Chapter 82 –
Cara's POV
Tuesday Afternoon
I can feel something is wrong. I feel it deep inside my gut. I mentioned it to both Alexei and my mother last night when it started. My mother could sense something was off, too, but she couldn't foresee it either. Just an ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen. Mom thinks that it could be a warning that Jana is about to return to harm me, so we are both keeping our guard up. "If you're reading this on any site other than Job, this content has been stolen! Real fans know the latest updates and exclusive insights are always on Job@88-888. Support original creators and visit the source."Our attention is now split, as I am watching out for Jana while Mom is watching out for Adra. Instead of holing up in her cottage. Adra is all over the place these days. Suddenly showing up and trying to see if Robert could
come to her cottage to 'help' her with something.
The request for Robert to come stays the same; she needs him to come to the cottage to help her. The only thing that changes is the reason for her requests. She needs her lightbulbs changed out. She needed him to make sure that the latch on her door worked properly. Now, she wanted him to help her clean the woodstove she cooks on. On and on she goes, and the reasons are getting more and more ridiculous. He has never been her handyman. She has always done what she is asking him to do for all these years. So it was making all of us suspicious. Mom is convinced that Adra was trying to place a spell on Robert. But Robert doesn't think that Adra would go so far as to do something like that. He believed that she was just upset that her crush had found his mate. He does not see things clearly, as Adra is not going to stop, even I knew that. He should be able to see the red flag of her being holed up for over three years, but now she's popping up all over the pack.
It has caused some trouble for them and Mom. They still love each other very much, but my mother is frustrated with him. It is clear that Robert cannot see what is so obvious to us. Alexei could see it, took Robert aside, and mentioned that he thought Adra was up to something. Alexei tried to be slick about it, but I knew what he was doing. I appreciated that he was trying to help my mother out, but I knew why it hurt her so much. Dady devalued her to the point where her opinion never mattered. I am worried because their relationship is in much more dangerous waters than Robert suspects. I know that my mother put a protection spell on him. But she told me that with a strong enough spell, it might not be able to protect him.
I knew that my mother was not just trying to protect him but their relationship from being torn apart. It was causing issues in the home, as Robert couldn't tell how close the danger actually was. He was still thinking of Adra as how she had portrayed herself. Adra acted like a sweet and innocent woman when he had delivered to her for the last several years. He honestly didn't think that Adra would be jealous enough to want to hurt both him and my mother. I wanted to warn him that a jealous person would do it just to tear them apart. I would have, but my mother told me to leave it alone.
It was tearing her up inside for Robert to do this to her. She trusted him enough to finally drop the walls that she had put up to protect her heart. She let him in, and I will not let Adra go if she hurts my mother. I haven't even got her back in my life for two weeks, and now I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. It is just Mom and I in the training area this afternoon. Brenna and Jaxon had gone to the city to pick out a baby bed despite her only being 2 weeks pregnant. It was a spur-of-a-moment trip. They were super excited about it, and their happiness about the baby was apparent. Chase had mindlinked Robert, telling him that Adra was hysterical and refused to calm down. He knew that Adra had a close bond with Robert and asked him to meet him there. Mom didn't want him to go, but Robert assured her that everything would be fine. Mom didn't argue with him. He insisted that she had branded Adra as a stalker and was too paranoid about the whole thing. Mom knew that Adra had spelled him. That was how she showed up everywhere they went. Robert honestly thought that Adra had no reason to pursue him. He was marked and mated. As far as he was concerned, he wanted no one except my mother.
My mother was unfocused and worried tonight. We had been there for an hour but hadn't gotten much done. It didn't make sense for us to stay as Mom couldn't concentrate on what she wanted to teach me tonight. Alexei had been at the coven all day trying to get all his paperwork caught up. We had been home for about fifteen minutes when she felt a pain on her lips and her chest. She had sobbed into her hands before telling me what she felt. Adra was touching her mate, and it hurt my mother. They were fully marked, and I wanted to cry for the pain that my mother was in.
