: She hung up!

Isaiah POV

I wake up from a very restless sleep. I can’t believe she hung up on me and didn’t give me any answers. Only that her issues are family business. Then she said she is the fun one. Implying I’m boring. I’m fun.

Storn scoffed. ‘No, you’re not. You’re uptight. You never know when to chill and have a good time.’

I look at myself in the mirror and see my eyes changing color. Storn is at the surface. ‘Whose side are you on, anyway?’ I huffed.

‘Kaia’s. She is a fierce one. She is also not like you. She is opposite you. You need someone that can help you enjoy life. You’re too dedicated to work and I’m bored.’

‘Seriously? We stay busy, Storn. We have an important job.’

‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let go and have a good time every now and then.’ He continued, ‘You never do and even though you let me out, it’s only to patrol or stretch my legs. We never do anything fun. She’s fun.’

I scowl in the mirror. Am I really that boring? I like to think I’m interesting and fun.

‘Oh, yeah? Name me one hobby you do that isn’t related to your beta position.’ Storn scoffed.

He has a point. When I was younger, I played sports and listened to music. I flirted with the girls and acted like a normal teenage kid. Once I became beta though, I stopped. I threw everything into being a beta and tried to follow Aiden’s example.

I finished showering and getting ready and made my way to the dining hall for breakfast. I see Sinclair and her eyes are tight with worry.

“Sinclair?” I called out approaching her. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s ten in the morning and Kaia isn’t responding to my texts, and she isn’t answering my calls.” She said.

“Maybe she is still asleep?” I said, trying not to make myself worry.

Sinclair shakes her head. “No. Kaia doesn’t sleep past eight in the morning. No matter how hard she tries, her internal alarm clock always has her up at eight in the morning.”

Storn is fidgeting in my head. ‘Where is she?’

‘I don’t know, but I’m about to get on the jet and go to her. I will get the information out of Sinclair somehow.’

Suddenly, Sinclair’s phone rang. It’s Kaia.

“KAIA! Girl! What happened? It’s not like you to ignore my texts or calls. Is everything okay?” Sinclair asks trying to calm her heart rate.

Sinclair puts the phone on speaker and I hear Kaia. She sounds emotional. “Yeah, I’m fine, Sinclair. I just needed to get outside. Izo said going for a run would help me settle. She was right.”

Why does she need to settle? What happened? I’m listening intently but Sinclair takes the phone off of speaker. What they don’t know is my hearing is sharp because I’m still an alpha. But they don’t need to know that.

“Tell me what happened?” Sinclair said.

I heard Kaia’s voice crack. “More of the same, Sinclair. He insulted me and then said I was useless. After he was done spewing his venom, he said he would be here this afternoon and then said to make myself scarce.”

I feel my blood boiling. Storn is snarling in my head. Is this how her husband treats her? No wonder she wants a mate. That guy is a total asshole. It’s better for me. She’s my mate and I intend to bring her back here and claim her. Pain in the ass or not, she’s mine. I suddenly feel very possessive and want to rip her husband to shreds.

“Kaia, I’m sorry. Don’t listen to that asshole.” Sinclair said.

Kaia sniffled, “I know not to listen to him. What bothered me the most was his tone. It was full of contempt. Like he found me disgusting. I’m not disgusting, right?”

I grabbed the phone from Sinclair. “Kaia Black, you are not disgusting. You are beautiful. I don’t know who that asshole is but say the word and I will come down there and tear him to shreds for you.”

There was a pause on the phone and for a moment I thought she hung up. But then in a quiet and almost grateful voice, I heard, “Thank you, Isaiah.”

“Why don’t you come back?” I asked. “I’ll come get you myself.”

“I need to see this through. His words may have hurt, but I’m tough, Isaiah.” She said and I’ve never heard her sound so dim. It’s like her spirit is crushed and I don’t like it at all.

“Okay. You call me if you need me to come to you. I will. Understand?” I said.

“Yeah. Understood.” She said and I handed the phone back to Sinclair.

“Girlie, keep me updated. Say the word and I’m there. Okay?”

“You need to find out about the trackers. Let me know what you find out.” She said and I looked at Sinclair. My eyes are telling her I heard about the trackers. What trackers?

