“Whoa, what the hell?!” Vi yelled as she dodged my flailing fists, pushing Phoebe back toward the door with one arm. “Kiya, what drugs did the hospital give you?!”
“You betrayed me!” I screamed at Phoebe, backing up to the threshold of the door. “And you have the fucking audacity to show your face here?!”
“I didn’t betray you, Kiya.” She answered, steading her shaky voice. “Whoever hurt you wasn’t me; I swear on Hekate.”
“Oh, yeah?! You expect me to believe you have an evil twin running around?!”
“Yes.”
I stilled, hanging off Asim’s muscled forearm like a ragdoll. “Excuse me?”
“I have a twin…or, had.” Phoebe shut her eyes and expelled a deep sigh. “I don’t know how or why it happened, but my twin, Rhea, is alive. Nuria had visions about her and…” Her whole body shook, her head bowed in shame..
A cold sweat flowed down my spine. “Did something happen to Nuri?”
“We had a fight; a stupid, completely unnecessary fight that I’m responsible for. All because I didn’t want to believe what she saw was true.” Phoebe caught a tear with her finger before it fell, guilt overpowering her fruit scent.If you are not reading this novel on Jobni b.com, some sentences are incomplete. “Nuria left the territory yesterday, but when she didn’t return for over an hour, I knew something was wrong. Anthony sent patrols out to find her and they found her car abandoned on the side of the road and blood and…”
“He took her too…” I whispered. Asim silently set me back on the bed as I tried to make sense of the situation. But all I got was a headache.
“Who did?” Violetta asked.
“Jonathan.” A thought in my head forced my head to Raina. “Has there been any news from the Iron Stone Pack?”
Raina nodded; her face grim. “Wystan called to inform us that his pack was attacked by unknown assailants. Ezekiel was harmed, but he is recovering in their pack hospital. Aunt Celeste ”
“Was kidnapped.” I grumbled, digging my nails into my bed. “Jonathan kidnapped his fucking family while I was unconscious.”
“You were right.” Asim added. “Jonathan has been resurrected by the mad god and has proceeded with his plans. We can’t afford to waste too much time. We must plan their rescue.”
“How?” Raina quipped. “Do you know where he is or where he could be?”
“No,” I answered. “But I guarantee wherever he’s hiding out, we will find the Johansen family there.”
Would he harm Nuria and Celeste? He wanted them back for as long as I could remember, and I couldn’t imagine him raising a hand against his daughter and ex-wife. Then again, if he could fuck with Neron’s mind and abuse us both in different ways, anything was possible.
He’s fused with the dark magic of an evil god. That level of darkness can and will permanently warp someone’s mind. Jonathan will go to great lengths to coax Aunt Essie and Nuria into his arms and dead heart, even if it meant harming them.
Three people I care about are in great danger. Three people who had made their homes in my heart. I stood at the epicenter because Jonathan wants to quench his thirst for revenge. Odessa was in this as a pawn; this Rhea was in it-who knows who else was also in this tangled web of madness?
“*Save yourself”.” Neron’s last words whispered in my head. “Don’t let Dad touch you*.”
Neron wanted me away from danger. It’s a damn shame that I’m going to run toward it.
I have to find him and his family and bring them back safe and sound. An old sliver of who I used to be hissed in my ear to rescue them alone. But, when I looked at my sister and fellow avatars in my hospital room, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I needed their help. And admitting that didn’t come with that familiar sting of pain.
“The gears in your head are turning.” Phoebe remarked, the corner of her pink lips curving into a small smile. “You have a plan, do you?”
“It’s not much, but it’s a start,” I answered. I flinched at the burst of pain from my stomach when I hopped on my feet. Planting a hand over my bandages, I exhaled in relief at the soothing warmth sealing my wounds and dispelling lingering aches around me. My mind buzzed with mild vertigo from the healing, but it vanished in a blink of an eye.
“Any plan is better than no plan.” Violetta shrugged her shoulders. “So, how are we going to find this zombified wolfman?”
“By understanding his mannerisms,” Asim answered, folding a leg over the other. “We are at a disadvantage because we don’t know where he is holding his family. However, when we examine all that has happened up to this point, we can infer that his mannerisms are akin to both a snake and an oligarch who refuses to get his hands dirty.”
“Jonathan was behind the attacks, but he didn’t act on them,” I added, shuffling to the window.” He didn’t show up then, but he showed up now because he wanted to. After taking Neron and almost killing me, Nuria and Celeste were abducted. He hid, burrowed, and struck at the perfect moment strategic moves for a former alpha.”
“Wait, I thought of something!” Violetta shot out of her seat, her curls bouncing on her shoulders. “What if the reason you never knew where Jonathan was hiding was that he was literally hiding under your feet? Snakes hide underground and under rocks for their own safety, but only come out when they need to hunt.”
“Going underground is the best option to get maximum secrecy.” Phoebe added, angling her hip against the threshold. She shuddered as if she was remembering something painful. “You are shielded from the world’s eyes, which is why criminal businesses and underground markets are widely successful because only a select few know about it. If Jonathan wanted to keep his family to himself, he’ll make sure the world never sees them again, unless he wants it to.”
“Okay, how do we go underground?” I inquired. “Where do we start?”
“What about a cave?” We all looked at Raina, fidgeting with the hem of her green blouse. “There are thousands of cave systems around the country and it’s the easiest way to stay deep underground.”
“But, just as you said Raina, there are thousands,” Asim spoke. “Jonathan can only be in one. It’ s physically impossible to explore every cave hoping to find the missing family.”
“We don’t have to.” I folded my arms over my chest. “We just have to find the one that means the most to him—the one he has the deepest connection with.” I looked at Raina. “Can you ask if Kwame can come here?”
Ten minutes later, both Lorelai and Kwame came in without Naomi, who they said was with her grandparents. Lorelai drew me into a tight hug, patting me gently on the back. “Are you alright?”
“I am a little tired, but I’ll be okay.” We broke our hug, and I made my way back to the bed. I gave them the run-down of what had happened and explained our ideas on where Neron could be. “Kwame, I know your dad was Jonathan’s Gamma, but were they close?”
Kwame bit the inside of his cheek as he sighed through his nose. “Honestly, I’m not sure. They had a good relationship, but it fell apart after…you know.” He stuffed his hands in his khakis. “ Since then, their relationship didn’t extend beyond maintaining the pack.”
“And I don’t think Val would know much either.” Raina added with a shoulder shrug. “I’m not sure if there is anyone else who might know Jonathan beyond the surface level.”
There isn’t anyone I could think of…
Except for one.
This could be a long shot, but I’m not letting this chance pass me by. It could be the key we need to find the abductees. “Phoebe, has a woman named Liberty arrived at Garnet Moon recently?”
“Yes.” Her eyes brightened. “Anthony and Alesia were showing her around the day before Nuria went missing. Is she important?”
I sighed with relief. “Very.”
Liberty escaped Bastard Jackson. He’ll never harm her again. My mind drifted back to the Alpha Gathering where Neron and I first met him. He and Jonathan were high school buddies. If Jackson talked about his relationship with Jonathan, and she overheard…
***She could be our only hope*.” Artemis mentioned. “*We have to take this chance.”
And that chance we will take.