Ally in the Shadows

Aidan

After the Alphas left, I sent Jack to assist with border patrols.

I dropped my head into my hands and considered the situation we were in. I needed to get to Kiarra. I needed to get past the guards.

Was there ~another~ way?

~“Aidan! We have another breach!”~

I popped up from my seat, my heart thumping with all the adrenaline that had been pent up for the last 24 hours.

~“Give me more, Jack? What are we talking about?”~

~“It’s the chocolate-colored wolf, the fast one from the other night.”~

Inside I was conflicted but not angry.

I had no idea what had brought Melody back to my territory, but something inside me said she was the bearer of news.

Good or bad, remained to be seen.

~“I got three wolves on her. I’m heading north to cut her off.”~

North. That meant she was headed toward me.

“Okay, let’s head her my way. I’ll meet you in front of the pack house.”

It wasn’t more than five minutes before I saw the small band of wolves making their way toward me.

I had shifted into my wolf. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I wasn’t taking any risks with this one. I had no trust for anything that came from that pack.

~“Alpha, we got her,”~ Jack declared, but from my angle, it looked more like she had ~them.~

Briskly, she padded toward me before shifting into her human form.

“Alpha Gold,” Melody gave a curt nod, “We need to talk.”

I shifted too, but I remained quiet. I wanted to observe her for as long as I could, even if that was the brief few seconds that I had.

Melody exuded confidence and poise. She was cool, calculated, and had direction. But at that moment, it seemed like she was doing her best to hide the fear I could smell from her.

I extended my arm toward my office, “Come in.”

Jack followed behind us, and we each took up our space in the room. The tension was high. As I looked across my desk, all I could see was the likeness of my mate.

She would never ~be~ Kiarra.

No one could be Kiarra. But her likeness reminded me so much of her. My heart started to break.

“Let’s cut to the chase here,” Jack started, “what the fuck are you doing here, and where is my fucking mate!” he snarled.

Jack didn’t hold back.

“Look, I know how this looks and I know I shouldn’t be here, okay?” Melody replied coolly.

She surprised me. I had her pegged as more of a live wire.

“Then you’d better start fucking talking!” Jack spat back.

“Okay! That’s enough! Melody, answer the question, what are you doing here, and where is Kiarra? Where is Angela?”

“And who knows you’re here!” Jack pushed, his body shaking with rage.

“Jack, let her speak!” I bellowed.

He took his seat, but he was seething.

I turned to Melody.

“Gold, this isn’t what you think,” she pushed her long golden hair to one side and bent forward on her elbows.

“Then what is it, Melody?”

I tried to sound calm, but inside, I knew we had to get shit moving or risk losing Kiarra and Angela forever.

“First of all, I’m not in on this. I have been against coming here, against claiming Kiarra, all of it.”

I remained quiet, and so did Jack.

“The other day, I was forced to do something, and ever since, it hasn’t sat right with me.”

“Forced to do what?” Jack shot at her, “This is bullshit, Aidan!”

“Jack! Let her fucking speak!”

My heart sank. I needed to know if I was right.

“Have they done something to her? To Kiarra? The last I saw her was in the woods.”

Melody’s eyes met mine, “Did she recognize you?”

I looked down, “No.”

She nodded, “She wouldn’t.”

“What the hell does that mean, Melody?”

“She’s been dosed, Aidan, with some sort of potion.”

“What the fuck?” Jack laughed wickedly behind her, “What’s next, Alpha? She tells us a witch is the culprit?”

“Actually, yes, Jack,” Melody turned to face him dead on.

In that instance, she reminded me of Kiarra’s fiery nature.

“That’s exactly it,” she faced me again, “My mother has many friends in low places, and sorcerers are among them.”

“Okay, so you gave her this dose of whatever the fuck, and now what?”

“It erased her memory, replaced whatever she knew with false memories.”

I looked at her in disbelief, but all the pieces fell into place at once.

“As far as Kiarra is concerned, she’s lived in Apex Pack her entire life. And what’s worse, every single member is going along with it.”

Her face screwed with indignation, “What kind of life is that? A lie like that?” Melody shook her head, “I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to come to you.”

“Alpha, this is probably some bullshit setup!” Jack growled from behind her.

Melody shot out of her seat, “Wrong! This is some old and strong magic, and if you ever want to see them again, you better find yourselves a fucking witch!”

I crossed my arms and leaned back to consider this new hand of cards that had been dealt to me.

On one side, I was with Jack. I didn’t trust the Apex Pack, and I trusted their youngest daughter even less.

But Jack wasn’t with me when I saw Kiarra. He didn’t know how real this magic bullshit was.

“Jack,” he looked up, waiting for orders he was probably going to disagree with, “get some feelers out there.”

“For what? A witch? Alpha, seriously?”

“Yeah, trust me on this, these people have a hand in almost every circle of the world. I’d put nothing past them.”

Jack got up, but he said nothing as he slammed the door behind him.

Now, it was just her and me.

“Gold, I’m happy to have a sister, I am.”

“But?”

“But not like this, not while everyone is busy bullshitting and manipulating her so they can achieve their goals!”

I hadn’t considered that Melody would be any less insane than her parents.

“It makes me sick to watch them smile at her, wave. She has no idea who the fuck these people are! Shit, I barely do, and I’ve lived there my whole life!”

“Do you have a mate?” I asked bluntly. I wanted to know how much of this lifestyle she’d been forced to swallow up.

“No, and I’m glad I haven’t met him yet! If these people have their way, I’ll be next!”

“Wait, next for what?”

She hung her head. “There’s something else.”

“Spit it out, Melody!”

“My parents are about to throw a ball.”

“What the fuck? What are you talking about?”

“Now that Angela found them out, and Kiarra’s had the potion, they need to move in now. They need this suitor ball so they can hitch her before the dose wears off.”

I was stunned into silence. My very worst fears were realized in an instant.

“Remember Ares?”

I nodded.

“They’re planning to wed her to his brother.”

The level of insanity that the Kendricks were operating at was almost astounding.

“Do you mean to tell me that the one psycho wasn’t enough? They’re actually going to try to push the brother on her now?”

I felt a fire ignite inside me I had never known before. It was fury, it was disgust, it was every curse in every language known to the world. Right then and there, I decided.

I will get my mate back, or I will die trying.

There was no in-between.