A/N: Not Edited. If you’re confused about what is going on in this chapter read Unconditional Chapters 85 to 87 and it will be clearer for you. Sidenote: SCRATCH is back up. I had a story typo here and so I had to take it down to fix it but sorry for those that were interrupted while reading.

Chapter 35 – Chelsea POV

When I was kidnapped and we found out that it was because of a man named Robert Delaney, Gabriel had nothing, it was like he had been chasing a ghost. He went in another direction when he came up blank, bringing Angel and the Davis’ in our life. After compiling a list of people that this man, Robert Delaney interacted with we came up with a list, hitting a dead end digitally until thanks to Kayla – Rainy and Chris’ daughter – that showed us six of the names on that list were alias.

Darnel Byteroe

Breton Rylarde

Taner Drobeley

Larney Berdote

Brandy Leetore

Tylane Breedor

Each name using the same letters as ‘Robert Delaney’ and not only were they names but they were anagrams for a tattoo Kayla saw on a man that read ‘Betray no Elder.’ Before getting any further into our investigation we had to leave California, we could track the names of those who this man had interacted with, but then we realized that we couldn’t try to prove false digital records. We couldn’t go digging past those digital files without giving away what we knew about the Elders, this Robert Delaney man.



‘I am Robert Delaney, Robert Delaney is me, we are each other,’ after asking two people who Robert Delaney was, Gabriel got this riddle, and then we backed off. Sitting in the tub with him, both of us hearing what Logan told us we scrabbled out, getting dress before heading to our office, Nonno, Jack and Logan waiting outside Gabriel’s office.



Why now? Was the only thing that had been on my mind while we dressed, “Leave him alone,” I said before Logan could even tell us what he had found or what his people had uncovered.



“What?” he asked stunned.



“Too easy,” I said shrugging, he glanced from me to Gabriel, and then back, “First this guy was on Gabriel’s radar for years. He went missing for five years and then came back as who he is now. He is Madeline’s mate but didn’t care enough about her to come back and you are telling me that in the three weeks we’ve been here on the island, he’s managed to screw up and let himself be caught?”



I shook my head, “too easy – the Elders can’t find my ring, they don’t have the violins, we have Oakley and Ben… no matter how hard you think it was to get your hands on Robert Delaney, it wasn’t. He was given or put in a place or position in which you would find him, bring him back somewhere… leading him to either Gabriel and I. This is one fish I think you should send back,” the last word out of my mouth and Nonno was laughing, nodding his head. “I agree with my topolino.”



“Gabriel?” Logan asked, but Gabriel had his eyes on me, “What would you do Love?” I smiled to myself, thinking. I wouldn’t bring this guy where he would get any information, or anything that would give away my secrets, in fact I wouldn’t have bitten period. “Where do your people have him exactly?” I asked Logan. “Because if they’ve already picked him up I wouldn’t bring him back to our pack, or anywhere that I wanted to be kept secret. No brining him here, I mean honestly I would play him a bit while remaining cautious. If he really is a pawn then where your holding him, to test him, I suggest you make it easy for him to escape, see if he takes the bait. You don’t make it obvious but game plan is to slip up somehow test to see if he leaves…”



“But if he leaves then what?” Logan asked.



“Knock him out some, insert a tracking chip? That way if he does leave he’s our asset without knowing?” I say unsure if something like this is possible.



“I have to agree with Chelsea… this guy let himself be caught… you – we – have no idea how deep their loyalty goes. I mean Essie? She married my cousin, kidnapped Fiona and Quinn, played happy family and when we finally caught her, before we could get anything useable she killed herself during our interrogation,” Gabriel said resting back, “Where do you have Robert?”



Sighing Logan found a chair, “he’s at one of my warehouses in New York – that’s where they found him…”



“You already have so much going on with getting information, can you hand him over to Wolf-”



“Have you made certain that he has no way to kill himself?” I interrupted Gabriel, “I mean Essie knocked herself down, then she loosened her tooth, cracked it like a nut and then within seconds she was poisonous…”



Logan nodded, “he’s unconscious, we’ve been keeping him that way and he’s in that warehouse. If he is being tracked, the warehouse we have him in will interrupt that signal so he can’t be traced, they picked him up and informed me, and I told you all.”



“Good work, hand him off to Wolf, tell him to keep you involved,” Gabriel said, and Logan left the room, leaving Nonno and Jack alone with us.



“How’s Nona?” I asked him, watching a sly smile get on his face, “Ew,” I groaned reading into that. “Oh topolino…” he shakes his head thrown back laughing, “my Clara is well, she is tired of me,” he says again with a mischievous glint, I scrunched my nose up putting attention on Jack, but he just shook his head. Thoughts clear, I arched a brow at him – Jack knew I could read his thoughts, he had excellent control, keeping his thoughts on this conversation, not thinking about McKenna. But I was better, “Is she ready to be changed?” I smiled, as his heart sped up, his eyes on mine “Yes… we talk about it… often, I’ve been preparing her since she’s come back,” I nodded, “She’s ready then?” I was actually eager to do this for Jack. Oakley was in a good place, things would be settling down. Hopefully? No answer.



