“Go ahead,” Gray told him. Billy rushed from behind the bar and to a door marked “Office.” He closed it behind him, and Gray gestured for Liam to follow and listen in, just to be on the safe side.
Gray trusted Billy for the most part, and the other wolf had never given him any reason to doubt his intentions. But right now, he didn’t fully trust anyone outside his pack. He considered every member of his pack his family, and everyone else fell into a different category. Gray knew Liam felt the same; he managed the security of the compound and took the duty seriously. Liam stood outside the door, and after a moment, he nodded at Gray to let him know Billy was doing what he’d said.
While he waited on Billy, Gray replayed the kidnapping again in his mind. He desperately searched for some clue, some answer he’d missed in that brief period when all the cubs had screamed for him to help.
They’d been at school on the compound when it had happened. The youngest pack members attended a home school of sorts on pack property. The setup kept them away from human children until they were old enough to comprehend the importance of their secret lives.
It was also supposed to provide added protection to them as the most vulnerable pack members. Liam returned to the bar just as Billyopened the door and came back over to them. “Mandy’s gone to get the kids,” he said. “She’s bringing them here. Hell, Gray, there’s not much out there that can block our mind-speak. It would have to be an Other, probably a mage. They’re strong in stuff like that.”
“Are there any mages around here?”
“Yeah, there’s a few, I think. None that ever come around here, that’s for sure.” Billy shrugged. “That sort are loners, keep to themselves.”
“How can I find them?”
“I don’t know,” Billy answered. “Never had to find a mage before. There was one that came in here for a while, but he’s been dead for ten years or more now. Weird fella. Always smelled like flowers or something. Never caused any trouble, though.”
“Any others come in that I should know about?”
“Nah, you know how it is. Everybody keeps to their own kind. Once in a while we’ll get a vamp or something passing through, but they catch a whiff of me and head out pretty fast.” The humans at the end of the bar signaled for another round, and Billy went to grab more beer from the cooler.
Liam leaned in close to Gray. “This is a bust. Shit, Gray. What do we do now?”
“Call Aunt Maggie and check on Valerie. I’m going to keep my focus on listening for the cubs.”
Liam went outside, his cell phone out and ready to make the call.
Valerie was the pack’s teacher and taught them the same things any other child would learn in school. The cubs also learned pack history, an important part of their early education. They were allowed to learn, grow, and play as children and wolves, safely on pack grounds.
That was the way it was supposed to be, the way it had always been.
That day, Gray hadn’t heard a word of alarm from her. They’d found Valerie unconscious in the front of the classroom, surrounded by books and papers where she’d fallen.
Liam came back into the bar, shaking his head. Valerie still hadn’t regained consciousness. Through the open door, Gray could see darkness had begun to fall. For most, the fading light would havehampered their senses, but it helped their wolves come closer to the surface.
Billy finished serving the humans and came back over to Gray and Liam. “Bill, you heard anyone talking about the pack? Our security measures? Anything like that?”
“Not at all. I’d have called you right away over something like that, Gray.”
Gray wanted to punch something. The cubs were provided a guard during class hours as an added precaution. Cade was beating himself up pretty harshly for abandoning his post, even for those few minutes. Emma, the youngest of the kidnapped cubs, had forgotten her lunch. Cade had run up to her family’s home in the compound to pick it up. Gone no more than ten minutes, it was long enough for someone to grab the cubs and disappear.
Gray had blamed Cade at first, but after questioning him thoroughly, Gray realized he would have done the same thing. They had always been safe on pack property, and it went against their instincts for a cub to be without lunch when a few minutes’ walk up the hill would retrieve it.
The fact that the kidnappers struck when only their teacher was around to protect them troubled Gray. Had they known the teacher was there alone at the time, or had they been prepared to take on a second wolf as well? Gray added that question to the list of those he didn’t have an answer for.
“All right, man, thanks for the time and the drink. You let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. And say hello to your father for me. How much longer before he can come home?”
“Nine more months,” Gray answered. The former alpha was on his required five-year sabbatical after handing over the pack to Gray’s control. The rules established by pack tradition were very strict on the matter. Gray’s father was only allowed to return to pack grounds for a three-day mourning period in case of the death of a family member. “He won’t come unless…” Gray left the thought unfinished.
Billy reached over the bar and clasped Gray’s shoulder. “It won’t come to that. You need my help, you just let me know, alright?”
“I will. You take care of Mandy and the kids. I’ll let you know when we find them.”
Gray and Liam went back to the SUV. Liam started the vehicle, then let out a breath. “You sure we shouldn’t call your dad home? I don’t doubt you, man, you know I don’t, but this is some deep shit. We could use the manpower, not to mention your dad’s connections with the Council.”
“I’ve already spoken to him, Liam. It’s killing him not to be here looking for Garon, but if he does, it puts the entire pack in jeopardy. You know that.” If he returned for any reason other than a family death, Gray’s position as alpha would be voided, and the pack would be open to any other wolf willing to fight for the right to become the next leader.
