Page 61 of Ascension of the Pack

The flat was in a tower block and Debbie had to do some creative door opening to get us inside. Once we were in, though, it was clear that David hadn’t been there for some time. There was nothing in the fridge, and though everything was neat and tidy the air smelled musky and stale.

There were only a few items in the drawers because most of his belongings were at the mansion. Disappointingly, there wasn’t a Rolodex marked ‘villainous colleagues’. His bookshelves held a tonne of books but they were almost all about plants, planting times and harvesting. The four of usdid a quick but thorough search and found precisely nothing.

It's a dead end,Esme complained.

She was right. We straightened things out so it wasn’t immediately clear that there had been intruders and then we left, shutting the door carefully behind us.

‘Garden centre or Cliveden?’ I asked the others.

‘Heads it’s Cliveden, tails it’s the garden centre.’ Tarkers pulled a coin from his pocket, threw it in the air and caught it. He laid it on the back of his hand. ‘Heads,’ he said.

Cliveden it was. I pulled on my crown and we set off to hunt our prey.

It was 8am and Cliveden House gardens weren’t officially open to visitors so we had to sneak in. We parked unobtrusively and piled out of the car.

‘Who wants to wolf out? See if we can pick up a scent trail?’ Tarkers asked.

Me!Esme volunteered eagerly. I could feel her yearning for a run.

‘Since I’m the only one that retains my clothes, I’ll do it,’ I volunteered.

Tarkersfrowned. ‘As you’re our Queen, are we allowed to let you do stuff?’

I gave him a flat look. ‘Do I look like the type of girl to just sit pretty?’

‘Well … yes.’ He shrugged. ‘You’re very beautiful.’

‘Hey!’ Greg slugged him on the shoulder.

‘Ow! She is! It’s a fact! I’m not hitting on her.’

‘You’d better not be. She’s my fiancée.’

And mate-to-be, Esme added.

‘Yes, thank you everyone,’ I said briskly. ‘Let’s focus, shall we?’ I checked no one was around then shifted onto four, trusting Terrance to do his thing.

Esme trotted around before giving an excited yip. She had a scent trail – and it was recent.

We called the others then led the way, holding our tail high, trotting this way and that past the huge Italianate house. We sniffed past the ornamental gardens and moved on. Before long we were in a Japanese-style water garden complete with a pagoda.

We slowed our approach. Sitting in the pagoda was David.

Let me?I suggested to Esme.

With a sigh, she let us shift into human. Truthfully, we both needed to look him in the eyes and ask him why he’d betrayed us.

Thank you,Isaid to Terrance as my clothes appeared.

You’re welcome, as always,he answered cheerfully.

‘Fan out,’ I ordered the others. ‘Be ready.’ I couldn’t see anyone around, nor had I scented anyone else, but unease was creeping along my spine. I felt like I was being watched – and not just by Esme.

‘David,’ I called as I approached the pagoda.

‘Alpha,’ he responded, his tone as respectful as ever.

‘You’ve made quite a mess.’

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