ISAIAH
Everyone convened at the pack house in one of the conference rooms. Mary gave us all the information she had on where Alaia could be. She only went there twice and the only thing she remembered was that it was near water and the walls felt like stone.
Alpha Zack had enough information to know exactly where it was. He remembered Alaia would sneak over there whenever she had an argument with her mother. She thought it was her little secret, but Luna Alana always had Zack follow her to make sure she didn’t do anything crazy.
After drawing a map of what he remembered, we all sat around the table trying to figure out a way to get in. My thoughts kept going back to the fact that this was happening. We were all here planning to kill my mate-ex-mate.
“I say we just go in front, gun blazing,” Mirja said with her hands on her dual pistols.
“We need a plan, not a quick way to die,” Isabella said.
I could see Mirja just rolled her eyes at her. They weren’t really friends since Mirja noticed how Zack reacted when he saw Isabella. Not knowing who Mirja was, Isabella gave Zack a long and lingering hug.
Mirja got jealous and pulled her guns out on her before Zack had a chance to explain. After a few minutes, everyone seemed to calm down for the moment. Though, Isabella and Mirja didn’t miss a beat to say a few "choice" words along the way.
“She could easily use her magic to freeze us in place and pick us off one by one,” Isabella continued, remembering the day her father died and she felt helpless.
“That’s not how that works. Her powers have limitations. Like a battery of some sort. If we all rush her at once, some of us might get through. On the other hand, if we find my grimoire, I can probably contain her long enough for someone to stop her.”
Stop her.
Those words were cemented in my mind. Everyone here except me had only one way to stop her. Kill her. I sat in my chair staring blankly ahead while everyone came up with suggestions.
My thoughts kept bringing me back to my altercation with Alaia. Just being in the same room as her tripped me up. I didn’t understand why I still felt connected to her, even after she tried to kill me. I didn’t want to feel these things but I did and I wanted them to stop.
“What do you think, Alpha Isaiah?”
Everyone was looking at me. Shit! I wasn’t even paying attention, so I said the only thing that made sense.
“Maybe it’s best if I don’t know the full details. Just let me know when you’ve decided on a plan. Excuse me.
I got up from the table to leave the room and felt someone grab my hand. I turned to see Isabella’s worried face.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said in a whisper.
“Well, maybe that’s exactly what you need to do. Get it off your chest, Isaiah. I can feel the heaviness.”
Sometimes I hated how in-tune we were, but still I wasn’t in the mood to speak. I forcefully pulled my hand away. “I said I don’t want to talk.”
Isabella looked shocked by my aggressiveness, but right now I didn’t care. I just wanted to be alone. I made it to my office as a few pack members dropped off my bed. After everything, it felt weird being in my room. I walked over to my desk and pulled out the letter my father wrote me.
I wondered if there was something in there to help with all this. Though I would never know, since I was afraid to open it. I laid down on my bed to try to sleep but felt restless. So I got up and went towards the balcony. Maybe some fresh , cool air will help ease my mind.
I stood on the balcony for a while. The letter was still in my hand. This letter might contain the last words of wisdom. Flashes of my father dead in my arms plagued my mind. I still couldn’t believe Alaia could do such a thing.
She was our mate. Of course, we couldn’t believe it, Devon interrupted.
Then she deserves to pay, Devon. I know these hesitations are mostly from you. Why, I asked. Devon didn’t respond back, but I could feel him. Even now, Devon felt contempt for her and it made me furious. Answer me, dammit!
Because Elena is still with her, Devon growled. She is innocent in all of this yet she has to pay for her stupid human.
Isaiah was shocked by what Devon said. Of course, he felt this way and he had a right to. Elena didn't seem to possess the same feelings as Alaia. She actually seemed the opposite of her.
I’m sorry Devon. I truly forget we are two in one soul. I wish I knew of a way to save her. I would save them both if I could.
Devon didn’t respond but Isaiah knew how he felt. His thoughts were interrupted by someone arguing outside on the porch. Isaiah looked over and saw it was Zira and her mate. He debated on eave-dropping but decided against it. Instead, he watched them from the side of his eye while pretending to be lost in thought.
ZIRA
I watched as Isaiah left the room with Isabella on his heels. I knew how he felt about all of this and I wished there was a way to make him feel better, but who could? Who would feel great about talking about the best way to kill your crazy mate? Hell I might even hesitate if it was James.
From Isabella’s face when she came back in, I knew Isaiah must’ve said something devastating. I wanted to go after him but didn't want to cause any problems with James, especially after what happened at the hospital. For now, I’ll wait until after we figure out a way to kill the person behind all of this.
“Mary said Alaia had amassed a lot of rogues to her side. So we’re going to need someone inside. Figure out what we’re dealing with. Then whoever that is needs to find a way to lower the gate. There are two,” Alpha Zack motioned around the map he drew as everyone followed.
“This one on the northern wall is the main entrance and our best bet if we want to get our pack through. The other, however, is closer to the sea. The area is a bit degraded, so it is a little more dangerous to get in, but it’s hidden away and I’m sure no one uses it. We can mobilize our pack around the castle outside and wait for the signal when the gate comes down.”
