Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Landon

Chapter 24

 

 

 

It was harder than I had thought to get the drink into town to run the test on it and determine what exactly Clover was giving Kaitlyn. It wasn’t the actual steps to do it that were difficult, it was the part where I had to leave my mate behind to make it happen.

I couldn’t stand the thought of her being there without me to protect her. I hated thinking of what could happen if she was right and Clover really was out to get her.

Tobi and Dereck were there keeping a vigilant watch over her.

My new Beta had offered to make the trip himself, but I knew this was something I needed to do. The drive took about two hours, though most of that was just getting through my territory. En route I passed by the old hotel. I was considering Dereck’s suggestion about remodeling it and opening it to the humans.

The thought of having random humans in my territory didn’t sit well with me, but he was right in that it was really just on the edge, and far enough away from where we called home. The potential benefits to doing it were obvious, but I was still weighing the pros and cons of it all.

I had plenty of time to really think about it while I drove. It helped me not to fixate quite so much on Kaitlyn, my wolf on edge and making me crawl in my own skin being so far from her. The last time she was out of my sight for this long I’d nearly lost her.

I had to know if she was still in danger though. That was the real reason I was doing this myself. When I’d spoken with Terrence on the phone, he said it would take him about an hour and a half to come back with a preliminary report. I was going to wait. I needed to see the report myself and get an understanding of what everything meant.

I pulled up to the office and came to a stop. I grabbed the jar I’d stored the drink in, turned off the car and jumped out slamming the door behind me a little harder than I’d intended.

I took the stairs two at a time to the second floor and knocked on the door.

Terrence was an older man from one of the local tribes. He had been friends with my grandfather and watched me grow up and my father before me. While I didn’t think he knew exactly what we were, I had no doubt that there were old tribal legends passed down to at least realize we were different, but he’d never treated us as such. Most importantly, he knew much about the local region and flora here. He was also a medicine man for his tribe which, in this area, made him the foremost expert for what I needed.

I knocked again feeling a little anxious and a lot impatient.

The door swung open and Terrence opened the door. His hair was thinner than I remembered from the last time I saw him and snowy white in stark contrast against his brown skin.

“Landon! Come on in, my boy, and tell me what is happening.”

My heart sank. I knew he was getting older, but we had just spoken the night before.

“Terrence, we talked about this. I need a liquid dissected.”

He grinned and laughed. “I know that, my boy. I meant what is going on with you. I have not seen you for quite some time, but I can sense that you are very anxious. Perhaps I should get things started and then we can catch up while we wait.”

I sighed in relief. “I would be most grateful for that.”

I handed him the container and he observed it closely, rolling it around in the jar. Next, he removed the lid and sniffed it. The wrinkles on his face deepened and his easy-going expression faded into obvious concern.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“My, uh, wife,” I wasn’t exactly sure what to call Kaitlyn for him to understand fully how much she meant to me. “She was injured and someone passing through offered help in the form of this drink.”

His face softened. “You took a mate?”

I was shocked by his use of mate. I had always suspected he knew more than he should. I just didn’t know how to brooch the subject without giving things away if he didn’t already know.

“Yes, I did,” I confessed.

“She makes you happy?”

“Very.”

“And you love her?”

“I do.”

“And she loves you?”

I grinned. “Yes, she does.”

“That’s good, good. I can see your happiness.”

“You made a face when you smelled this liquid. Why?” I asked.

“Make yourself comfortable and I’ll run a few quick tests. I’ll only be a minute.”

“But you think there’s something wrong, don’t you?”

“Patience, my boy, patience.”

He took it back to another room. I stayed and chose a seat on the couch after a bit of pacing. I had a bad feeling about it. I hadn’t really listened as Clover rattled off the ingredient list, but if Kaitlyn was right and she’d said hemlock, then I knew I couldn’t just ignore it. That would mean she had made a direct threat to my mate.

The worst part was I knew Kaitlyn was right. If it wasn’t hemlock, then it was something, because her symptoms were already showing signs of improvement this morning after only two missed drinks. I suspected Clover had noticed too. She’d seemed edgier than usual when she came to see Kaitlyn.

I had wanted to keep her miraculous recovery under wraps, but Abby had stopped in to check on her first thing this morning and was blown away by her improvements. Before I could even think to stop her, she had left and told everyone. By the time I made it down to the kitchen for breakfast, the whole Pack was abuzz with the good news of Kaitlyn’s recovery progress.

I hadn’t even yet begun to imagine what I was going to do about the situation. I had never faced such a thing before. Times like this, I wish my father were still alive to counsel me.

As I thought about it, Kyle Westin popped into my head.

I listened down the hall and could hear Terrence busily working so I took out my phone and dialed Kyle’s number.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

“You got a second?”

“Yeah, of course. Did you get everything sorted with the Grand Council?”

“I did. Thanks for your help with that. Unfortunately, it was a little too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those she-wolves I was telling you about, one of them attacked Kaitlyn, demanding a challenge.”

“No way.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Kaitlyn okay?”

“She is. She won the battle, but suffered some injuries in the process, nothing that should have been too difficult to heal, yet she was unconscious for several days and is struggling to recover.”

“What can I do?”

“Thanks, um, really I just need council. I think we’ve found the reason she’s having such a difficult time. I’m actually in town getting my suspicions confirmed or not.”

“What do you think is happening?”

“Three of the girls stayed behind. One of them claims to be a specialist in herbal medicines and has been creating tinctures and teas for Kaitlyn to take.”

