Can’t catch a Break

Cayden is Twenty-Six Years Old

Cayden kissed Cassie’s forehead before he left the house for a meeting, even though she was still sleeping. Something was going on with her, and I knew it. I was going to figure out what it was. Right now, I had to get to my office.

Micah, my dad and I were going to review footage of Black Path’s attack today. Micah had put a few cameras up hoping we could get footage of something questionable happening. We needed something tangible that proved they were bad.

In truth, I wanted to figure out what area they always took Ashley to. She let them lead her somewhere off camera, but I couldn’t see where. Micah said he’d visited Ashley after we’d seen that, and she’d been a little slower than normal. I suspected she was letting them hurt her, but I couldn’t figure out why. Nor could I prove it.

I nodded to Hendrix before I walked into my office. My dad smiled when I sat down. He boasted, “So I finally get to see what your source looks like.”

I replied, “You know her name and could’ve looked her up. I asked you here because we need another set of eyes. Maybe you’ll see something we don't. I need proof.”

My dad said, “From what you said, they already got hit with a huge fine from the council for their leadership hiding in their office. What else do you expect to see?”

I explained, “Proof. I can feel it in my bones they punish her by beating her.”

My dad argued, “You can’t do anything if she doesn’t talk to you.”

I looked away saying, “I’m the Commander of the Hackura Army. The Protector of the Realms’ Commander, and I can’t help this girl. This girl who has helped us countless times for practically nothing. She has saved so many lives and she won’t take payments from us. She has been one of the best sources in our history, and I can’t help her.”

My dad frowned, “Sometimes you can’t help people until they ask for it.”

I yelled, “Fuck that bullshit! I’m a goddamn Protector of the Realms! She’s one girl. A special girl even, with answers. She’s THE key and I know it. I just need the right damn key to turn in the lock with her. She’ll talk to me when I have proof. I just need to have something.”

My dad reasoned, “I’ve told you son, as has your uncle, you do not need proof.”

I sat down, “I do actually. I feel very protective of her and have from the moment I saw her. I need to do this right. I know that one day that trust I have with her will be worth more than just getting information out of her now. I already think she’s being beaten. She takes it on the chin and says nothing about it. I just don’t know or understand why.”

My dad nodded, “You’re trusting your instincts and that’s what I taught you to do.”

Micah walked in, opened his computer, and projected onto the wall in my office without a word. The scene came to life before our eyes. My dad spoke first, “I assume Ashley is the one who hasn’t shifted.”

Micah answered, “Yeah that's her. Black hair in a ponytail with red lipstick on.”

My dad chuckled, “She’s very pretty. You forgot to add she’s also strapped down with weapons.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Ashley had two handguns and several knives. She ordered her Warriors to the borders. Beta Jean Kiern got in her face, and she put him down on the ground. She ordered pups and women to safety, then threw in the hapless egotistical men who don’t let the women train because their fragile egos couldn’t handle their partners being better than them.

My dad laughed until a few men literally hung their heads and walked away. Including the pack leadership minus their Male and Female Lead Warriors. What a disgrace for their Alpha, Beta, and Gamma families.

Micah snorted, “Other than the ranked wolves, those were all members that are Warriors under Buck.”

I said, “Unlike Ashley, he follows his Alpha’s orders that his practices aren’t mandatory. He’s a head down survival type of guy if I’ve ever met one.”

My dad said, “I see why you like her son. She’s got moxie. You need to get her to accept your offer to come here. She’d be popular.”

Micah nudged him with an elbow saying, “She’s only got eyes for this guy back home, and possibly Alexander. She thinks my brother in law is a god. Alexander’s word is as good as gold to Ashley.”

I muttered, “He’s my brother in law too.”

They both laughed.

My dad nodded his head, “There’s your leverage then. Alexander comes here often. If she likes him, at the very least he could train her.”

It was an idea Ashley might hyperventilate over. Micah snorted, “It might kill her to train with him. He’s that much of a god to her.”

My dad laughed, but Micah was dead serious.

We watched the fight and I had to admit her Warriors were good. My dad commented, “Damn. They are far better trained than I expected. Especially since their trainer is a woman raised in a Missouri pack that doesn’t train pups or women.”

Someone trained her in secret from the time she started walking in that pack. I just couldn’t find out who it was within her home pack. Buck was actually a better fighter than I’d anticipated he’d be.

Micah bragged, “Told you so. She implemented all the training tips Alexander has put out there.”

I agreed, “Her Warriors are good.”

They held everyone off. Ashley fought with the future Alpha Caine Edwards, the future Beta Dax Kiern, Sierra Kiern, and Addison Davis. Her Warriors were behind her.

When another wave of wolves came over the ridge, Ashley led the attack. I couldn’t help but smile. My dad said, “Are you sure she’s not one of us? She’s good and I would believe you if you said she had Hackura blood in her pinky toe.”

I replied, “She is good, but sadly she’s all wolf blood.”

