Chapter 7

(Siobhan’s P.O.V)

“What was that about?” I ask, directing the question to Patrick and Gamma Drake.

“No idea, and even if I did it would be none of your business.” Patrick spits out at me, his glare matching Drake’s.

“No need to get your panties in a bunch brother. You have no reason to be pissed off at me.”

“Yes, I do! You are rejecting your mate bond with Ty! You know how we were raised, and you are basically shitting all over everything we were taught! Gran and PawPaw would be pissed if they knew about this!” He yells.

At the mention of my Gran and PawPaw, I see red.

“Fuck you, Pat! This is why I don’t come home! This is why I don’t call! All you guys do is see the things I do wrong, not the things I do right or the things that would make other parents and families proud of their daughter/sister.”

“That’s always your response, blaming the family for bullshit.”

With that, I stomp out of the office and head back to the SUV with Camilla and Anders following close behind me. Patrick doesn’t see that our parents had ridiculously high expectations of us in every aspect of our lives and if we weren’t overachievers in EVERYTHING, they would point out our weaknesses and what we weren’t doing right. I excelled in my academics, but my physical prowess wasn’t on par with my other siblings. I didn’t excel in my training as they did, Patrick becoming the strongest Beta in California and my other siblings becoming high-ranking warriors. Hopping into the back passenger seat, I wait a few seconds before Camilla and Anders climb into the driver’s seat and front passenger seat, respectively. The tension in the car is palpable and I know that they want to ask me questions about the blow-up with my brother, but they are smart enough not to.

We make it through the rest of our interviews of some of the human families, and it was exactly as Joanna had mentioned: the parent or guardian looks away from the child for minutes, and then they are gone. We must assume that, if these human parents were supernaturals, their child’s scent would have disappeared just like Hope’s had. We make our way to a diner near the hotel to regroup with Artis and Preston for dinner before we head back to the hotel to discuss our findings. Dinner was quiet, the wheels in everyone’s heads turning trying to figure out who could possibly be responsible for this.

“The crime scenes didn’t yield much information, because of how long it had been since the abductions. However, Preston was able to pick up some traces of magic though we aren’t sure if that was from the kidnapper or from another child or parent that was there at the time.” Artis states, as we congregate around the living room table in our suite.

“Hope’s mom, Joanna, stated that when she went out into the backyard the scent had disappeared. Like she hadn’t been in the backyard at all.” Anders comments.

“That’s impossible! There had to have been a scent trial.” Preston says, shock written all over his face.

“That’s what she said though. We are going to talk to a family at the White Paw Sleuth tomorrow. Artis, are you okay with going back to your sleuth? I know that you weren’t treated the best there.” Camilla asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Plus, that was the condition that Alpha Brock stated when I called and asked to come on to the territory.” Artis answers.

“Okay. So tomorrow, do we want Camilla and Anders to look at the crime scenes or do we still want Preston out there?” I ask.

“Well, I think it would be beneficial if Preston was with us at the sleuth to see if there is magic sensed there.” Anders comments.

“I think that would be a good idea, the disappearing scent is concerning, and if this is something that each of these families’ experiences, then we need to see if there is magic behind it,” Camilla adds.

“Okay. So, Artis, Preston, and I will do the interview tomorrow. Has anyone gotten in touch with the High Priestess of the coven that the spell caster child was from?” I ask.

“Yes, her name is Winona, and they are about an hour’s drive from here. She is willing to allow us to enter their coven territory on Saturday.” Preston says.

“Why are we not seeing the family sooner?” Artis questions.

“According to High Priestess Winona, they are currently visiting family at another coven.” Preston states.

We continue discussing everything that was found and compiled our notes into one notebook so that everything was all in one place and neat.

Can we please go for a run? I need it.

Okay. I’ll see if Camilla and Artis want to come with us.

Cool.

Ever since Tiernan left last night, Tala is not her usual perky self and I know that it’s because I’m rejecting our bond. I don’t want to hurt my wolf, but I never wanted a mate, let alone an overbearing Alpha mate. Tiernan, I must admit, is a beautiful man with his short-cropped brown hair, clean and trimmed beard and mustache, the tattoos that peeked out of his shirt on his chest, but most of all it was his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes bored into your soul and read everything that was in your heart. He’s taller than I remember, over 6 feet tall—not that it makes a difference considering I’m 5’9”. I remember how his muscles felt under my hands and how his body felt when I wrapped my legs around him. I shake my head, I couldn’t think about him right now. I walk to Camilla’s room and she agrees to join me and Tala for our run and so does Artis when we ask her.

We walk out of the hotel and into the woods that surrounded it, stripped off our clothes, and shifted. Orsa is a beautiful chocolate-colored bear with beautiful black eyes. She’s huge but adorable. Nala is tall for a warrior wolf, but her fur is an ash brown and her eyes match that of her human counterpart, a beautiful chocolate brown. Tala is taller than Nala, being a Beta wolf, but her fur is black as pitch, but her ears have white tips on them with white little socks on her paws. She’d be so cute if she didn’t have so much attitude. We take off through the trees, running and jumping, nipping at one another. This went on for hours before we came back to the hotel to sleep.