Keon tried the handle, but it didn’t budge. He aimed a kick at the door handle, where the lock had engaged. He’d made Haley swear never to lock her door, in case of danger, and promised to respect her privacy in return. Weston’s scent stank of fear, and he couldn’t care about the rules. As the door swung open, he frowned at the made bed.
“Alpha.” Weston stood in the hallway, shaking hands held out to reveal blood. His eyes filled with tears, and he faced Keon with panic. “I always bring Haley a hot chocolate in the morning,” he whispered, shock setting in as he stared at his hands in disbelief. “Her door was locked. It’sneverlocked.” He swallowed and met Keon’s gaze. “I looked in her window. If her curtains were closed, I would expect her to be sleeping, but they were open and…she wasn’t there.”
Shit. He was rambling, talking faster with every word. Words pronouncing one horror: Haley was missing. From the blood on his hands, she was in serious trouble.
His brain switched from Keon to Alpha without thought. Catching Weston by the shoulders, he locked their gazes. “Show me where the blood came from, and wash your hands. Donotlet Milo see them,” he ordered, afraid Milo would react badly if he thought his sister was in trouble. “Go into the village,” he continued, because Weston functioned best with direct orders. “Wake Gale, Janet, Jude, and Isaac. Ask Isaac if he was with Haley last night. She left us in the early evening to join him at book club. He may have important information.”
Weston glanced at his hands and pressed his lips. “Could I wash my hands first, please?”
Though it would slow the discovery of the bloody site, he understood. He said nothing as Weston walked into the kitchen and calmly, methodically washed his hands of blood. His hand twitched toward the soap a second time, but Keon couldn’t wait. He handed Weston a towel to dry his hands.
They left the house through the rear door, and Weston froze after two steps. “I didn’t touch anything. I stood outside her window,” he explained, pointing in the direction.
To spare him the sight of blood a second time, Keon gave one last order. “Go find the team,” he said, softening his tone in consideration for his shock. “I’ll take it from here.”
Weston put his faith in Keon by leaving. Nothing could have meant more.
Except finding Haley. He hoped this was an innocent accident. Maybe she’d climbed out her window and cut herself? Or was it a hoax to make them panic as she ran off with a boy? He’d forgive her anything, at this point. Anything except what he feared the most…being gone, through no will of her own.
He wouldn’t forgive her for that, because it wasn’t her fault. He was responsible for her safety. For keeping her protected and safe, from the unseen, the unknown. It was his job to give her nothing to fear, living under his roof, in his pack.
He’d failed her. Failed Milo.
*
PACING THE LIVINGroom, Keon sipped coffee as Isaac recounted the events of the previous day. He’d already told Weston, but said he didn’t mind reciting the story for Keon.
He had come to the house to invite Haley to the reading group. When they got to the clearing, she wandered into the trees and never returned. Isaac and the reading group had gone searching for her.
“What did you find?” Keon gave them the benefit of the doubt. If they’d failed to find her, they would have reported it.
Isaac glanced at Janet, who scowled. “She was talking to someone who stood in the shadows. I tried to get closer, but she came running at me and took my arm, guiding me in the opposite direction,” he explained, not missing a detail. “Another of the boys in the group shared my concern, searching through the trees. When he returned, he said he couldn’t scent anyone unfamiliar.”
“A m’weko from this pack was involved?” he reasoned, though that didn’t bode well. Haley had been in the pack for weeks. If someone had intentions to harm her, they’d had time to plan.
“The boy who followed the scent is sixteen. He hasn’t honed his hunting skills yet,” Isaac confessed, shrinking under Janet’s hostile glare. Isaac hung his head and whispered, “I should have done it myself. I’m sorry, Alpha. I failed you.”
“No.” Keon patted his arm. “This is my fault. She was taken from this house, or left of her own volition.” He shook his head and set his coffee cup on the mantelpiece. He didn’t know how to fix this. Nothing Isaac said gave him a clue as to what had happened.
Haley hadn’t sensed the mate bond. She hadn’t shown interest in the young men in the pack, though her interests belonged to men. She hadn’t shown an attraction to women, though it was possible whoever had—taken? lured? tricked?—her was infatuated and Haley thought them a friend.
Had Thatcher come for her? Had he been told they’d found the book and wanted Haley for her heecha blood? She might return, despite their last encounter. Haley missed being treated like a princess.
Keon wouldn’t travel to Thatcher’s pack on a hunch. If he was wrong, he’d waste days and the trail would have grown cold. If he didn’t act immediately, whoever had Haley could get her hurt or killed.
Keon gave his orders to Jude first. “Map the best, discreet escape routes from the pack. Make two lists. One assumes Haley went willingly; the other must assume she’s hurt, incapacitated, or was unwilling. She’d have screamed bloody murder, if someone dragged her off against her will,” he warned, having always known he’d appreciate her sharp tongue one day. Turning to Janet, he gritted his teeth. “I need you to scent for a trail. Blood means an injury, and I’m hoping it leads somewhere. If not, it means she was treated or carried off.”
“I understand.”
Grateful to have her support, he reassured Weston. “We’ll find Haley. I can’t say how long I’ll be absent from the pack, and I know it’s a burden, but I need you to lead in my absence.”
“I’ll take care of the pack, Alpha.”
“Good.” Keon raked a hand through his hair and asked Gale and Jude to prepare supplies for two weeks of travel for six people. “Isaac.” He clasped the youngest member by the shoulder. “You need to stay, in case Haley escapes and returns home, or if she regrets her decision and returns. She’ll want a friendly face nearby.”
Isaac agreed, relieved to help.
After sending everyone to their tasks, he faced Weston. “I’ll wake Milo and break the news. Have Leo move in with you. I know you can manage, but as your mate, he can offer emotional support and keep you safe, if this is a plot to remove me from the pack.”
