Page 43 of Redeem Me
Chapter 34
Rafe
“You know, arguing about such things is completely pointless,” Tracey muttered at the dinner table. Tonight was another full moon and we were preparing to go out again as a pack. But as per usual, Knox and Archer were arguing over anatomy.
Knox snorted. “You’re a woman, you wouldn’t understand it.”
Tracey folded her arms over her chest. “You think I don’t understand when a woman’s worth is practically decided based on her chest?”
Knox leaned back in his chair. “Don’t forget her ass.”
Tracey had her spoon halfway to her mouth when he spoke. She looked up with a serious face and threw the entire spoon with rice at his head. The glob of rice hit the center of his forehead and Ford barked out a surprised laugh beside him. In response, Knox wiped off the rice and smeared it across my brother’s face. Ford tried to dodge it, but all it did was make a bigger mess across his head.
I leaned back in my chair as the rest of the pack laughed and the new twins garbled from their car seats on the floor. It felt almost normal again. Except there was just one missing piece.
My mate.
As if Mav could read my thoughts he leaned over and patted my shoulder. “We will come up with something. Our pack will be whole again.”
I nodded my head as I finished off the stewed chicken on my plate. I didn’t bother with tasting it. I stood up and filed out of the room. It gave the rest of the pack permission to get up too. My shirt came off first then my jeans before my wolf ripped through my skin. I felt myself sigh with relief as I faded into oblivion and let my wolf take over. I liked to be present most of the time, but not this time. I could feel myself fading like I was taking a nap.
When I came to, there was blood all over my bare chest and I had zero ideas of where I was. The woods didn’t look familiar and there was the roaring of a waterfall nearby. I didn’t remember there being a waterfall on our property but it had been a long time since I had been on patrols or even looked at the maps. Patrols had been my excuse to find a willing female to romp with.
I was a shit Alpha. I should have memorized the border of our lands instead of relying on the flag markers set up around the property. I needed to do better. I had to do better.
I pressed my palm into my forehead and laid back down on the leaves. The snow would be here any day now and it would be even harder to get to Jade then. The chill was already heavy in the air. I rolled over onto my stomach and groaned. Thankfully my wolf had disposed of us both beside a body of water. The smell coming off of me was intense. My wolf was practically snoring in my head.
What did you kill?
Surprise, surprise, I got zero response.
The water shocked me from my sleepy state as I plunged into it. It was crystal clear and I knew if I had been here before, I would remember it. I swam under the waterfall and came up on the other side in a cave. It was still too deep to stand up so I swam for a moment before I pulled my body up on the ledge and laid back. The cave was hardly big enough to stand up in. The sound of the waterfall slapping the surface of the water was deafening as it echoed off of the walls around me. It was almost too much with my heightened senses.
Rafe, we have a situation at the manor.Knox’s words blasted through my head and the peaceful moment I was having.
Can it wait?
Definitely not. The wolf that escorted Jade through the woods that night is here. He has witch blood.
I was out of the water faster than I thought I could move. Nothing else mattered but getting to the pack house and my wolf agreed. Fur rippled across my arms before I shifted again and let my wolf lead me back to the manor.
Not just any wolf could transform multiple times a day. My body was still healing from the transformation the night before but it didn’t matter. My wolf didn’t care either. I would handle the soreness. All that mattered was getting to my Guardians. We shot across the Pack Lands at a speed I didn’t know possible, especially after shifting the night before.
I skidded across the dirt in front of the manor. Knox was standing out front with a pair of boxers and a t-shirt folded neatly between his hands. My mother’s mouth was hanging open from the doorway. I had never managed this much power before. I prepared myself mentally for the change back to be brutal. A few pops and cracks later and I was standing in front of my family stark nude. I grabbed the clothes and put them on quickly, expecting soreness and fatigue but I was met with neither.
The man that had the witch blood took a step out of the manor then. His blue eyes were clear as he looked at us all. Then he showed me his neck. “Alpha.”
“What can I do for you?” I leaned forward to shake his hand. His grip was steady and firm.
“We have to work fast, but I have brought the blood of a witch that has a daughter being held hostage. As far as I know, all of the children are kept in the same place.” He held up a vial full of dark red blood.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” I didn’t know why I asked it. I could smell it in the air that his words were honest.
“Because I care about those children there. Before I was the warden to Jade Rivers, I was the warden at that school. They wiped my memories on how to get there, but I remember the faces. There are many things I have done wrong and…” He paused to swallow. “I want to redeem myself.”
I knew all about that feeling so I leaned forward, clapped him on the shoulder, and led him to our witch, Granny.
A world map was laid out on the table when we entered her cottage. Granny shook her head and called Tracey forward before she took the vial from the man named, Micah. “I am not a blood witch, but I have a feeling that Tracey is.”
She shook her head as panic flashed across her face. “I am no such thing. I don’t know anything about being a witch.”
“Witches know how to identify other witches. You will need to say these words,” she held a book out to Tracey. “Then spill the contents on the map. We don’t have much time. The magic around the vial is already starting to wear off.”
Tracey took a deep breath and read the words out loud. “Vala chosa velum treka brumiam.”The blood turned black as it was poured on the map. I expected it to stick to the parchment, but instead it slithered across the paper like oil. I pressed my fist to my mouth as the black blood started to circle one area.
Granny looked up at Carden. The pissant was still hanging around. I raked my fingers through my hair and shook my head. This just kept getting better and better. “Get the pack directory in the Manor. We are going to need to know if there is a pack in the middle of Cedar Springs. I’m going to look into my resources and see if there are any covens in the area. We will have to be really careful about this.”
Tracey hadn’t moved from the spot she was in. Her eyes hadn’t left the paper either. Knox and the rest of the Guardians were standing outside. I patted Knox on the shoulder. “Stay with Tracey.”
I nodded to Mav. “Meet me at the War Room with your fighting leathers. We are rescuing some kids tonight, boys.”
