A Were Story Ch. 02

*Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it. I look forward to your reviews once again** LS.

*****

"You've got to be kidding me" Kennedy stared blankly at her sister from whose lips the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard had just escaped.

"No Kenny, think about it." Kylie whined in desperation, her golden brown eyes pleading for understanding.

"There is nothing to think about Kylie, jeez! I swear, I need to get you off of all that paranormal bullshit you've been reading recently." Kennedy replied, rolling her eyes. She sat on a close-by loveseat and returned to reading papers for any signs of a Jane Doe. Cassandra had been missing for over six months and they weren't any closer to finding her than they had been when she went missing. The police had stopped looking months ago- apparently, a twenty-one-year-old missing African-American woman's case wasn't going to get them the kind of press they needed, hence, it simply wasn't anywhere near their priority list. She and Kylie had resorted to searching for her themselves; after all, they were her only surviving family. Their mothers were twin sisters and had taught all three girls to always look out for one another, this was as good a time as any to employ that teaching.

Kylie jumped on the loveseat, unwilling to be ignored, "Listen Kenny, there's nothing to disprove these things, for all we know, Cassie may have been kidnapped by a pack of werewolves, she's probably being mated to one of them as we speak."

Kennedy arched a pair of well-defined brows at her sister, "On second thought, maybe we can tap into your new talent, why don't you write a script for the new Twilight movie?"

"Kenny..."

"Stop it Kylie! Okay? Cassie's been missing for over six months and you're giving me this shit story about imaginary werewolves that kidnap people and 'mate' with them? Is this your idea of a brainstorm?"

Kylie's bottom lip quivered as she fought back tears, she hated being screamed at, it upset her- Kennedy was upsetting her. She got off the seat defiantly, "Here I am trying to think up a way to find Cassie while all you do is brood and read those damned useless papers! No one will ever find her Kenny, it's just us and we're fucking running out of options as it is, so, if I was told she was kidnapped by a group of elves and being held hostage in the North Pole, I'd trek there freaking bare-footed and kick Santa's ass if I have to, to get Cassie back. You...you just want to give up, don't you? You just want us to stop searching and get back to our lives, you'll just block it out like Cassie never existed just like you did when mum and aunt Denise died, well I'm not cold and unfeeling like you are, I can't block it out if I needed to, but I'll still look for Cassie till I find her or just disappear like she did." With those words, Kylie marched up to her bedroom, her brown cheeks wet with her tears and her mind made up.

After over ten minutes of thinking, Kennedy found herself standing in front of Kylie's bedroom door, feeling more than a little remorseful, "Ky, I'm sorry." She spoke to the door, there was no reply from the other end, so she continued, just knowing Kylie was listening, "I know how hard this has been for you, and it's...it's hard for me too. How do you think I feel being helpless here? I'm supposed to be the eldest of the three of us, I'm supposed to protect you guys and I failed Cassie. I feel useless Kylie, like I failed aunt Denise and mama and I can't just break down like you Kylie, I'm trying to stay strong for both of us, I..." she sniffed, the wall of toughness she had built since Cassie's disappearance slowly developing cracks, it was hard to keep herself together and not spiral out of control into an emotional wreck. Kylie may have that option, but she had to be the ice princess, she had to be the formidable one and not crack under pressure, "...I admit, we are lost and are running out of options, but I don't want to accept that we've lost Cassie forever, I can't accept that we'll never see her again.

"We will see her again Kenny, we haven't run out of options." Kylie's voice finally came through the door, there was the click of a lock just before Kylie opened it, the tears had dried up considerably, but a fresh set was beginning to form, "I know my idea sounds a bit far-fetched, but it's much better to try and fail than to not try at all and live on 'what ifs'"

Kennedy smiled and nodded her agreement, it was nice to see the shy, introverted 19-year old take a stand on something, she usually just sailed wherever the wind took her, not bothering to put up a fight at any suggestion. Even better, was that she was taking this stand in respect of their cousin, "So, what do you suggest we start with?"

