Devoted : Enemies and Heirs (A Completed Supernatural Romance)

Part 38

Henry

We set up a control center of sorts in my office to delegate and keep track of where we have searched. I try every 10 minutes or so to reach out to Aiyana but to no avail. The longer we go without finding her, the stronger my panic and fear become.

"Henry? What's going on?"

I look up and see Nana Rose. "Aiyana has been taken. Finn saw Cheryl talking to someone in the woods and when we searched Cheryl's room, we found textbooks on obstetrics and medically inducing labor."

"I never did like that Cheryl. We'll find her, Henry. I'm sure this seems like a silly question but have you tried reaching out to her through the mind-link?"

I nod, "Every ten minutes. I can't even feel her emotions and I'm usually able to do that."

Nana sighs, "That's what I feared. That means they injected her with silver. It's the only thing that would break down that link."

My hands slam down on the table, causing it to freak against my strength. "When we do find them, I want them alive. You don't mess with me and my family and get away with it."

We spend the next few hours scouring the pack lands. We know Aiyana is in labor based on the books we found in Cheryl's room, so they can't have gotten farther than pack lands. When we were first looking for Damien, we made an updated map of our lands since we found several deficiencies on the previous map.

Shortly all the Elders have joined us and are helping us come up with a plan of attack for when we do find where they're hiding.

"Have we looked at the old cabins yet?"

I look at Nana Rose, "What old cabins?"

"When we acquired this land, my parents who were the Alpha and Luna at the time, moved the pack farther into the lands giving us more room to expand. The cabins that made up the original pack lands are still there. They're about a mile north of the caverns. The caverns marked the southern edge of our territory."

"Can you show me on the map?" I move the map so she can see it.

"Here." I look to where she is pointing before turning to my officers.

"Okay, we are going to play this smart. We cannot let Damien or Cheryl hurt our Luna or the baby by rushing in. Where's Finn? Being the Council's representative, he should be there as witness."

"He left Alpha." Comes a quiet voice from one of the promising warriors. "He said he was going to the infirmary to get his wounds looked at."

"Okay, go get him and meet us in the fields."

He nods and leaves quickly.

I kiss Nana Rose on the cheek, "I'm going to bring them back."

She smiles warmly, "I know you will. If her labor has started, that means you will likely hear her screams. Take heart, they don't mean she is being hurt by them. I don't want you hearing that and rushing in."

I nod, "Thank you, Nana."

My officers and I walk out to the fields to wait for Finn. After what feels like forever, the young warrior emerges alone.

"Where is Finn? Did he refuse to come?"

"No, Alpha. He wasn't there. The nurse said she hadn't seen him. It took so long because I went to his quarters to look for him and he wasn't there either."

"Shit. Okay, we'll have to go without him."

"There's something else, Alpha. His door was unlocked so I checked inside and all of his belongings are gone. It's as if he were never here."

Realization hits me and I'm so angry I can't control my shift. It's no wonder Damien was never challenged by the Council. The Council was in on it and Finn was trying to undermine my authority so that they could replace me and do goddess-knows-what with Damien.

When my officers shift, I explain what happened and we immediately start towards the abandoned cabins.

It doesn't take us long to get there and as soon as we do I'm surprised I didn't remember these. Liam and I would play in here every once in a while. It's probably how Cheryl knew they were here and abandoned.

The closer I get to the cluster of cabins, the stronger the scents are. I can make out Cheryl, Finn, and Damien. Aiyana's scent is faint but it's there.

An ear-splitting scream fills the air and it pierces through me. I should be at her side. We should be going through this together and they took that from us.

I have to close my eyes to stop the growl from leaving me and keep myself from charging in there and killing all of them.

I tell my officers through the mind-link to spread out and watch any exits beside the main one in front of us. I move forward slowly, staying low to the ground. I get up against the cabin wall, underneath the window and near the front door.

I've been waiting only a few minutes when someone opens the door and light pours out into the forest.

"No, father, he doesn't know anything about us. Honestly, he's not even that smart. I have no clue how he managed to survive all these years. Nobody else suspects a thing. Before I left I told one of the oafs that I was going to the infirmary since I was attacked not once but twice. That gives us plenty of time."

The longer Finn talks, the harder it is to keep quiet. When he's finally done with his phone call, I decide to move.

I latch onto his ankle and pull him down to the ground where he hits his head, disorienting him. I use my jaw to wrap around his neck just enough to lift his head and hit it against the ground to knock him out.

I latch onto his pant leg and pull him back into the woods where one of my officers is waiting.

Take him back to the packhouse and lock him up.

The officer nods and I help get him onto his back before he takes off.