***

Rodrigo POV

I saw Sinclair talking to Isaiah. It looks like she is explaining something to him and he is listening intently. They both are sitting at another table and talking in hushed tones. I wanted to go up to them and sit with them, but it seems like the conversation is serious and probably private.

I keep looking at Sinclair though. Last night, she was amazing on my laptop. The dexterity in her fingers as she typed away was fascinating. She found that someone had installed a back door to access my information. Which means Julian has probably been monitoring me. Sinclair shot a virus through the backdoor access she found and then closed the access. Afterwards, she added some triggers that would alert me if someone was trying to breach the system again.

We laughed and spoke for a good thirty minutes before she was done and said she was going to sleep. Before she left, I asked her, “When Isaiah and I first got here, you said something about knowing now to Isaiah. What did you mean?"

“Oh, Isaiah turned me and my friend Kaia.” She said. “The next day he realized one of us is his mate. When we saw each other, we knew we weren’t mates and that his mate is Kaia. That’s why I said we now know."

“Oh. Did you want to be mated to Isaiah?” I asked.

“No. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a great guy. But I suspected it would be Kaia. Before he turned us, he always looked at Kaia differently than the way he looked at me. I’m glad it’s them paired together. I think it will be a good thing.” She said smiling and seriously, she is beautiful behind those glasses.

Unfortunately, I’m not mated to her either. I want my fated mate, but if I don’t find her and if Sinclair doesn’t find her mate, then maybe we can become chosen mates. I think she would be a good woman to have as a mate.

Now, I’m looking at her talking to Isaiah and I’m feeling left out. For now, though, I am going to leave it alone. She just turned. She could find her mate and I don’t want to confuse things. I just hope whoever is mated to her will treat her right.

: Trackers

Sinclair POV

Isaiah heard more than he should have at the end of my conversation with Kaia. Now he is asking me about the trackers I found in my car.

“Honestly, I have it handled, Isaiah.” I said.

“Listen, Kaia and you are close, right?” Isaiah asked.

I raised an eyebrow, “Yeah. Best friends. She would even say we are soul sisters.”

“What kind of mate would I be if I didn’t look out for her sister then?” he replied.

I smiled, “I am going to love seeing how your relationship with her unfolds.”

He is already thinking about the people who are most important to her. I am one of the very few and I feel honored that I am. She is important to me too; just like a sister would be for most people.

Isaiah smirked, “I’m sure it will be like oil and vinegar. In any event, you are also a pack member. We look out for our own. So, tell me about the trackers.”

I chuckled, “Oil and vinegar make for a great salad dressing. It can complement one another under the right circumstances, Isaiah. As far as the trackers, I found five in my car.”

“Five?” Isaiah’s eyes darkened. “Who the fuck puts five trackers in a person’s car?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out. I pulled them all out and disabled them. Then I took a picture of each one for the make and serial number. I am going to hack into the database and figure out who got them and then go from there.”

“You think you are doing this by yourself?” Isaiah asked incredulously.

“Um, yeah.” I said with a sarcastic face. “Isaiah, I know you are going into protector mode, but honestly, before you were in my life or even Kaia’s life, we were handling things on our own.”

Isaiah sat back, “How long have you both been doing this type of work?”

“Since we turned eighteen. Three years now.” I said.

“In three years, you have been able to do all these things? Hack systems, improve security and defenses, find digital threats and train to fight and kill?”

“Why does that sound impossible to you?”

“It’s not, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be easy to do in three years, Sinclair.” Isaiah said.

“It’s only impossible when you have other options in your life, Isaiah. I certainly didn’t have other options. I learned on my own. Kaia had options but no one cared to hear what she wanted. So, she made do with what she could do without getting anyone else’s buy-in.” I said.

“Tell me about her husband. Do you know him?” He asked.

“No. Kaia has always kept that part of her life private.” I said and then added. “She did confess that she had hoped to make it work with him in the beginning, but he always looked down on her and insulted her.”

I see Isaiah’s eyes turn dark. He clearly doesn’t like hearing that Kaia is being mistreated. I approve of his behavior towards her so far.

“He doesn’t abuse her, does he?” He asked and his voice was tight. I feel bad that I have to keep him in the dark.

“Aside from the emotional and mental, no. According to Kaia, he has never touched her.” I said.