Kylie returned her sister's smile and drew her in for a hug, she was glad Kennedy was doing something she never thought her capable of- letting someone else take the lead, and to think she was the one being given this torch of leadership made her just a little scared but even more determined to not fail Kennedy's trust. They would find Cassie, she would make sure of that.

****

"Sit down Iggy" Caleb spoke calmly.

The eighteen-year-old eased himself into the chair opposite of Caleb with wary eyes. He rarely ever got a call from the Duncan pack which is something he couldn't be more grateful for, the last time had been two years ago so he wondered why they'd need him again. Yes, they did keep in touch and he knew of a couple of their cubs who had attended his high school and still dropped by his house for friendly 'visits', but he didn't think he would be walking into their compound this early. They were a friendly bunch and they paid good money for his services, but he still feared them especially since he had first seen Caleb morph into his wolf- he was terrified of them and would give anything to be off their land in record time.

"I'm sure you must be wondering why we contacted you." Caleb began, he wanted to smile to at least minimize the nervousness oozing from the kid, but he was in no mood for smiles. He had gone to visit Cassandra again this morning and she had been as distant as she was a day before, and two days before that, apparently, his touching her had worsened matters. She wouldn't even let him four feet close, he had to sit at the other end of the room for her to talk, and when he said 'talk' he meant monotonous answers. She wouldn't speak about her family, sometimes he thought to read her mind, but he'd remember they had to be mated for him to get access to her thoughts and it made him angrier.

She had been with them for a week and he was no closer to making her comfortable, even less mating with her. It occurred to him that he would need something extra to get her to open up, hence, he thought of having one of her relatives over, but she would not mention a name when he asked, perhaps fearing he would harm them, so he had gotten Roy to call Iggy.

Roy had found Iggy four years ago, the kid was a computer whiz and Roy had suggested he could be of help in future. Of course, Caleb hadn't thought there was anything they could use the boy for, he was just fourteen, what the hell did he know that an over two-hundred-year-old werewolf couldn't figure out himself? Roy was proved right some months later when Iggy successfully traced the origin of a supposed virus that had wiped off Caleb's document from his PC, it turned out it wasn't a virus, rather his system had been hacked into. The pack member who had been working for Nolan Creek; Caleb's rival and one of the strongest Alpha's in the south, was subsequently killed and his carcass sent to Nolan.

Since then, the boy had assisted them in seven other computer-related problems. It was only two years ago that he had discovered their true nature, he was pleasantly surprised that the kid had agreed to come over despite how awful their last meeting had gone.

Iggy shrugged his skinny shoulders, "Something about your...wife's relatives?" he asked, choosing his words carefully, he had done enough research on werewolves after what he had witnessed to know the partners of werewolves weren't referred to as 'wives', but Roy had used that term to speak of the female, so he would go along with it.

Caleb smiled, "Yes, actually, I'd like for you to search for her relatives online."

"Of course." Iggy replied as he powered on his laptop. The device successfully distracted him from the two looming men...werewolves. he had to keep that little detail in mind, these two were far from human, "Can I get her name?" he asked once the system was running.

"Cassandra Patrice." Caleb supplied smoothly, his knowledge of her name was thanks to Magnolia and not necessarily because his terrified mate had been forthcoming with any information. He watched Iggy type in the name and then pause for a few seconds before attacking the keyboard in a manner that intrigued Caleb, having been born in a time that had none of the present gadgets he saw, he was often awed by their abilities, but never bothered enough to learn more about them, he was quite satisfied with the basic knowledge he possessed.

A few extra minutes passed before Iggy finally got everything he was looking for. He couldn't speak for some seconds when his eyes took in the images that had popped up, he could only imagine what Caleb's ma...wife must look like if her relatives looked this good, he was a lucky man for sure.

"Anything?" Caleb asked impatiently. The fact that Iggy hadn't typed anything else made him believe he had gone as far as he could, plus, the kid looked like he just got an invite to a party at the Playboy mansion, surely he must have gotten something.

Iggy coughed, Caleb's voice bringing him back to the present, "Um, yeah, she's got two living cousins, Kennedy and Kylie Howard, they both live in Michigan. Kennedy's twenty-three and works in an auditing firm, it says here she recently took a leave."

Caleb raised a brow in curiosity, "Why did she take a leave?"

