Chapter 61:

Alley POV:


"I want to check on Stella first before we leave." I said to the group who were once strangers but are now close friends. Even though our mates grumbled at us going, they know they don't stand a good chance against dark witches. I turned on my heels and ran inside, "Stella! Stella, I need to talk to you!" I yelled out knowing she could hear me. I heard her footsteps coming down the stairs, her eyes were puffy and red which tells me she was crying. "Are you okay?" I asked grabbing a tissue and hand it to her. "Yes, all the anger and haunting nightmares are finally over, I just needed a moment to have one last cry session." Stella said, smiling at me. I could understand that, sometimes all we need is a good hard cry to get the rest of the emotions out. "We have to head out but I wanted to make sure you were okay first." Stella looked up at me with a confused look. "Where are y'all going?" She asked. "The house they found Bethany at has had a lot of activity from the dark witches, like they're trying to camp out or something." Stella blanched at my words. "Is it safe? I mean I can go with and help." She took a step forward but I shook my head. "You can come the next time but for now rest. You need to keep healing yourself so that you can regain your strength, yeah?" I said, trying to get her to understand.
Stella simply nodded her head, "You're right. I won't be able to help anyone if my mind isn't right." She said stepping forward to hug me. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask." I whispered in her ear. We both stepped back and I gave her a small smile before I walked back outside to the rest of the group. We had decided that it would only be us twelve with Jack, Sammie and my brothers. The less we have the easier it'll be to stay hidden a little. I was greeted with smiling faces. "You were born to be a leader, Alley." Chloe said. "Yeah, the way you checked on her I'm sure means a lot to her." Diane said. "Thanks, I just needed to make sure she was okay, she went through hell." I said. "We could all learn a thing or two from what you just did." Collin said. "Let's get this show on the road, remember to stay quiet and try not to cause attention to us, the shield will be around us as an extra layer of protection." Stephen said. He used to need my help but he has done so well, he put it around the trackers this morning before they left. I watched as Stephens' eyes clouded over turning nearly white like the clouds in a hurricane for a few moments before I could see the blue underneath. "Alright ladies, it's y'alls turn." Stephen said. We all held hands so that no one got too far from each other and we will spread once we got there.
Picturing that broken down house in the middle of woods and the trees surrounding the house I felt the familiar breeze brush against my skin and my stomach fill with butterflies. When I opened my eyes we were about 100 yards away from the house. "Okay everyone surround the house, don't walk ladies use your gifts again." I said looking at each of them. I watched as they disappeared, I saw the ladies pop their heads out so we could see where they all were. I looked at Jackson and Tye, "Alright you two are you ready? Y'all will be on the other side of the house so we won't be able to see you but you can always mind link." I whispered. They nodded their heads and I grabbed their hands, focusing on the trees behind the other side, I blinked and we were there. "Stay focused, stay hidden and be safe. Mom and dad will kill me if anything happens to y'all." I smirked before teleporting back to Stephen. The woods were eerily quiet, no one said a word which led me to believe they were all mind linking each other. We learned that if we were all protected by the same shield we are able to mind link each other which shocked us. "We have incoming.." Tye said to us all through the link. Stephen and I squatted lower peaking around the tree. I could see two dark witches emerge from inside the house.
The sight of them made my stomach twist in knots. They had long greasy black hair and their skin was nearly gray. Clothes torn to hell with long nails, eyes darker than the night without a moon. They looked around before disappearing. What the hell? They can teleport too? This could turn into a bad situation if we get caught. "What's the plan?" Emma asked "I say we bum rush the next few that show up." Collin said, I mentally rolled my eyes. "We could but we can't take them back to the territory, we really need to get in there and see what they have planned." Stephen replied. "Should we go in one group at a time?" Stefanie asked. "It would be safer that way, stay together though. Who is going to go first?" Devin asked. "Stephen and I will go first." I replied looking at Jack and Sammie, "You two stay here we will be back soon." I stated before anyone could protest I grabbed Stephens hand and teleported us right into the house. It was dark inside and it took a minute before my eyes adjusted. I held my hand up to form a little ball of fire to add some light. At first nothing looked off and it looked empty, we quietly walked into a room to see a table with herbs on it. I took out my phone, snapped a quick picture of them and sent it to Nikki and Matthew for them to look into.
"Alley come look at this." Stephen said through our link, I walked out of the room to find Stephen in the room next to the one I was in. As I stepped through the door my eyes widened, bones were hung on strings from the ceiling surrounding a large rectangle wood table, nothing was on the table but the sight alone made my skin crawl. I pulled out my phone and snapped another picture and quickly sent it to Nikki and Matthew. "Guys get out, there's two that just showed up." Jackson shouted through our link. I quickly grabbed Stephens arm and placed us back out by Jack and Sammie, my eyes glued to the man and woman that were standing by the front door. They both went in and I blew out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I couldn't hear anything inside the house so maybe they weren't talking. Maybe they are setting up for something. The front door flew open and they both stepped out scanning the area. "We know you're here mutt we could smell a wolf." The man said, his voice made my skin crawl. "No one moves!" I snapped through the link. "If they get close, go to a different area, play smart." Diane said. "Mine as well come out of your little hiding spot. It won't be long before we find you." The woman snapped