Isaiah sighed and nodded. “Okay. Promise me that if you find out she is being abused, you will tell me. I will protect her.”

I laughed softly, “Kaia will wipe the floor with any person who tries to hurt her, Isaiah. If anything, you’d have to pull her off someone, not the other way around.”

Isaiah smiles and I think there is a glint of pride in his eyes. That’s good. All this conversation is good for assessing him. I want him to be good to my friend. She is important to me, and I want to see her happy.

As we are wrapping up our conversation, Rodrigo comes over. “Hey. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation, but I thought I would come over and say hi.” He said.

I smiled, “Sure. Sit. How are things with the laptop? Any alerts?”

Rodrigo smiled widely. It kind of reminds me of Thalia’s smile. You can tell they are related. “Not a peep. Everything you did is working. It was really impressive.” He said.

“Good. If you get an alert, let me know. I will have fun playing my own version of ‘Battleship’.” I said with a little laugh.

“Will do.” He said.

I looked at both Isaiah and Rodrigo. “As much as I would love to continue talking, I need to work on my car. I have quite a few things to go over.” I stood up and got ready to leave, but my phone buzzed.

When I saw the caller ID, I pressed the decline button and put my phone away.

“Who just called to make your eyes darken like that?” Rodrigo asked. When I look up, both he and Isaiah are looking at me.

“No one important.” I said. “I’m going outside now. Later.”

As I am making my way outside, my phone once again started ringing. I see the caller ID and I ignore it again. After a few moments, my phone buzzed. This time a text message came through.

[Chad: Dad wants you home. Now.]

[Sinclair: I said I was leaving permanently. I meant it.]

[Chad: Dad said that if you want to know about your birth parents, you need to come back. Now.]

I stopped and read that again. He has had information on my parents all this time and never told me? I could have looked for my parents. I feel anger rising inside of me and my hands start shaking. I feel tears threatening to fall too.

“Sinclair?” I heard Isaiah behind me. When I turned and looked at him his expression went from curious to concerned very quickly. “What’s wrong? What happened?” He said rushing over to me.

“I need to leave for a while. I have something important to do.” I said.

“Sinclair, what is going on?”

“Nothing. Business that I thought was finished isn’t finished yet. I’m going to get an overnight bad ready. I need to leave.”

Jonah walks up, “Hey Sinclair!” He says cheerfully, until he sees my face and then his expression darkens. “What happened?”

I take a deep breath, “Nothing. I need to leave for a couple of days. I will be back.” I said.

I walked past both Isaiah and Jonah and I can feel their eyes on me as I walk away. I looked down at my phone and reply to my asshole foster brother. That’s not even an accurate description of who he is to me. He is just an asshole.

[Sinclair: I’m not exactly close by. I’ll be there in a couple of days.]

[Chad: That’s my Sinner. See you then.]

“Sinclair?”

I turned around and I saw Isaiah. I sighed, “Yeah?”

“How about we take the jet? I will go with you, and we can be back this evening. I don’t think you should go alone.” He said.

I guess this is what belonging feels like. Someone actually caring about what happens to you. It warms my heart to be a part of this pack.

I smiled gently at Isaiah. “Okay.”

: Phase One of Kaia’s Plan

Kaia POV

I called my good for nothing, asshole husband. After all the insults, he agreed to come to the house this afternoon.

“Make sure you aren’t there. I don’t want to see you. You irritate me to the point that my teeth itch. You disgust me.” He said, cruelly.

My jaw clenches tightly, “Fine. I won’t be here anyway. Not for at least a week.” I lied.

“I’ll come back for the week then.”

“Thank you.” I said and then I hung up.

I shake off the nerves and make sure the fridge is stocked and everything is in its place. I found out there is a house in our neighborhood that is an Airbnb and I rented it for the week. I set up shop over there. All the monitors, speakers, listening devices…all of it, are set up. I will gather enough evidence and then I will send that and my medical records to the attorney I hired. The guy I have on retainer is the best in the area and not only that, but he is also a barracuda. He told me what I would need and I have almost everything.

It's hours later and I see him drive up. I did hire an actor to play a cable man so my husband would buy the lie, but when he rolls in to the driveway, I see he has a woman on his arm. I move to the cameras in the house.