“We still need a way to distract Alaia. We can’t just show up there as if she won’t notice,” Isabella said.
“I think I can get help with that,” James stepped up.
I felt myself tense up. I knew where he was going with this. He probably wants to use himself as bait to throw Alaia off guard. I was about to say something when he held up his hand.
“If we go there and offer me up as a trade for Arias. I’ll make her believe that I’m ready to commit and that’ll be able to keep her distracted.”
Distracted? What was that supposed to mean? Of course, I couldn’t hold my anger after that.
“That’s ludicrous. It won’t work. She’ll see through it and I could lose you both.”
“Zira-”
“I can’t listen to this,” I stormed out, but was still within range when I heard James say “I’m doing it. So let’s figure out the timing.”
I sat on the porch for a while trying to cool off. Still pissed that James would still offer to give himself up so easily. Couldn’t he see how that affected me? I didn’t want him going anywhere near that crazy woman, but then again, I didn’t have a plan to get Arias back.
Arias. I wondered what he was doing at this moment? If he was asleep or crying or hungry? Suddenly, I hugged my arms as if I could feel his presence right there. It only added to my frustration. I got up to walk around, trying to release the tension in my body. I looked up at the crescent moon and up above I caught movement.
It was Isaiah, looking up at the moon too. In his hand he held something that looked like a letter. I wondered what he was doing and was hoping he wasn’t planning on doing something stupid like jumping off a cliff.
“I should probably go check on him.” I thought out loud.
“Check on who,” James asked as I quickly snapped my head in his direction.
James was walking toward me, taking slow steps towards me. Although I was mad, the way he walked and looked at me made me weak in the knees. Thank the Goddess, these railings were sturdy, I thought, as I realized I was gripping them hard. James noticed as he approached.
“I come in peace,” James said, holding up a little white cloth. “I just want to talk.”
I crossed my arms to hold steady. Even though he had an effect on me, I could muster up enough anger to combat it. I think.
“Fine, but if the next words aren’t ‘I’m not trading myself to a crazy girl’, then we have nothing to talk about.”
I tried to walk by him but he grabbed my wrist. Our bodies reacted to each other as the sparks moved through every part of my body. His touch was eating away at my anger but I wanted-no-needed to be mad. I wanted him to see how this was affecting me and maybe, just maybe, he would change his mind.
“Zira, there’s no other way. Can’t you see I’m doing this to keep you safe, to bring Arias home?” James pleaded with me. “And also”-he took a deep breath-”for Maria.”
I looked at him appalled that he would even bring her into this. “That’s not fair! You know I can’t argue with that.”
“I know, but I’m not backing down from this, Zira.”
He looked at me with raised eyebrows, daring me to argue with him. He knew I wouldn’t.
“No. Let me know when you decide to change your mind,” I said, pushing James aside, but he grabbed my wrist.
“Where are you going? We’re not finished.”
“To talk to people who will listen to me.” Zira pulled from his hold but he held on tighter.
“Yeah like who? Your precious little Alpha?”
I glared at him as I felt the heat blowing from my nostrils. Was he really serious right now? “He’s…my…friend, James. Why can’t you get that through your head?”
“As soon as I feel like he won’t go after what is mine,” James growled.
It was my turn to growl back as I yanked my wrist from his grip. “Well, right now with your behavior, even that’s questionable.”
James took a step back, clearly surprised by what I said and he wasn’t the only one. I could see the pain in his eyes and it nearly broke me. Those words just came out without me thinking about it. I opened her mouth to apologize but James turned to leave.
"Where are you going," I yelled at him. I was sure he didn't know the grounds that well and I didn't want him to be alone.
"Home! To talk to people who will listen to me," he said, throwing my words back at me. Home? Why?
"Are you coming back?" He didn't respond.
Should I go after him, I wondered.
I think it’s best to let him cool off. That was a pretty awful thing to say, Nina said.
I watched James disappear in the woods and turned to walk into the pack house. I thought about what I said and had to figure out a way to make it up to him. Then maybe convince him to ditch this crazy plan of his. I was so in thought I ran right into Isabella on the way to my old room. I could tell she was upset.
“He’s not talking. Not even to me,” Isabella said with tears in her eyes.
“Then let’s both try. You know he won’t be able to stop us both,” I offered, trying to make her feel better.
It wasn’t often I saw Isabella like this. So helpless when it came to her brother. After the cliff incident, Isabella felt so guilty she wasn't there for him. She tried to pin the whole thing on herself. It took Isaiah, Victoria, and me an hour to stop her from crying over it.
“No, I’ve cried enough tears to last a lifetime. I’ll try again tomorrow,” Isabella said, pulling away from me. The guilt was still eating at her. As if to feel her pain, Victoria turned the corner and spotted her. Isabella immediately ran to her and pulled her into a hug.
I looked at them with a bit of jealousy. I wouldn’t mind hugging James right now, but hugging him would make him think I was OK with this stupid plan and I wasn’t. I didn’t want to lose him. I didn’t want to lose anyone.
“Zira.”
A voice broke me from my thoughts as I realized where I was. Isaiah was leaning against his office doorway looking at me with a quizzical look.
“What are you doing here?”