Too Many Secrets To Hide | ✔| #Wattys2017

Chapter Nine

Word Count: 3329

   I woke the next morning alone in the bed. I could see the imprint on the sheets where the wolf had been, but I would have never noticed it had I not know he was there last night. I was very happy about my neatly folded clothes on the bed next to me. I pulled the black curtains around the bed to create a sort of shield for me as I changed. Not knowing what to do with Jasper's clothes, I left them on the bed before I made my way downstairs. 

   I heard voices coming from the kitchen, and it was quite out of habit that I stopped to eavesdrop. "How's Maddox doing?" It was a familiar voice but I couldn't put a name on it. "Well, we made him eat last night and he said it made Bel a little better." That was Jasper. "What do you mean it made Bel better?" the other voice inquired. "Both the girls have some oddly werewolf like traits..." Jasper trailed off before he started again. "Cadence and I discovered that last night and thought maybe if we made Maddox eat, it would at least make Bel feel like she had had a full meal." 

   Now the other man was no longer so interested in Bel in particular. "What do you mean 'werewolf like traits'?" he asked. "Well, they both eat as much as I do but never gain any weight- and we both know a normal human couldn't eat like that without getting fat no matter how much exercise they got. That doesn't seem like much, but they're both extremely strong too, more than what you would think just by looking at them." The other voice didn't speak so Jasper continued. "Cadence has been having hot spells, too." The other man let out a thoughtful "hm" in response.

   "Look at her neck when she comes down," Jasper went on. I instantly felt my neck. "Why, what's on her neck?" the other man questioned. "Nothing," Jasper said with just a hint of shock in his voice. "She should be covered in bruises, I saw them last night. But this morning, there's nothing. How could she possibly heal that fast?" I hadn't seen my neck, and I hadn't looked in a mirror at all. The lack of pain or soreness had caused me to completely forget about it.

   "I told you to be careful with her," the other man said less than gently. "I know," Jasper replied. "I should have controlled myself, but she practically asked me." He sighed heavily. "Does she know she's your mate?" The man asked. "Yes," Jasper told him. I had never really realized it before, but I was a pretty fast healer.

   They didn't converse anymore after that, but I still waited a full two minutes before I made myself known. I walked in, faked a yawn. It was Mark who stood in the kitchen with Jasper, and I pretended not to notice when he looked at my neck and then glanced at Jasper. Jasper, however, made no such effort to conceal his perusal. He tilted my head to one side and rubbed his thumb over the place his mouth had been the night before. "Maybe I was wrong," he said so lowly Mark couldn't have heard unless he had some sort of advanced werewolf hearing, which I thought to be highly probable. "Maybe you can handle me," he smirked deviously before turning to make me a plate for breakfast.

   When he handed it to me, I saw it contained five pieces of bacon, five fried eggs and five of something that appeared to be homemade hash browns. Whatever they were, they were fantastic. I wondered if Fiona had made them, but I hadn't seen anyone besides Mark or Jasper this morning so I couldn't be sure. "If you want some more, let me know," Jasper chuckled, evidently having been watching me eat. I would be too shy to ask for second helpings though, but he was bound to offer anyway.
  
   I was done with my second plate when Maddox appeared. He looked tired, bags under his eyes and was extremely jumpy. I couldn't help but see the reflection of Bel in him. He forced himself through a heaping plate similar to what my first one had looked like. I had to admit that despite the grim circumstances of his actions, that was the cutest thing I had ever seen a guy do. He seemed very mature for his age.
  
   "How are you feeling?" Jasper asked, but it was clearly more to find out about Bel. I felt the least bit sorry for Maddox, because it was obvious Jasper was still angry with him. Even though I hated it for the kid, Jasper's actions spoke volumes. He wouldn't have been so upset with Maddox if he didn't care about Bel and I.
  
   "Like I wanna go to bed and cry," he said blankly. My own eyes nearly teared up at that. Bel was somewhere so terrified and alone right now and all we could do was make Maddox eat in an attempt to make her feel well fed. His words only magnified the urgency of the situation. "I feel so betrayed and angry for some reason," he went on. "Probably because I let her get kidnapped," he muttered. I disagreed. "No, it's my fault," I said sadly. "It's always been my job to protect her, and I messed up. I'm the only one who betrayed her."
  
   "It's nobody's fault," said Jasper from the table. I had a few questions for Jasper. "Have you found out anything about Derek yet?" I asked. Mark answered for him, and I realized he must have been one of the scouts Jasper had told me about. "He doesn't have nearly as many wolves with him as before," he began. "But we found barrels labeled wolfsbane and all of his minions are wearing something that I found out are devices to spray the poison." I realized then what Derek's evil plan was. It's no secret that wolfsbane is poison, and lethal to werewolves. He wouldn't even have to fight if he could spray a wolf with the stuff. There was no telling how many he could take out without even getting his hands dirty. To me, it sounded like a warcrime.
  
