Page 29 of Found

I thought there would be maybe twenty or thirty Raleigh pack members.

I vastly under-estimated how many Raleighs were still alive.

There must be nearly a hundred. They range in ages from older, gray-haired, and maybe late fifties, down to older teens.

There are no women in the room. Just me. That’s part of why it’s so intimidating to walk into the room beside Shane and to a beaming Franklin, who motions us over to a long wooden table where he’s sitting with four others.

Two plates filled with thick slices of chicken pie and potatoes are waiting for us as we take our seats opposite him.

I can’t imagine why Franklin even invited us here for dinner because he spends almost all the time we sit eating our meal talking to others.

But I never stop feeling the lingering stares on me as I clear my plate. I’m hungry and the meal is good, so I don’t have to force it down.

It’s only when Shane and I leave after the meal that I understand why.

Intimidation.

He wanted us to know how many Raleighs there are and to know just how outnumbered we are.

10

MACK

My phone rings as we’re approaching Karson, Michigan.

We’ve been in contact with the others as much as we can, but between the heavy traffic on the highway, and an accident that added hours to our journey, the others have not only got to Karson before me and Dad, they’ve found a house available for short-term rental a few miles away from our old home.

I’m concentrating on navigating more traffic up ahead so I can get off the highway, so I point my chin at my ringing phone. “Can you answer that?”

My dad plucks the phone from my center console and glances at the caller I.D. before answering it. “Sweetheart.”

I raise my eyebrow at him before I return to focusing on the road when I nearly ram a Toyota in front of me.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he grumbles. “What is it, Ivy?”

“We’re going to pick up some groceries and take it as an opportunity to see if anyone knows about any new arrivals,” Ivy says.

I nod. “Good idea.”

After pulling off the highway, I glance at my fuel gauge, then, when I spot a gas station just up ahead, I decide to make a quick stop. “We can pick up some gas and ask questions as well.”

I’m not in desperate need of gas since I filled up a few miles back, but topping up now means I won’t have to when we have Aerin and can go home.

“Have you spotted anything suspicious so far?” my dad asks Ivy.

“Nothing. We passed through too quickly to pick up any shifter scents, so that means they’re not here, or…”

“They like to stay out of town,” I say as I pull into the gas station forecourt.

After checking I have my credit card, I get out of the car, slamming the door shut when my dad lowers his voice to continue his conversation with Ivy.

Whatever sweet nothings they want to whisper in each other's ears can stay between them. He’s my dad. I don’t want to hear it.

As I stick my card in the slot and top up my gas, a grizzled man briefly pops his head out of a partially open window in the tiny shop attached to the gas station.

Filling up doesn’t take long, mostly because we don’t need much gas. This stop is for information gathering purposes only.

I’m tucking my credit card into my pocket when my dad opens his door and gets out.

---