Chapter 409
Chapter 409
66- Ben
Tristan guided Damon, Jason, and me inside the house, leading us directly to Luna Sam’s office. The choice of meeting place caught me off guard for a moment. Why would Junior insist on seeing us here? After all, he was supposed to be resting in bed, not conducting meetings. Especially considering he’d just endured a brutal attack—a spell meant to turn him feral had scrambled his mind completely.
“Don’t even start,” Junior said firmly, cutting off any sympathy before it could be offered. “I’ve already heard from my mother, and I’m not looking for anyone to treat me like a fragile kid. Some jerk-or more likely, a group of jerks-invaded my pack and tried to tear it apart from within. I want answers.” There wasn’t outright anger in his voice, but beneath it lay a simmering frustration; this was the breaking point for him, tired of being underestimated. His team mirrored his irritation, their expressions hard and determined.
Jason and I, alongside Luna Sam, shared everything we’d uncovered so far. Damon and Owen lent their expertise with the magic, but the situation was proving more complicated than I had hoped.
“So, you’re telling me you’ve taken down at least a dozen of these Shadow Markers, yet the problem persists?” Junior’s gaze sharpened, clearly frustrated.
“We don’t know,” I admitted, rubbing my temples in frustration. “That’s the real issue. We keep detecting the magic, but we’ve never actually caught a wolf acting as a mule for the product. That’s the missing link. I can’t tell if what we’re doing is making any difference. Every time we find a mule, it’s because they’re already dead. We’re still operating under the theory that whoever’s orchestrating this wants access to the waterway at the southern edge of the packs p>
Junior’s eyes locked onto mine. “I want to meet with Elara. She and I need to figure out what more we can do. I refuse to hide in fear, and neither will she. But we’re banging our heads against a wall, and I’ve had enough. I want those witches,” he nodded pointedly at Owen and Damon, “and those rogues. And I want them here, now. Your coven leaders should be involved too. I’m done getting my information secondhand. Ben, make it happen tomorrow p>
“You got it, Alpha.” There was nothing else to say. After issuing a few more orders, he dismissed us. Googlᴇ search.net
As Jason and I walked toward my room, he muttered, “I’m surprised he didn’t ask for Jer or Alpha James to come along p>
“I thought the same,” I replied, “but maybe Junior and Elara are on the same wavelength. He probably thinks the two of them have something to prove since they’re the ones being targeted. There are a dozen packs around here, and no one else is reporting anything like what we’ve seen p>
“Yeah, you’re probably right. You’ve always had a better connection with Junior than the rest of us. You just get him p>
“Maybe so,” I said, “but it’s not stopping the magical attacks or helping us find more clues about the magic we keep detecting. Speaking of which, I’m not the only one who can feel that low hum of magic in the air. Did you sense anything when you arrived p>
“Not at home,” Jason answered. “But when I got here, I felt a strange buzz under my skin. I figured it was from Junior or maybe that stone they found embedded in the ceiling. I don’t feel it anymore, though p>
“Once we decide where to meet, you and I need to split up with Damon and Owen to check the perimeter before anyone else arrives. There’s no way that stone got into the ceiling without inside help. We know Jeff wasn’t working alone, and I don’t think we’ve caught his partner yet. We need to keep this location under wraps and start narrowing down suspects without tipping them off p>
“Sounds like a plan. Get some rest-we’ve got the afternoon patrol coming up.” I nodded and headed to my room.
I reached out to Elara via mindlink. Her powers had grown stronger, but calling her directly ensured the connection wouldn’t drop.
“Hey. What’s going on?” Her voice held an edge of urgency, though she tried to mask it.
“Sorry it took me a few days to call. We were right—Junior was attacked from within. I don’t know who did it yet, but someone got close enough to plant a massive stone with a spell inside Junior’s cells. He went feral, and his wolf locked him inside his own mind. He stayed like that for a month. Sam thought it was some kind of disease —before you start giving her a hard time, know that she tried everything she could before asking for help. She didn’t want anyone else to get sick p>
“Is he okay now?” Elara asked softly.
“Yeah, Damon and Owen are pretty powerful. They recognized the spell immediately. It took a few hours to break it, but Junior’s recovering now p>
Her voice softened further. “What about you? Did it affect you p>
I tried not to let my stomach twist at the concern in her tone. “It did, but not like Junior. Damon thinks the spell had been there a long time, and I got stronger the longer it lingered. He and Owen also believe it was designed specifically for Junior, so for me, it just caused nausea. Still, I had to leave the room like a little wimp.” I chuckled softly. “Anyway, Junior’s pissed. He wants to meet with you on neutral ground tomorrow. He’s done being treated like a weak kid, and I think he’s offended on your behalf too. He wants to meet Brianna and Marietta. He’s, and I quote, ‘tired of getting all his information secondhand. He wants it firsthand p>
“Okay,” Elara agreed, “we can make that work. Let’s do it first thing in the morning. We can start combining our patrols too p>
We ironed out a few more details, but she didn’t seem eager to end the call like I expected. She gave me a time to check in the next morning, and we both signed off. I lay back on my bed, feeling just as confused about my mate as ever.