I see him open the fridge and pull out a bottle of chardonnay. He pours a glass for the redhead he invited into my house, that I paid for before we got married, and they start talking.

“So, this is your house?” she said seductively.

“Yeah. I needed to come back for the cable repairman today.” He said, grabbing her by the waist. “Once he gets here and does what he needs to do, you and I can have some…fun.”

She giggled, “Aren’t you a naughty boss man Mr. Black?”

“When everything is done, I’ll show you just how naughty I can be.” He growled at her.

Right on cue, the doorbell rings, and the hired cable man is there at the front door.

“Hey. I’m here about the cable box.” He said.

“Yeah, it’s in the back. I’ll show you.” He said.

After about twenty minutes of acting like he did something, the man I hired left and I went back to the cameras inside. The first thing I see is my husband shoving that redhead against the wall and lifting her up as she wraps her legs around his waist.

Next thing I know, he carries her into the bedroom, and I go to the monitor I installed there. It’s tiny like a pinhole, but boy, does it capture everything.

“Fuck! Your cock is huge! Shove it in me harder!” Ms. Redhead moaned and screamed.

“Take all of it.” He said, thrusting into her. “That’s my slutty assistant. You like my cock punishing your pussy, don’t you?”

“Fuck YES! Harder! Make me take it, baby!” She screamed out.

I sat there, disgusted. She’s, his assistant. He is talking to her like she is a whore. I mean, I guess she is, but it’s not my business. This is just the beginning of the end for him anyway. At the end, he starts thrusting his cock down her throat. Forcing her to take the entire thing and makes her choke. Then he cums all over her face. It was like watching a terrible p**n video.

My heart is still though. I once thought I could make things work with him; but now I know I was wrong. I figured that out pretty quickly in our marriage actually. Six months in, he couldn’t take it anymore. He blew up at me. I still remember that day.

“DO YOU THINK I FIND YOU EVEN REMOTELY ATTRACTIVE?! YOU MAKE MY DICK WANT TO HIDE FROM YOU! LET ME BE CLEAR KAIA…I WAS FORCED INTO THIS MARRIAGE. I DON’T WANT YOU! I NEVER HAVE AND I NEVER WILL. YOU ARE FUCKING GROSS. NO MAN WILL EVER WANT TO BE WITH YOU OR TOUCH YOU!” he screamed. My crime? I made a romantic dinner, hoping to grow our relationship. He toppled the table over and slammed the door shut behind him after he stormed out. All the hard work I put into the dinner on the floor. I cried for hours at his cruelty towards me. He never once showed me even a second of affection.

After that day, I threw myself into my work. I knew he was sleeping with other women. When they'd find out about me, they would taunt me. I was humiliated repeatedly. I tried to tell my dad, but all he saw were dollar signs.

“Stay with him. Get him to sleep with you and have his baby. Then he will soften his ways with you. We need this alliance, so don’t fuck it up.” He would say. He never cared about how I was hurting or how humiliated I was. So, I quit complaining and stayed away from this house and from my husband. I only saw him during family gathering with our dads. Even then, we barely spoke to each other.

Three years later and while I’m still young, I decided to divorce his ass. It will be quick. My attorney knows all the details, and he said it would probably take less than a month. So, I am hoping he is right. I just need to do my final part. At the end of the week, it will be the grand finale. Every piece of evidence I need will be complete. I will have to sacrifice a bit, but everything will be mine and I will take everything that is his and he won’t have a way around it.

As I see them shower in the bathroom and now, he has her bent over while he plows into a second time, my phone rang. It’s Sinclair.

“Hey Girlie!”

“Hey! I’m in town tonight. Join me for dinner!” She said happily.

“You’re back? Why?” I asked.

“I’ll explain at dinner.” She said.

“Fine. Send me the address. I’m on my way.” I told her. Honestly, I need to get out of here. I’ve seen enough, and I feel like it’s only getting started.

When I arrive at the restaurant, Izo starts going crazy in my head.

‘What’s wrong?’ I said concerned.

‘Go inside! Now!’ She said.

I hurried inside and when I did, I saw Sinclair and wave. Before I walk any further though, I hear a familiar voice, “MATE!”

I turn around and Izo goes nuts. “MATE!” she says happily.