My dad snorted, “She’s the fastest Werewolf only blood, I’ve ever seen. I’m counting the Hood/Wolf partials in that too. She might be faster than Alpha Emmett and that’s no small feat.”

Micah gasped, “Oh shit.”

I frowned and followed his eyes and nearly stood to my feet. Mason was hurt, but Ashley hadn't seen it yet because she was fighting. If this was live, I’d have gone to help them. I winced when I heard Hendrick howl in agony. Ashley whirled around, her eyes wide with a fear I did not understand.

Her eyes found Mason and she took off running. My dad whistled, “Damn. I know I said it before, but she’s fast.”

I asked, “What was that? That flash in her eyes? She knew the howl was that of a lost mate, but she didn’t lose hers.”

Micah said, “She was there when her family died.”

That was true. She knew true sorrow and loss.

I watched her shoot wolves as she ran. She picked Mason up, seemingly surprised Buck had moved to cover him. It was a brief flash before she was running to the pack hospital. She found a doctor who seemed to be looking around for something.

Ashley grabbed him and whatever she said spurred him to action. I groaned, “Of course the fight was too loud to hear what she said.”

Micah said, “I bet it was a doozy.”

Probably. A wolf went to swipe at Mason as he was put on a stretcher. My dad scoffed, “That’s low. You don’t target the hospital.”

Ashley shielded him, and in doing so got a scratch across her back and shoulder from the wolf’s claws. The doctor took Mason inside. I could see that people were starting to work on him. Ashley killed the wolf who’d clawed her.

I gaped at the screen when she turned around. Micah said, “Well fuck.”

The wolf’s claws had ripped through her shirt revealing the top of some scars on her back. She’d been whipped based on what I could see, and if they were up that high, they were definitely on her lower back too.

My eyes were blazing. I yelled, “FUCKING ASSHOLES!”

Someone got Ashley’s attention and threw her a bulletproof vest. She put it on and ran back out in the action. Shots started ringing out. I frowned asking, “Nashville packs shoot at each other?”

Micah muttered, “That’s weird.”

Ashley dove and pushed Caine’s wolf out of the way, taking a bullet in her vest. She gasped for air and Caine shifted back quickly checking her over for injury. I breathed a sigh of relief even though I knew she was fine, when Caine announced, “It didn’t go through. You’re crazy. I’d have been fine.”

He helped Ashley to her feet. My dad eyed me out of the corner of my eye, and I knew he was concerned from my feelings in the bond.

He said, “You feel about her like you do your siblings.”

I admitted, “I do.”

We focused back on the tape. Ashley snorted, “That’s a very strange way to say thanks, Caine.”

He winked at her and shifted back into his wolf. Ashley returned fire and soon the shots on the enemy side stopped. They began to retreat.

Ashley yelled, “I’m sorry, WHAT?!”

Buck said, “They retreated, it’s over.”

His facial expression told me he didn’t actually believe that. Ashley ignored him yelling at the retreating pack, “You think you get to hurt someone in my family and retreat? I DON'T THINK SO! Do… they… are they serious? No one thinks that… Right? That’s NOT A THING!”

I didn’t think that.

Ashley, Sierra, Addison, Caine, Dax, and a small group of Ashley’s Warriors pursued them. We watched until they disappeared out of frame. I snorted, “Well, we know they won when they pursued them.”Buck sighed and ordered people on clean up before stationing himself and a few others on the border to watch for Ashley’s groups return.

My dad commented, “Other than the scars on her back, the origin of which you can’t prove, I saw a damn impressive fighter. Hell, a leader. I believe you about whatever type of trust you have with her will pay off one day. You know I researched wolves a lot once I knew Veronica wanted Haley and Eric together. I had a lot of research done on them when we found out they were fated mates.”

I laughed, “I have all your files, so I do know that.”

He nodded, “So, I can tell you physically it would hurt that girl to act like the Alpha she does.”

Micah asked, “Huh?”

It hit me like a brick, and I closed my eyes. I’d read that in his research, but it never clicked.

My dad explained, “A wolf of any type of blood has to fight an inclination to go against any Alpha. It’s easier if it’s not their Alpha, but it’s still very hard. Their response should be to seek out another Alpha blood. The exception is someone of Alpha blood, but from both your reports Ashley doesn’t have that. She’s lucky she doesn’t have Beta blood because it would be hardest for a Beta or an Omega.”

Micah questioned, “Why?”

I answered, “Because Beta’s are meant to be the side of their Alpha that’s always there for them. They advise them, but it’s literally in their DNA to follow an Alpha. Omega’s are meant to be protected by higher ranks. It would be hard for Gamma’s, Warriors and so on, down the line, but their strengths lie in training. It would be easier for them to take over on the battlefield like she did.”

I pointed out, “She’s a Warrior’s daughter.”

