Mates: Revenge

Chapter 26

~Kehlani~

Work is starting to stress me out more than usual. Working with humans can be a rough ride depending on the mindset of those you work with. When it comes to my company, I have been lucky enough to have employed some exceptional humans. I have run into issues when it comes to the humans outside of my company that I have had to work with. These days, my frustration is coming from these phone calls. They have been here and there, but they are concerning nonetheless. Jayden is not associated with my company at all so no one should be calling there looking for him. I haven’t been able to trace the call no matter how hard I try. I’m at a loss and I’m not sure if I should be worried or not.

I haven’t told Jayden yet because I’m not sure if it is necessary for him to know. A part of me feels bad for keeping something from him, but a bigger part of me feels like now is not the time to bring this up. We are still dealing with the consequences of Melanie and Brooklyn being kidnapped. Melanie has remembered most of it and her guilt is all consuming. It doesn’t help that she still can’t connect with Winnie. Brooklyn is still not speaking. She wakes up some nights in a cold sweat, but her screams are silent. We bought a baby monitor so that we can hear the change in her breathing to know that she needs us. I can see how much this breaks Jayden, but I can’t fix it. I can only be there with him and hold his hand.

I walk through the garage to get to the car. I hear a faint heartbeat and I carefully take in my surroundings. I don’t see anything and there is more than enough light in the garage. I check out the dark corners, but my enhanced sight picks nothing up. I continue to walk through the garage, trying not to make my attention obvious. I can still hear the faint heartbeat, but it isn’t getting any louder.

A hand grips my neck before I can react to its approach. I stop my movements and breathe in deeply. I catch no scent so they must have masked it. I can hear the second heartbeat going faster which is interesting to me. I’m the one being held hostage, so to speak, yet my heartbeat is calmer than my captor. “I won’t ask who you are since I’m sure you grabbing me from behind was meant to prevent me knowing your identity.” I get no response. “Maybe you can take the time to tell me what it is that you want.” I wait for a response and notice that no one has entered the parking garage. I’m far enough away from my car that my driver wouldn’t be able to see or hear me.

“Where is Jayden Winters?” The voice is raspy and I wonder if it is even a real voice. I wouldn’t be surprised if a fake voice is being used with the fear being voice recognition. That would be a concern if the individual is known to me. I try to look down at the hand holding me, but it is covered in a leather glove. There is no skin showing and nothing that I can see that would help me with identification.

“So, basically, you want something that I don’t have. What’s your plan now?” The person takes a few deep breaths and I feel a pain at the base of my head. Everything in front of me goes black.

************************************************

“Alpha?! ALPHA?!?!” I can hear the shouting and feel light taps on my face. I open my eyes a bit, but everything is blurry. I close my eyes back and take a minute before I open them again. I blink a few times and I can see Trent standing over me. I groan a bit, feeling some soreness in my body. I fell in an awkward way, but I know Aria will fix me up soon. Trent helps me sit up and I take a minute to breathe. “What happened Alpha? When you didn’t meet at the car, I tried to call a few times. When I couldn’t reach you, I came looking for you. I didn’t expect to see you laid out on the ground.” I quickly fill Trent in on what just happened. “I will contact Alpha Jay-”

“You will do no such thing,” I interrupt. Trent looks at me with large eyes. “I don’t need him worrying for no reason. I will figure out what’s going on here and handle it accordingly. I will Alpha command you if I need to.” Trent sigs and nods at me. He helps me on my feet. We take the short walk to the car and he helps me in. “I need someone to grab the tapes from the garage and around the outside. I want to know who this was.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Trent closes the door and his eyes glaze over. He walks to the other side of the car and gets in. We set off for home.

~Melanie~

I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I keep replaying everything over and over again with the intent to pinpoint where I could have been better; what I could have done differently. I can see the sympathy in everyone’s eyes; the pity. Not only was I a victim of a fake mate bond, I was also kidnapped, and I lost my wolf. Everyone is extremely nice, which isn’t new, but it’s that nice that is laced with other emotions. You can feel the other emotions roll off of each person as we interact with each other. I’m starting to feel suffocated and I don’t know how to fix it.

I have tried again and again to go up stairs and speak to Brooklyn, but I just couldn’t do it. SHe hasn’t been back to school because everyone is concerned for her mental well being. We would all feel better if Brooklyn was speaking again. It would be very hard to be able to ask for help or inform someone that something is wrong without a voice. We could have someone posted at her side, but how will that impact the other children?

I don’t know what to say to Brooklyn. I don’t know how to apologize to her for everything she went through because of me. I love that girl with everything I have. I would die for her and not just because I’m the Gamma to this pack. I vowed to never, ever hurt her, yet here she is. She is broken and barely surviving because of the choices I made. I can never make that up to her or her parents. I wouldn’t be surprised if I lose my Gamma position no matter how much the Alpha’s say that they don’t blame me.

I’ve been attending counseling, but I’m not seeing the benefit. Every session is a launch of platitudes that are meant to help me feel better but they don’t. It isn’t my fault, I couldn’t have known, I can’t blame myself, at least I survived, etc. I swear I could start to build a house using all of the sayings I have been thrown at me lately and I would end up with a pretty solid foundation for it. Every time these are said to me, I want to scream. I want to take the English language, crunch it in a ball, and set it on fire.

I haven’t been training with the group or leading training since I have gotten out of the hospital. It isn’t that I’m being medically restricted or that I don’t have the energy. I don’t have a connection to Winnie and I don’t know myself without that. I am a warrior and a good one at that. I’m a warrior with Winnie and I don’t think I can be as effective without her. My warriors have expressed their sorrow over my absence, but I wonder how honest that may be. They could just be saying what they think they should. Regardless of why things are being said, the fact is I am hollow without my wolf. I’m incomplete and I can’t give my all to others when I am not whole myself.

I have tried to meditate to get in touch with Winnie. I have spoken to witches about the impact of their potion that was inflicted on me. No one can give me any clear answers. What I hear the most is that this isn't the type of magic that you dabble with. This is beyond powerful; borderline blood magic. How do I come back from such an invasion of my inner self? What if I never get Winnie back? How can I keep on without my other half? I’m wondering if the best thing I can do for myself and the pack is to leave. I don’t know if it would be for a limited time or permanent, but I don't want my issues to taint what is going on here. Summit Mountain has been my pack all of my life and I want to see it continue to thrive. I’d rather leave than cause any amount of destruction.