"There isn't much detail on that, though there's a possibility her leave is connected to the disappearance of her cousin."

"Lemme see that."

Iggy turned the laptop toward Caleb. The first thing Caleb noticed was that Cassandra's cousins looked a lot like her, just without the dreads. The one who was Kennedy had her hair in a layered pixie cut, her skin was dark, she had a button nose and high cheek bones, while the younger one- Kylie, had a cute innocence to her features and the most captivating pair of golden eyes he had ever seen, her hair was a mass of copper coloured curls that framed her oval face and made her even cuter. He thought he got a nice blend of both women in his Cassandra.

He felt Roy lean closer to him and turned to find him staring hard at the images, "See something you like Roy?" Caleb joked with a smile.

"Mine." He spoke gruffly.

Caleb lost his smile and once again looked at the images of both women, which did he speak of? And how possible was it that one of Cassandra's cousins was Roy's mate? What were the odds? "Which one?" he asked through their telepathic bond.

"The one on the left."

Kylie.

"Are you sure?" Caleb asked, he really didn't need to though. Roy was a disciplined wolf, he wasn't like the rest of them, he didn't just satiate his appetite with any female just for the fun of it, he kept his libido in check which was more than Caleb could say for himself and Rinaldi- and it wasn't for lack of female attention. Yes, Roy was big and intimidating and the permanent frown on the man's face could cause a shiver to run down the spine of any great man, he had earned his reputation as a seasoned warrior having defeated every opponent who stood in his way, but the blond was still attractive to females. They were drawn to the power that surrounded him, he had turned down more than Caleb could count, so, the man wasn't one to just make a wild guess. If he said Kylie was his mate, then she had to be.

"Yes, very." He replied, his eyes never straying from the picture of his mate.

Caleb thought his beta was lucky to have one such as Kylie for a mate, he didn't quite know her personally, but she struck him as open-minded and fun-filled, a stark contrast to Roy's brooding nature, but who better to release him from his life of solitude than this ball of excitement? She would surely be a welcome addition to the compound.

Beyond Cassandra, it was now imperative that they find the Howard sisters as soon as possible, the new discovery had brought in new stakes and Caleb didn't want to imagine the many things that could happen to both women if somehow, someone in enemy territory got wind of the fact that he had found his mate. Both women could be in danger just for knowing his mate.

"Call Rinaldi." Caleb said to Roy.

The big man looked at his Alpha as if he hadn't quite heard him correctly, "Why?"

"He'll go get them from Michigan." Caleb replied.

"Why him? why not me?"

"Because I don't trust you to keep your wolf under control when you see your mate, and the last thing we need is you scaring them away, besides, you're not exactly known for your diplomacy. That's Rinaldi's thing." Caleb replied.

Roy wanted to protest his Alpha's decision, but even he knew how right Caleb was on this one. He wasn't the smooth-talking, patient and understanding guy that Rinaldi was. That man could convince the devil out of a deal, Roy used brute force to get his way while Rinaldi used a slick tongue. Rinaldi was in a far better position to get a positive result from such a trip, he would ruin it before he even got to state his reason for being there. Plus, just like Caleb said, he wasn't sure how he would react to having his mate close-by.

Roy took one last look at the smiling girl on the screen, he couldn't wait to have her with him, "I'll get him right away." he said, and with that, he left the study.

"So, can I go now?" Iggy asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Just help me print out this information, then you can go." Caleb replied.

Once Rinaldi had gone for the sisters, he and Caleb would have to sit down and have a long talk of any possible rivals who would want to hurt their mates. He couldn't discount the possibility of moles amongst pack members, if they existed then someone out there was waiting for the right time to strike him and anyone could be a target. He wouldn't tell Roy that just yet, but that was another reason he needed Rinaldi to get the girls, aside from Roy, Rinaldi was his best man in combat and would know how best to protect the girls just in case an enemy got to them.

The jury was still out on who had harmed his mate and gone as far as making her scent undetectable to him, they had to be alert, anyone could be the perpetrator.

