Devon
I saw Devi and Amaris off yesterday. It has been an unusually rough couple of days and I hated to see them leave. My energy is lagging today. I snort, I really miss that tea that Jeni used to bring me every morning. The odd thought gives me pause. Since Amaris made me realize that I was always choosing Jeni first, I have been trying to puzzle it out. Since we were in our teens, I have always been protective of Jeni. Almost obsessively so, but only as friends, with exception of that one awful night. I don't even remember much about how it happened. I just remember the sick feeling I had afterward and every time I think about it. However, since Jeni was arrested last week, I feel oddly free. Except upon Amaris's insistence that I figure this out, I've not even spared a thought for Jeni.
I sense Enf. Hill at the door at the same time he knocks. "Come in, Hill." I call out.
The door swings open with Enf. Hill and Enf. Fillion dressed in their usual black tacticals. "Alpha, you wanted to see us?"
"Yes. I want an update on the investigation." I motion to the chairs in front of me. They each take a chair.
Hill dives right in. "We have signed confessions from both Mr. & Mrs. Hollis. They corroborated Amaris's vision exactly. They implicated Luna Quinn in the kidnapping and collusion to commit murder of Minette Quinn's pup, Amaris. They even supplied information and evidence of Luna Quinn's having interfered with the true mate bond by drugging both Minette Quinn and Alpha Lange Quinn with spiked teas and medicinals. There is even an accusation that she killed her true mate. There is so much. She blackmailed them for the past two decades to get them to do her dirty work. Now, she is pretty well going down when she goes before the Alpha Commander.
"Wait. Spiked tea?" I interrupt. My thoughts revert back to the tea that Jeni brought me most every morning for years. "Has anyone searched Sheila's rooms since she was arrested."
"Not yet, Alpha. We've been covered up with this, honestly." Enf. Fillion volunteers. "We plan on doing that in the morning."
"I know you guys are probably exhausted, but let's do it now."
They nod, following me to the second floor where the singles rooms are located. Punching my Alpha code into the lock, it clicks open. I allow the enforcers to take the lead as they know more about protocol during a search than I do.
Sheila apartment is two bedroom because Jeni stayed here at the pack house a lot. "Did either of you question Sheila before she was taken into Kingdom custody?"
"I did." Fillion replies.
"Did you ask her about any spiked teas?"
"No, Alpha. We were not aware of the possibility and didn't know to ask about that at the time."
"She needs to be questioned further. Either take a trip down there to do so, or speak to the lead at the Kingdom."
We all have rubber gloves on and are opening drawers and cabinets. Not really knowing what to look for. I know there is probably a tea mix somewhere. Hill goes off to one bedroom and I follow. Checking the closet, I say, "This looks like it may be where Jeni stayed. I recognize Jeni's jacket." I point inside the closet.
Hill begins rifling through the dresser when he stops. "Alpha? I think we found what we are looking for." Inside the drawer is a plastic bag of what looks like herbs. He carefully pulls it out. Below it a book. He removes it as well. Taking the bag, he opens it and takes a sniff. "Ouch!" He recoils. "Black magic." He holds the bag out to me and I can smell the sulfuric odor of black magic. I nod. He seals the bag.
I take the book from his hand and open it. "It appears to be her journal." I flip through the pages and am appalled at what I learn just from skimming. "She outlines exactly how she was manipulating me and was experimenting with concoctions to destroy the mate bond. She even references things her mother tried on Alpha Quinn and the failures and successes. "h my goddess! " I exclaim as I turn the page, I recognize the poem, or should I say spell, written there. The one she sang the last time she brought me tea.
Flashback
"What are you humming?" I ask.
"Just a cute little Doris Day song about tea." She giggles.
"Sing it," I prod.
"Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two and two for tea
Me for you and you for me alone.
Oh, we will raise a family
A boy for you, a girl for me
Oh, can't you see
How happy we would be?"
"Just a silly song running around in my head today." Jeni said. "Go ahead and finish off the tea while it's still warm and I'll take the mug back to the kitchen."
"Hill, here is the spell she's been using on me when she brought me tea. I think she may have been humming it under her breath before, but she sang it the last time."
"You think she's a witch?" Enf. Hill asks.
"I think she must have witch ancestry, because I have seen her wolf." I reply. "Let's put a pin in this and start again in the morning. First thing, call Alpha Jenson's lead enforcer, Enf. Orson and let him know what's going on here. I think he may be able to shed some light on the situation. Alpha Blake was on his way there next when he picked up Jeni and Sheila. He said he needed to pick up another prisoner accused of mate bond tampering. Let's compare notes. Next, finish up your search of this room. Send a sample of this tea to Amaris to analyze. Then get up with me. I am hoping for answers. I may have been under a spell all along. Go get some rest."
He nods. "Will do, Alpha. Come on Fillion, we are officially off the clock."
"Yes!" Fillion grins. We leave the apartment, locking it behind us. I tuck the journal under my arm. I think I am in for an eye-opening night of reading. I yearn for answers. Goddess! Help me understand. I desperately want my family.
YOU ARE READING
Amaris Rejected! Stone Mountain Shifters, Book 2
Fantasy**TW*** Child loss. SA On a full moon night, a wolf pack discovers an abandoned pup they take to raise, and name her Amaris. Though her wolf never manifests physically, she remains a guiding presence within her. Growing up, Amaris dreams of finding...