My dad chuckled, “Yes, but that was her father. I believe the digging you did said her mother was an Omega. Who somehow became a Warrior in Missouri. All that makes her even more impressive. She didn’t back down to the pack doctor and your reports say he has some Alpha blood. It has to hurt her on an emotional and physical level.”It was odd, all our research returned Ashley’s mom was a Warrior, then one day it was listed Omega.

He paused, “Especially now that she’s in the pack leadership. Prior to joining the ranked bloods, it would hurt and betray her senses they allowed these things you suspect to have happened. I’ll say it if she won’t, she was whipped. That’s a betrayal of epic proportions. Eric has never whipped someone who didn’t betray his pack, and they were sentenced to death shortly after it.”

I was looking at everything through a new lens with his reminders from his research. I said, “It makes her attitude sometimes make so much sense. She’s not just dealing with the trauma of her family dying. Her wolf blood literally feels like she’s in chaos twenty-four seven because she’s actively being the pack’s Alpha, practically.”

My dad nodded, “Something no Beta blood can do, which she’s not. Yet she is without the title and no wolf. She’s even being challenged by other packs. I’m going to assume it’s common knowledge down there that the pack leadership will hide. I’m surprised Buck didn’t, given he seems to be a go with the flow and survive type. He would be an interesting man for Haley to observe and give a profile on.”

I wasn’t going to have her to that. He continued, “So, they aren’t challenging Black Path’s Leadership rank, they are challenging Ashley herself because she’s wolf less.”

He stared up at the ceiling then added, “What you need to do is see if you can get a bead on if the Black Path Leadership set this all up.”

Micah gasped, “What?”

My dad shrugged, “I think they want to be rid of Ashley based on what you’ve said. Their own blood would revolt over the things she says and does to them. Not their wolves, they probably agree and hate their humans for hiding. Maybe your proof can be they are setting up their own pack to be attacked by other packs because they want their Lead Female Warrior to die, and they don’t care about the carnage or other lives lost in the process.”

Before I could answer I felt Cassie fighting. I frowned asking, “Micah, how does Max feel in your bond?”

Micah answered, “Umm fine. Why?”

I replied, “Because Cassie is fighting someone, and she’s not here.”

I opened my door shouting, “Hendrix, did you see Cassie?”

He nodded, “Yeah, she stopped by a while ago. She said she’d see you later.”

I ordered, “Micah, track her phone.”

Then I went down in pain. My dad yelled, “CAYDEN!”

I knew Cassie had been hit with iron based on the type of pain she felt. I pulled as much of her pain to me as I could. Someone in her family was doing the same thing because the pain was lessening. I ordered, “Get people to the Conners pack. NOW!”

I couldn’t stand to do it myself right now. I just kept pulling her pain away from her. She needed to stand and fight. I ground out, “MICAH, WHERE IS SHE?!”

Micah linked me, “Her phone is off.”

She was in the fucking field?! Why the FUCK didn’t I know that?! Out loud he said, “I don’t have her location yet.”

I looked at my dad because he’d know from my feelings Cassie was in the field. He quietly said, “I have no idea where she is.”

I told my dad with my eyes I needed him to take charge right now. I felt Cassie slowing down. Panic filled me. I screamed, “NO! KEEP GOING!”

The gym somehow became even more tense.

I pulled bits of pain from my mate that I could. She had to keep fighting until I could find her. She was my mate and my wife. Hell, she was my whole damn world. She had to keep fighting until I could get there to her side.

Silas announced, “Cassie’s not in the Conners territory.”

I had figured that out. I felt her continue to fight. I felt like I might pass out or throw up. Whatever they’d hit her with was rough. I screamed in rage when I felt Cassie’s pain hit me again.

I shouted, “Someone cut her. Someone is going to die.”

Hendrix squeezed my shoulder saying, “She’ll make it through this, man. She’s our fiery redhead. Just keep pulling her pain. We are going to find her.”

My dad shouted, “MICAH!”

Micah shot back, “I’m trying! Her goddamn phone is off. So are Aunt Astrid, Aunt Torvi, and Milana’s.”

Hendrix groaned, “MOTHER FUCKER!”

He told my dad, “She’s not in pain…”

Then he went down beside me.

I felt Cassie’s shock then static. I jumped up screaming, “NO!”

I began to pace. One of my men got in my way. I grabbed him by the collar, “WHERE IS SHE?!”

He looked panicked but didn’t answer me. My dad put his hand on my shoulder, “Cayden, he doesn’t know.”

My phone started ringing so I ran into my office where I’d left it. A burner that Cassie had used in the past was calling me. I answered, “Cass?”

I heard someone breathing. I ordered, “CASSIE VERONICA SHAYLA CRAWFORD, TALK TO ME DAMMIT!”

I registered the sound of footsteps in my brain. It sounded like someone was running away.

I called, “MICAH I SWEAR TO GOD YOU BETTER HAVE HER LOCATION NOW!”

He was on the phone. He declared, “I got it! She’s in Louisiana! Just give me another second for the exact coordinates.”

I heard rustling on the other end.