something I still hadn’t even shared with Mikael yet. Truth be told, I was waiting for my body to give up its fight to keep the baby alive. Surely, after everything I’d been through, the stress would be too much. I refused to get attached just yet, and telling someone about it, was the first step in attachment. Maybe that was a selfish way to think, but my heart just couldn’t handle the disappointment right now.

“We have to do better than this. These women have gone from being held captive as sex slaves to being held prisoner here. It’s no wonder they are afraid to leave to take a shower.” My father’s hand snaked out quickly, and grabbed a hold of my upper arm.

“We are not holding them prisoner, Jessica.” His angered tone held an undercurrent of disbelief.

I stopped walking, and looked into my father’s eyes. “I know you mean well. I know the guards are there to keep the women safe, and to make sure they aren’t traitors like Annabelle and Leanna. I know these things, dad. Those women, in there,” I pointed beyond the meeting room door, where the cots had been set up for them. “They have been kept prisoner, watched as friends were raped, and saw some of their own fade away and die while waiting for someone to rescue them. They were brought to a foreign land, put up in sub-par conditions, and have been placed under the guard and watch of more men. Put yourself in their position, and tell me how you’d feel.” I looked away momentarily, willing the tears that pooled in my eyes not to spill over. “I know how they feel.” My father’s hand dropped from my arm, and he pulled me quickly into his embrace, whispering my name into my hair.