   "How can we fight that?" I asked no one in particular. "I don't know yet," Jasper confessed as he dropped his head low. "We would be powerless against him if he sprayed us with the poison." I thought furiously. There was nothing that would keep me away from my sister. Then I had an idea I knew Jasper wouldn't like. "I'll go rescue her," I said suddenly. All three males in the room turned to look at me the same way you might look at someone in a psychiatric ward. "Jasper, you've said yourself that I have many werewolf like traits," I pointed out. "I could pass as one, and Derek would spray me with his poison. I would pretend to act weak until he let his guard down, then strike." Even I had to admit what a crude and not at all well thought out plan it was.
  
   "Even if you did wait until he let his guard down, he's still too strong, he could overpower you." Jasper told me, unwilling to let me go, just as I had predicted. "I'm strong too, I can handle myself," I persisted. "And I can't see any other way of getting Bel back." Jasper remained unconvinced. "I don't know if you would even know Derek if you saw him, Cadence. No one has ever seen him in human form." I couldn't care less about that. "I'm going to get my sister," I growled, hoping it left no room for argument.
  
   Jasper remained unmoving. "It won't help anything if you get taken too," he muttered. "You just don't understand. Those are ruthless werewolves, any one of them could kill you in an instant. I can't put you in that sort of danger." And it was Jasper who's words left no room for argument. That was fine. He wouldn't have to put me in that kind of danger. I could do it myself. I remembered hearing the howling of the wolves at the lake, and I knew we weren't far from there. If I went out by myself heading that direction, I would be kidnapped at some point, possibly before I even reached the lake. Not wanting to give away my plan, I stormed upstairs.
  
   I checked my phone for any calls, I found one more missed one from my mother. I stuffed my phone into my back pocket, taking this alone time as an opportunity to put some more thought into my plan. I knew I would have to wait for a good time to leave, I couldn't risk getting caught and then brought back to be shut up with a lock and key. Having that settled, I rummaged around through some of the books in Jasper's room. I would read one on the sofa downstairs, but really it would just be my excuse to listen for anyone to leave. Most of his books were fictional, less than ten that were non-fiction. It was unfortunate he was a guy or else I might have been able to find a romance novel. Really though, it would be better if I found a book I wouldn't get too interested in to pay attention to the world around me.
  
   I finally settled on a mystery I didn't think looked even the least bit intriguing. Perfect. I hopped back down the steps and lowered myself into the corner of the sectional with my book. I opened it very nonchalantly and skimmed over the first few lines. I was barely through the second chapter when I heard the words that I had been waiting on. "Mark, you should come with me and Jasper to the pack house," It was Jasper's father who spoke. "I intend to address the pack about the issue and how we can possibly handle it." I waited very patiently until all three of them were out of the house. When they were, I peered out the window on the front door and watched them drive away. Looking around in every possible direction, I opened the door soundlessly and stepped outside. Closing it with just as much stealth, I began my journey to save my sister.
  
   I walked down the road, which was more of a driveway at this point. It was not nearly so fast going on foot as by car. Aggravated by the lack of speed, I started running. I got to the main road much quicker this way. Thankful for the tree's that bordered the road, I walked in the direction I thought would take me to the restaurant. After dodging into the woods several times when I would see cars coming, I eventually just decided to walk in the woods. I was still right next to the road, but safely out of sight of passing vehicles.
  
   I didn't realize how long I had been walking for until my phone rang and I saw the time was just past twelve o'clock. It was Jasper. I let it ring and ring, debating on whether to answer it or not. My debating time was cut short when the ringer stopped. He did leave a message though: "Cadence, it's Jasper. Please tell me they didn't take you too, please I can't lose you. Call me back, please call back. I love you, Cadence. I'm coming to get you." I stopped in my tracks, stood stunned. He loved me? Just that word, the way he had said it, made me want to go running back into his arms. But I pushed that cowardly notion away. Right now, there was someone far more important than a guy who said he loved me. Someone who needed me more than Jasper wanted me. I kept walking, not bothering to open or answer the texts he was now sending. As bad as I felt for worrying him like this, I felt worse for Bel, and she was my main concern.
  
   I considered turning off my phone, so if he tried to call again it would go straight to the answering machine just like Bel's had done. It might make it seem more probable that I had been taken rather than took off. I decided against it though, because that wasn't as important as answering a call from Bel on the off chance one came. All I could do was hope, as I walked down the road, waiting for my own kidnapping to ensue.
  
   After about a million more minutes walking and calls from Jasper, I found myself standing across from the restaurant. I would have gone in to get a bite for my begging stomach, but I didn't have a cent on me. Instead, I continued the way Jasper and Maddox had taken Bel and I to the lake. It was almost sunset when I got to the dock. I would only wait here patiently, surrounded by wolf, or otherwise werewolf, infested territory.
  