“You suspect she’s deliberately spiking it?”

“I do. Kaitlyn stopped taking it yesterday and by this morning she was making a remarkable recovery.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t believe anyone would do that, especially to a Pack Mother.”

“She came here for that position, remember? I think she might still be working on that goal. But Kyle, if my suspicions are confirmed, then what? What do I do?”

He blew out a long breath. “Whose pack is she from?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“I would first find that out. I mean if it’s true, she’ll have to be punished. I’m assuming she isn’t one of your wolves so you should include or at least warn her Alpha. He will likely want to punish her in his own way once you’re done, if you even allow her to live.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t relish killing anyone,” I admitted.

“You wouldn’t be a very good Alpha if you did.”

I snorted. “Not all Alphas would see it that way.”

“Those are called tyrants.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was right. I felt exactly the same way. “Will it send a show of weakness if I let her live after attempted murder of my mate?”

“To some it will. I’m not going to lie to you. For me and most of my closest allies, no, it shows you have a strong sense of humanity which is especially refreshing since you come from such a remote part of the world that could just as easily propagate a feral lifestyle.”

“That’s true. So what would you do?”

“Well for starters, absolute banishment from your territory is a must, with the knowledge that should she return, there will be no warning just a swift death. If her Alpha has plans for his own punishment, I would hear him out and decide if that were enough. If not, you’ll have to issue something, but depending on what that is, it could keep her in your territory longer than you’d like. And Landon, Kaitlyn’s your mate. If she was truly trying to kill Kaitlyn, no one will begrudge you killing her. It is your right and would be a deserved punishment.”

“I know that. A part of me is hoping it doesn’t come to it, but I am so angry just thinking it could be an issue. Mostly I’m just angry with myself though for even letting her near Kaitlyn. I basically allowed this to happen and I’m struggling with that more than anything.”

“You can’t beat yourself up over that. You were only trying to help.”

“She took advantage of my weakness and desperation.”

“She did, and I can pretty much guarantee that’ll be the last time that ever happens again. From what Dereck has told me you and your Pack aren’t exactly the welcoming type. He said it took him and Mina months to get into your good graces.”

“That’s true.”

“So what happened this time?”

I sighed. “Dereck gave them temporary shelter in my absence. He thought he was doing the right thing. I don’t begrudge him anything. I know this isn’t his fault. He kept them at a distance and away from the Pack. I was the one that screwed this up and allowed this to happen.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Yeah? How would you feel if someone came into your territory and tried to kill your mate?”

“I’ve actually been there. Nearly started a war over it.”

“What?”

“Long story, but yeah. In fact, my father was almost killed in the process, that’s how I became Alpha at a pretty young age.”

“But your father’s still alive?”

“Yes. He was weak enough that his powers transferred to me and he didn’t fight to get that overturned. He’s rather happy with his new role as a grandfather.”

“Wow, that’s crazy.”

“The point is, I know what you’re going through and just how helpless you feel. Not exactly something any Alpha easily admits. I know you don’t have much in the way of guidance, so I’m really glad you called. You know I’m here to help however I can. No personal agenda and no judgement.”

“I really appreciate that, Kyle. It’s not always easy being a young Alpha in an isolated territory. I didn’t know who else to talk to.”

“Well, I can’t tell you what to do. You’ll know when the time is right. Stick to your gut and you’ll do fine. If you need to run anything by me, I’m just a phone call away.”

“Dad, can you help me with my homework?” I heard a small child ask in the background.

“Just a minute, Zander. Well, my bonus duty calls, but I mean it, anytime. Good luck. I’ll support you in whatever you decide. You’ve been great to Jackson as well as Dereck and Mina. I know you’re a good man, Landon, and a strong Alpha. You can count on Westin Pack to have your back.”

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I hung up the phone and leaned my back against the couch. I closed my eyes and pinched my nose. I heard Terrence come out of the room and walked towards me, but I took a minute to just breathe. I didn’t know what I was going to do if he said what I thought he was about to say.

I opened my eyes to find the old man staring down at me.

“Headache? Do you have the trembles? How about heart palpitations? Any convulsions?”

“None of that, just stressed. What’s the word? Is it hemlock?” I guessed.

“Worse. It’s water hemlock, the worst kind of all and lethal to both human and animals, Landon.”

Something in the way he said it told me he knew, but there was still no way I was going to admit what I was to him.

“Are those the symptoms?”

“Amongst others, like death.”

I sighed and nodded my head.

“It’s what you expected?”

“Yup.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. She’s already showing improvements since she stopped taking the meds. Are there any long term effects I should be aware of?”

“If she’s still alive after drinking that mess, then she’ll be okay.” He cleared his throat. “Is she like you?”

“What does that mean?”

“You know what the hell that means. Is she like you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Check on her wolf. She could be buffering her from the full toxicity of that crap, but it could also affect the wolf. Toxic to humans and animals,” he repeated.

My jaw dropped open. He did know.

“Oh, close your mouth. You really think I didn’t know? Your grandaddy was my best friend for over fifty years. I’ve known you since you were just a little pup and same for your father before that.”

“Um, okay,” I said. I didn’t have a clue how to respond to that.

“Go home, Landon. Check on your mate and her wolf. If the wolf is having difficulties, call me. I’ll start working up something to help counter the effects some just in case.”

I stood up and hugged the old man. “Thank you.”

“What are you going to do with the one who created this toxic mess?”

I shrugged. “I guess we’ll soon find out.”