“She’s ready… but you can talk to her for yourself…” Jack nodded, thinking of her finally. After ending that conversation, Gabriel and I went back to our room, putting on some music low, before climbing into our bed, exhausted I fell into slumber quickly.

_ . _ . _ . _ . _

After helping Oakley get into a walking cast, I was biting the bullet today, with Ava in a summer dress and sandals, her hand clasped mine and some of her toys and games in a bag on my side; we were heading over to Rainy’s place. “Are we going to the beach?” she asked full over energy, “Is Casey coming?” she asked her speech improving greatly with the new structured lessons she had. Smiling down at her I shake my head, “No, Casey is with Jack and Marlon today, we’re going to see-” I stopped not knowing how to explain, her face upturned waiting for me to continue, “well… she is my cousin, and she has children… you can maybe play with them while we visit… they have a pool so you can swim if you want?” adding the swimming was what would win her over. I knew things could change as she grew older but I would guess that Ava swimming would be what dancing and painting are to me. After teaching her to swim back in California, she was in that pool for at least two hours everyday, and was becoming quite a good swimmer.



“What is your cousin name?” she asked curiously running ahead a small tote on her shoulder, “Her name is Rainy,” I said to her back, as she bent over picking up a rock, something Ava did plenty here. I couldn’t blame her, there were some very beautiful, different kind of rocks, and each one Ava saw that caught her eye ended up inside our house, in her room. It was a strange obsession, one I couldn’t quite get, nor could Gabriel. Ava would wash, dry and then put the rock on her shelf and sometimes played with them.



True to her self now, she turned with the small bluish rock in the palm of her hand showing it to me proudly, one finger stroking the item, “Soft,” she murmurs falling in line next to me, after putting the rock in her tote. Leaving the area, Ava and I stroll along the path created spotting a shirtless young man, young man? Aria and Avena chortle, throwing dirt on my own age. Dirtied body, no shoes cuts on his legs, and absolutely no scent, none. Stopping I met his eyes, bluish silver, noting the obvious disdain in his eyes, this is your fault, he thought at me, his lips a thin line. Cocking my head to the side I sniff again, his scent not registering or was I just not getting it? That’s his gift; he can hide his scent in human form, third wolf chimed in.



It is not the Luna’s fault Kieran, nor is it Oakley’s, you couldn’t stay wolf alone forever, it’s not how we are meant to be, my eyes widened dramatically. This was Kieran? “You shifted?” I asked confused.



His nose flared, like you don’t know, you ordered everyone to go to Remington and tell her why we were here, my wolf took your order but won’t let me shift back, the sneer there even in his mind but I could tell it was the human and not the wolf that had the hostility. A small smile formed, the ends of my lips turned up as I listened, we – you can be friends with Oakley… she doesn’t judge you Kieran, Nyx said softly things falling into place now. Who said I wanted to be her friend? I’m not good, if she knows what’s good for her she’ll stay away from me like everyone else has! He practically roared inside his head at this wolf, huh, Oakley had left before Ava and I, had she seen him?



“Well, Ava and I have to be going now, it’s a pleasure to meet you Kieran,” I said brightly, leaving him where he was. Still wondering how he had no scent at all, Ava ran ahead jumping and skipping, her cotton dress airy and light, the slight window blowing, “Little Boss…. Chelsea! Hey… where are you going?” Ben asked as we passed on the path near their home, “I’m going to see my cousin…” his shoulders hunched a bit, “would you like to come along Ben? If the other kids don’t feel like playing with Ava you can always play soccer or swim at the pool?” I offered knowing that he was most likely bored and Oakley had gone to Tera’s house to study with Kiley as well. Although I was fairly certain that she was doing more advanced work than them, she seemed happy to just be invited.



Nodding quickly, he darted inside, “Aunt Juju, I’m going with Chelsea and Ava to see someone,” he shouted and from the outside I could see he ran up the stairs into a room, Julia came outside, a slight shy smile on her face, she looked behind her, “I heard-” she started off and I thought she was going to talk about Kieran, well what happened last night at the beach with that vile disgusting man, she shook her head. Thank god he didn’t hurt anyone on this island, but then to even still be around his own granddaughter, she shook in her place, goose bumps erupting on her arms, but not from the chilly temp, I’m sure.



I shrugged; well he would never hurt anyone else on the island… I answered, she nodded, “My mom would say that things that happen in the dark always have a way of finding the light; figuratively and literally speaking, this place has a lot of light,” she said with a sadness in her voice, a sigh following. I knew she missed her family, unlike Oakley, she had so much love and support, but the part of her that knew Oakley was suffering back home won out, like Grant they were selfless. Before I could say anything Ben came running down the stairs, a soccer ball under his arms and wearing some swim shorts and sleeveless shirt.



