Chapter 50

(**Rayne’s POV**)

Rayne walked behind the bar just as Parker reached it. His face was anything but calm. There was rage in his eyes like nothing she had ever seen from him. It scared her as she thought of what Owen was doing to him. Her calm and collected mate was now a raging inferno directed solely at his long-lost brother. Rayne wanted to distract his mind from the thoughts that were swirling in his mind. In his anger, he hadn’t closed the link to keep her out, not that he did that often.

“I got a message from Sebastion. He called a few days ago wanting to know about a location spell,” She says as Parker demands a beer.

“Yeah, I got that message off your phone. I tried calling him back, but there was no answer. I forgot all about it with your heat still happening.”

“I called Arabella about it, but she doesn’t want to leave Cyra. She gave me the number to a White Witch coven up near Santa Rosa. I will make that call in a minute.” Rayne reached a hand across the bar to grip his as he went to walk away.

“I won’t kill him, so stop worrying about it. Go make the call to the witches to help your ex-mate. I have shit to do,” Parker yanked his hand away then stalked back to the corner table where Owen sat watching them.

That stung a little. Did Parker really have an issue with them helping Sebastion? If he did, why did he not say anything about it before? Maybe it is just his anger over Owen that has him taking a swipe at her like that. Either way, Rayne straightened her spine, and turned to walk back up to her office. She would make that phone call to see what they could do to help free a little girl from the hands of a Collector.

Rayne sits down at her desk in a huff. Parker hurt her feelings with his words. Well, it wasn’t really what he said, but more of how he said it. In all the time she had known him, he had never talked to her that way. She shoved those thoughts away for now, picked up the phone on her desk, and dialed the number Arabella had given her.

Five rings later, that line was picked up. A deep male voice answered, “Hello, Circle of the Sacred Flame, this is Sven speaking. How my I help you.”

Well, that was a mouthful. “I am calling for Thalia. I was referred to her by Arabella.”

“Ah, you must be Rayne. Give me a moment and I will go get Thalia for you.”

Rayne waited patiently while Sven went to find Thalia. She tapped her nails on the edge of her desk as she waited. Then a velvety voice came on the line. One that sent a wave of comfort through her.

“This is Thalia, how may I help you?”

Rayne cleared her suddenly dry throat, “Hello, my name is Rayne Solas. I was calling you because a friend of mine recommended you and your coven to do a location spell.”

A throaty laugh sounded from the other end of the line. “Yes, Bella called me asking for help. Can you explain the situation and why you need this spell?”

Rayne explained what Sebastion needed and why to the best of her ability. “This little girl is in the hands of some very evil people.”

“From the sounds of it, there are many more at their hands. What makes this one child so special?” Thaila’s voice now held a dangerous quality that made the hairs on Rayne’s arms stand up.

“She is the daughter of an Alpha’s mate. They plan to use her location to rescue her and all those in that prison. They are not just going to find her and leave the others behind,” Rayne explained.

“Very well, I will send two of my strongest spell casters to your location in two weeks. That is the soonest I can spare them. They will only do the spell needed than they will leave. We will not get further involved in this war with the humans.”

“There will come a time when the war will bleed over to everyone in the supernatural world. That includes witches,” Rayne glared at the phone as Thalia ended the call.

Why does Thalia think that witches are exempt from The Collector’s eyes? With a shake of her head, Rayne picked the phone up again to call Sebastion. The call went straight to voicemail. That made her frown. He has been so eager to have help, but now isn’t answering her calls. What is happening up in Redwood?

The ringing of her phone startled her. The caller id told her it was Sebastion calling her back. “Did you have any luck with what I asked for?” His voice sounded strained, almost angry.

Straight to the point, it seems. “Yes, I did. There will be two White Witches coming to Shadows Retreat in two weeks. That is the soonest they will be available.”

“Nothing sooner?”

“I have learned long ago that when working with witches, you work on their timetable, not yours.”

He sighed heavily into the phone, “I am learning fast that I can’t always have everything my way. While I have you on the line, do you know of any way to find lost or hiding werewolves?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Three of Irina’s siblings made it out of the massacre that Treadstone created. One of them has been living in a village near Redstone. The other two have vanished. I plan to put my head of security on the task. He used to be a private investigator and has a knack of finding things people don’t want found. Then I thought of giving Monroe a call.”

“I can pull a few strings for you. Give me the names so I can ask about. I will see what I can do on this end while you work your end.”

“Thank you. That will be one less thing for me to worry about. No doubt it will add a shit ton more, but I will deal with that crap then. I have to go now, Rayne.” With that, Sebastion gave her the names, then ended that call.

She made notes on her phone to call around about Irina’s siblings. It might be hard to find them after all this time. They could be dead, or they could be in hiding under different names like Natalia had been. An idea came to mind, and she stood to go find Parker.

A sudden wave of nausea and dizziness hit her when she stood. Rushing to the small bathroom in the corner of her office, she emptied the contents of her breakfast into the toilet. Sitting back on her heels, she frowned, thinking about the sick feeling. Looking at her watch, Rayne decided to work from home for the rest of the night.

She flushed, brushed her teeth, then headed to her desk to grab her encrypted laptop. Saying nothing to anyone, Rayne walked downstairs to the parking lot. Parker could find his own way home. Rayne stashed the laptop in the saddlebag, put her helmet on, then she hopped on Parker’s motorcycle.

