The Missing Princess
Chapter 53 – The Day Before

Kodi

I wake up warm and comfortable. I mean the bed in this room is comfortable, but this felt like home. I remember having a dream that Reign showed up and crawled into bed with me. I of course, know this isn’t possible. Reign in back in Hawaii and not here in bed with me. As I wake up, I do notice that our bond isn’t pulling as hard as it was. My bladder lets me know that I need to get the fuck up, but when I try, I can’t move. I try again but there is something holding me still. I take a deep breath telling myself not to freak out.

“My little copper flame stops moving. It is to fucking early.” Reign rumbles.

I freeze when his warm breath ghosts over my shoulder. I turn in his arms and come face to face with my alpha. Okay so maybe my dream wasn’t a dream. I bury my face in his chest and wrap my arms around him. His arms tighten around me until my bladder reminds me, I need to pee. I wiggle my way free and climb out of the bed. I hurry and do what I need to do. I jump on the bed climbing on top of Reign. I giggle when he cracks one of his eyes open as I straddle him. His hands fly up grabbing my sides pulling me down against him. I start laughing when he refuses to let me go.

“Not that I am not happy, but what are you doing here? I thought I dreamed you climbing into bed with me.” I asked.

“Let’s get showered and ready. I will explain once we are down stairs with everyone. I am sure dad is making breakfast since neither Raef nor Shay should be anywhere near a kitchen.” Reign answers.

“So, they are like you in the kitchen then. Maybe Batina is cooking.” I stated.

I jumped out of the bed as he growled. I just closed the door and locked it as the big bad alpha grabbed the knob trying to open it. I heard him growl as he stomped away. I climbed into the shower and quickly washed myself. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. I dried myself off and got dressed. I opened the door and was almost squashed by a giant alpha. I squeaked as he caught himself on the door frame. I laughed at him as I dunked under his arm kissing him on the cheek as I hurried out of the bathroom. I told him to get ready and get his ass down stairs. I heard a deep rumble as I walked out of the room. I knew what he wanted but we didn’t have time for that. I felt a kick letting me know that someone else was happy their daddy was here. I still wasn’t showing, but our little man was making sure we knew he was there, and he would gladly put in his opinion whenever he thought it was needed. As Reign thought Uncle Aaron is at the stove making what looks like pancakes. Raef and Shay are sitting at the breakfast bar drinking coffee. Batina is at the table eating a bowl of fruit. I hop up on the counter.

“Excuse me young lady, but there is no sitting on the counter. You can join those two over there or Batina at the table. There is a bowl of cut up fruit in the fridge.” Uncle Aaron admonishes.

I scream as I am pulled back across the counter as Uncle Aaron yelled as I slid back against a hard wall of muscle. I felt Reign laugh as I was placed in a bar stool beside Raef. I turned to him slapping his chest as he stood there laughing at me. He places a quick kiss on my lips before walking over to the fridge and pulling the bowl of fruit out. He scooped some into a small bowl and placed it in front of me. I am still glaring at him as he walks around to grab some coffee. I replace it funny that before I came along, he wasn’t much of a coffee drinker. I converted him (cue evil laughter).

“Okay now tell me why I was rudely woken up early this morning by you screaming in our link.” Raef said.

“Sorry about that. I hadn’t planned on coming with dad, but I found something yesterday that prompted my change in plans.” “Reign told him.

“This has something to do with that woman that none of us can figure out who she is doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes, only I figured out who she is. Here is a picture of Randy and his mate Lorena.” Reign commented.

“What does this have to do with Aunt Lorena?” I asked.

Reign sets the picture down as Uncle Aaron slides an overflowing plate of pancakes in front of us. Reign then pulls out an old picture album. I see his mother’s name on it. He flips through the pages and stops when he gets to the picture he is looking for. Reign sets the album down and I let out a gasp. I don’t understand. I wasn’t born when Aunt Lorena died but Uncle Randy had shown me pictures of her as I grew up.

“I don’t understand how this is possible.” I say.

“I am not sure. I was there when we buried her.” Uncle Aaron told me.

“Myra is going to call her coven and see if they know anything. I think Lorena is related to Dobrita somehow, but I am not sure how.” Reign explained.

“Uncle Randy once told me that Aunt Lorena was close with a cousin. He told me that they grew up together but that her cousin supposedly disappeared and later her body was found. She had been killed and they could sense that whoever killed her had used magic. Uncle Randy told me that it had hit Aunt Lorena hard since those two had been so close.” I told them.

“I still don’t understand why Aunt Lorena would fake her own death or why she would be after me since I never met her. She was definitely the woman there that night of the fire. She looked right at me. I don’t understand why she would want Uncle Randy dead.” I added.

Everyone was quiet. I could see Reign and Uncle Aaron looking at each other. There is something that they aren’t telling us. I look at them as Reign let out a sigh. I watch as Uncle Aaron sits there trying to figure out how to word what they are about to tell us. I don’t think that I am going to like what I am about to be told.

Reign

I wasn’t sure how to explain this. I looked at dad but all he did was nod at me. I stood there for a second trying to figure out how to explain this. Dad and I had done a lot of research on the plane ride here.

“I don’t think Randy was meant to die that night. I think they went there with the intent to kidnap both of you. Zenos and Dobrita wanted you and Lorena wanted Randy. Dad and spoke with Randy’s cousin who went to the house after everything happened. From what he told us the family and coven never liked or trusted Lorena and it was found out that her magic was actually magically taken from her and placed in a vessel. We believe that Randy meeting her was no coincidence. Her magic had been taken from her a few years prior. She needed a powerful witch or wizard to help her recover her magic. It had been placed in an unknown stone and hidden. She had been practicing dark magic and she had even dabbled in necromancy and mind control. Randy loved her and tried to change her, but we think that he found out what she did and started to pull away from her. She figured out that he knew what had happened and that is when she contacted her cousin that had supposedly died, and they were able to fake her death. Her cousins mate helped them.” I explained.

