Total pages in book: 202
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
“I hope so, too. What did your brother threaten where she’s concerned?”
“It was vague. He warned we’d never see her again, but didn’t say what he’d do. I wouldn’t have thought he’d hurt a little girl. Then again, Larry giving Kimmy that soup… he’s shown he’s capable of some pretty heinous stuff. I suspected he planned to hold onto her until she was of age to start practicing magic, so he could use her to his advantage.” My heart sinks as I again hope that Halla is safe.
“And you don’t have any ideas about what could’ve happened to Aphra Starling?” he asks.
“None,” I respond. “I was looking after Halla after Wyatt hurt Aphra. Coming in twice a day to see Aphra, bring her food and help her with her healing. But only a few days later, Aphra was just… gone.”
“When?”
“A week or so before I left to go to Drowsy Hollow. She was staying in his house with Halla, had been here a couple months, but he sent Halla to stay with us while she was recovering after he did what he did. Then suddenly my brother went ballistic looking for her with his betas, said she vanished in the dead of night. That’s all I know. She loves her little girl so much, I couldn’t imagine why she’d leave without her, but like I said, I promised her I’d take care of Halla for her. I just didn’t know how long I’d be doing it and then of course Addy and Misty had to take over when I got sent to Drowsy Hollow.”
We get to the trailer and Grey lifts his phone out of his jeans and dials.
“Hey, Brode. Got to get some things of Halla Starling’s from in there. Needed for a locator spell.”
A moment later, Brody comes out, handing a bag to me, saying, “Adelaide put that together.”
“How is she?” I ask.
His mouth tightens. “Traumatized.”
“Can I see her?” I ask.
He looks me over for a brief moment and nods. “I think that’d help. Go ahead.”
Grey pipes up, “Maybe that should wait. I need to do a few things with my cousin Danica, Brody. I’ll bring Stacy back after that.”
“It’s all good, Grey. I’ve got a lock on it,” Brody says.
Grey looks uncomfortable.
“You have my word,” Brody adds. “But…I’ll sit outside.”
“Appreciated,” Grey says. “I’ll ask Linc or Jase to come get Stacy when she’s done? Walk her back.”
“I’d do it, but I don’t want Adelaide by herself,” Brody says.
“I could walk myself back,” I offer. “It’s just over there.” I point.
“No,” Grey denies. “I want you accompanied by an alpha at all times. Just in case.”
“In case what?” I ask.
He gives me a serious look and flexes his jaw muscles a few times before he replies with, “In case anyone thinks to turn on you.”
I’m thrown by this statement. “Turn on me?”
“Blossom,” he says gently, “There are folks here who have lost their sons due to the conflict with our pack. There are folks here who might also still think of Meadows as their rightful leader and us as the enemy. You’re my mate. Getting back at you would be a fuck you to me and my pack. Your brother could even be calling those shots so it could be him telling someone to lash out at you.”
“Absolutely,” Brody chimes in.
“Oh,” I breathe, absorbing what he’s saying.
It gets even harder to absorb once Grey tells me the rest.
“Heard the ping of a text last night in the mess hall and found a cell phone on one of the men we took to that bunkhouse. Last number dialed was dialed a few minutes after we came in.”
“Wyatt’s cell phone?” I ask.
“Yep.”
This is why all the men got moved last night.
“Who had the phone?” I ask.
“Said his name is Warren. Asked what he said to Wyatt, and he said he left a voicemail that we were here, because he was ordered to do so if anyone showed. Said all he did was leave a quick message telling your brother that several alphas from Arcana Falls were here. I don’t know if anyone else got in touch and got through. Also don’t know if any of the others have been in contact and gotten any orders from him. I lined them all up and demanded answers and nobody copped to anything, but I was takin’ no chances, so we kept all adult men other than the sick ones or the two that slept on the floor last night to be on cleanup duty in that bunkhouse.”
Would Warren hurt me? Maybe. He’s in his late forties, walks with a limp, but he’s strong enough to do some damage, for sure. And he’s a throwback to my father’s inner circle so I suspect he’d hold loyalty to Wyatt. His wife, Priscilla, is one of the poisoned, though… so is he loyal to Wyatt after learning that?