CHAPTER 71: WELCOME, WITCH

{SHILOH }

"Kai." The lump in my throat was so large that I could barely get the words out. "She’s so damn cold."

"Then let’s get her warm." Ever the steady wolf, Kai opened the door to my room, and I carried her inside. Now that she was in my arms again, the last thing I wanted to do was let her go, but even Kenzi was looking at her anxiously. I needed the healer to look at her. "She may be your mate, but she still requires privacy. You may wait in my room while you get your report."

I sure as shit wanted a report. Like why my mate was near death, and why there was an extra person in the group. Janelle. The witch. Her eyes were practically glued to the floor.

"I will be right next door, and I’ll return as soon as Kai is done. Whatever Irving did to you..." I couldn’t finish it. "We’ll find a way to make it better. I swear it."

She gave me a tight smile and nodded. Slowly, the group herded out of the room next door.

This plan had been five weeks in the planning, and it was the flimsiest plan I’d ever made.

It was Kenzi who pointed out that she was the best person to make it onto Irving ’s territory. Not only would he still be looking to flip someone else as a traitor, but everyone knew of her rivalry with Mira.

When she first suggested I magically darken the mating bond, I nearly took her head off, but she had a point. The more triumphant Irving felt, the less he would see us coming.

We held the damn fake ceremony and took enough pictures to hide as many clues as possible. I knew the only way to smuggle her out was through the infirmary. I also had a feeling that Mira would have figured that out by now. I sent word to all the alphas about the ceremony.

Asher was appalled.

I sent what would appear to be half-hearted messages to Irving about returning Mira. I let him convince me that it was in all our best interests if I moved on.

And then I let Kenzi make her move. She sent emails to Irving , cattily asking him to send along her love, and news of her happiness to Mira. It only took two weeks for Irving to invite her to his territory as an ambassador.

All that time, I could feel nothing of Mira. My sanity was slowly being stripped away at the thought of her being near that man again.

And he hadn’t just taken her. She’d left with him.

"It was my fault," Janelle whispered. "I used Irene’s spell on your land to embed another spell. One that, if activated, would drive you and all your wolves from your territory. Irving used it to blackmail Mira into leaving with him. When we were gone, he told me to activate the spell anyway. I told him that I wasn’t strong enough. I’ve been his prisoner for years, and that was the last straw for him. He’s had other witches siphoning my magic since we returned. If I didn’t escape, I was going to die. I promised Mira that if she helped get me out, I would tell you everything that I knew."

"You’re still bound to him. I can smell it on you. If you truly want to be free, you’ll have to bind yourself to me. That way he can’t track you, but if you betray me, I can kill you."

"I’ll do it right here. Right now." To my surprise, she sank to her knees. "Please. Anything is better."

I was so far from my pack that I didn’t have much strength in my pack bonds. My mating bond was dark, and I’d severed Finn, Amelia, and Kai from their bonds so they could get close to Irving ’s territory while seeming like rogues. Kenzi was the only pack bond I had to comfort me.

And Mira. Strange. I could still sense her bond. "She didn’t bond with him."

"Not yet, but it was only a matter of time. He intended to kill all her co- coworkers if she didn’t bond with him by the next full moon."

"Co-workers?" I glanced at Kenzi.

She shrugged. "It seems that on the surface, he was trying to make her happy. He had her working at a bar."

I glanced down at Janelle. "It would be stronger if we were on my land when we did this, but it’ll have to do. What’s your full name?"

"Janelle Sweden Myers."

"Janelle Sweden Myers, do you pledge yourself and your magic to the Amber Wound pack, your loyalty to me as your alpha, and do you swear that all your actions forward will be in service to me and mine?"

My power thundered through the room, and she shuddered. "I swear."

"Then welcome, witch. From henceforth, I am yours, and you are mine."

Warmth spread through me as we connected, and she shivered. I gave her a few minutes before I helped her rise. "Sorry. It can be painful to go from alpha to alpha without a proper severing of the first bond. I’ll have Kaitake a look at you next."

"It’s not necessary. I need rest and another witch."

"Amelia and Finn will see you to another bedroom where you can rest." I paused.

"No." She shook her head. "I cannot. We need to leave soon. Irving will be here any minute."

"We can’t leave yet, Janelle. Irving can’t touch you here."

"No, but Irving has three other witches with him. They can kill you in your sleep."

"We are not without magical protection," I told her as gently as I could. She was shaking with fear. "We can’t go back up. We have to go around to Maeve’s territory. There’s a ship at the dock that will take us, but it’s not leaving for four days."

"Anything can happen in four days," Janelle whispered. "This is not an escape. It’s simply a prolonged execution."

"Rest."

Quietly, Finn and Amelia opened the adjoining room and led Janelle through it. When it closed, I snarled at Kenzi. "She’s near death."

"Her plan. Not mine," Kenzi said mildly. "Apparently, she’d tried to make it to the infirmary before, but Irving wouldn’t allow it. She shifted to human in the middle of our fight.

I couldn’t stop in time. Next time I have to beat the shit out of her to save her, I’ll try to be more careful."

Frustrated, I raked my hand through my hair. This whole time, I’d had to sit on my hands in this damn motel while everyone else did the work. If I’d even gone in the neutral territory, Irving could have sensed it. I’d never felt so helpless in my life. "Tell me what you learned."

"Not much. He’s careful, and his attentions were mostly on Mira. He spent most of our time together asking me what would make her happy. Either he is in love with her..."

"He doesn’t know the meaning of the fucking word."

"...or he needs her to be willing for whatever plan he has. I took a tour of the land. It felt strange there. I can’t explain it, but the longer I was there, the longer I wanted to stay. There had to be magic attached to it. And his shifters? Weird. Straight up weird. Happy. Helpful. Warm. Obedient. Even the children seemed to be following some kind of script. Janelle was the only witch I was introduced to. If he’s hiding more, he hid them from me too."

"Did she...was she...where was she living?" Did I want to know?

"She had her own suite. Guarded, and I don’t know anything beyond that. When I saw them, he didn’t touch her," Kenzi said gently. "Like I said, he seemed to want her willing."

That only loosened the knot in my chest a little. I desperately wished I’d brought a witch with me, but Irene wasn’t at full strength after her fight with Amaya’s twin sister, and Zara had disappeared back to her coven, I assumed to heal. All Irene was able to do was provide us with a hex bag that would widen Mira’s null powers. As long as we were within fifty feet of her, we would be protected from witchcraft.

"Elonso saw her leave and let her go. I met with him once while I was there. He seemed to be the only one who wasn’t like a fucking golden retriever. I don’t know what that means, but even Irving is leery of him. He turned Rhiannon. Maybe we can turn Elonso."

"No. There’s usually too much shared power to turn a second. Elonso is new as Irving ’s second. He killed Irving ’s second for the position a year ago. I’m surprised he hasn’t had an accident before now."

"You think Elonso is gunning for alpha?"

"Maybe. We couldn’t find much information on him, and at the time, it didn’t seem important. Maybe it’s time to dig a little deeper."

The door opened, and Kai stepped through. "She shifted, and she needs to stay that way for at least eight hours to properly mend everything. I don’t even know how she walked ten feet, let alone several miles, but she’s done considerable damage to her healing. By tonight, she should be able to shift again without too much pain. I’m sorry. I know you are eager to speak to her."

"Just as long as she’s with me." I glanced out the window and saw the sun rising. "I’m going to be with her. I’ll need someone watching over the witch at all times. Everyone be on guard. I expect Irving will be here within the hour."