****

Gayle paced back and forth the hallway of the large mansion, her thoughts in a jam. This couldn't be happening to her, no, it couldn't. she swore she was finally making headway with Caleb, she was so close to achieving her aim, he had begun to yield to her charms and just a week ago, she had been counting down the days to when she would finally be introduced to the pack as their Alpha-bitch, everything had been falling in place like she planned. Hell, she had already started to wield her power amongst the lower pack members and they were obeying her albeit begrudgingly, but she had been respected.

And then she came along.

The day it happened, she felt the change in the entire house, not just felt it, but the entire house had shown her she had no place after all. The woman had barely been in the house, hell, she was still unconscious when they started giving her attitude. Even the omegas wouldn't listen to her now.

They said she was his mate. How ridiculous! He was almost two hundred years old, he had long given up on finding this elusive mate and was set on doing the reasonable thing, there was no chance in hell that this female was his mate. He hadn't even recognized her initially, how was she his mate when he didn't detect her scent? Maybe it was a fluke, of course, it would only be a matter of time before Caleb would realize she wasn't who he thought she was and then she would be kicked out like the stray puppy she was and he would return to his rightful place- beside her.

The sound of the large door opening down the hallway pulled her attention. Just the wolf she was looking for.

Rinaldi walked down the hallway with the usual swagger in his steps, one hand shoved into the pocket of his gym pants and his slick, dark hair, tousled like he had just gotten out of bed. Rinaldi Salvatore was very attractive, and he knew that. He wasn't modest about anything, reminding her of a peacock in his ways, he liked to play to his strengths- which was mostly his looks and his tongue, he had a sugar-coated tongue that he used on everyone and everything, and it had never failed him. Be it in a boardroom or a bedroom, Rinaldi was known to capture anyone's attention and get his way with little persuasion. It was why Caleb had put him in charge of all business dealings related to the pack.

Before she got access to Caleb, Gayle had once been a regular visitor to Rinaldi's chamber, then Caleb had been much too buried in a pile of anger and resentment to even be approached and Rinaldi had been with them for a couple of years. A younger Gayle had been taken by the handsome, smooth-talking, well-dressed gentleman and her ambitious side had been drawn to the tales of how he was supposed to be an Alpha in Cuba, but his pack had been attacked when he was younger and he was working towards getting them back from those who had taken away his land and his people. She had seen an opportunity, a chance to somehow become an Alpha-bitch, and initially, she had been willing to worm her way into his heart and become his mate even though he had only been looking to have fun.

She had succeeded and Rinaldi had fallen for her, but her impatience caused her to look elsewhere and it was just at the time Caleb was leaving the shell he had built around himself. She took her chance when it came and dropped Rinaldi without a second look. He never did forgive her for that, but she hadn't cared, she was going to be Caleb's alpha-bitch and Rinaldi was still a beta. But now that her plans were looking bleak, she had to return to her old flame and pull out some information from him.

Rinaldi stopped in his tracks when he sighted her and then allowed a smirk grace his features. How typical, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Gayle would bring her skinny, calculating, manipulative behind crawling like a disease-stricken refugee to his door. Since he had heard of Caleb's mate, he had just been waiting for her, the leopard never changed its spots, he wondered if it even slightly disturbed her how utterly predictable she was.

Damned, arrogant dog! If she didn't need to hear it from him, Gayle knew she wouldn't even be here an extra second after that disgusting smirk lit up his face, but desperate times didn't give one choices. She would just swallow his insults for now, "So, you must know why I'm here" she began saucily.

He arched a brow at her, "Considering you haven't been here in over a year, should I?" he retorted.

She frowned, he wasn't going to make this any easier for her, "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"The woman, is she who they say she is?" she blurted out, unable to maintain her calm in the face of his taunt.

Rinaldi smiled, "Oh, you mean has your one chance to be someone who matters been dashed away by the discovery of the one who truly merits her position? Has the temporary spell you cast on Caleb with your evil magic been rendered impotent by a much more powerful, pure one? You want to know if your time in his chambers has come to a sad, pathetic end? Well, I'm most pleased to inform you that yes, you're back to your much more familiar and deserving position of a nobody around here. You must be ecstatic." He replied, his eyes gleaming with mirth.