Alpha Ryker's Little Witch

Tamara's POV:

Steel's claim was not cogent to my ears and general apprehension. Mrs. Kagwe was locked up in the next room... When and how had she dished out the threat behind bars? Nonetheless to her own pup. Monica's ostensible stay at her friend's home was just like another bolt from the blue.

"That was the first place we should have went scouring the moment she went missing." Ryker paced from wall to wall, his boot-clad feet coming into contact with the tiled floor with loud footfalls.

"The boy was just threatened by her mother, and you just heard about Monica?" His back was to me, but before I could finish my sentence, he abruptly turned around to face me. "Yes, Tamara, yes." He sighed as he took in my raised eyebrows.

"If she is working with Uncle Pete, then more than one life is at stake here. The problem is, how do we know that this pup hasn't been put up by his mother to distract us?" He pushed his questions through our bonds, tilting his head to Steel's side. He was distrustful of the pup's statement, especially now that his mom was awaiting punishment.

"Curt and a few men are on their way to Kagwe's place as we speak. If his information is veracious, then Monica will be found there. As for the mother, I need to have a word with her right now. Either Steel is completely shaken by his mother's cruelty, or he is a very talented actor." My wolf had a soft spot for the young wolf; she wanted nothing but to teach Mrs. Kagwe a lesson for daring to scare him off.

"Honey, do you know where your father is?" He tensed at the mention of his dad. He had since relaxed, but my utterances had evoked panic inside of him.

"P-please, Luna, don't make me go to him." What was wrong with his parents? Mates were supposed to care for their pups, come rain or sunshine. It seemed that this one's were a rare breed.

"Why?" He flinched at my mate's voice, grabbing me in fear and peeking at him from behind my shoulders.

"You're scaring him," I reprimanded the muscled man, making him raise his hands in surrender with a smile.

"I am going after Curt. Jayson is on his way here. Please wait for him before going in there." He gave me a kiss on my forehead before running off to join his men.

"Was the guard with you when your mum frightened you?"

"Yes, but I ran here because I feel safe with you." He sniffed.

"What if I wasn't here when you came in?"

"I would have hidden behind Alpha's big body." I chuckled genuinely.

Just then, Jayson came in and gave the boy a high five. I didn't want Steel seeing his mother just yet after the menacing words she had thrown at him. Also I didn't want her knowing that he had spilled the beans. If we were going to uncover their surreptitious plans, we needed to be secretive and careful.

"I need you to stay with the boy while I go chat with his mother."

"But Ryker said "

"Forget about what he said. It won't take long." I dismissed him, then left for the cell. It was a few steps, and the guard was quick to unlock the door for me.

The minute she saw me, she was up to her feet, propelling her body right behind the silver bars. "I swear I didn't spike Theo's drink. I wasn't anywhere near the pack house that day. Please, you have to believe me." Pathetic. I shuddered in disgust at her meagre attempt in trying to convince me. She was really doing a pitiful job. A smile threatened to grace my lips in anticipation. Oh, how I would enjoy playing along with her foolishness. "But why would he pass out after taking it?" Sickly sweet, my tone was pretty convincing, forced out of my throat to sound angelic and credible.

"I don't know why he would lie after everything I have done for them." Was she aware of the words she had just uttered?

"What have you been doing to them? I assume you mean Theo and his father?" I stepped closer, my eyes trained on the windows of her soul for any disquietude.

"Just cooking and sometimes doing some cleaning."

"What does your mate have to say about your kind actions?" I stressed the word "kind," knowing that she was nothing short of the devil incarnate.

"It's just helping. Look, I am really sorry for everything I have put you through over the last half-decade. It was totally uncalled for, and Monica's idea entirely." Mm-hmm, so now she was initiating the blame game.

"Speaking of Monica, have you heard about her?" We listened for her heartbeat, and instantly we heard what we anticipated: a jolt, then a rapid beat of her blood pumping organ. She swallowed her saliva audibly as if her throat had just become dry.

"No, she-she, I miss her so much." Her lying tongue had become heavy. She was blatantly lying, but my reaction gave nothing whatsoever. She was oblivious to my pretense. Oh, two could play a game.

"Alpha is doing everything he can to find her; she will be back soon. By the way, I met with your son some days back. Quite a strong, honest pup you got there."

"He told me about it. Kept on saying how cool you are." Her eyes never met mine.

"You didn't like him praising me when you find me disgusting, or did you? I mean, how does it feel for him to acknowledge a witch like me?" I taunted with mock hurt.

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"Please, Tamara, forgive me. I already said it wasn't my doing." Her facade was breaking the more we talked. I could see a lot of cracks, and soon the whole building would collapse.

