Alpha Ryker's Little Witch

Ryker's POV:

I stood silently at the pack's natural burial grounds, trying to face up to the old werewolf's departure. The place was covered by white and yellow flower meadows surrounded by trees. The serene scenery and the tranquil weather assuaged my poignant inner grief.

My mother embraced my mate as she let out plaintive sobs. Her shoulders shook with every cry that raked through her. She had done everything she could to help her stay alive, but finally the murderer finished his job. My arms itched to pull her to me, but my beast and I understood that she needed girls' time.

The burial was long over. People had retreated back to their places, and yet I remained behind, giving my mate the space to grieve. Yes, she was safe in my mother's arms, but I wasn't about to risk anything. Mimi had been murdered with a lethal dose of a silver dart in my pack, a pack full of trained warriors.

Even as I swallowed the almost tangible sorrow that had been neutralized by the weather, something else unnerved me. I was guilty of dereliction of my duty as the Alpha, for failing to protect and counter the attack against Mimi. I had long made a withdrawal of the guards I had temporarily placed around her place, only for the attacker to make a comeback.

"It's not your doing, my friend." Jayson patted my shoulder once, one hand of his comfortably pocketed in his black slacks.

"Monica is still missing, taken under my leadership. Addanc comes in as he pleases, threatening my pack members as if I'm not the Alpha here. Mimi was murdered in my very own jurisdiction, and yet I can't trace the killer. How the fuck are these occurrences not my fault?"

I was beginning to feel a strain on my abilities and efficacy. What was I doing wrong? There must have been some detail I was overlooking. Someone was really messing with me or, in this matter, a number of people. They appeared to have every plan well written out and orchestrated with minimal blunders.

"Instead of blaming yourself, you should be focusing on how you are going to deal with this mountain of problems." I loved the forthright remarks my friend always made in situations like these.

"Assemble the best warriors. Meet me in my office in the next 5 minutes." I mind-linked Tamara, telling her that I would be at the office in case she needed anything. Up till now, she had refused to talk about my eloping. She chose to mourn first. I knew she would be back to her normal self soon enough.

"Oh, and make sure Theo doesn't know a thing about this meeting."

"But why?"

"Just do as I say." He shrugged his shoulders before leaving with his eyebrows drawn up at the center of his forehead.

The room next to my office had been refurbished, and Mrs. Kagwe was locked up in there. If my cousin and his father were playing me for a fool, then I would gladly follow along. I knew they would attempt to break her out. What I kept on asking myself is, why would the three lie about Theo's kidnapping? They had no idea that I was onto them, and I didn't intend to allow them to catch on.

I had only one guard outside her cell. Uncle Pete was a wise man. If I left the place unguarded, he would figure out that I had my suspicions. In a few minutes, I was unlocking my office door with my men right behind me. No one bothered to sit down, waiting for me to address the matter at hand.

"Our searches have yielded no results whatsoever, except the blood trail about Addanc." My wolf kept alert, relishing in the nods that my men made.

"Our people are depending on us to keep them safe, and yet we can't even guarantee them safety." The killer left no clue, and the search for a scentless werewolf bore no fruits with nil leads. We were simply stuck with nothing to go by. "Jayson."

"Alpha." He stepped forward, hands crossed on his midsection. He stood with his feet planted apart, waiting attentively for his leader to speak.

"How is the training going? Do you think the teens are well-groomed for patrols and search parties now?" He was in charge of the training since Theo's alleged kidnap.

"They have what it takes, Alpha. A few females, though, still prefer being pushed around."

"I need their names first thing tomorrow morning." I turned to the rest of the men, looking briefly at each one of their straight faces.

"Someone in this pack is playing around with our defense and intelligence. One little lead will be enough to put an end to all of this. Make no mistake. Addanc remains on the loose, with his whereabouts unknown. If we can occlude his entry back, we can deal with the traitors first."

"But, Alpha, how will we do that when his trespassing doesn't affect the border breach signal?" Curt posed an indispensable question, making me hum in thought.

"Leave that to me." I needed to discuss this with my mate. I wasn't ashamed to admit that she had endless and well-thought solutions to a lot of problems.

"About Monica, none of her kin seems to buy the story about her being forcefully taken from the dungeons. In fact, her cousin remains adamant that she must be a part of the imposters. Neither do I, so keep on the lookout for any signs of her." I dismissed them after that, then mind-linked my mum to escort Tamara to my office.

I was quite sure that my father and Janette were together wherever they were. The grown werewolf seemed to have a soft spot for the girl and the pup her productive womb carried. He was always by her side when she wasn't with Jay or Tamara, gushing about how wonderful she would be as his daughter.