   What would happen to me? Was this all a bad idea? Should I call Jasper to come get me? No, he would kill me if he found out I had run away, he had told me so in one of the many messages he had left. I would have to stay strong, for Bel. I had been doing it all my life. She didn't know how many times I had covered for her, protected her from things she never knew had threatened her. I hadn't done it this time, and now she was in a worse place than I could even imagine. Who even knew what she going through right now? I would make up for having failed her as a big sister, even if it had only been once. Perhaps I had even been too protective of her, maybe if I hadn't been she would have been able to save herself from being taken- however they had taken her. No matter what, it was still my fault and something I would pay for.
  
   I watched the sun fall lower, the moon rising higher as it went. I was timid, scared as I awaited my fate. I heard footsteps in the woods behind me. Just in case it was Jasper, I hid inside a covered boat tethered to the dock. I watched silently as a man stepped out of the woods. He had something on his arm that I guessed was one of the wolfsbane sprayers Mark had spoken of.
  
   The man walked nonchalantly through the clearing, and suddenly stopped to sniff the air like a dog- or a werewolf to be exact. He started coming towards me. Before he got to the boat, I stood up, trying to look menacing. He snorted at the gesture. "You must be the little alpha's girl. I can smell him all over you," he sneered. "I wonder how that works, wolves with humans." Oh, and he couldn't have set it up more perfectly for me.
   "I'm only part human," I lied flawlessly. His eyebrows shot up, but he wasn't quite convinced. "I'm half werewolf." He turned his head over, trying to decide if I was being honest or not. "The other girl never said anything like that," he mentioned. My blood started to boil. He knew where my sister was. "That's because she's more tame than I am," I sneered, fighting to keep my head.
  
   He looked me over several times. "You're coming with me," he stated like it was a fact. He grabbed my arm and threw me out of the boat. It hurt, so I knew Jasper would feel it too. I got up, fighting back, but not nearly to the best of my ability. It was incredibly degrading, but I knew it would be worth it to see Bel again. Even if I couldn't rescue her, I could at least be with her. She didn't deserve to be alone no matter what happened.
  
   Allowing the man to lead me into the woods, I paid close attention to where we went. I needed to know what way to go to escape. He took me deeper until I thought we were about even with where the restaurant would be. That would mean a straight run through the forest, across the road and into the restaurant. It occurred to me at this point that the people in there could be werewolves too, but if they were, they appeared to be on Jasper's side. I recalled how the waiter had never stepped in when Mark defended me that evening.
  
   I found my plan to run straight across to the restaurant to be unrealistic. He had only stopped for a second to sniff the air. I wondered what he had smelled, but it didn't seem to matter. He led me deeper into the woods, we must have walked for two or three hours- maybe four before we came into view of a little shack. Outside the shack were dozens of men, all wearing the same sprayers on their arms. I caught a glimpse of a barrel some of them were using to fill them. I didn't have to read it to know it was wolfsbane. I shuddered.
  
   I could see through the grimy window of the shack nothing besides a set of steps going down, dimly lit by medieval looking torchlight. He drug me down the stairs, I almost fell more than once because of how poorly maintained they were. There were holes in them, they creaked and turned under my weight. A good half of them were tilted almost straight down or so far to the side you had to skip them. Most of them were broken in some way or another.
  
   "Derek!" the man shouted into the vast underground base. Oh, I was about to meet Derek. The very man responsible for me being here. I expected to see pure evil dancing in his eyes, but when the great wolf stalked over to us, there was something...familiar, warm in his big brown eyes. He was bigger than Jasper, but not by too much. He had a brown coat, just barely darker than his eyes. He motioned for the man to leave before leading me further into the base. I noticed how he wasn't rough like the other guy had been. He just walked and expected me to walk next to him. I wondered if he had been so nice to Bel?
  
   Bel.
  
   "Cadence?" it was tear filled scream of a whisper. I nodded at her, Derek never looked back at me. As we neared her, I found she was in a cage like enclosure. It appeared to be a decent kind of place. A bed complete with sheets, a blanket and a pillow. Next to it was a small table on which there was a tray of untouched food. I wondered if she refused to eat her food because she already felt full of what Maddox had eaten, or if she was never going to eat anyway. I could see Bel being convinced her food was poisoned or just trying to be defiant regardless. Either way, I was proud of her for not eating.
   A guard with a sprayer stood at the door to the cage, ready to open it for me I supposed. Seeing the sprayer, I got an idea. I winked at Bel, hopefully sending her the message that I had a trick up my sleeve. Just as the guard opened the door, I grabbed the mans arm and sprayed Derek. By now, the guard was alert and tried to come at me, but Bel had already jumped on his back and was choking him out. I took this opportunity to spray him as well. As he stumbled to the ground, I took Bel's hand and turned around with her. When I did, I saw Derek had changed back to human form and I realized why his eyes had looked so familiar.
  
   They looked exactly like my father's. "Dad?"