"It's okay; I have no issues with you. Well, except now that I am your Luna, I want to know why Steel isn't in his school like the rest of the peers." She tensed yet again, her eyelids closing briefly.

"Oh, he is just taking a break. He hasn't gone to school for only a few weeks." Bingo! That meant the minute Monica disappeared and moved to her place, they forbid Steel from going to school to keep their cover intact.

"He will resume tomorrow. It was nice getting a heartfelt apology from you." With that, I turned and left, finally smiling openly with my back to her face.

“There is no one here, Tamara, but there are Monica's clothes in one of the rooms. Her scent is not detectable, though. I have reason to believe that she truly is hiding here but must be somewhere else at the moment." The mind-link was exactly what I had expected to hear.

"She will be back at night, which is the only time she can slip inside. Have your men on the lookout around the house. Also no one should know that you went looking for her. Kagwe should be told that you were only searching for the ingredients his mate used to spike the drink. Otherwise she won't return, and we will be back to square one." This was a step that we couldn't dare mess up.

"Done that already. You need to talk Steel into going back home. He is our only way of knowing what is happening in that house."

"On it. I will be going to Pete's place in the next few minutes. I will use Theo as an excuse to be close to the man."

"But, Tamara, it's not..."

"No buts. Jayson will accompany me." I cut off the mate mind-link and went back into the office to update Theo and, of course, talk to the pup.

After so much talking and giving Steel my word of honor, he finally agreed to go back. He would, however, not speak of what had happened. I felt bad using the Alpha's name to scare him, but it was the only way he would keep it all to himself. His parents' house stood a little bit isolated from the rest, giving Monica a nice cover to come and go as she pleased. I kept on thinking what she was onto and whether Ryker's uncle was behind her release from the dungeons. "What's your deal with Theo?" Jayson's voice neutralized the silence that engulfed us as we went to Pete's place. His cabin was at the edge of the woods, right before the eastern pack border. Why he chose to stay away from the rest of the pack members raised a lot of questions from myself and my wolf.

"Why do you ask?"

"Ryker earlier sent me to assemble Curt and the others, but he didn't want Theo being informed." He was an observant man, but his mate was even more intelligent. I knew she suspected Pete, and even though she hadn't gone into depth about it, she also didn't like Theo.

"Too many ears out here. We will talk about this later," I whispered the words, my wolf scoffing. I mean, any werewolf within hearing range was sure to have caught onto my murmur.

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The two-story wooden cabin was surrounded by neatly cut green grass. The porch had pots of plants, most of them dead with just soil remaining on the vases. As we made our way up the steps, the wood creaked beneath our feet. There was no sign of anyone and that was confirmed after a couple of knocks.

"Maybe we should come back some other time." Jayson had already begun to descend when the voice struck in my mind again.

"Patience." My steps faltered.

"Open your eyes, my child." I looked around the compound, but nothing stood out.

"We need to go, Tamara." Jayson had suddenly become antsy. But the voice; its presence always brought out something of significance. Every time it invaded and took over my systems, I made discoveries that I wasn't aware of.

"No, we're going in." Resolution; it flowed in my veins, pushing me to the front door. It was closed but not locked. As my hand pushed the door open and my right foot came into contact with the inside, an inexplicable feeling washed over me. "Feels like we just stepped into the Devil's Den." Jayson's breath fanned the back of my neck.

"Do you feel it too?"

"Like something dark floats in this place. Feels like its claws are stretching around us, ready to sink into us." We stood by the door, my wolf raising her ears and swinging them to the sides and back of my head.

My eyes spotted a cane similar to the one the man never walked without. It was placed on a wooden table right at the center of the living room. Like a magnet, it pulled me in. I walked to it, a series of creaking wood sounding inside the cabin. It blended with our heartbeats, loud and clear in the eerie silence.

"Open your eyes." Again it coaxed me, and soon enough, my back bent, my arms stretching to the object of my curiosity. I traced the peculiar item, the intricate patterns feeling rough on my fingers. This couldn't have been the one he always carried, but if that was the case, why did he have a similar one?

"Luna!" Jayson only used our befitting titles when something vital arose. My head whipped to a pair of darts that were placed on a wooden stool. I approached the spot, my eyes solely glued to the two objects. Mimi's face flashed in my mind, her bright smile and her gleaming eyes.

"Are these...?" He couldn't even finish his question. They were handmade from solid wood, wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. Jayson touched the tip with his index finger, only to withdraw it with a curse.

Silver, the tips were made of silver. The very thing that killed Mimi.

"Unbelievable!" Jayson stepped back with his right hand covering his wide-open mouth.

"These are similar to those that we were shot with. What is Ryker's uncle doing with them?"

"There can only be one explanation for this. Uncle Pete is working with Addanc. If this isn't solid proof, I don't know what is."