Kicking the ball along, “hey Chelsea… your cousin has kids my age? Is she my cousin too?” he asked with that confusion and interest I saw all the time in Oakley.



“Well… she’s my cousin by our dads, so she isn’t your cousin…” I said softly being honest, he just nodded, “She has kids my age?” he pressed again.



“Not exactly, she has triplets, that means three children born at once, and they are a little younger than you, nine years old I believe,” I said pushing brush out of the way to let him and Ava enter Rainy and Chris’ back yard. With a nice sized play ground set surrounded by a meadow until you hit the deck and pool, Kayla was outside playing with the two little girls I knew were Fiona and Quinn, Ava went over, while Ben stayed at my side sniffing the air. Instantly I stilled, my attention on Ben sniffing and on Ava, “you make flowers grow?” she asked confused, pointing at Kayla.

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Oakley POV

I stood still, while a man; similar features of Tera came from behind me, followed by three more, each with slight similarities to Kieran. “Darling?” he asked concerned, I moved away closer to the wall, to be out of the way.



“Kieran shifted,” she bawled, but my eyes were really focused on one of the boys, with Kieran’s jaw, “yeah because he was forced to do it,” he said with disdain, but that caught my attention. “Why?”



“Wait – why are you boys back so soon?” Mrs. Ryan said, before waving her hands, “Where are my manners, boys this is Tera’s friend, Oakley,” she said my name like it was special, prized which only confused me more. The same boy that had spoken didn’t smile; the other two and Tera’s father gave me soft hello’s.



“Oakley this is my husband, Tony,” the man stepped forward, pushing his hand out for me to shake, which I did awkwardly, putting my weight on one of my crutches, “This is my oldest, Connor, he’s eighteen years old,” he gave me a head nod going inside while the rest of us were still on the porch and threshold of their home. His father’s intense gaze followed him but he seemed uninterested to that small fact, but I noted it wondering what was going on. Tera had only spoken of her family briefly and I knew that Kieran had been hurt but I felt like there was much more that I was just missing.



“This is Dominic, he’s my sixteen year old,” he came forward less hostile than Connor, “Don’t mind him,” he said softly giving me a small smile entering the house, sleeping bags and a duffle under his arm, “Come in – come in,” Mrs. Ryan gestured, so I hobbled in following Tera while Mr. Ryan closed the door behind us.



“So why are you boys back so soon?” she asked them, going to the kitchen, bustling around. Dominic shrugged, his voice light and steady “our wolves told us to come back, the Luna asked that everyone report to the hotel and explain why we are here, so we sorta had to come back, we passed Kieran heading over there.” Mrs. Ryan nodded, “Do – did you,” she eyed her husband, “you think he’ll come here?” I tried to look away, moving my eyes to Tera but she was focused on the question her mother asked.



“He better not,” Connor muttered going into the fridge with a glass, pouring himself some milk and two steps from leaving the room before his parents could really answer him, “No wonder he stayed on that hill,” I muttered before I could catch myself, everyone else looking at me with wide eyes. Spinning around Connor let loose a small growl in my direction, “You’re talking about things you don’t understand,” he snapped, the cup in his hand shaking because of his grip.



“I think I know exactly what I’m talking about, I had someone just like you back in Middleburg, thinking they knew everything, that they could talk about me and treat me like crap in my own home… until the one place I was supposed to feel safe in felt like a prison, making it so I felt like I couldn’t breathe, each step closer to that place made my stomach turn-” I answered again before I could really understand why I cared. Connor just looked at my walking cast, his eyes filled with the same hatred that Kieran just had. “No one is safe around him, you think you’re the first person he hurt little girl?” my eyebrows knitted close together, frowning at his words.



I shook my head, lips frozen for just a minute, before I was able to speak, “Kieran didn’t push me when I went to see him… he isn’t the reason that I fell-”



“Fell?” he snorted slack –jawed, “Are you sure about that?” Connor ducked out of the room quickly, Mr. Ryan following him.



Swallowing, I turned back to face the others, Dominic averted his eyes after giving me a smaller smile than before, Tera was gazing at me bug-eyed and Mrs. Ryan, frowning – met my eyes before doing as Dominic had. The room had so much extra energy; I could feel it sparking around me, unpleasant. Amelia’s birthday part was the last time I had felt this way, and nothing good came from it. The minute I thought that however, I had a change of mind, that wasn’t true, something great had happened, I was here. "Mrs. Ryan," I called her softly, waiting until she turned around, "He didn't push me. Kieran I mean. I was leaving and he tried to make me stay back with him, but I didn't tell anyone where I went and I had lied. So I tried to climb down myself and slipped," I told her before turning to Tera.

_____________________________

The Ryan Family.

Carla Ryan (mother)

Tony Ryan (Father)

Connor Ryan (18 years old)

Dominic Ryan (16 years old)

Kieran Ryan (15 years old)

Tera Ryan (13 years old)

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