Chapter 83 –
Saoirse's POV Tuesday Night
I left because I didn't want to deal with the pain of being betrayed again. I thought that Robert's love for me would pass the test of time. I quickly realized that it didn't matter if I wanted to feel the pain or not. The bond that Robert and I shared was intense-much stronger than anything I had ever felt for James.
In fact, it hurt worse this time around because we were both bound together. Before, I was the only one marked. James had flatly refused to allow me to mark him. So the bond that Robert and I share, made what I felt for James weak in comparison. I know that the bulk of the pain I felt had stemmed from Cara being ripped away from me. What was happening now let me know that if Robert went too far, I might never recover from it.
I really tried to keep Cara from knowing what was going on until I couldn't hide the pain I was in any longer. I shouldn't have just left like I did, but my knee-jerk reaction was to run away from the pain I was in. I wanted to be by myself in case it overwhelmed me. I didn't want anyone to know that my mate had willingly cheated on me. I should have confronted both of them and then left.
I was in my former coven. Sitting in my home, alone and in pain. Not just a physical pain from what was happening. But an emotional pain that was so severe that it was bringing me to my knees. Being here was of no help to me. I may have wanted to escape the pain, but I knew I couldn't. It kept crashing down on me like a tidal wave. Pushing me under and refusing to let me up to breathe. I don't know how long I lay there on the floor in agony. Unable to free myself of the pain before I was summoned back. I knew Cara needed me, so I went, even though I didn't want to.
I was stunned to arrive and see that Cara had literally overturned Adra's cottage in order to get to Robert. His shirt was off, but thankfully, he was still half dressed. I was stunned at how much power Cara had used to knock the whole place over. Cara had also locked Adra into a cage until she could get around to her.
Adra was screaming her head off to be released, but everyone ignored her. She could obviously breathe just fine in it, as she was still shrieking out that Robert wanted to be with her, not me. The fact that she couldn't get out of the cage was causing her to panic. I wonder if Cara knew to spell it to keep Adra in it or if that was just a coincidence. I have to believe it had been intentional on her part.
I was so proud of how naturally talented my daughter was. It took some witches years to be as good as Cara was at this moment. She listens to instructions and does as I ask when I train her. Cara already understands that the power is already inside her because of our lineage. She did this without instruction, and no one got hurt. The immense pride that I feel for her is overpowering. Cara has learned the most important lesson there is to know about our kind. She trusts her powers. That is something even seasoned witches don't always get. I knew that she would surpass me. I just didn't expect it this quickly.
I knew that Adra had given Robert a glamor spell. The spell was much stronger than Adra could have concocted on her own. Cara was smart enough to know that and had called in reinforcements. Chase and Sasha were here, and they were upset. I had thought that Chase was supposed to be here anyway, but that was clearly not the case. I can see that Adra had help-not just from another witch but from someone here in the pack.
I saw Cara had it all in hand and I walked forward to go check on Robert. He was not himself and was crying out for me. I wanted to kill that bitch for what she did to him, but I can wait. I want to make sure that I deal with all of the weeds, not just one of them. I spoke soothingly to Robert to calm him. Even in his drugged state, he knew I was here. I walked over to the table and stuck the tip of my pinky finger into the now-cold tea. I got my answer when I tasted it and turned around to look at Adra. She has now clammed up and turned her back to me. Adra has gone too far, and I will deal with her, no matter what Jaxon says. That bitch dared to try to rape my mate, and I won't allow her to get away with it. That jealous bitch had covered all of her bases. It wasn't just a glamor spell to make Robert think that Adra was me. Oh no, they had also added a love spell to it, a strong one. They did the backup to keep Robert from realizing that it was Adra and not me. I fell into her trap, too, because I left instead of staying to fight for my man. I was angry at Adra. I was even angrier at myself for leaving him behind to be sexually assaulted by this crazy witch.
I was glad that we had witnesses now, as I was going to ask for the stiffest penalty I could for what she had done. I called Cheryl and asked her to meet me at my home. Our homes were pretty close to each other, but I could get there instantly. I needed Robert to be safe so I could deal with this. I told Cara that I would be right back and teleported us home, putting Robert in our bed. I had just covered him up when I heard the knock on my door. Cheryl got here quickly.