After learning about the possibility of Uncle Pete having stolen my sister, I had become weary around him. I didn't dare tell my father about my findings because I knew his untamed rage would blow my cover. My wolf began to notice little weird things about the man. One, we had never seen him shift to his wolf and he never joined any of the hunts done in wolf form.

He also never walked without his black hawk head cane. It was always gripped in his right hand. He didn't need a walking cane, and yet he fancied it not to raise any suspicions. How the hell had we not noticed his time-to-time disappearances? Sometimes he would be around, but most of the time, he was running errands we had no idea about.

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The twisting of the doorknob snapped me out of my musing. Tamara walked in with my mother holding her hand. She was directed to the couch gently, with an oversized shawl draped on her shoulders. She was in low spirits, and the bond was sure to transmit her emotions as they were to me.

My animal and I trudged to her and pulled our petite mate to our broad ripped chest. We expected her to push us, but she snaked her arms on my midsection with a loud sigh and relaxed. My wolf ran around at her acceptance, calling to her for bonding. My mother decided to give us some privacy and quietly left the room, leaving us to ourselves.

"Tamara." I felt bad for tasking her with requests, but we had no time to waste.

"I can't believe she is gone, Ryker." Her voice was nasal-like; she struggled to speak through her clogged nose.

"Me too, honey, but now we need utter fanatical focus on finding whoever delivered that lethal dose of silver." I rubbed her back with my palms.

"What did you come up with during the meeting?"

"That is what I want us to talk about." I sat on the black couch, pulling her with me and situating her on my lap. Her legs dangled on either side, her back comfortably resting on my chest.

"Do you remember me telling you that my uncle was seen with a baby basket around the time my sister was stolen?" Bringing that up was sure to trigger her previous emotions about me vanishing without a word. Instead she nodded, waiting patiently for me to continue.

"I really think he is the one who killed Mimi," I whispered. I expected her to question me, but my mate instead agreed, her wolf communicating with mine as one.

"I didn't buy his story about his son being kidnapped. I have expounded on the possibility, and all I can come up with is a blatant distraction." She sniffed, trying to get her nostrils working again.

"Distraction?"

"Yes, his entrance was right on time with Addanc's fall. Think about it, Ryker. Pete came with a piece of paper, crying about his son's alleged kidnap, right?" She shifted her head on my shoulder so that she could partially tilt her neck and look at

me.

"Are you saying that he might be working with Addanc?"

"Absolutely. Our attention shifted from the wizard to his hysterical cries about his son. That gave whoever threw the ignited ropes on the stick the time to launch it without being noticed. Obviously the grass caught fire, and as everyone ran around in panic, Addanc was able to flee unnoticed."

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Her explanation made practical nous. It was just admirable how she had put two and two together. Mimi didn't lie when she had said that our victory depended on my mate. "I get it now. That son of a bitch has been conniving with the enemy, but for what?"

"Your uncle planned everything with Mrs. Kagwe to serve Theo the drink that took him out. Then they played her and somehow pointed the finger at her to avoid any suspicions." What they didn't know was that we could tell that the three of them were playing us for fools.

I had tried asking Theo how he got into the pack lands all hurt and bruised. He, however, changed the topic every time I questioned him. His heartbeat skyrocketed with every insistent question I threw his way about his attack. This was all making sense now. It was all planned.

"Tamara, I need you to do something for me please."

"I will do it for you, as long as you promise not to leave me in the same room alone with him." She had already read my thoughts, and I couldn't help but smile in relief.

"I guess you will see a very ominous dark cloud hovering atop his head." I couldn't wait and find out Pete's true character behind his facade. The color of the cloud would determine exactly the kind of werewolf he was.

A rapid knock sounded on the wooden door. "Come in." A male pup barged in, running straight to us and practically planting himself on Tamara's hip.

"Hey, Steel, what is it?" She stood up, inspecting the frantic boy for any signs of injuries.

"My mum...she-she," he stuttered, his teary eyes wide in fear. It was almost tangible, rolling out of him in gigantic waves.

"Calm down, Steel. Breathe." She rubbed his back, aiding him.

"Luna, my mother said she would beat me up until I couldn't walk. Then she'd cut my tongue for speaking to you the other day. She forbids me from going to school. She "

"Slow down, Steel. It's okay." She hugged him. "But she won't do that, right? You are her son, and I know she loves you, baby boy."

I awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to do with the boy.

"She said that I couldn't go to school because I would tell my friends her big secret." We exchanged confused glances.

"What secret, honey?"

"Aunt Monica moved into our house."