She stood up shakily from the couch and said, "I can't deal with this right now, Cara. I am so sorry to leave you alone like this, but you are safe inside our house. I warned him, but he didn't believe me. He didn't have enough trust in me to heed my warning. I don't want to hear the excuses he will have when he gets here. He may not leave her, though, as the pain is now getting worse. I just need some time to myself. Just use the necklace I gave you to call me back if needed. I would rather suffer alone."
I wanted to hug her, but I could see her hurting, which made me furious. I had heard about how painful this was before. I had lived in a wolf pack my whole life. I knew that if a mate cheats, the other one feels it. I could only pray to the Goddess that things stop now. If he goes any further, my mother might reject him. If she does, I am going with my mother, so if we move into the coven next door, I will have to insist that Robert no longer has access to enter the coven.
I knew just how bad this would be between the coven and Black Adder. It would cause issues between Jaxon and Alexei, and between Alexei and his brother Anton. Anton is Robert's stepfather. I needed to know what the hell was going on, so I picked up my phone and called Sasha. "Hey, do you know what's happening at Adra's house? Chase and Robert were going there, but something's going on." I was careful about what I said to her. I didn't want everyone to know what the problem was, just that there was one.
"Yeah, someone set fire to the shipment of wood for the new packland that got delivered yesterday. Chase is in charge since Jaxon isn't here and he had to go and deal with that. I haven't heard of anything else happening. Do you need my help?" Sasha asked.
"Yes, meet me at Adra's cottage. She has done something to Robert. I have to stop her before it goes too far," I told her. I was going now, as it might take me a minute to enter the cottage. It was spelled just like our home was. The only thing I knew was that Mom and I were stronger witches than Adra was. I hadn't been trained on how to get around it, but I would figure it out. I wasn't going to let this bitch take the love of my mother's life away from her. Mom had been through enough. If I don't stop Adra, both Robert and my mother will never be able to get past this.
I teleported to Adras Cottage. I didn't care about Jana. I only care about getting Robert out of there. I tried to push forward into it, but the door didn't open. I knew for a fact that Adra was going to sleep with Robert if I didn't stop her. The door was locked, and I needed to do something bold.
I texted Brenna, "Ask Jaxon if he will forgive me if I rip the cottage Adra lives in apart?"
She replied in less than a minute. "I authorize you to do whatever is needed, Cara," she texted back.
I heard Sasha and Chase running behind me, but I couldn't focus on them or what they said. I would do anything to help my mother, and I am about to blow this house down. I closed my eyes and channeled all the power I could. I needed to push everything in front of me behind where the cottage was now sitting. I drowned out everything as I concentrated on pushing the cottage over, off of its foundation, and getting to Robert. I opened my eyes to see the cottage twenty feet away, now lying on its side. The foundation was there, as were the contents of her home. I was not trying to hurt anyone yet. Adra was straddling Robert, who was lying across her bed. Thankfully, he still had his pants on. She was grinding on him, and he was calling her Saoirse.
I saw red. I have never been this angry before, but Adra is about to be dealt with. I lifted her up off of him and held her in the air with one hand while creating a steel cell for her with my other. There was no way out of it, and I ensured that it bound her powers while she was in it. It was obvious that Robert was not himself. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. I saw the tea cups on the table and knew that my mother had been right, Robert had been drugged. Adra wasn't strong enough to have done this. Once I find out who helped her, I will deal with them, too. I needed my mother to come back. I needed her help with this, and she needed to see that Robert hadn't knowingly betrayed her. He may have gone when she asked him not to go, but that is a discussion for another day. I gripped my necklace and summoned her back. I needed her to check and see what we needed to do to help Robert. Mom wasn't happy when she returned, but seeing Adra's cottage blown over and Adra in a cage perked her up.
"Did you do this, Cara?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I did, but Robert needs your help. Adra drugged him, and he was calling your name out when I knocked her cottage over. I had to do it. Adra had locked us all out, ith Robert inside. He is drugged, and I don't know what is wrong with him, but I was worried. He is not himself, and I didn't want him to have lasting effects from tonight. She hadn't gone too far by the time I arrived. I want to know who helped her," I replied to my mother with barely concealed frustration."Don't worry, Cara. We will definitely find out. I want to know too," my mother replied with blazing anger in her eyes.