"Cheryl, I will be back soon, but please keep an eye on Robert. Our bedroom is at the top of the stairs on the left-hand side. He has been drugged by Adra and is not in his right mind. Please make sure he gets lots of fluids in him so we can get the drugs out of his system. I will be back as soon as possible," I advised her.
"I never liked her. I knew she had a thing for my son but hated me and Anton. If you need any help in dealing with her, let me know. I would be glad to help," Cheryl told me as she went to my fridge to get Robert something to drink. I was glad for the offer of help. No one would bat an eye if she ended Adra. That may be a great idea once we know who all the payers were. I teleported back to Adra's cottage to speak to Chase.
When I returned, I saw Brenna and Jaxon were there now. Chase and Sasha had them both to the side, advising them of what happened. Cara glared at Adra, who acted like this was all a misunderstanding. Back to her innocent act, but it won't work anymore. I walked up to Cara and brushed a hair out of her face. I asked if I could look at her memories. Once she agreed, I looked into her mind. Seeing that bitch, Adra, dry-humping my mate made me want to tear her apart. But I needed to have all the pieces to speak to Jaxon and then show him what happened. I walked over to them and offered to let them see what Cara had seen. Once they agreed, I held their hands in mine and sent the images their way. It plays out like a movie inside your head. But unfortunately, I had included what I had felt at the start of it. I felt Brenna's hand tighten on mine as I knew they both felt my pain and anguish at what Adra had done. They wanted to support me, but I only needed Adra, and who she colluded with, to be punished. I didn't intentionally include it. I am still off my game right now. It was embarrassing to me, and I honestly didn't want anyone else to have seen or felt what I went through.
When I returned to the pack, I had enough time to observe how things looked. Brenna was so proud of her sister for saving Robert. Alexei had just arrived about a minute after I did, and he, Chase, and Jaxon were in a deep discussion together now. I walked over as I would add my input to this discussion.
"I had to leave Robert behind with Adra. The new delivery of wood for the new packland had deliberately been set on fire," Chase told them.
"So you were with Adra when the fire happened? We are going to have to investigate this. She clearly had a partner to be able to get this done," Alexei stated.
"I agree. We need to interview her and get to the bottom of this. I don't like not knowing. I had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning. I guess this was why," Jaxon responded. "Someone helped Adra by distracting Chase. We need to interview her to find out who it was," I announced. They all nodded in agreement.
"We won't be able to find the time to interview Adra until the day after tomorrow. It's after seven pm now, and I don't want the pack up in arms worried about who Adra is in collusion with, and I don't want to alert them we know. I want everyone focused on the Luna ceremony. Thursday morning, we will interview her. Saoirse, I would like you to come with us to speak to her. If you can bind her powers for us, that would be good. It should give Adra enough time to realize that she is in serious trouble and turn on her accomplice," Jaxon stated. "I could do it tonight?" I offered.
"No, Brenna and I are having dinner together tonight in our room. She was so excited about the candlelight dinner. I don't want to disappoint her. I know that Mom is serious about how her plans are carried out. I want this to be perfect for Brenna. Adra isn't going anywhere. We will deal with Adra first thing Thursday morning. We must leave here by five in the afternoon to get there early for Luna's ceremony at Black Moon. I am sure that we will get our answers Thursday morning. We will have them both in custody at that time," Jaxon replied. "Do you think it is wise to wait? Cara and I had a bad feeling when I woke up this morning," I asked.
“I had a bad feeling, too, but I hope it was over what happened today. We will deal with Adra. We allowed her to stay here. The Werewolf Council will not step in to stop us no matter what we decide to do. Adra is a witch and freely lives here. She is held under the same laws as the rest of the pack. You can thank my mother for how strict our laws are about going after someone else, mate," Jaxon answered.
I had a sneaking suspicion that today's event wasn't the reason for the bad feeling we felt. Jaxon is right. Adra will still be here, and we will hash all this out on Thursday morning.