Amanda sat quietly for a moment as she watched Tabitha try to calm herself down. Tabitha let out a heavy sigh, before looking up at Amanda and giving her a small smile.
“Guys can be frustrating, but guys that are shifter wolves can be even more frustrating. And sometimes it’s not even the wolf’s fault about them being temperamental about things,” Tabitha explained.
“So, what happened today?” she asked Tabitha as she lifted her drink and took a small sip.
“One of the pack members got into a brawl with another wolf from another pack. Hudson and Marco came upon them fighting and then challenged the other Alpha to a fight.”
Amanda’s eyes widened when she heard this. She was hurt that he didn’t tell her what was going on.
“When was that?” she asked.
Tabitha looked down at her plate of sweet treats that she had ordered. All of a sudden she didn’t seem so hungry for them. She didn’t like to be the one to fill Amanda in on this stuff. This is what Hudson was supposed to be doing: communicating with his mate.
“It was later in the day around three or so,” she admitted.
Amanda nodded.
It was not long after that he texted her that everything was fine. He just didn’t want to tell her about the fight that was about to happen. But why?
“So, who was all there?”
Tabitha grabbed her cup and was about to take a sip, but answered before she did, “Most of the pack that’s here.”
Amanda let out a sigh. “I see.”
So, most of the pack was allowed to be there to support him in protecting the group, but she wasn’t.
“Amanda, as Alpha of the pack he sometimes reacts before he really about what he is doing,” Tabitha tried to explain.
Amanda put her hand up to stop Tabitha from saying anything further. “You don’t have to try and defend him. Technically I’m not a member of the pack. We haven’t sealed the bond,” she said as she picked at the table.
“Amanda, that doesn’t matter. You know the pack loves you. Hudson’s parents adore you. Not being initiated into the pack is just a technicality at this point. We all see you as one of us.”
“Then why wouldn’t he ask me to be there?”
Tabitha shrugged. “Maybe he thought that you would try to stop him from fighting. Sometimes the Alpha has to fight to protect his won. Would you have tried to stop him, had you known about it?” Tabitha asked.
That was an excellent question.
Amanda didn’t like to see people fight, when everything went down with the Lycan King, in a way she was relieved that her wolf took over and she couldn’t remember what had happened. It wasn’t something she had grown up with, which was probably why she was such an easy target in high school.
She shook her head before she answered, “I don’t know, maybe?”
“You would have had Hudson second-guessing his decision and it would have made him look weak to the other Alphas. With him fighting this Alpha, it shows that he is not a weak link to the pack.”
Amanda let out a sigh. “I guess you’re right. There are still a lot of things I need to learn about the pack and being a wolf. I wish there was a class that I could take.”
Tabitha laughed. “They really should. Being mated at a young age in this day and age is a lot different than when our parents were young. There’s a lot that can happen once you seal the bond.”
Amanda looked at her with confusion. “What do you mean?”
Tabitha giggled again. “I think I might leave that discussion for either Ruby or Luna Cynthia to talk with you about. Speaking of Ruby, I wonder where she is.”
Amanda looked around the small café. It was rather odd not to see Ruby behind the counter.
She decided to pull out her phone and send a text to Ruby to see where she was and how she was doing.
****************
Ruby, Zachary, and Deak all turn to look at Madeline.
Madeline walked over to the dining room table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “It has been some time since I have practiced searching, but I may be able to help find Vita without having to involve the girl. You said it yourself that her magic is still very new to her and uncontrollable,” Madeline said.
Zachary looked at his mother with concern. It had been a long time since she had done strong magic after losing his father and brother in a witches’ war some years ago.
“Mother, are you sure?” he asked with concern.
Madeline nodded. “Amanda needs to come into her magic in her own time. Besides it feels good to be needed and useful again,” she said with a smile.
“What do you need to help connect you to my Vita?” Deak asked.
He and his wolf Malakai were getting anxious and needed to hear something about how Vita was doing.
“It will take all of you, for each of you has a connection to her in your way,” she explained.
“I will also need a few of her things, things that she may have touched recently.”
Zachary went into the kitchen and grabbed a few items from there, while Deak went and grabbed a hooded cape that he found by the door. He lifted the cape to his face and inhaled her scent. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he relished the enjoyment of taking her scent in. “My Vita,” he whispered.
Deak walked back to the dining room and handed the cape to Madeline.
“Now, everyone take a seat and join hands,” she ordered them.
Each of them pulled out a chair and took a seat at the round table. Madeline grabbed each item and started to say an incantation over each object and then placed them in front of each person.
“Now clothes your eyes and clear your minds. I need you to think about only Vita. focus on her, anything you can remember about her. Focus.”
They all closed their eyes as Madeline started to chant. The room started to shift and change as Madeline was able to astral project them to the room that Vita was being held in.
Ruby’s eyes popped open as soon as the smell of blood hit her nose. Deak had a low growl as he sat and looked at how abused his mate was. “My Vita,” he breathed out.
Vita slowly brought her head up when she heard her name but saw that no one was there.
“Look around, there has to be something here that will give us a clue where she is,” Zachary ordered.
They all started to search around, trying to find something to help them.
Deak walked closer to Vita to assess her wounds.
Vita took in a deep breath as she could sense that someone was close to her. “Deak,” she whimpered.
He gently brushed his fingers against her cheek. “I will find you, my Vita.”
Fighting for my Mate
Mated to my Bully (Book 1)