Home, bed, and some tea sounded like a brilliant idea. Once she made it home, Rayne would let Parker know she left. Let him continue his conversation with Owen without her interfering. He didn’t need her help, so she would just remove herself from the situation.

(**Parker’s POV**)

Parker pushed past the guilt he felt as he knew his words hurt Rayne. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but the anger he was feeling towards Owen had caused him to push her away. The pain he felt from her made him angrier at Owen for causing the entire situation. The smirk on his brother’s face pissed him off even more.

Stalking back to the table, he slammed his beer down, then just stood there glowering at Owen. “Why did you really come here? Don’t feed me the same tired line that you wanted to reconnect with your baby brother. That is wearing thin fast.”

Something flickered through Owen’s eyes, then his face showed shock. “What are you talking about, Parker? I am only here to get to know you. What else would there be?”

Rage hit him so hot that he saw stars for a moment. “Cut the bullshit. I know there is some other motive to your sudden arrival.”

“Can’t I just want to have a relationship with you? Why are you letting Rayne put these ideas in your head?”

Parker couldn’t stop the growl that ripped from his throat. He felt Edmund and Spencer at his back in an instant. “I don’t need your interference.”

“Well, you have a bar full of customers, Parker. I think this conversation should be had outside or in your office.” Edmund laid his hand lightly on Parker’s arm.

“I think it would be a good idea if you left, Owen.” Spencer moved to stand between Owen and Parker.

“Enough! Both of you back off. I don’t need or want your help here. Owen, get the fuck out of my bar now. Don’t show your face until you decide to come clean with me.” Parker shoved back from the booth, pushed past Edmund, then walked to the back of the bar.

He was beyond tired of everyone butting into the situation. Enough was enough. He rushed upstairs to the roof, stripped naked, then shifted into his eagle. His destination was the house Owen and Kerri were living in. He would do his own investigation. From what Owen told him in the past, Kerri worked at a bar near their house at night. With luck, he could get to their house before Owen left the bar.

Parker flew to Owen’s house with a single-minded determination. There just had to be something there. If there was anything to find, he would find it. When the house finally came into view, it relieved him to not see the red sports car. Landing behind the house, he shifted back to his human form, then knelt down to creep to the back door. The door was locked, but the window over the kitchen sink was open a crack.

Shifting again to a small snake, he slithered up the wall, then inside. The journey to the floor was a slow one, but once he was there, he shifted back to his human form once more. The ticking of the clock on the wall above the kitchen table was the only sound in the room. He crept through the house room by room until he found a desk in what looked like a small study.

Going through the desk as fast as he could, Parker almost missed the small envelope that was taped to the underside of a drawer. He dumped the contents on the desktop and went through them. The first thing was an article on beach houses in Bodega Bay. Then there was a picture that was torn at the edges.

Owen stood with another man that looked like he could be his twin. The eyes of the other man stopped Parker’s heart. Those eyes were more familiar to him than the man who claimed to be his brother. Before he got lost in the memories of the past, he shoved everything back in the envelope. He walked back to the kitchen, left through the kitchen door, making sure he locked behind him.

Shifting back to his eagle form with the envelope in his talons, Parker flew straight home. Rayne had linked him, saying she had gone home early. He hadn’t responded since he was slithering across a counter at the time. Now all he could do was worry about what sent her home so early in the night. He had acted like a total ass to her earlier. There was so much going on in his head when he snapped at her.

Now he had confirmation of her suspicions about the man claiming to be Owen. There were also more questions than answers. Where is the real Owen and who the hell was the man claiming to be his brother? Why was he here?

Flying onto the deck, Parker noticed Rayne was sitting on a lounger with a coffee mug in her hand. Her eyes were focused on the waters and she didn’t glance his way at all. Something was off with her scent that had him frowning when he shifted to his human form. It was her scent, but sweeter if that was possible.

Taking the envelope out of his mouth, he knelt down in front of her. “Rayne, I found proof that he isn’t Owen.”

She looked at him, blinking a few times as if she just now realized he was there. “What are you talking about?”

He told her about leaving the bar and the mission he went on, then he sat down next to her to show her the picture. He pointed to his actual brother, “That man there is the real Owen.”

“Who the fuck is the other guy?”

Parker flipped the picture over to see if there was anything written on the back. In red ink were two names, Owen and Frank. “His name is Frank.”

“Well, it is time to find out what Frank wants.”

He stood up to go into the house, but before he opened the door, he asked her why her scent was off. She laughed and told him to look in the bathroom, there was something on the sink for him to find. With a frown, he opened the door and went into the bedroom for clothes. Once dressed, Parker went into the bathroom to see what Rayne was talking about.

His eyes landed on the pregnancy test on the edge of the sink. Holy shit! Picking it up, he saw the positive result and his heart fluttered with joy. Dropping the test, he rushed back outside to grab Rayne in his arms. Her smile as he rushed to her was all he needed, but the laugh of happiness was music to his ears.

“So soon? Your heat only just ended.”

“I think I was pregnant before my heat. I will have to go to a doctor to know for sure.”

“We can do that first thing tomorrow. Let’s get you into bed so you can rest.”

“Parker, I am pregnant, not sick.” Rayne laughed when he swooped her up and carried her back into the house.

He laid her gently on the couch then left her to grab her phone. "Call your father and tell him the news"

She shook her head no as she held out her arms to him. "We will tell him when he comes home from the bar in the morning. For now, I just want you to hold me."

Parker did as she requested without hesitation.