Page 41 of Claim Me
Chapter 28
Jade
Rafe enjoyed the waiting game. I could see it on his face every time we met in his war room. He enjoyed making everyone squirm and if we were nervous, that meant Damian was as well. Vivian had brought us freshly baked rolls and a beef stew. My stomach growled as I waited for Rafe to get this meeting over with. The food smelled entirely too good for all this waiting.
“We are going to make them think we are weak,” Rafe leaned on his armrest while his fist supported his jaw. “The next time they come, we won’t repair the damage immediately. We will make them think we can’t repair it. For whatever reason, they can’t get through Granny’s wards or they don’t have the resources to try.”
Knox stood up and paced across the floor. “Why don’t we call in Pack Law?”
Mav’s curls bounced softly around his ears as he shook his head. “No, that isn’t a debt we want or need at the moment. If we ask them for help, it will make our pack look weak. We aren’t weak.”
Knox pinched his lips together and his cheeks stained pink. Rafe nodded. “He’s right. If I am to sit with the most powerful Alpha’s of all time, I’m going to have to win this on my own. We are going to have to do this on our own. There have been countless wars fought and won by these other Alphas. It’s like a right of passage. The only way it would come to needing their help is if there is mass genocide of the humans.”
A man stepped from the shadows and I about jumped from my skin. I hadn’t realized there had been another man in the room. Nalia whispered soothing thoughts through our mind. He wasn’t an enemy and he looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. His blond hair was pushed back on his head and he had a similar build to the Guardians. All of them except Mav. Mav was the massive anomaly.
“Nice to see you again, Duncan,” Knox didn’t look up as he spoke. Instead, he cleaned his fingernails with a pocket knife like he was indifferent to the entire situation.
I remembered him now but only slightly. His hair had been shorter when I had seen him at the bar the night I had been kidnapped. How did I forget there was another Guardian? Tracey wrapped her fingers around mine then leaned toward me to whisper.
“Don’t worry, Duncan scares most of us. He doesn’t speak to anyone and keeps to the shadows.”
Duncan’s eyes didn’t leave Rafe’s. Rafe nodded. “Report, Duncan.”
“I have been out gathering intel on the one you call Damian. As far as I can tell or what I’ve discovered, he doesn’t have a last name. He bounced around from coven to coven as a child but his mother never gave up who they were. They were nomadic witches for most of his life until his mother disappeared one day. He started to pop up in covens then disappeared until about five years ago.”
Rafe narrowed his eyes. “How long ago did his mother disappear?”
Duncan sighed. “There are a few different stories but probably over a hundred years ago.”
Tracey gasped. “We are dealing with a witch older than all of us.”
Knox licked his bottom lip. “We all figured he was old to have this amount of power and sway over the witch community. We just need to figure out if we can find his mother. If he’s hiding her.”
Rafe shook his head. “We won’t be taking hostages. I won’t fight dirty. I won’t stoop down to his level.”
Knox clicked his tongue. “Okay, then why would we look for his mother?”
Rafe shrugged. “My mother has always been the one to talk me out of my wolf-crazed thoughts. Maybe his mother can do the same.”
“And if his mother’s dead?” Mav leaned back in his chair before he kicked up a huge foot on the table.
Rafe’s eyes found mine before he spoke. “Then we are back to square one and all we can do is wait.” He looked back at Duncan. “See if you can find a record of his birth. It will be in the archives. Granny should be able to help you get in.”
Duncan bowed his head before he disappeared again. I frowned as I looked around the room. He had simply vanished before our eyes. Rafe and his men didn’t look shocked at all but Tracey looked somewhat put off by it.
She chewed on her lip. “Told you, creepy.”
It was seven days before the attack came. But as much as we thought Damian would immediately march through the hole in our wards, he didn’t. Rafe gritted his teeth together as he surveyed the damage. The trees had all been split down the middle and the grass was burned. Other than that, I couldn’t tell that the magical barrier had been decimated. It was invisible. Could the witches on Damian’s side see it and know it was weakened? It was odd for it to happen on one of the most secluded areas of the Pack Lands, unless they weren’t firing for a specific reason but instead seeing how we would respond. The last attack had done damage and there was no way they could know who was affected by it.
Rafe shook his head while Granny did her work. She repaired the wards but not to max capacity. It would look strange to keep the barrier down for too long. We had to do as little to it as possible so we still looked weak. Rafe cupped my shoulder and leaned into me slightly. All of this was starting to wear on him. Mav reported back to me that my mate no longer slept and would instead pace around his bedroom. Last night he had thrown something. All the while I stayed in my own home with my two best friends. I wanted to go to him but I didn’t know how. Even now as he slightly leaned into me, I didn’t know what I could possibly say or do. How could I make any of this better? I ran my fingers over his before I kissed the top of his hand. He pulled away slowly to speak to Granny. I purposefully tuned them out as I thought of what I could do to take the weight off of Rafe’s shoulders. Nothing came to mind but I had to try.
Granny and Rafe were still in deep conversation when I finally excused myself and walked away. Rafe watched me with regret in his eyes but there was nothing that could be done by it. I had to figure this out without him nearby. My thoughts were muddled when he touched me. I couldn’t think clearly with him so close.
Thunder rolled in the distance as I made my way back to my home. I closed my eyes at the sound. I had always loved a good thunderstorm. It had been too long since the last one. I would sleep like a baby tonight.
Except I didn’t.
Nightmares plagued my rest.
