Marianne

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Castiel’s Point of View

            I watched as Tom and several of my best trackers and warriors take off towards the western outpost. Although they had been standing abandoned for the past ten years, with the recent Mutt attacks, Alpha Randy agreed with my decision to reopen them, in hopes of getting a strong defense command center up and running, in case the Mutts tried to attack my pack. I could feel my wolf pacing, wanting to be out and running along beside them. Patience, I remind him, we have a lot of work to do before we can. He growls at me, struggling to settle down. Something’s not right, he says, I can feel it. Tonight, something will happen. I try to block him out, as I turn and head back into the pack house and to my office. The duties of an alpha never get easier.

            About an hour passes, and I’m just about to finish a report to the Were Council, when Tom yells at me through the pack link. “Cass…Alpha, we’ve found a girl, human, I think in the outpost. She was hanging in an old trap. I think she’s been here a few days. We have to bring her back. The rope gave, she fell and isn’t waking. Red tried to wake her several times, but all she’s done is moan” I could feel my wolf getting upset, although he’s smirking at me for being right. “Go ahead and bring her to the pack house, Tom. The doc’s in the den checking on a few of the pups. Are you sure she’s human, not a half were?”

            “Yes Alpha. I’m sure. I haven’t caught any scent on her except for Alpha Lynx’s, who she says is her foster father.” With that, he shuts off. I glance at the phone, debating if I should call Lynx and confirm this girl’s story. I finally reached for the phone, but as I picked it up, I heard the front door swing open. Standing, I hurry to the lobby. There stood Tom with Red and Tiki. In Tom’s arms laid a young girl. At the sight of her, my wolf started prancing around, growling and howling. I couldn’t understand what he was saying, so I blocked him. This wasn’t a time to become distracted.

            “Follow me Tom.” I say as I turn quickly and head to the den. “Doc! Tom has a young girl who needs your attention!” I yell, reaching the doors. The elderly man quickly stands up and hurries to Tom. “Let’s take her to my office and lay her on the exam table. Hurry now Tom!” Even though I’m the alpha, when the doc gives an order, every one follows it, including myself. I turn to head back to my office when a faint scent hits my nose. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelt. It was a little woodsy with a touch of French vanilla and roses. I turn and look back towards Doc’s office. The scent trail was coming from there. I stop at the door and look in. The girl was lying on the table, still unconscious, but breathing. By this time, my wolf’s clawing at my mind, begging to be out. Mumbling under my breath that I’m heading out for a run, I run out the door. As soon as the tree line comes into sight, I jump and shift in mid air.

            After running for miles, I let my thoughts drift over what Tom told me. When I remember Lynx’s name, that makes me recall Alpha Randy and the last conversation I had with him a little over three weeks ago. He came to me, wanting to buy the piece of land that my father gave to his pack as a place to hide and heal after a brutal Mutt attack on his pack 18 years ago. I could remember when Dad and I first found them all huddled together in a small cave beside a little brook that ran through our territory. After he healed, Randy would spend months on end visiting other packs in the outlying areas, searching for any clue on the where his missing daughter was. My dad told me that he personally thought the little girl had been killed in the initial attack, but he never did share that with Randy. Over the years, the few members of his pack found their mates, and slowly their numbers started to grow again. But they were still a shadow of what they used to be.

            The last clue that Randy ever had that produced anything, led him into Lynx’s territory. But he came back empty handed, and he never left after that. Now, he would just go to the little hill and look out towards the wilderness. He hasn’t been feeling too well these last month, my wolf reminds me. I should go and see him, soon. I say as I head back to the pack house. Both I and my wolf were settled, and I could feel my muscles starting to tire. A hot shower and a quick meal were calling me know. Smiling, I head back. 

            When I get back, I notice that Tom, Red and Tiki were gone. I could hear Doc in his office, mumbling to his self. Taking a deep breath, I noticed that I could smell the girl. A little panicked, I rush into the room. Doc turns and faces me and before I could ask, he says, “The human’s in the guest room down the hall, Cass. She’s resting, but in a few hours she should be awake.” He grabs his keys and heads out the door. “If she starts having any side effects from what I gave her, call me right away.” I nod as I watch him leave. I stare down the hall, the shower and meal quickly forgotten. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I find myself slowly making my way to her room.

            Ten minutes I stand there watching her sleep peacefully. I start to feel uneasy as I watch her. Something about her kept throwing me off, as if I’ve seen her before. I shake my head and head up to my room. But her face went with me, each step of the way. I worked it over in my mind as I showered and climbed into bed. It wasn’t until I closed my eyes and was just about to drift asleep, that I knew what was wrong. The girl looked like an identical copy of the picture I had once seen of Isabella Cortez, Alpha Randy’s dead mate. It can’t be, my wolf and mind say as I sit up and grab the phone. I punched in Alpha Lynx’s number and waited for him to pick up. If he was her foster father, then why in the world did she look like Isabella?