Page 23 of Secrets and Ruin

“Jacky, over here,” Landon called out softly. “Teagan, you okay?”

I turned and went into the dining room. Landon was leaning over Teagan, pulling him upright. Jenny was on the floor, her chest rising and falling, but no sign of her being awake.

“Were they… drugged?” Mystified, I went to Jenny’s side since Landon had Teagan. Her pulse was steady. She didn’t seem too worse for wear, just sleeping peacefully on the floor of the dining room. “Are there drugs that do this?”

“Carlos is over here, and he’s the same,” Landon said. He’d gotten Teagan out of the uncomfortable-looking slump and laid on the ground. “And yes, we can all be drugged, but not for long with conventional human drugs. Magical ways of knocking us out can last, though.”

“Shit…” I looked around, sniffing, but Fenris wasn’t there, and his scent was faded compared to the others. “Fenris isn’t here.”

“I noticed. Don’t eat the food. Don’t even sniff it too hard. We’ll throw it all in plastic bags and show Pa when we get everyone back. We can’t do anything else until these three wake up and tell us what happened or something gives us a sign to find Fenris.”

“This is bad, Landon,” I said, pushing Jenny’s hair back from her face. “How long do you think they’ve been here?”

“Jacky… they’re wearing the same clothes they were when Pa and I checked in on them… on Friday.”

I looked up, meeting his eyes as horror filled me. If this had happened during dinner on Friday, we were at least thirty-six hours behind whatever had happened. Landon’s concern was thick in the air as I stood up.

“Get some cold water,” Landon said as I looked around. “We need to wake them up.”

We tried our best. I brought in ice and cold water, but none of it woke up the three werewolves. We tried loud music, and Landon even slapped Carlos a few times, but when it didn’t rouse him, he didn’t try it on the others. Every moment and every failed attempt, I felt my growing panic when they didn’t respond.

“Deep breath, Jacky. We can’t panic yet. They seem healthy and unharmed for now,” Landon said as my hands started to shake. “I need to investigate them and the condo. There might be a clue.” He didn’t move, though, only watching me as I figured out what to say, what my next move was.

“I’m going to call Heath and ask him how he wants us to move them. We have to get them back to the house for safety. Maybe they’ll wake up.” I reached into my pocket as Landon nodded. He moved Carlos closer, then Teagan, so all three werewolves were lying side by side. He looked through their pockets as I waited for Heath to pick up.

“Did you find them?” Heath asked without any greeting.

“Three of them. Teagan, Jenny, and Carlos have been drugged. Landon says they’re still wearing the same clothing from Friday, so this must have happened after you two left the city, and they’ve been unconscious ever since. It looks like they were having dinner. Teagan was slumped over the table. Carlos and Jenny both went to the floor. Maybe they tried to get up and do something before falling into whatever drugged sleep they’re in. Fenris is nowhere in the condo. His scent has faded compared to the others’. There’s no evidence of violence, so whatever happened was quick and quiet. It had to be. Carlos and Jenny might be drugged, but if Fenris knew someone was going to take him, drugs or not, he would have fought like hell. He would have freaked out just under the drugs, even if he didn’t know what it was. Right?” I was certain I knew Fenris that well, but I wasn’t one hundred percent.

Landon nodded, looking up for a moment to confirm that.

“Yes, he would have….” Heath was already deep in thought. “It’ll be hard to get them out of the building without looking suspicious….”

“That’s what I need your help with. I want to get them home where I know they’ll be safe with the pack. I want them in our house. We’ll make space. It’s only Landon and me here, and I don’t think we can haul them out without looking like criminals.”

“We could ask the BSA for help,” Heath suggested. “They can give you two proper cover to get them out of the building to bring them home.”

“I won’t tell them about Fenris yet….” Nodding, I felt like a plan was coming together. Beyond that, I had a sudden nagging thought. “We should have made them call every day,” I said softly.

“Each one of them has a panic button that will immediately notify the entire pack of trouble. I didn’t want to treat them like children. We need to figure out how none of them activated any of their security options. Is Landon in the room?”

“Yeah.” I turned on speaker phone for Landon to join the conversation.

“What is it, Pa?”

“Find their cellphones and look around Teagan’s condo to see if any of his security was tampered with.”

“Yes, sir.” Landon was out the door in a second.

“We’re going to bring their food back to see if we can figure out what was put in it, if it was the food at all,” I explained, hoping I was doing enough to help at that moment.

“It needs to be grabbed, but I don’t know how I could figure out what might be in it.”

“Well, I don’t want to ask the BSA to work on it. If one of their agents or lab people are hurt, then we’re the ones responsible. Or it could be done with magic or a substance they don’t know about yet,” I pointed out.

“You’re right about that. Perhaps…” Heath groaned. “I don’t want to ask.”

“Zuri? It’s an option, but not one I want to run to. Not right now, not after everything she’s helped me with and what’s going on with Dirk. She’s already been sticking her neck out for us.”

---