Page 16 of Branches of the Willow

“Yes, ma’am.” Mikael took off for the kitchen while I hopped in the shower and got dressed for the day. I was just putting on my shoes when my phone started buzzing again.

“Hello?” I answered as I held the phone between my shoulder and ear while I tied my shoe.

“Jessica?” It was Avery Daniels, and he sounded a bit frantic.

“Avery? Shit!” I remembered the two men we were supposed to drop off with Avery’s pack before Mikael and I took our impromptu honeymoon period. “We’ll be bringing those two wolves to you soon. Mikael and I just needed a break away.”

“What wolves?”

“The two I sent Andy to tell you about.” I told him.

“Andy? I haven’t seen Andy since your bonding ceremony.”

“I sent him days ago, Avery, if you haven’t seen him then what’s this about?”

“How many days, Jess? I was calling to tell you that my daughter, Annalise, has been missing for a few days. We found traces of blood near a hunter’s trap but haven’t been able to locate her.”

“Shit! It was four days ago that I sent Andy.” I could hear Avery’s stuttered breathing on the other end of the line. “We’ll figure it out. Let me get back to the pack lands and see what I can find out on our side. I’ll have my dad send a few of his men to check between our lands too.” My heart hammered away inside my chest at the thought that I’d dropped the ball and possibly lost Andy in the process.

“Avery, I sent Andy through the pass. Maybe you can start there. If she was injured, maybe, I don’t know…” I was grasping for straws. “Maybe he found her and they’re hiding? Or…” I didn’t want to say what else I was thinking that maybe they fell victim to the same hunters who had been plaguing his lands of late.

“Jess,” his breath hitched as he said my name. “Just give me a call when you get there and let me know what you’ve found. We’re going to go search the cave pass now.” He hung up without further ado.

“Jess?” Mikael called out when he saw my face. “I brought coffee.” I took the mug and knocked it back like it was a shot. “What’s the matter, love?”

“Our vacation was bad timing. That was Avery. No one ever bothered to see if Andy made it there. He didn’t.” Concern flashed across Mikael’s brow. “That’s not all. Annalise is missing too.”

“Avery’s younger daughter?”

“Yeah, we need to get back to the pack, now.”

“Okay, Dad, fill me in on everything I’ve missed.” My father wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder at Mikael, who was oblivious to my father’s death stare. “Earth to Jameson!” I shouted in his ear. He turned an incredulous eye on me then.

“I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to take time off right now anyway. You’ve just launched new programs involving multiple packs, not to mention the man hunt for Malachi, Zach, and Sophia…”

“Jameson St. Marks!” My mother admonished her mate. “You will not give Jessica any of your shit. This is an adjustment for everyone, and she deserved a few stolen moments with her new mate. I do recall you refusing to be pack leader once upon a time, so that you could be with your family more and worried about pack politics less. Jessica doesn’t get the luxury of refusal, so you will cut her some slack while she adjusts.”

“Eileen,” my father started to argue until he saw my mom’s face scrunch up in fury.

“Don’t you Eileen me! She’s here now, so fill her in.”

I gave my mom an appreciative smile and watched out of the corner of my eye as Mikael hugged her. My father huffed his indignation, but let his lecture drop to fill me in on everything that had been happening. More to the point, the lack of anything happening.

“So, there hasn’t been a single sighting of Sophia, Zach, or Malachi? Anywhere? I just find that hard to believe.” I paced back and forth a bit, and then remembered my earlier conversation with Avery. “Avery’s daughter, Annalise, is missing. Andy never made it to meet with Avery. They both seem to have disappeared on the same day, and the Daniels’ lands have been having trouble with interlopers trying to hunt there. I’m beginning to think that’s not all coincidence. Has he checked back in yet with updates for anyone?”

“Not yet.” My father answered. “I’ll give him a call though.”

“Okay, while you have him on the phone, let him know that I am calling a meeting of the nearest five pack leaders. We need forward progress where Sophia, Zach, and Malachi are concerned. I can’t believe that no one has seen them. We do have people planted with the humans in places, right? Can’t we get them put on a watch list or something?”

“If we did that, then we wouldn’t be the only ones looking for them. Do you really want to risk an unsuspecting human approaching any of them?”

“No, I guess not, but there has to be something more we can do. I’m not just going to sit back and wonder if they’ll ever pop up again. I need closure, and so long as they are out there, our people remain in danger. None of them seem to have any qualms about hurting those who get in their way. Tom and Jack are proof of that.”

“I’ll call a meeting.” My dad agreed. “I’ll let Avery know, but he has his own worries right now.”

“I don’t expect Avery to show up. His priority is, and should remain, Annalise. Have we heard from the guys that were sent out to scout between our boundaries?”

“Not yet. They should be checking in soon though. I’ll let you know as soon as they call in.”

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