“Let me guess her cousin Dobrita and her mate Zenos were who she contacted.” Kodi says.

“That is right. I contacted the only other one who knows where Lorena is buried and told her what we think. She was able to dig up the body and as we thought the coffin was empty. She must have snuck out or was magically removed from the coffin as we buried it. Since both her and Randy were magical, they weren’t fated like you and Reign, but chose each other. I don’t think Randy was the one she was after when we met her in school. I believe Lorena was after Jasper since his line if the last of the original lines and the most powerful. She knew if she could get him to be with her that she would be able to regain her magic, but when your mother came along and Jasper ended up being her fated mate nothing, not even magic could break that bond.” Dad told her.

“Okay that makes sense, but what is at that damn house that they are so fucking interested in and why didn’t they dig through it after Uncle Randy went to the pack and I was gone?” Kodi asked.

“Two reasons, they knew they needed to stay away until shit calmed down and they needed you.” I pointed out.

“Me?” She replied.

“They did return to the house. I had Krater, he is a wolf/warlock hybrid, who helped us try and replace you. He went to Randy’s house on Maui and then kept a watch for you at this house, but you never showed at either. He did see Zenos, Dobrita and who we now know is Lorena at the house about a week later. They were looking for something. They did replace it but they couldn’t get it. There was something protecting it. Lorena was pissed, that is what Krater told me, and they left there to what we are guessing was to replace you.” dad commented.

“Krater went to see what they were so intent on taking and found some weird hatch to what we are guessing is an underground room. There is a lock on it a type of magical seal.” dad added.

“Okay so who has the key?” Kodi asked.

“You do. Your necklace. Yes, Randy had a spell on it so dad would be able to replace you and vice versa but it is also the key to the room. Daenernay was able to replace out that this room is where Lorena’s magic is being kept. There is something else down there that no one knows but Lorena wants it. The necklace was always the key. Zenos wanted you for the throne which we aren’t sure he wants anymore. We believe they want you for your powers. They want Claudes pack as we already know. You and Batina are the key to that and then Batina would almost guarantee an alliance with Askel and Bastian. Lorena needs you to break the spell on the stone so she can have her powers restored.” I answered.

“I feel like there is a but in there somewhere.” Raef comments.

“There is a but which is that the only one that can break the spell is the one that cast it in the first place.” I told him.

“Randy was the one that cast the spell. When Lorena was found guilty by the magic council Randy was on that council. He was tasked with performing the spell. He had no idea it was Lorena that he had done that too. Randy and Jasper are much older than anyone knew. Yes, we went to school together, but they had already been to school a few times before. Both were already 200 years old when I met them in high school and then we went to college together. Lorena’s real name Loraynzia and that is the name that she went by during her trial. She also looked different. We think she had magically dyed her hair and changed the colour of her eye so that Randy and Jasper didn’t realise who she was when we met her. I think Randy began to figure out who she was when they met him in that field. That is why he moved the two of you again. That house is California had been in his family for years.” dad explained.

“Uncle Randy must have figured it out at some point. He gave me the necklace when I was eight and told me to never take it off. I am going to guess something happened when I was eight and he found out that Aunt Lorena or whoever she is wasn’t dead.” Kodi states.

“That is what we are guessing. Myra is looking into it. Your grandparents are also checking a few things out for us as well. That is also who was in that one memory of yours. Lorena had a glamour concealing her real self. I think she was there to try and slip something to Jasper.” I added.

“I thought that woman was Ohphelyisa.” Kodi said.

“That is what everyone thought but it turned out that it was Lorena who cast a glamour to make it look like it was Ohphelyisa. Your parents had forced her to leave and as she did she handed your father something to drink, but he didn’t. We believe that there was something in it to make him come to her later. Some sort of mind altering spell or something like that.” I told her.

“This means that Lorena has no idea that Kodi isn’t able to get her magic back for her. She might be able to unlock the room with that necklace but not her magic.” Shay states.

“That is right. That is why we think that Randy wasn’t meant to die that night. I believe they thought if they could kidnap Kodi that Randy would come along. They didn’t think Randy would send her away and they sure as fuck didn’t expect him to fight back like he did. I hate to say it but I think Randy knew that he was the one that could release her magic back to her.” dad replied.

“It sounds like you are saying that Uncle Randy let himself die that night.” Kodi hisses.

“I think he let himself get injured enough that he knew he would be transported to the pack. I don’t think he realised that he was going to be hurt do bad that it would kill him. Zhamaxin was able to sense a very high level of deadly nightshade. Clearly there is none of that around the pack land, so Zhamaxin went back to the house and found a large patch of it not far from the house. I think when Randy took off, he ran through it not realising where he was on the property. Between that and the wounds that is what ended up killing him. Chiron did replace a bullet lodged close to his heart during his autopsy.” I told her.

Everyone goes quiet as tears fall down Kodi’s face. I knew this was going to be hard o her. Dad didn’t react that well when we found out everything on the plane. She does ask if Daenerany is okay, and I tell her that she is fine. They haven’t figured out that she has been feeding us information. I doubt that Zenos would ever suspect his own daughter of turning on him. I ask what the plan is as far as her going to the house. Kodi says that she hasn’t thought about it. I have a feeling that they will be sending something demanding her to meet them there. I voice my thoughts and they all agree. For now, we wait and see what their next move is.